Who are all of these people running for the Council in District 7.

District 7 is the Inglewood area and is currently represented by Anthony Davis who is term-limited.  Eight candidates are seeking to succeed him.  The Tennesseean published a piece today called, Meet the candidates in Nashville's District 7.  Each candidate is profiled with a picture and biographical information and statements about policy positions. Some useful information can be gleamed from articles such as this.  If the article does not give you enough information to make a selection, it helps narrow the field by telling you whom not to support.

I don't live in District 7, but if I did, two of the eight candidates would be eliminated immediately from consideration as a result of the Tennesseean article.  Randy Reed, the article states, did not respond to multiple interview request. If someone won't be interviewed by the press for a story about their campaign, they are not a serious candidate.  I would also eliminate from consideration Cole Rogers since he states he supported the 16% property tax hike increase proposed by councilman Mendes.  My view is that we are not undertaxed.

Most of the candidates list sidewalks as priority need for their district and several mention more affordable housing and traffic concerns.  Below is a list of the candidates and any quick takeaway gleamed from The Tennessean article or other sources.  I have provided links to campaign web sites or other news about the candidates when I could find it.

Emily Benedict. She says she will personally work to bring thousands of tech jobs to Nashville.  She has the endorsement of the LGBTQ Victory Fund and WTF (Women for Tennessee's Future.) Those two endorsements would be reasons I would not vote for her. (Webpage, Out an About)

Client Camp. I can't learn much about him but he has some good credentials and roots in the community. (Facebook, webpage)

Stephen Downs: He appears to mistakenly think that companies have to get permission before they move to Nashville and he proposes making companies commit to building a certain amount of sidewalks and other things before they are invited to move to Nashville. He proposes a plan for community policing and combating youth violence. (webpage)

Daniel Fitzpatrick: He says the city should work to recapture some of the excess funds held by the Music City Center. He is also critical of using one-time land sales of Metro property and depleting the rainy-day fund to balance the budget. I am impressed by this focus. (webpage)

Jacob Green: No additional information located. If a candidate does not have a webpage or campaign Facebook page, my view is that they are not trying very hard to reach the public and must not be very serious.

Stephanie Johnson: She does say, "it's important to support teachers unions," which I do not like. However she says, "Each council person should be responsible for figuring out what we can cut instead of asking residents to be responsible for paying off the debt that our leadership has gotten us into." I like that. She also say She also said that strengthening transparency must be a priority in the future. I like that. She also says, "fiscal responsibility," must be a priority. I like that. (Facebook page.) 

Cole Rogers: He supported the proposed 16% property tax increase. Enough said, I couldn't vote for him. (webpage, Facebook)

Randy Reed: He did not respond to The Tennesseans's request for an interview, which makes me think he is not a serious candidate. He is a former police officer, however, he may be a dirty cop. See Is a dirty cop the kind of person who should serve in the Metro Council.  He ran in 2015. I cannot find a web page or other information about him.

I do not have a recommendation for whom to vote in this race.  I would, however, narrow my choices to  Client Camp, Daniel Fitzpatrick, or maybe Stephanie Johnson. I have reasons not to support the other five candidates. I don't have any friends advocating for any of the candidates and don't know anymore about them than what I have posted above. If I had to make a choice today, knowing no more than I do, I would probably vote for Daniel Fitzpatrick. However, this is not an endorsement. I would seek more information.

I have made a genuine effort to locate information about the candidates. If any candidate reads this and has a website or Facebook page and I simply did not find it, please share it an I will update this page. If any candidate would like to elaborate as to why they are the best person for the job please leave a comment, or contact me to talk to me. Any supporter of a candidate is free to leave a comment advocating for their preferred candidate.

Top Stories