A Republican push to slash the number of seats by half on the Democratic-leaning Nashville Metropolitan Council was put on pause Monday after three state judges stepped in.
State Republican lawmakers tried to cut the number of members in retaliation for the council blocking the 2024 Republican National Convention from coming to the Southern city.
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Nashville has operated under a combined city-county government system since 1963, when leaders tried to consolidate the city and surrounding counties while working to make sure black leaders were able to represent the population there.
A new statute would have forced Nashville to create new districts by May 1, but three state court judges from Nashville, Shelby County, and Athens sided with city officials and said the deadline was unreasonable, adding that there is “a compelling public interest in preserving the integrity of the Metro election process that is already underway.”
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Nashville officials argued in the lawsuit that changing the council’s makeup would upend this year’s election because it would require redrawing districts and 40 candidates had already launched their campaigns.
Tennessee’s GOP majority passed the law halving the number of seats earlier this year. It’s one of several proposals Republicans have introduced that would drastically shift the political climate there.
One bill, which was eventually spiked, would have renamed a portion of Nashville’s Rep. John Lewis Way to Trump Boulevard. The move would have given the building where lawmakers have their offices the Trump address. Another GOP bill would reconfigure police oversight boards in the state, while a third would block cities from using public funds to reimburse employees who travel out of state for abortions.
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Last week, two black Democratic lawmakers were expelled from the House for their participation in a gun reform demonstration. The move to oust Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson drew widespread condemnation, outrage, and accusations of racism across the country. State Rep. Gloria Johnson, a white Democrat who also participated in the demonstration, survived her vote.
On Monday, the Nashville Metropolitan Council voted unanimously to reinstate Jones. The Shelby County Commission is expected to vote Wednesday to reappoint Pearson to his seat.
