opinion

Vote No, Yes, No on Nashville charter amendments

Term limits, the city council’s size and local construction workforce requirements appear on the Davidson County ballot as proposed charter amendments.

Nashville voters are being asked to make some radical changes to city government.

As with any radical ideas, some are ill-conceived, some are on point and some are well-intentioned, if impractical.

Those three descriptions apply to the three charter amendment proposals, and in that order, per the assessment of The Tennessean Editorial Board.

Amendment 1

Purpose: To extend the vice mayor’s and both at-large and district Metro Council members’ term limits from two to three, effective 2023 (proposed by At-large Councilman Ronnie Steine).

In 1994 Nashville residents voted to enact term limits of a maximum eight years, and at least three efforts since have unsuccessfully tried to change that.

However, there is an unintended consequence to term limits, and that is a major loss of talent, experience and institutional knowledge in city government.

That will happen this year when at least 27 of 40 Council members will be newly elected.

That experience is important in providing services to neighborhoods, preserving knowledge and also being an effective counterpoint to the mayor, when necessary.

The editorial board’s position is that there should be no term limits, rather that voters should decide when to end a politician’s service through the ballot box.

However, Nashville voters have made clear again and again that they want to limit the amount of time politicians can serve in office. That is why extending term limits alone without offering voters something else in return is ill-conceived.

We recommend voting “No” on Amendment 1.

Amendment 2

Purpose: To extend the vice mayor’s and both at-large and district Metro Council members’ term limits from two to three and to reduce the size of the Council from 40 to 27, effective 2019 (proposed by District 23 Council member Emily Evans)

On the other hand Amendment 2 offers the public the chance to radically reform its government for the challenges of the 21st century.

Nashville’s Council is the third-largest in nation, after New York and Chicago. Its population is about one-fifth the size of Chicago, yet the large size is due to the compromise that created the unified Metro Nashville-Davidson County government in 1962.

Opponents argue that a smaller Council would dilute minority representation and reduce neighborhoods’ access to their councilor, but, in fact, it would empower coalitions and neighbors even more by encouraging them to unite in larger groups with a singular voice and effect change.

In addition it would create more flexibility and accountability. It would also produce less cost. Remember that Council members qualify for a lifetime health care benefit after two terms, which cost taxpayers $877,488 during the 2014-15 fiscal year.

In addition a smaller Council would embolden members — the legislative branch of Metro — to protect the balance of power in the city between them and the mayor. Council members have been accused in the past of rubber-stamping the mayor’s agenda. Fewer councilors would make organization and decision-making more effective.

That would indeed be worth rewarding Council members with an extra term — more efficiency and consistent institutional knowledge and service to constituents.

We recommend voting “Yes” on Amendment 2.

Amendment 3

Purpose: To require that 40 percent of work hours in Metro-financed construction projects exceeding $100,000 be performed by Davidson County residents and that 10 percent of that work be granted to low-income individuals. (Proposed by Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH)).

This is a noble effort to address a serious issue of unemployment, underemployment and poverty in Nashville.

Some 16,000 men, ages 18-44, live at or near the poverty line in Davidson County.

Naturally, the best remedy to poverty is a good job.

NOAH board member Ashford Hughes said companies are not induced or required to invest in the local workforce for Nashville city projects.

“We want tax dollars to go to local jobs,” he said. “We know we have the workforce.”

However, the problem is not job availability. There is an excess of jobs in Davidson County and especially in construction.

The problem is workforce training and ensuring employers can find the people to do the jobs that need to be done.

Regulating who does the work on contracts will make Metro projects less competitive and potentially create fewer jobs for Davidson County residents. In addition passage will likely create legal challenges to the amendment.

This effort seeks to solve a problem using the wrong approach.

Efforts should be stepped up between private employers, Metro and Metro Nashville Public Schools to prepare more men and women for jobs that need to be filled.

In fact one such effort that preceded this amendment by the Associated Builders and Contractors called Go Build apportions a percentage of licensing fees to encourage employers to talk to young people about the opportunities in the field, said Mark Drury, spokesman for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

“People in the industry would love to move people into training programs,” Drury said. “The issue is, is the charter amendment the best way to do that?”

The chamber is part of the Coalition for Fair Employment, which opposes Amendment 3.

Amendment 3 is well-intentioned, but impractical, which is why we recommend voting “No.”

Opinion Engagement Editor David Plazas wrote this editorial on behalf of The Tennessean editorial board. Contact him at dplazas@tennessean.com, 615-259-8063 or via Twitter at @davidplazas.

Early voting

Early voting in Davidson County begins on Friday, July 17, and goes through Aug. 1 (excluding Sunday). The general election is Aug. 6.

•Friday, July 17, to Aug. 1: Howard Office Building, Sonny West Auditorium, 700 Second Ave.

•July 23 to Aug. 1: Belle Meade City Hall, 4705 Harding Place; Bellevue Community Center, 656 Colice Jeanne Road; Bordeaux Public Library, 4000 Clarksville Pike; Casa Azafran Community Center, 2195 Nolensville Pike; Edmondson Pike Library, 5501 Edmonson Pike; Goodlettsville City Hall, 105 S. Main St.; Green Hills Library, 3701 Benham Ave.; Hermitage Library, 3700 James Kay Lane; Madison Library, 610 Gallatin Pike S.; Southeast Community Center, 5260 Hickory Hollow Parkway, Suite 202

Times/Dates: July 17 (8 a.m.-6 p.m.), July 18 (8 a.m.-4 p.m.), July 20 (8 a.m.-6 pm.), July 21 (8 a.m.-7 p.m.), July 22 (8 a.m.-6 p.m.), July 23 (8 a.m.-7 p.m.), July 24 (8 a.m.-6 p.m.), July 25 (8 a.m.-4 p.m.), July 27 (8 a.m.-6 p.m.), July 28 (8 a.m.-7 p.m.), July 29 (8 a.m.-6 p.m.), July 30 (8 a.m.-7 p.m.), July 31 (8 a.m.-6 p.m.) and Aug. 1 (8 a.m.-4 p.m.).

Source: Davidson County Election Commission

Prior endorsements

The Tennessean has endorsed in two races:

Mayor: Megan Barry

Vice Mayor: David Briley

All mayoral, vice mayoral and Metro Council candidates were invited to take a Ready to Serve assessment. To see the results, go to tennessean.com/opinion.