Lonnie Spivak: New Bill Would Change the Nashville-Davidson County Mayoral Race Outcome, Could Favor Republicans

Lonnie Spivak: New Bill Would Change the Nashville-Davidson County Mayoral Race Outcome, Could Favor Republicans

Live from Music Row Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Davidson County Republican Party Chairman Lonnie Spivak in studio to explain legislation that could give Republicans a chance at winning the Nashville mayoral race.

Leahy: We are having too much fun here. In studio with us, the chairman of the Davidson County Republican Party, Mr. Lonnie Spivak. There’s a possibility that everything you know about the Davidson County, Nashville Davidson County Mayor’s race, could change.

And that change agent is the Tennessee General Assembly. There is a bill there that would eliminate the runoff element of it. And now we’ve got eight or nine candidates that have declared. The election is scheduled for August 3rd.

The filing deadline is May 18th. And since the formation of the Metro government back in 1965 the mayor has always had to have won more than 50 percent of the vote. And the way it works is the first election is on August 3rd, the August election, if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, then the top two candidates meet in a runoff.

That’s been the way it’s been for a long time, and I think the past couple of races have had those runoffs. This year, however, that could change. Tell us what’s going on with the Tennessee General Assembly on that.

Spivak: The bill in the Senate is SB 1527 and the companion bill in the House is HB 1399. And what this bill will do is it’ll remove the runoff election element of local elections, and the winner would just have to win by a plurality vote.

Leahy: So for instance, let’s just say if this race, there are eight announced candidates right now. And let’s say the leading candidate gets 29 percent and the second candidate gets 27 percent and the third candidate gets 20 percent, and the rest are below that; in that scenario, in the current law, the 29 percent person and the 27 percent person will be the only two to make it to a runoff in September.

Spivak: Yes. That’s how it’s currently structured.

Leahy: But if this law passes the number one person in that scenario that got 29 percent, the plurality of the vote, that person would be the new mayor.

Spivak: And that this really. This bill, if it passes, will give Republicans are real shot at winning races in Davidson County and other large cities in Nashville, where the demographics currently work against us. It’s being slowed up in the Senate a little bit right now, so its passage is up in the air. It’s in the state and local government committees.

It was supposed to be brought up this week, but there were a couple of members of the committee out, so they deferred it to Monday. And so I really encourage people to contact the members of the state and local government committee and let them know that you would like for them to consider passing the runoff election bill. The language hasn’t been added to the bill yet.

It’s still just a caption, but we’ll need the committee to meet and add the language to the bill, so they consider it for passage. And in order for this to move forward, those steps need to happen. Or else we’re gonna be dead in the water and we’ll lose the best chance we’ve had in a hundred years of electing Republicans in the city of Nashville.

Leahy: Now we Republicans could probably get a candidate who gets 29 percent of the vote.

Spivak: Yes. Typically, we’re in the 23 to 27 percent of the vote, depending on how many candidates are in the race. If Republicans know that there’s a good conservative candidate in the race and they coalesce. There are enough Republicans in Nashville to get to the 35 percent mark. Donald Trump did very well in 2016 in Nashville. So we know the votes are here. We just need to get them to the polls.

Leahy: In this race now there are eight candidates. Five Democrats, two Republicans, one independent, I think, is what it looks like right now. Right now, yeah. Yeah. Sharon Hurt. She’s from the Council of Fred O’Connell from the council, Matt Wilshire, who’s been appointed. He’s a Democrat. Jeff Yarbro.

Spivak: Fran Bush.

Leahy: Oh, and then I guess Jim Gingrich. Carpetbagger.

Spivak: You like that word.

Leahy: I do. Because he is a carpetbagger, by any definition of the word. Jim, by the way, you’re welcome to come in. And then Fran Bush, a former member of the school board, a friend of ours who’s an independent, and then two Republicans, Natisha Brooks, who ran previously in the GOP primary and then Alice Rolli, Natisha and Fran have been.

Alice Rolli will be here a week from today. We’ll talk to her about it. But if you look at it either of those, let’s say of the conservatives, you might add or Republicans, you would add three candidates.

