Who has picked up qualifying petitions to run for mayor, at-large and district council seats as of 4/5/2019

by Rod Williams - Below is the list of those who have picked up qualifying petitions to run for the office of mayor, vice mayor, at-large and district council seats as of Friday, April 5th.  Circled are the names of those I would vote for if these were the only choices and the elections were today and I could vote in that contest.  We know that these will not be the only choices so my selections are very preliminary.  I may be changing my mind, depending on who else gets in the race. Some choices I have not made because I do anticipate someone else to get in the race who I know I would prefer. Some incumbents who have said they are running have not yet picked up a qualifying petition as of Friday. There are some other challengers I know about who have not yet picked up qualifying petitions.  The list of those who have picked up qualifying petitions is updated every Friday by the election commission. You can access that list at this link.

One may pick up a qualifying petition up until the deadline for turning in qualifying petitions which is noon May 3rd.  I expect this list to get much longer by then. Once a qualifying petition is submitted and the petition is approved, then a candidate may withdraw his name up until noon May 23rd. In that case the name would not appear on the ballot. If a candidate decides not to seek the office after the May 23rd deadline, the candidate's name would still appear on the ballot.

Early voting will began July 12, election day is August 1, and if a runoff is necessary it will be September 12th.

At this time in the race for council at large,  I plan on voting Steve Glover, only.  One may vote for up to five candidates but to do so weakens the influence of your vote. You may think of it like this; voting for only one candidate is almost the equivalent of casting five votes for that candidate. I hate to see John Cooper not get elected, however. In my view he is the best of the current crop of existing at-large council members. He is fiscally responsible and sensible and knowledgeable.  I may change my mind before the election and vote for only Cooper instead of only Glover or may vote for both. There are a variety of factors that would influence that.

I wish John Cooper instead of running for reelection as a councilman at-large was running for mayor. For a long time it was thought that he would but then he announced he would not and would instead seek reelection to the Council.  I wish he would change his mind and run for mayor.  I know he is a Democrat and brother of our congressman, Jim Cooper, but he is fiscally conservative.  Nashville, is on a trajectory to have a financial crisis if we do not adjust course. If John Cooper was mayor, I think he would govern responsibly.

Given the current field, I will be voting for Carol Swain for mayor.  However, I think it is going to be an up hill climb for her to win.  Unfortunately, Swain is too closely identified as a Republican. I think Nashville could vote for a moderate Republican who has not had out-spoken views on social issues. Unfortunately, Carol Swain has a record. She is an author and a pundit. Her views will be misinterpreted. Her record as an opinionated scholar will be an  unfortunate hurdle to overcome to be elected mayor in a liberal city like Nashville. Nevertheless, at this time, she is the only reasonable alternative to more of the same.

Please look over this list.  It is not too late to run. Sometimes, on rare occasions, people waltz right in to office without opposition.  If you are thinking about running, it does not hurt and it doesn't cost anything to pick up a qualifying petition. If you then find someone else who you could support is running or someone else is too formidable for you to beat is running, you could simply not turn in the petition.

As to why some names are on the list but the line with their name says, "Petition has not been issued," I don't know. I will find out. 

 

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