City officials, Metro councilmembers and Nashville residents gathered to hear Mayor John Cooper deliver the 60th State of Metro address. It was also his last. In his final address, Cooper spent most of his time looking back on his accomplishments.
Thursday morning marked exactly one month since the Covenant School shooting. The tragedy cast a long shadow, as residents gathered at Nashville’s newest high school, James Lawson High School in Bellevue.
“Six innocent souls were taken from us because of gun violence at Covenant School. It was Nashville’s worst day,” Mayor Cooper said in his address. “Our city’s heart was shattered, and we continue to pray for and assist the families and the community members.”
While Cooper acknowledged the community’s grief, he quickly pivoted his remarks to tout the economic gains of his administration. He pointed to increased salaries for teachers, investment in law enforcement and new departments — like transportation, housing and homeless services — only possible, he says, because of fiscal stability.
“All the progress we are making as a city is possible because we fixed our finances,” Cooper said.
The address arrives just days after the Metro Council approved a huge, $2.2 billion NFL stadium deal, which Cooper orchestrated with the Tennessee Titans.
“We took on the billion-dollar liability facing taxpayers from the old Titans lease and turned it into an opportunity,” Cooper said. “We have a smart growth plan for the East Bank that saves the city billions of dollars and gets and gets not gives hugely valuable land back to the city.”
That opportunity is also the largest sports subsidy in U.S. history, and it is not without controversy. A number of Metro councilmembers unsuccessfully attempted to veto the deal earlier this week in a 26-12 vote.
As Nashville works out the details of the agreement — of which the city is on the hook for $760 million — Cooper won’t be around to oversee it. He will not be seeking reelection after his term ends this summer.
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