Alice Rolli, Fran Bush, and Natisha. Fran and Natisha, I think are gonna struggle to raise money. I think Al’s gonna raise some money. I don’t know exactly how much we’ll find out when she’s in, on Friday, but really right now it doesn’t look like to me, any of those three are in a position to win. Certainly in the runoff.

Maybe if they have this new law, and of course as the Davidson County Republican Party Chairman, you’re limited in what you can do in this race. Tell us about what Davidson County Republican Party can and cannot do in this mayoral race.

Spivak: I asked the state chairman Scott Golden on what the rules were in non-partisan races. There’s still a lot of ambiguity about how to handle nonpartisan races. From my aspect, there are, there is more than one Republican in the race, and it should be our position as the county party to pick between Republicans.

And so what I’m gonna be proposing to the board on the 28th is that we treat it as a partisan race that we use our PAC to run ads against candidates and ideas that we are against but really treat it as a partisan race. The ultimate decision will be up to the board, but that is how I hope to present things to the board.

It really puts us in an awkward position, and I don’t want the county party to be in a position and have a history of supporting one Republican when multiple Republicans are running.

Leahy: Yes. And that’s the situation here. And that is a very measured approach to it, and it makes a lot of sense. However, I will say that if you look at it, the opportunity here for if one single Republican candidate came out and everybody focused on that candidate and that candidate had money and was credible, I think that candidate would be able to, get up to 35 percent of the vote. And then if this law were to pass, Democrats’ heads would explode.

Listen to today’s show highlights, including this interview:

– – –

Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “Lonnie Spivak” by Lonnie Spivak. Background Photo “Davidson County Courthouse” by euthman. CC BY-SA 2.0.

 

Davidson County Republican Chair Lonnie Spivak: Tennessee General Assembly Has Moved Swiftly to Pass Key Legislation

Davidson County Republican Chair Lonnie Spivak: Tennessee General Assembly Has Moved Swiftly to Pass Key Legislation

Live from Music Row Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Davidson County Republican Party Chairman Lonnie Spivak in studio to acknowledge quick legislation passage, social media platform use, and how the Left tries to make something out of nothing.

Leahy: In studio, Lonnie Spivak, chairman of the Davidson County Republican Party is here with us. Lonnie, it’s been a very eventful week, and I think we’ve got more stuff coming. I do wanna say this about Governor Bill Lee.

He has quickly signed some very significant bills that have been brought to his attention and passed in both the House and the Senate quickly. Kudos to Speaker of the House Cam Sexton and Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally.

They brought ’em the bill to stop transgender genital mutilation for kids under 18. They brought ’em the bill that would outlaw the drag queen and other kinds of skin shows, I suppose, that are held in public spaces or that where children are present.

Spivak: I wanna talk about that. And I’m falling into the trap too because it doesn’t say drag queens in the bill. It prohibits sexually explicit burlesque-type shows in public areas where children can be present.

Leahy: And the impact on a drag queen show or any other stripper show.

Spivak: If a library wanted to have stripper hour where strippers came and read story books to kindergartners, that wouldn’t be allowed either. It really has nothing to do with your gender or where you are in the LGBTQ+ community. It really is saying we’re not gonna do sexually explicit burlesque shows in areas where minors can be present or in public areas.

Leahy: It’s a very good bill. A very good bill.

Spivak: It’s just been so misrepresented by the media here in Tennessee and across the country. Governor Lee has gotten some pushback from our legal, but not legitimate president and the governor of California and others. And to his credit, he stood up for his decision.

Leahy: Just a couple of little things here to point out. This is how desperate the left is. So there was a picture of Governor Lee when he was in high school and they put that up on a billboard and they oh, made fun of him, all that. Fine, big deal. And then I did have to mention Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally has been on his Instagram account saying stuff back and forth with 20-year-old gay guy who, that, it was like an odd sort of thing.

And that’s been all over the press. McNally’s 79 years old and he’s got a heart problem. They trying to create something outta nothing from that. If the lieutenant governor’s listing I would say, those are the kind of little communications you probably ought not to do. It’s not cool. You may think it’s cool, but it’s not.

Spivak: If the lieutenant governor is anything like my parents, using a cell phone and getting on social media is a difficult task. (Laughs)

Leahy: I would say. Anybody over a certain age ought not to be allowed on Instagram or Twitter because they don’t know how to use it. Or Facebook.

