Nashville to vote on 5 charter amendments in November — including extending council term-limits

Joey Garrison | The Tennessean

Davidson County's ballot for the November election just got a bit longer.

The Metro Council voted Tuesday night to add five Metro charter amendments to the Nov. 6 general election, adopting all but one of six proposals council members had before them.

Nashville voters will have the final say on items ranging from adding female pronouns to the city's Metro Charter to extending term-limits for council members.

Here's what Nashvillians will vote on:

1. Longer term-limits

A Metro Charter amendment proposed by Councilwoman Davette Blalock would extend term-limits of council members from two four-year terms to three four-year terms, meaning they would be able to serve 12 consecutive years for the same seat.

Nashville's term-limit system has been in place since the early 1990s, when it was adopted by voters.

The council voted 37-2 to adopt this amendment. Supporters said the council has been hurt by a lack of institutional knowledge and has sacrificed power to the mayor's office as a result.

2. Succession during a mayoral departure

This proposal, led by Councilman Dave Rosenberg, would task the council with electing a temporary mayor in the event the mayor leaves before his or her term expires and the vice mayor is unavailable to serve.

The council voted 35-0 on the amendment.

3. Special elections

The charter amendment would require special elections for council seats that are vacated with more than eight months left in a term. Currently, council seats can remain vacant for 12 months.

The amendment was adopted by a voice vote. But later Councilwoman Karen Johnson, who is leaving her council seat after being elected Davidson County Register of Deeds earlier this month, voiced opposition.

4. Oath of office

This charter amendment, also led by Blackock, would require oaths of office for mayor, vice mayor, and council members to uphold the Metro Charter. When they are sworn in, they currently only given an oath to support the Tennessee and U.S. constitutions.

The amendment was approved unanimously by a voice vote.

5. Gender in Metro Charter

This charter amendment, pushed by Councilwoman Angie Henderson and Rosenberg, would adopt female gender pronouns in the charter, where they are currently absent. References to "councilman" would be changed to "councilmember" and "policemen" would be changed to "police officer," among other changes.

The council approved the amendment unanimously.

These five proposed amendments will be on the same ballot as Tennessee elects a new governor and U.S. senator.

Rosenberg sponsored three of the amendments, one of which addresses an issue that was exposed with the mayoral succession process by the March resignation of Mayor Megan Barry. Blackock put forward the two other amendments.

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The lone charter amendment proposal that failed was also from Rosenberg — a measure to create a new instant runoff process for special elections that take place when council members leave their terms prematurely.

The instant-runoff plan sought to avert the need for stand-alone runoff races during special elections, but the council voted 25-11 on the charter amendment, not enough to clear necessary 27-vote threshold.

The council voted 38-0 to adopt a resolution with each of the five charter amendments, formally clearing it for the voters.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236, jgarrison@tennessean.com and on Twitter @joeygarrison.