War of Words
📰 A novel PR campaign · O'Connell claps back at Ogles · New D5 candidate · Traffic stops increase · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone. CM Hill prints his diary... Freddie flings insults back at Ogles... And Ogles gets a new challenger in the fifth district... Traffic stops are returning to normal... And much more!
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The Tennessean ran an odd article this morning in which trans Councilmember Olivia Hill claims that he was drugged at a restaurant in Brentwood for being a "trans politician."
"I’m an out trans woman and some people are ok with that, but I know a lot of people are not," Hill told the paper. "I’ve had people try to run me off the road, people throw trash in my front yard, they tape stuff to my front door saying my kind is not wanted."
The journalist Kelly Puente didn't try to corroborate Hill's account except to say that he had filed a police report with MNPD, so it reads a bit like a diary entry until, after a brief aside about incidences of date rape on Broadway, an offhand quote at the end brings it all into relief.
"I’m going to push to create some sort of taskforce to start attacking this," Hill says, "because it’s just a matter of time before it gets out to the country and people stop coming here because they’re fearful."
Reads like some kind of PR initiative to bring attention to the policy initiative that Hill plans to launch. DAVIS HUNT
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🖋️ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik.
🗣️ Freddie Says Ogles Is Hedging For a Presidential Pardon Mayor Freddie O’Connell thinks that Congressman Andy Ogles is making a spectacle in Music City to gain brownie points with President Trump. “I understand that this is a congressman who is himself under investigation and seems to be showing off for the president so he can get a pardon,” said O’Connell during Friday’s media roundtable in response to Ogles’ recent comment that “Comrade O’Connell is using the city as an outpost for international gangs to set up shop in our neighborhoods.”
“This is somebody who is involved in a political race of his own, but seems more invested in a city he neither has an office in nor lives in,” continued the mayor. “It is absurd hearing his claims about crime stats, and I'm happy for you all to share with him and ask him about where he's getting alternative data.”
🗳️ Field Widens For Next Year’s D5 Election Speaking of Ogles’ Congressional seat, the Democratic mayor of Columbia, Tennessee, Chaz Molder, launched his campaign for District 5 yesterday. “Tennessee! We don’t need to be embarrassed by our Congressman,” Molder posted in an announcement on X. “That’s why I’m launching a different kind of campaign–one that focuses more on making local headlines for the right reasons than national headlines for the wrong ones.”
Meanwhile, Ogles is tending to his reputation as a Trump Republican. Tomorrow, the Congressman will be the special guest at an Americans For Prosperity event celebrating the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill at Big Bad Breakfast in Spring Hill. A protest countering the event is being coordinated by the 50501 Movement.
⚖️ Metro CMs Win Battle With AG Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is backing off the fight to uphold Tennessee’s law that imposes criminal penalties on local officials who vote for sanctuary city policies. Back in June, the Tennessee American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on the behalf of seven Nashville council members opposing the legislation.
According to State Affairs, Skrmetti issued a statement explaining that his office could not defend the case because the U.S. Constitution provides “absolute immunity for all legislative votes, whether at the federal, state or local levels.” The AG also insists that sanctuary city policies remain illegal throughout Tennessee.
🚨 Traffic Stops Rising Nashville has seen a rebound in traffic enforcement this year. Metro Police conducted 11,496 traffic stops by March 29, 2025, which is about 3,000 more than the same period last year. To put that in historical context: traffic stops in Nashville peaked at 445,143 in 2012, but by 2022 they had fallen to just 25,679, a staggering 95% decline.
DEVELOPMENT
- Four Seasons owner behind $10M deal for downtown honky-tonk (NBJ)
- Premier art gallery, consulting firm debuts in Wedegwood-Houston (NBJ)
- Mel’s Drive-In opens on Second Avenue (Post)
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THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🎸 Doom Gong @ The East Room, 8p, $13.36, Info
🎸 Ry Jennings @ The Basement, 9p, $19.78, Info
🎸 The Brian Jonestown Massacre @ The Basement East, 8p, $45.02, Info
🎸 Musicians Corner @ Centennial Park, 5p, Free, Info
🪕 The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12p, Free, Info
🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelley’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Megan Podsiedlik, Camelia Brennan, and Davis Hunt.