Spivak: Mike, I don’t work on Instagram. I think it’s connected to my Facebook page system stuff, post there, but I don’t really actively post on Instagram. I’ve never done TikTok. I only really use social media platforms now for promoting my individual ideas.

Leahy: Exactly. And anyway, we just wanted, had to mention that little kerfuffle. By the way, the lieutenant governor stuff I give it like a 72-hour half life.

Spivak: If that long half-life, probably just not that interesting.

Leahy: You are exactly right.

Listen to today’s show highlights, including this interview:

– – –

Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “Lonnie Spivak” by Lonnie Spivak. Background Photo “Davidson County Courthouse” by euthman. CC BY-SA 2.0.

 

Davidson County Republican Party Chair Spivak Explains Bill That Would Change 2023 Statewide Elections

Davidson County Republican Party Chair Spivak Explains Bill That Would Change 2023 Statewide Elections

Live from Music Row, Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Davidson County Republican Chair Lonnie Spivak in studio to explain a current bill that would alter 2023 elections statewide.

Leahy: Lonnie Spivak, our guest, the chairman of the Davidson County Republican Party. Here’s a note to all guests who come in studio. The best way to gain favor with the host is to bring him a waffle from Waffle House. (Spivak chuckles) I’ve been doing this for four years. Nobody has ever brought me a waffle from Waffle House as you have, Lonnie, and you have made my day.

Spivak: That’s great. It seems like we both had a hard time sleeping last night.

Leahy: We did.

Spivak: A little extra caffeine and little sugar never hurt anybody.

Leahy: (Chuckles) And even if I end up dead, who cares, right? Tell us, what might happen to elections in 2023 if this bill passes the Tennessee General Assembly?

Spivak: The consensus in the room yesterday was that the trimming down of the Metro Council from 40 to 20 is going to pass, and it’s going to pass without any amendments. And so that would require Metro Nashville to draw new districts and everything.

If they’re able to get that done by May 1st, then the new Metro elections with the smaller council will happen this year. But Metro says there’s just no way. It takes a minimum of six weeks to get anything through the Metro Council.

It just doesn’t seem like it’s going to be possible for Metro to get the Metro council districts redrawn and ready for an election this year. In that case, the way the law is written, the mayor and vice mayor elections would be this year, and the new Metro Council elections will be next year. The council that gets elected next year will serve a three-year term, and then they’ll be back on schedule.

So that being said, it looks like there’ll be a mayor and vice mayor election this year without council elections. And then there’s one other bill that they’re considering, which is whether or not to do away with runoff elections in the state of Tennessee.

Leahy: That’s a separate bill.

Spivak: It’s a separate bill.

Leahy: If that bill were to pass, would it apply to this August 3rd, 2023, mayoral election here in Nashville as it is written right now?

Spivak: The way I understand it, if there are not any amendments, it will take place this year.

Leahy: What would that mean for the mayoral election?

Spivak: What that would mean is if there were 14 Democrats in the race and one strong Republican. The likelihood of a strong Republican candidate winning the election with a majority of votes is much greater.

Leahy: Majority or plurality?

Spivak: Plurality.

Leahy: You mean a plurality.

Spivak: Plurality. Right.

Leahy: So let’s just run this through. That would mean if there’s no run-off this time around and the Republicans gathered around one candidate, and let’s say the Republican got 25 percent of the vote, and then let’s say the leading Democrat got 23 percent and the others got less than that. If that no runoff bill came about and you got elected by plurality, the Republican would win. Is that right?

Spivak: That’s correct. The way it works right now is if the Republican had 25 percent of the vote and the Democrat had 23 percent of the vote, there’d be a run-off, and most likely, the Democrat would win in the runoff because of the demographics of Nashville.

But if this law passes and it won’t just affect Nashville, it’s going to be a statewide thing, as I understand it, where there will be no run-off elections in the whole state. That gives the Republicans an opportunity to pick up seats and win elections in areas that they wouldn’t normally win if it was based on a majority of votes.

Leahy: That bill will be very controversial here in Nashville because it’s such a change. Since we’ve gone to this metro form of government, there’s never been a Republican or conservative elected mayor.

