Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, is warning that the multi-billion dollar transit referendum being presented to Nashville voters on the November 5 general election would “drive people out of Nashville” if passed.
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s transit plan, “Choose How You Move: An All-Access Pass to Sidewalks, Signals, Service, and Safety,” would be funded by a half-cent increase in the city’s sales tax to construct miles of new sidewalks, bus stops, transit centers, parking facilities, and upgraded traffic signals throughout Nashville.
Voters have the opportunity to approve or disapprove of the plan that would raise the city’s sales tax at the ballot box from now until Election Day.
While the plan is estimated to cost $6.9 billion, the language approved for the ballot describes the plan as a $3.1 billion project.
Cunningham, who has been working with an opposition group (www.notransittax.com) to advocate against the transit plan, said if passed, the multi-billion dollar project would simply “just put more empty buses on the streets” of Music City.
“[The mayor] thinks he’s doing a big favor to these low income commuters by pushing them onto the bus. They don’t want to be on the bus. They want the same convenience and safety that 99.5 percent of all Nashville people choose and that’s their own personal car. That’s what they want,” Cunningham explained on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Cunningham also warned that the mayor’s plan heavily relies on federal grants as a revenue source for the transit plan, which Cunningham said would essentially make Nashville “a ward of the federal government.”
“It’s really about the federal money. When the federal money gets involved, the federal government controls and the local governments, the local voters, and taxpayers are basically taken out of the loop completely. All of the stuff that the federal government requires really puts a straitjacket on the local government and you can’t move without going to the Feds and kissing their bottoms,” Cunningham explained.
“It’s the same playbook you see across the country – in Chicago, in San Francisco, Portland and all those areas – they’re so tied up with federal regulations that there really is not much that the local taxpayers and voters can do for their future,” Cunningham added.
In regards to the legality of the transit plan, Cunningham explained how the proposed elements of the plan appear to be illegal under the 2017 IMPROVE Act, which was passed by the Tennessee General Assembly.
Cunningham argued that the mayor’s intent to fund additional incentives outside of shared mass transit via tax increase—including traffic lights, sidewalks, and the purchase of property for “affordable housing”—is not permitted under the IMPROVE Act.
“A number of people have talked with attorneys. It’s very clear that [the mayor] is doing many elements of his proposal which are not authorized by the legislation…The sidewalks, the traffic light improvement, all of that stuff should be part of a normal operating budget of a healthy city. You shouldn’t have to go to the taxpayers and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to have a special tax to do these elements’,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham also pointed out the costly burden the transit plan would have on taxpayers, noting how, in addition to the proposed increase to the city’ sales tax upon passage of the plan, Nashville is also on track to see a 2025 property tax increase.
Compounded tax increases, Cunningham said, will simply “drive people out of Nashville.”
“This [transit plan] is going to be property tax increases as far as the eye can see for local taxpayers. In fact, [the mayor] has already committed to a property tax increase next year, and most people say it’s going to be around 20 percent or more. It’s going to be a huge property tax increase. So Freddie is basically trying to drive people out of Nashville, and we can’t let him do that,” Cunningham warned.
“If this thing goes in place, Nashville will forever be changed and not in a good way,” Cunningham added.
Watch the full interview:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Nashville WeGo Transit Bus Stop” by WeGo Transit.
