Should the Nashville Metro Council be smaller?
The Nashville Tennessean reports today:
Would Nashville be better served if Metro Council had fewer than 40 members?Freshman Councilman Chris Whitson thinks so, and wants to do something about it.
He talked about the issue in his campaign last summer, and he's considering a petition drive to cut the council to 20 members. Whitson said he had tested the idea on a few colleagues and citizens and would like voters in the November presidential election to vote on it.
Councilman Mike Jameson is one council member that Whitson has discussed the issue with. He supports Whitson in his effort to explore the idea but said he isn't sold on it.
''I do get frustrated still with how difficult it is to get a consensus out of a 40-member body,'' Jameson said. ''There are countervailing issues I haven't looked at. One of those is the practicality of representing a much larger district.''
I wonder what effect the smaller council would have on black representation? Anybody know the answer?
Comments
In the interests of 'streamlining' decision making, we often advocate reducing representation and creating smaller 'more efficient' legislative bodies. I believe that the wider our representation, and the easier it is for all voices and opinions to be heard, ultimately the healthier and more widely trusted our deliberations and decisions will be.
Posted by: Brian Wood | June 2, 2004 1:40 AM