Spivak: And the one thing that’s interesting about Nashville is its non-partisan elections. And now we all know that the politics in Nashville is as partisan as it gets. But the elections themselves, you don’t run as a Republican or a Democrat. They’re non-partisan.

Leahy: What’s the likelihood that that bill will pass?

Spivak: (Sighs) The people I spoke to yesterday felt pretty confident that it will pass. You never really know what’s going to happen in the State House or what kind of amendments may be put on it. Both bills are currently sitting in committees. They haven’t progressed yet. But the sense that I got in the room was there was a likelihood that it would pass.

Leahy: Interesting. Well, that throws a real curveball into the mayoral election, doesn’t it?

Spivak: I think it would, for sure.

Leahy: It would enhance the likelihood, I think, that a conservative candidate or a moderate Republican candidate if the Republicans got behind that individual, it would have the likelihood that that person would become mayor.

Spivak: I agree. Now in my position that I’m in and the elected boards of the Republican Party in Nashville, obviously we can’t pick favorites among Republicans. We can support efforts as a whole, as a group. We can put maybe negative things out against opponents, but we cannot actively support a variety of Republicans. We cannot actively support one Republican in a race, if multiple declare.

Leahy: In a non-partisan election, how does that impact those rules about the Republican Party?

Spivak: I’ll have to look into that. I’m going to go on the understanding that I’m not going to be able to support candidates. But I’m still pretty new in the position. So I’ll have to reach out to Chairman Golden and the other parliamentarians in the State Party and get an actual opinion on that. I’m not sure.

Leahy: It’s kind of an odd situation, isn’t it? If you take a look at it, only one Republican has announced, Natisha Brooks. Fran Bush self-identified as an Independent, not as a Republican. It’s a lot of twists and turns there, isn’t it?

Spivak: There is. It’s going to be an interesting time, and I really look forward to what it’s going to hold for the candidates.

Listen to today’s show highlights, including this interview:

– – –

Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Reporwith Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “Lonnie Spivak” by Lonnie Spivak. Background Photo “Davidson County Courthouse” by Luckiewiki. CC BY-SA 4.0.

 

Davidson County Republican Chair Lonnie Spivak: Tennessee General Assembly Has Moved Swiftly to Pass Key Legislation

Davidson County GOP Chair Candidate Lonnie Spivak Highlights Endorsements, Encourages All Republicans to Attend Saturday’s Meeting

Live from Music Row, Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed the candidate for the Davidson County Republican Party Chair, Lonnie Spivak in studio to discuss his endorsements and how to register for the election on Saturday.

Leahy: In studio, our very good friend, Lonnie Spivak, Davidson County residents. For many years you worked in marketing and graphic design advertising. That’s been your career.

Spivak: That’s been my career, yes.

Leahy: And you are a candidate for chairman of the Davidson County Republican Party. I’ve known you for many, many years. We’ve worked on innumerable projects, and I have endorsed you for the chairmanship. I’ve never endorsed anybody for a local office in the history of this program.

Spivak: I know. That makes me feel really special, too.

Leahy: You are really special because you get a lot of things done. But Lonnie, what I’m interested in, tell people where they can go to pre-register for this meeting tomorrow, where the Davidson County Republican Party will elect a new chairman.

You can go to votegopnashville.com. It’ll bring you to a very short form where they’ll get your name, your address, and stuff, and then they’ll look at your voting record and make sure you voted in at least three of the four statewide primaries.

Leahy: And if you’re there, don’t worry about it. Just go in. And here’s the thing I would say about this. If you’re not sure, had I voted in three of the last four statewide elections, don’t worry about it. Sign up, and go there. And here’s the thing. Even if you, like, voted in two or four and you you’re not and that for some for this technical reason, you’re not able to vote.

That’s not really the important thing. Voting is important in the election of the chairman, but we want to have people come there who are willing to work and be part of this effort to get conservative candidates out there in Davidson County.

Spivak: And if you haven’t met all the exact criteria, there’ll be a process too where there’ll be people who will be able to vouch for you and stuff and get you in.

Leahy: Yes. This is consistent with the Republican Party bylaws. But just show up and go with the flow.

Spivak: That’s going to be important. There’s a lot of new energy in Nashville. There are a lot of people moving in. Over 200 people have registered to attend so far. So it’s going to be a great turnout. It’ll be a quick event, just a couple of hours, really, to get the new board elected, and then we’ll hit the ground running.

