Although the mayor’s race is the focus of election coverage as early voting begins this week, there are also three amendments on the ballot. One would require construction companies working on big public projects to hire workers from Davidson County for 40 percent of the work.
We asked the mayoral candidates how they plan to vote on the issue.
Supporters of the amendment say it would catalyze more training for low-income residents who could benefit from these construction jobs. But contractors say there’s already a labor shortage and restricting who they can hire will be bad for business.
That’s why former school board chairman David Fox says he’ll probably vote no. Attorney Charles Robert Bone has the same concern.
“I’ve talked to recent developers, two of which in the past weeks had projects stalled because they couldn’t get enough people,” he says.
Several other candidates brought up different concerns: Real estate mogul Bill Freeman worries about the cost of documenting where every worker comes from and how many hours they’re working; businesswoman Linda Eskind Rebrovick points out the amendment excludes out-of-state workers from being counted at all, potentially giving non-local contractors a leg up.
Jeremy Kane says he is planning to vote no because he thinks the state might say a mandate isn’t even legal.
“You know, I think it’s going to lead to a protracted fight. I would much prefer to work directly with those businesses to have training.”
Inching closer to the “yes” side is Howard Gentry, who says he wants to be supportive of this — but hasn’t decided yet. The only candidate to give a definite yes is Megan Barry. But even she’s not sure it will go into effect.
“I think at the end of the day, it’s very possible that the state will overturn it,” she says.
Regardless of whether the amendment passes, she says, the next mayor will have to make sure more local workers are getting training for these jobs.
Hear The Full Audio
We asked: Amendment 3 would require public projects to have 40 percent of labor hours go to local workers. How will you vote on it, and why? Here were the candidates’ responses, in alphabetical order.
Megan Barry
Charles Robert Bone
David Fox
Bill Freeman
Howard Gentry
Jeremy Kane
Linda Eskind Rebrovick
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM