Image Credit: Freddie O’Connell / Facebook & itoldya test1 – GetArchive / Public Domain
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
The Committee to Stop an Unfair Tax has filed suit against Mayor Freddie O’Connell, Metro Nashville Government, and the Davidson County Election Commission in an effort to overturn the results of the recent referendum, saying that voters were manipulated into voting in favor of the plan.
The committee is led by former Metro Council member Emily Evans. The group claims that the Mayor’s transit plan provides funding for projects that are not covered under the state law used to initiate the referendum.
The group also claims that wording used on the ballot also misled voters by listing the amount of the cost that would be funded by the tax increase instead of listing the full amount that would be spent on the plan.
According to the lawsuit, “Many Nashvillians (and those who commute to Nashville) certainly desired to see improvements in the sidewalks, streets, and signals, and this is precisely the need that the Mayor sought to manipulate in proposing the illegal use of tax dollars for sidewalks, streets and housing and similar projects unrelated to a ‘Public Transit System.’”
“The Mayor used the term ‘transportation’ instead of ‘transit’ because he knows that very few Nashvillians use Nashville’s mass transit system or ever will,” the suit continues. “The Plan contains multiple projects which clearly do not fall within the definition of a ‘Public Transit System.’… The Mayor’s Plan disingenuously attempts to inject ambiguity into the definition of a Public Transit System by expanding the natural and ordinary meaning of the term ‘connectivity’ as used in the Act.”
However, city officials counter that their plan is fully permissible under the IMPROVE Act.
Metro Law Director Wally Dietz stated, “The Choose How You Move plan and the referendum fully comply with state law. This lawsuit is a nuisance and a case of legal sour grapes by repeating arguments raised and rejected by the voters.”
The referendum would create a half-cent tax increase that would be allocated directly to the transit system improvements.
When the suit was filed, the group asked for a temporary injunction. This request was denied by Chancellor Anne Martin who noted a failure to comply with court procedures.