Leahy: Go through the process. And I’m just going to say we’re not going to get into the details of this, but what an opportunity that is right in front of us when a week and a half ago, Mayor John Cooper announced that he was not running for re-election.

Spivak: That’s because you called him mean names too.

Leahy: That’s why. We know the reason that John Cooper decided he wouldn’t run for reelection is that I called him some mean names earlier that day.

Spivak: That’s exactly right.

Leahy: But now he’s not running, so I don’t need to call him mean names. But the important part about this is the opportunity, and let me just frame this. You can’t win a race unless you show up. You got to show up.

And generally speaking, if you don’t show up, that’s a problem. And I think if you are elected tomorrow, you have a whole plan for showing up and for conservatives to show up in Nashville, Davidson County.

Spivak: I’ve got a seven-point plan for how I want to attack the chairmanship.

Leahy: And let me add. Our friend, the outgoing chairman of the Davidson County Republican Party, Jim Garrett, has also endorsed you.

Spivak: And that was a big surprise that that happened, but I’m happy to get support wherever I can get him.

Leahy: We know Jim. Good guy, and his endorsement of you, I think, is a very significant thing. You’ve been endorsed by yours truly and by Jim Garrett. And the election is tomorrow.

Spivak: And it’s tomorrow.

Listen to today’s show highlights, including this interview:

– – –

Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Reporwith Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “Lonnie Spivak” by Lonnie Spivak. Background Photo “Davidson County Courthouse” by euthman. CC BY-SA 2.0.

 

Davidson County Republican Party Chair Spivak Explains Bill That Would Change 2023 Statewide Elections

Lonnie Spivak Outlines the Seven Point Plan He Will Implement If Elected Davidson County Republican Party Chairman

Live from Music Row, Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Davidson County Republican Party chairman candidate Lonnie Spivak in studio to talk about his seven-point plan and the hope that he can hand over his blueprint to the Young Republicans.

Leahy: In studio, Lonnie Spivak running for chairman of the Davidson County Republican Party. I’ve endorsed Lonnie. Jim Garrett, the outgoing or the current chairman of the Davidson County Republican Party, has endorsed Lonnie.

Lonnie, where do people go to sign up for this?

Spivak: You can go to votegopnashville.com, and it’ll bring you to a forum where you can pre-register for the event, but you don’t need to register to show up.

Leahy: And show up. It’s tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. Tell us where.

Spivak: 9:00 am at the Millenium Maxwell House Hotel. I’d say maybe get there a little early. It may take a minute to get people in and check all their credentials.

Leahy: The big vote! Lonnie, you promised a seven-point plan, and basically, it means we’re here. The GOP is showing up in Davidson County, and elections will not be uncontested. Tell us your plan.

Spivak: One thing we can all agree on is what we’ve been doing in Davidson County as a Republican Party hasn’t been working. So the number one point on my plan is to rethink how the organization operates at every level.

I’ve got meetings set up, assuming I win on Saturday, to go through everything that we’re doing so we can examine what’s worked, and what hasn’t, and go from there. We will review and possibly adjust the current makeup of the executive committee.

Leahy: How many people are on the executive committee? This is point number two.

Spivak: Point number two. I think there are around 15 members who are appointed through the convention, but then there are also all the SEC members.

Leahy: State executive committee members.

Spivak: There are members, state executive committee members, and then there are voting members from the federated auxiliary group, such as the Republican Women and YRs and stuff. And so it’s really a very big executive committee, and we need to look at that structure and see if that’s what makes sense.

Leahy: But the executive committee plays a role to help implement the plan.

Spivak: Right. We need to be an organization that gives the ancillary groups an umbrella to sit under. We need to improve the definition of what it means to be a Republican in Nashville. There are so many people moving in.

And to be a bona fide Republican right now, you have to vote in three of the four statewide primaries, which makes it very hard for them to participate. And that’s something we’ll have to work with the state and the executive committee on. We need to improve our fundraising by reconnecting with the business community and the grassroots to improve active membership and community outreach.

Leahy: With the business community. What number is that out of the seven?

Spivak: That is number five. Number six is we just need to build a better understanding of the population of Nashville.

