Thank you Rep. Jones and Rep. Pearson

I watched the State House expel Rep. Justin Jones and Rep. Justin Pearson yesterday with mixed emotions. Anger. Sadness. Hope. Admiration. Disbelief was not on the list. Nobody should be surprised at how low the Republican super-majority in Tennessee can go.

Republican leadership disrespected Rep. Jones, Rep. Pearson, and Rep. Gloria Johnson so much that they thought it would be harmless to offer the Representatives 20 minute for opening statements and 5 minutes to close. Republican over-confidence born from their blind privilege gave the accused a platform to educate the hell out of us all.

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For about 10 years, the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County has been caught up in a national Republican movement to consolidate power and limit personal liberty in their super-majority states. In states like Texas, Florida, and Tennessee where there are top 25 cities and strong Republican super-majorities, there is an ongoing concerted effort to undermine the values held dear in our cities.

Yesterday, Rep. Jones and Rep. Pearson laid out in detail on national tv the moral case for resistance to these attacks.

The Tennessee General Assembly passes some of the most permissive gun laws in America.

The Tennessee General Assembly passes the most anti-LGBT laws in America.

The Tennessee General Assembly passes the most restrictive women’s reproductive health laws in America.

The Tennessee General Assembly underfunds public education in Memphis and Nashville.

The Tennessee General Assembly gerrymandered Nashville into multiple congressional districts for the first time ever.

The Tennessee General Assembly preempted Nashville’s local hire law passed by popular referendum.

The Tennessee General Assembly preempted Nashville’s inclusionary zoning affordable housing law.

The Tennessee General Assembly partially preempted Nashville’s pro-neighborhood short term rental restrictions.

All of this happened before 2023. This recent Nashville Scene piece lists this year’s massive slate of legislation, anonymously quoting one lobbyist as saying that it is “open season on Davidson County.”

Some state-level Republicans are building their resumes looking for their next gig in our highly gerrymandered, gotta-win-the-primary state. Some are MAGA-extremists trying to stomp out diversity of people and thought. Some are both.

In Nashville and Memphis, all we can see is a coordinated attack. Locally, we disagree about whose fault it is and what we should do about it. I believe we are caught up in national trends where the super-majority is going implement the worst their party has to offer regardless of whether Nashville is well-behaved in the state’s eyes. Others believe that Nashville could negotiate our way out of this dynamic. They argue that we just have to be more earnest and collaborative in how we talk to state Republicans.

I have struggled to explain what I see as a moral obligation on behalf of my Nashville constituents to push back on the state. Yesterday, I watched Rep. Jones and Rep. Pearson make the case better than I’ll ever do. The House Republicans and their obvious contempt offered the Representatives an opportunity to reveal the accusers’ racism and ill-intent.

House Republicans told Rep. Jones and Rep. Pearson to conform to the majority’s values or be snuffed out of the legislature. They didn’t mince words. The House Republicans were explicit — conform to our values or we will eliminate you. In response, Rep. Jones and Rep. Pearson were explicit as well. They described their commitment to represent their constituents to the fullest and not simply accept the shackles of forced silence. I join the nation in celebrating the clarity and force of their message.

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In Nashville, the Scene reports that I have “enemies” that include “Republicans on Capitol Hill." The article says:

“Mendes” is the name that those same critics spit out privately when describing a section of the Metro Council that is more willing to fight with the state than seek compromise. He’s become the informal spokesman for a more assertive relationship with the state.

Thanks to Rep. Jones and Rep. Pearson, I see more clearly today.

State Republican leadership has been sending the same message to everyone who is not a white male. Whether it is black and brown people, the LGBT community, women, anyone who can be othered, or the large cities where these groups are concentrated, the super-majority’s message is the same — conform or you will be snuffed out.

Rep. Jones and Rep. Pearson left no doubt yesterday that the choice to conform to a super-majority with an immoral agenda is no choice at all. The House Republicans were willing to elevate a minor slight into a Capitol offense. They used a sledge hammer when a flyswatter would have sufficed.

To Nashville — we have to interpret the ongoing attacks on our city through this lens. Almost all of the community feedback the Council got last summer about potentially hosting the Republican National Convention was negative. In the Council, we can tell the difference between astro-turfed email campaigns and genuine, widespread community feedback. Nashville did not want to host the RNC convention. The Council listened and said no. Triggered, the Tennessee General Assembly and Governor Lee passed a law last month to eliminate half of the Metro Council. See any parallels with the events of the last week? Conform or we will snuff you out.

The state Republicans publicly tell lies to rationalize taking over our airport authority (with billions in assets) and our sports authority (with billions in assets), and preventing the city from getting money from the convention center authority. At the core, state Republican leadership doesn’t like or trust most of the people in Nashville because we will not conform to their beliefs. Their response is to take control of our city’s key assets. It’s just another version of their message to conform or be snuffed out.

I want to publicly thank Rep. Jones, Rep. Pearson, and Rep. Johnson. I learned a lot yesterday from your willingness to get in good trouble. I appreciate your service. Thank you.

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I can already hear the “but they broke the rules and how would you like that at a Metro Council meeting” crowd objecting to my comments here. Metro Council meetings have been interrupted by the public twice while I’ve been in office. I support the people’s right to do this. In my America, it has to be okay to show up at a publicly-noticed meeting of a city council and engage in civil disobedience. When this has happened in the Council, it has been large groups. They clearly knew there was a risk of being arrested. That didn’t happen because the meeting was paused and a path was negotiated for the groups to be able to express themselves to the Council. And then we moved on. An interruption of a public meeting should cause the people running the show to reflect on why the disrupting group has decided to act and whether there is a way to provide voice to their perspective short of forcible removal.