NASHVILLE, TN– Nashville Councilmember At Large Sharon Hurt lambasted the Republican plan to force backward-looking, nation dividing Trump minions to represent historically Democratic and forward-looking Nashville in Congress.
Hurt said, “This plan is designed to please a handful of extreme politicians and special interests in Washington DC. It’s good for them, bad for Nashville, disastrous for African-Americans.”
She said, “If you live in East Nashville, you may need to go to Cookeville to see your congressman. Antioch’s congressman lives closer to Chattanooga than Nashville, and North Nashville, which includes Fisk and TSU, will be represented by a Clarksville politician who has embarrassed Republicans and lost a presidential appointment for his hate-filled rhetoric.”
“This is all about petty political power and has zero to do with American Democratic principles. For 140 years, Nashville has had one member of congress. Nashville is the capitol city and one of the economic engines that drives the state, but they want many in our city to get second-class, remote, and out-of-touch representation. Progressives, African Americans, the Nashville business community and so many residents will be big losers.”
Debby Gould, president of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Tennessee, told the media her organization heard “very clearly from across the state that people wanted their counties kept whole,” and that the map is an ‘astounding’ move that hurts rural, suburban and urban voters.”
Hurt said, “If the courts don’t throw out this map – so many people will have no one to call, and we will have no one to listen to our concerns, large or small.”