Leahy: Well, that’s interesting. I moved our family moved from California to Davidson County in 1991. We moved to Williamson County in 1997. I lived in Davidson County for six years. Let me just tell you something. Davidson County in 1991 was very different from Davidson County in 2023.

Spivak: If we remember, the Republicans have really controlled the state since 2010. There have been so many people moving into Nashville with the great migration, as Roger Simon talks about…

Leahy: From California, Illinois, and New York. And by the way, if you live in a blue state, you’re going to get out of there if you got a brain, right?

Spivak: I can plot on a map where people who have voted in the primary lives, but that doesn’t really tell me much because their voter turnout is so low. So we really need to have a better understanding of where the people who are moving here have moved, what their party affiliation is, and what their demographics are, and then that will help us build a structure to pick points where we can win elections.

Leahy: I would guess if you look at the population of Davidson County, the number of people that have moved into Davidson County from 1990 to 1991, it’s probably more than half of the people living in Davidson County that have moved since moved there since 1991 and since the past five years. It’s huge.

Spivak: And if you look at Florida as an example, all the millions or so people that have moved, only like 17,000 of those have registered as Democrats in the state of Florida.

Leahy: Do we have a sense of the new arrivals here in Nashville, let’s say in the last five years? Of course, we don’t have party registration for this state, but if you vote in the primaries, that’s what the party takes as your affiliation.

Spivak: I’m told that the state party has data that they can share with us. As of yet, the county party has not taken any advantage of the data that is available by the state. I’ve spoken to the gentleman who’s responsible for maintaining the data for the state party, and we’ve scheduled some time to talk.

Leahy: Data. Data as opposed to (Inaudible talk)

Spivak: We’re going to be very data-driven. It’ll give us a really good idea of where we’ll have an opportunity for pickups, and where we can recruit the best candidates. And this is going to be an incremental process for people who think we got a new chairman.

We’re going to do things new. This is not going to be an overnight process. We’re going to have to build some infrastructure in order to win elections. And as I told you last time, Michael, I only tend to do this for one term.

Leahy: How long is the term?

Spivak: It’s two years. And so I hope to have a great blueprint on how to be successful in Nashville, and then I’ll hand it over to some more younger, more energetic people who are willing to take the ball and run with it.

Leahy: So younger, more energetic. The older I get, the more I appreciate the young. And we have a group here, the Young Republicans here, they’re pretty active.

Spivak: They’re very active. Their membership has grown over the last several years. They held their reorganization meeting the other night at the Bold Patriot. It was a great turnout, and the new leadership is excited and ready to hit the ground running.

I really look forward to working with the Young Republicans, and we really need foot soldiers in Nashville, and I’m hoping that the Young Republicans will help be those.

Leahy: They’ve got the energy, for sure. Did we get to your seventh point?

Spivak: The seventh point, it’s just become more active in local politics. We’re going to start commenting on things. You will see press releases from me and the county party, and we will just be more visible and put out more opinions where the people of Davidson County know what the position of the local party is.

Leahy: And again, the election is tomorrow, and this is what would happen if you win that election tomorrow.

Spivak: If I win the election.

Leahy: And I would say it’s looking good, but in any election, your friends have to show up.

Spivak: I feel really good about where I am. I’ve met so many great people. I’ve received a broad range of support, and I’ve been endorsed by Michael Patrick Leahy.

Leahy: That’s me! I’ve endorsed you. And Jim Garrett.

Spivak: And Jim Garrett. I really think that we’re going to have a great turnout. It’ll be a great time, and then it’ll be fun and exciting to be a Republican in Nashville in the near future.

Leahy: Where do they sign up?

Spivak: They go to votegopnashville.com to pre-register.

Leahy: And where is the event tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.?

Spivak: It is at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel on Rosa Parks.

Leahy: I have a vision for the future. We get some of these YRs to be part of the executive committee. You turn it around for two years, and then one of these YRs jumps in with vigor and energy and keeps the ball moving forward.

Spivak: That’s what I’m hoping for.

Leahy: We can hope.

Listen to today’s show highlights, including this interview:

– – –

Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Reporwith Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “Lonnie Spivak” by Lonnie Spivak. Background Photo “Davidson County Courthouse” by Luckiewiki. CC BY-SA 4.0.