Bottom Line: Bars should have stayed open in Nashville
The dust has settled regarding allegations of cover-up of COVID-19 information by the Metropolitan Government that surfaced apparently from lawsuit discovery last week. Okay, so the local FOX affiliate as well as Tucker Carlson of FOX News may have been off track. And maybe Mayor John Cooper is feeling great after The Tennessean came to his rescue and defense.
But the heavier impact from last week comes not from FOX News but from a man whose proverbial star was already high and who seems to be moving higher with each passing month: Governor Bill Lee. Lee is a man of faith, as I am. I have made a tradition of attending the governor's inaugural ball every four Januarys here in town. In January of 2019, I loved how Lee injected some late-night banter in praise of his wife's allure. I loved the band playing 1970s Southern rock. And I knew that Tennessee was going to be in good hands.
I also had high hopes one year ago when John Cooper took office as the Metropolitan County Mayor. He seemed to be just what Metro needed at the time: A crafty dealmaker who could help navigate our county through the nuances of growth and "It" city status.
Well, I think we are still an "It" city. And, one year into his term of office, I still want to believe that John Cooper is the man for the job. But recent months and the pandemic have made me skeptical.
Perhaps this pandemic is a partisan issue. It should not be. Common sense is that lockdowns cannot last forever. We can stay in quarantine for a time but must return to work to ensure the well being of ourselves and our society. Restrictions may be appropriate for a time, but they cannot last forever, either.
Cooper's strategy during the pandemic has been to restrict more, play caution to the extreme, and then impose higher taxes on his constituents and beg the governor for help on the financial side. This is ironic for a man who campaigned on giving our county better deals to bolster our economic bottom line.
The letter Governor Lee wrote to the mayor last week has made the rounds, and I will publish it to the Cloud Nine Higher OnlyFans page. It speaks more forcefully than any late night talk show or local news blurb.
In short, Davidson County has benefitted in a big way from the relief funds awarded by the federal government and administered by the states. To be exact, $3745 per resident, the highest per capita in the state. But it isn't enough for the mayor, who has requested an additional $82.6 million.
During the COVID-19 nightmare, Cooper has played health department director. Technically having no authority to close or restrict anything, he instead has played on the influence of his office for a mask mandate, closure of bars for about six weeks, and a seemingly never-ending stream of finger-pointing toward an entity that should be a partner with him in moving the county forward economically: The downtown honky tonks.
When Karl Dean was mayor, I heard him speak numerous times at various community and professional events. When you heard Mayor Dean speak, you knew it was only a matter of time until he started talking about the greatness of Nashville's downtown entertainment district and especially the music. "The greatest musicians in the world" during the Dean administration have turned into a "black sheep" on Cooper's watch. This is sad and senseless.
In May, the hotspots were allowed to open at limited capacity as restaurants. But when the Black Lives Matter movement protests began, Cooper blew off his own Phase 2 guidelines at the end of May and, in an act of pure political pandering, ignored the fact that the protests were a violation of the same.
When the protests turned ugly and resulted in vandalism to the extreme downtown, Cooper poured salt into the wound by imposing a curfew.
In late June, Nashville went to Phase 3, and many bars acted like they were going back up to full speed. At the same time, public irresponsibility resulted in a resurgence of the coronavirus. Cooper "encouraged" a mask mandate (not a bad idea) and abruptly closed all bars just before Independence Day weekend (really bad idea).
Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force was making the rounds through the country at the time and advocating for the closure of bars. But even Dr. Birx has no legal authority and cannot possibly know economic logistics for each individual local government. Cooper left the close in place for about six weeks. And then merely allowed 25 patrons per bar, resulting in absolute mayhem downtown on Labor Day weekend. Visitors crowded the streets to wait their turn to experience the Nashville magic.
Do you see a trend here? I don't know what the mayor has against the honky tonks, but he would do well to build some sort of constituency if he wants to remain in office past September of 2023.
The service industry detests him after enduring the stress of no work for a prolonged period of time. The people aren't too thrilled with the ridiculous property tax increase.
And don't bother asking the music industry for their support in three years. You put many of them out of work, too, with the bar closures.
To top it all off, the "It" city is bringing up the rear nationally as to economic recovery from COVID-19. As Cooper drives this train, Metro is about to head off of an economic cliff.
"I would also strongly encourage you to consider and weigh the impact that locally-imposed restrictions will have on the prospects for Nashville's future," the governor wrote.
Cooper's political future isn't looking any better than his mismanagement of the economy during the pandemic.
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