Freddie O’Connell Profile picture
Apr 24, 2020 11 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Collaborative governance is always challenging. It’s even more challenging with a 40-member legislative body with limited staff capacity. And it’s especially challenging during a public health crisis.

So here’s some information about how it’s working right now.
As you look to #MetroCouncil for information about our local #COVID19 response, understand that we have been advised to submit all questions about the Metro response centrally through the Council office for review by the administration and #COVID19 task force.
So far, we have a once-weekly readout of selected responses in a 30-minute session with members of the #COVID19 task force and then separately receive written responses.

I haven't been able to attend some of these sessions, and some of my questions have only been answered there.
Tracking the responses comprehensively across these read-out sessions and the written responses we receive is challenging.

I understand that with 40 CMs, we want to avoid distracting the administration and public health officials.
That said, I also want to be providing the most accurate information as quickly as possible to my constituents and to business owners and operators in District 19 and generally be on the same page from the standpoint of Metro resources and regulations.
#MetroCouncil also has an oversight obligation, so it's important for us to understand the overall Metro response as thoroughly as possible.

Often, oversight, even in good faith, can seem adversarial. So I understand that some questions are probably frustrating.
I’m sure this will read as criticism to some. There’s no question that I would like more regular access to information more quickly. Otherwise, though, I’m just trying to present my experience.
There hasn’t been much public discussion of the world outside of the daily briefings, so I wanted to try to give some insight.
I’m hoping to work this weekend to try to provide as complete an accounting as I can of the #MetroCouncil Q&A related to our local #COVID19 response. I think this is an important chronicle of how we are responding as a city, and I hope it helps us think about ways to improve.
Ultimately, I want to make sure that we are doing our best to ensure public health and safety, that we provide as much relief as possible during a period of extreme economic duress, that we plan and adapt well, and that we provide the best information possible.
I’ll keep doing what I know to do these things. And I welcome your questions, comments, and political statements.

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More from @freddieoconnell

Dec 23, 2020
Like many Nashvillians, I just received this postcard reminding me of new water rates taking effect Jan 1, 2021.

The postcard implicates #MetroCouncil in approving this plan. That’s not the whole story, which is an important one.
#MetroCouncil actually serves as a local utility board for @NashvilleMWS, which has no separate independent board of directors. For _years_, MWS was informing mayors of increasing fiscal strain. And for years, mayors told them not to tell Council.
Meanwhile, @TNCOT was _also_ telling Nashville’s mayors about an increasingly severe issue with our utility’s finances. These messages _also_ never reached #MetroCouncil.

(We have since resolved this so this should not happen again.)
Read 14 tweets
Oct 4, 2020
4 years ago, at a @NOAH_Action meeting, I asked @DaronHall7 if this was possible. He entertained my question in good faith and asked for time to explore it, which he and his staff did very responsibly.

Today is a huge moment: we have ended private prisons in Nashville.
En route, we made sure that any future contracts would have improved transparency and monitoring and that #MetroCouncil would be empowered to review future private contracts.

nashville.gov/mc/ordinances/…
If you want to see how thoroughly @NashSheriff evaluated the transition process, they worked hard on a detailed report that assessed both cost and risk:

drive.google.com/file/d/1jP_Tue…
Read 6 tweets
Oct 1, 2020
With yesterday’s departure of Audra Ladd from the mayor’s office, following the departure of ECD director Jamari Brown in December, we effectively have no @Nashville_ECD.

This is truly troubling to me in the middle of a pandemic.
I’m here to tell you that the single biggest thing I hear from anxious Nashvillians about what they want right now is income. Which means work. Which means jobs.

Right now, we have no one focused on attracting, recruiting, and retaining jobs in Nashville.
There are industries that are thriving. Does it make sense to try to recruit a specific industry or company to Nashville right now that would be a good short-term and long-term fit? I wish we had someone doing the analysis to make that determination!
Read 11 tweets
Sep 30, 2020
Just grabbed my last-ever cup of @ZolliKoffee. Today’s their last day in business.

Zolli created a great space for community conversations, attached at the hip to @JackalopeBrew tap room.

Small businesses need more support than they’re getting. Image
I knew this post would be a little bit of a #COVID19 Rorschach test.

Zolli believes in public health leadership and was able to last longer with federal support.

His business was dependent on activities that are reduced without the lockdown: offices, hospitality.
We can’t decouple the public health risks of #COVID19 (which are real) from the economic impact.

It is possible to #OpenSafely. That is not the same as it being easy.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 21, 2020
Last week, our family decided, with full participation of our 9yo in the discussion, to return to school in person as soon as @MetroSchools offers it for 4th grade.

Why? A few reasons.
Principally, in a household with an evidence-based pediatrician, we’re attentive to the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation:

services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-…
The part in bold is this: “the AAP strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.”
Read 8 tweets
Sep 8, 2020
This #LaborDay, I’m thinking about Gustavo Enrique Ramirez, a 16yo who fell to his death on a Nashville construction site that lacked sufficient safety standards.
Over the past 5 years, we’ve had too many injuries and deaths on construction sites in Nashville, including in District 19. We can do better.
How do I know? Because last term, we passed the “Do Better” bill. Transparency, including safety records, with access to public dollars improves worker safety.

nashville.gov/mc/ordinances/…
Read 9 tweets

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