At Liberadio(!), one of our favorite things is to talk to people about politics, especially when the person on the other end of the conversation is a politician or politician in the making. We’ve personally talked to a number of the candidates for this year’s Metro General Election, scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 2nd (early voting going on now), and we’ve seen every major candidate at several open
forums. In addition, we’ve interviewed as many of the candidates as our schedule (or theirs) would allow.

We deliberated for quite some time about whether or not to endorse at all, ever. And especially in this election, where there are so many qualified candidates for the various offices, many of whom we like both personally and politically. It is a tough thing to play favorites in a public forum. But, like one of the mayoral candidates we decided not to endorse has repeated over and over (and over) again, we love this city and want to work toward continuing to improve it, and elections are the most direct way to nudge our public institutions forward.

While reading and considering the props we’re giving to certain candidates, keep in mind that we admire everyone who has the courage to fill out a nominating petition and the stamina to campaign for the duration of, well, the campaign.

Liberadio(!) endorses the following folks who we think would do the best job leading Nashville further into the 21st century:

Mayor
David Briley — David began his campaign with perfect pitch, honing in on an issue that Al Gore has turned into a global phenomenon: the environment. His leadership on the council has helped ensure that new Metro buildings will be LEED-certified, and his leadership in the mayor’s office would go a long way toward establishing Nashville as one of the South’s most sustainable cities. He clearly recognizes the connection between environmental leadership and economic opportunity.

Even better, he understands the role of technology in Nashville’s future. In addition to wanting all of Nashville’s children to be digitally literate — with plans to provide computers to as many as possible — he also wants them and all Nashvillians to be online. He has ambitious plans for our broadband infrastructure and wireless access.

David is also a firm believer in, supporter of, and participant in our local public schools. If you haven’t heard his story about Lockeland Springs, hear it before you vote. David’s son Sam is about to be school-aged, and David has worked hard in his community to ensure that his local elementary school would be a school where he’d be proud to send his son.

David is the only candidate who sincerely seems to understand the importance of having a vision for Nashville that extends beyond the permanent campaign to a second term and higher office. In fact, he has pledged that a mayoral seat would be the last he would seek if elected. This is not a permanent campaign, but it is a campaign for Nashville’s future.

Lastly, in both public forums and in private conversations, David has answered questions directly (no small feat for a politician) with reasonable, thoughtful, and forward-thinking answers.

Vice Mayor
Diane Neighbors — The best thing that can be said about Diane Neighbors is that she is not Carolyn Baldwin Tucker. Okay, that’s not fair. There are plenty of good things that can be said about her. But at least she’s not Carolyn Baldwin Tucker, who came across as downright bigoted in the civil rights bill debate of 2003.

We think Diane would be a sober, disciplined leader of the council, which would be her primary responsibility as Vice Mayor. For a council that will likely have a lot of new faces, her reserved demeanor (which is not without forcefulness) would be preferable to Ms. Tucker’s penchant for impassioned outbursts.

Plus, she taught Freddie in pre-school and he turned out just fine!

Council at Large

• Brady Banks — Brady has demonstrated a work ethic during this campaign that possibly exceeds those of his hard-working peers. His commitment to this race is matched by his commitment to issues in his platform that are issues we see as important to the future of Nashville, including a strong commitment to improving mass transit. Brady also has a good sense of humor, which will be an asset for the council in the post-Dread era.
• Megan Barry — Barry is an ethics hawk, and if the Bush era has taught us anything, it’s that we need to be more mindful of the ethical stature of our candidates and elected officials. She also fully understands the importance of public school funding, having worked on fundraising campaigns for our local schools. The Council would be a much more effective body under her watchful eye.
• Richard Exton — Richard is a long-time appraiser, which wouldn’t ordinarily make us automatically think that someone was a natural candidate. But in Richard’s case, he couples his deep knowledge of Nashville’s housing market with a deep commitment to affordable housing. We think that he would be an excellent leader on this important issue in the council. Despite his silly campaign slogan, we recommend marking your ‘x’ for Exton.
• Jerry Maynard — We had the honor of being Jerry’s radio neighbor for 13 weeks on WNSG. His show is called “In Perspective,” and Jerry has wonderful perspective. His ability to bring people together to discuss difficult issues affecting our community is remarkable, and we feel that he would be an excellent leader who could drive consensus.
• Peter Westerholm — Though not a natural politician, Peter is naturally thoughtful. And with a background in budget and finance at the state level, he will be well-equipped to ensure that our local tax dollars are being spent intelligently. We’re on the same page with him when he talks about “smart growth.” And if more people dressed as well as Peter, Nashville’s economic growth would almost certainly increase. Maybe he’ll push for the creation of a Civic Fashion Center.

Each voter is able to vote for 5 at-large council candidates.

The voices of Liberadio(!) live in different council districts, and each district has its own unique set of local issues, so no endorsements will be forthcoming at the district level.

Though we’ve carefully considered the entire ballot, we encourage you to do the same. And then go vote!

This post was written by Liberadio(!)