Photographed by the election party in September 2023, Metronashville Mayor Fredio Connell has been fired from state and federal lawmakers due to his stance on federal agencies’ pay increases in immigrant communities.
Have you ever felt like you chose it? I certainly have and I have a good answer for my grandchild when they are bullied. It happens to all of us, we turn our other cheeks, make friends with bullies, telling us why they’re so mad and, as a last resort, to fight back.
I feel like my home is Nashville. I think people outside of Nashville may not like us, but it seems a lot of people want to visit us. The Nashville economy generates revenue that benefits Tennessee’s great state and Metro Nashville.
In May, Nashville visited U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE). The fallout was fear, anger, and for some, satisfying. The ice arrived, stopping people coming and going to work in our community, and the families were quickly separated. Many people who were taken are afraid to live in the country they came from, and many are looking for opportunities for safety and economics. As a result of the ice, many Nashville businesses now have short staffing, Close early.
House Speaker calls for a Nashville Mayor AX Order to report federal immigration interactions
In a perfect world, everyone will follow the law and enter the United States legally. I don’t have the answer to make things fair, but I’m upset about what happened in Nashville, especially as our ancestors arrived here the same way.
The government – federal and state – is chasing our mayor. He’s not perfect – there’s no one – but I leave it to the legal community to explain exactly what happened. Our elected federal and state officials are currently investigating O’Connell, and this angry grandmother believes the conflict is about someone who gets a “die process” in the United States.
What is the “die process” and why is my mayor requesting that immigrants be detained by ice agents? It is a basic assurance that everyone is entitled to hear about the notice and evidence when the government claims that they have done something wrong. When Congress discussed the 14th Amendment after the Civil War, they did not want the amendment to be confused as to who was protected. According to my husband, Larry Woods, who teaches the Constitution, “Instead of applying civic parliaments to “people” and making them universal.
In my opinion, that means that when someone is arrested or cited to break the law, they have the right to go to court. I was pulled by law enforcement for speeding and had the right to go to traffic court. I pleaded guilty to exceeding the speed limit and was assigned to take a review case or attend a “traffic school.” What if you didn’t have the opportunity to go to court? I don’t have a legitimate procedure.
Instead of helping rural hospitals stay open and feed their hunger, bring jobs to the state, or lock in roads, some of our leaders have announced they are holding media events to launch an investigation into O’Connell. If our leaders work together to solve local transportation issues, we can save a lot of time.
The Court of Appeals supports state law that cuts Metro Nashville Council by half
I have revealed that I have known O’Connell for over 25 years. He visits the bookstore rally and I am an avid reader. He was a great interviewer when he hosted a local radio show, but he was one of the first people in this century that I knew in honor of my work, taking a bus or for the cost of the car. When he was elected to Metronashville Council, he represented most of our downtown and nearby neighbourhood. I served with him on the Metro Government Commission, and he was calm and always ready. All of this, he makes lunch for the kids for the school and volunteers as a disc jockey in the music district.
When O’Connell was elected almost two years ago, several qualified candidates ran towards the mayor, but he was easily selected for reasons. When he was a councillor, he voted “no” in a city that funds a new soccer stadium for the National Football League, saying that people who love our city wanted to stay. It turns out that most of Nashville agreed to O’Connell because they easily made the leak and won the general election.
When Nashville is attacked again, I roll my eyes and brush my teeth. The state’s Republican lawmakers want to reduce the size of the Metro Council, but we voted to keep it big.
Stop showing off. If you want to take office, do your job and stop throwing hatred at us. In the words of the great philosopher Charlie Brown, he says, “good sadness.”
