Tennessee Legislature’s Plan to Cut Nashville Council in Half Temporarily Halted by Court

The Nashville, Tenn., skyline as seen from Cumberland River Park on March 29, 2023. (Chase Smith/The Epoch Times)

Judges in a Nashville Chancery Court ruled in favor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County (Metro) on Monday in a suit they filed against the state to at least temporarily block a bill signed by Gov. Bill Lee earlier this year that would have cut the city council in half.

The judge’s ruling in the case wrote that the law’s “last minute changes in district boundaries and voting locations create confusion for voters and candidates.”

Nashville Mayor John Cooper applauded the court’s ruling (pdf) at a special called council meeting as well as in a Tweet.

“I am grateful that the court protected the integrity of an election process that has already begun,” he said via Twitter. “The people of Nashville should decide how our city is governed, as they did when they formed Metro sixty years ago.”

Metro’s Legal Director Wally Dietz spoke in a press conference on Monday, stating he sensed Nashville residents were feeling powerless and hopeless and the council received support when they filed suit.

“What is clear is that in January legislators launched an assault on Nashville with bills that affect the council, the authorities, our ability to do several things where it appeared that Metro was the only target of that legislation,” he said Tuesday.

Temporary Win for Nashville

From 1963, when the city and county governments merged into a metropolitan form of government, to now, the Metro Council has consisted of 35 district members and five at-large members. Voters astoundingly rejected a ballot measure in the 2015 elections that would have reduced the council to 27 members.

The four-year terms of the current 40 members ends this year on Aug. 31, with a general election scheduled on Aug. 3.

The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County Courthouse and City Hall as seen from 2nd Ave. N on March 29, 2023. (Chase Smith/The Epoch Times)

The election is already in full swing, with the court’s statement of facts showing more than 40 candidates had launched election campaigns, and candidates had reported over half a million in campaign receipts based on 2022 year-end financial disclosures.

“There currently are three metropolitan governments in Tennessee, but the only affected metropolitan government that is required under the Act to reduce the size of its council is Metro,” court documents state. “The sponsors of House Bill 48/Senate Bill 87 acknowledged in committee and on the floor of the General Assembly that the bill only affects Metro.”

This is an issue that two lawsuits filed challenging the law argued violated Tennessee laws about home rule. The Home Rule Amendment states the General Assembly does not have the power to pass laws that are applicable on a local level, even in effect, unless approved by local voters.

The majority panel concluded that for now “there is a compelling public interest in preserving the integrity of the Metro election process that is already underway.”

A status conference will be held next week. Tennessee’s Attorney General represents the state in the case but has not yet responded to the injunction.

State and Nashville On Shaky Terms

Nashville and the state legislature have had a less-than-friendly relationship over the past few years—particularly after the Metro council rejected a proposal to host the 2024 Republican National Convention in Nashville.

Residents spoke just last week on how they thought the state legislature was stepping on the rights of Nashville residents, with mentions of statehood as well as rejecting the idea of being “a colony of the state legislature.”

Metro History

Nashville’s consolidation into the Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County was one of the first true consolidations of city and county governments in the United States, according to Davidson County historian Carole Bucy (pdf).

After several failed attempts to get voters on board with the consolidation, voters favored the measure in 1962, which went into effect in 1963.

“Nashville became the national pioneer in metropolitan organization,” Bucy wrote. “Although other cities had partial consolidation, Nashville was the first city in the country to achieve true consolidation.”

Metro’s governing body was the third largest in the country at the time, only behind New York City and Chicago governing bodies. At the same time, it was the 25th largest city in the United States, according to 2013 census data.

Since then, Nashville has grown to become the 20th largest city in the United States, according to 2020 census data.