The leading campaigns pushing both for and against Nashville’s transit referendum filed their latest finance reports at the end of October, revealing an ever-growing gap in funding between the two sides.
The Green Lights for Nashville PAC — a pro-transit campaign — reported spending more than $1.3 million between Oct. 1 and Oct. 26. In contrast, the anti-referendum “Committee to Stop an Unfair Tax” spent just under $40,000 for the same time period.
There are still some unknowns surrounding the Green Lights funding source. The sources of their contributions are funneled through the Nashville Moves Action Fund, a different group that is not registered as a referendum committee. This has obscured who the individual donors are, because they are not listed on the report. The Nashville Business Journal identified some contributors through other records.
The Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance has requested that the Nashville Moves Action Fund register as an official committee by Nov. 5.
Update: This story was updated on Nov. 1 with the latest finance reports. Information from mid-October follows below.
Previously reported:
As the future of Nashville’s transit system hangs in the balance, groups both for and against the referendum are making final efforts to persuade voters. But, according to their most recent quarterly campaign finance reports, there is a significant disparity in their capacity to get messages to voters.
On the pro side, they’re leaning in hard on broadcast ads, with more than half a million dollars spent.
Between late July and the end of September, the Green Lights for Nashville PAC reported $530,324 — almost entirely spent on “television media,” save for an additional $500 toward Facebook ads.
However, their report does not include specific contributions. Green Lights for Nashville is funded by the Nashville Moves Action Fund, a federal 501(c)(4). But that group is not registered as a referendum committee.
A sworn complaint was made to the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, where officials say that Green Lights for Nashville’s disclosure lacks certain required information. The state has requested the group provide clarification and an amended report by next week.
A representative for Green Lights for Nashville told WPLN that they “are aware of their position and plan to submit all filings according to the deadlines.”
Still, the group’s donations totaled more than eight times the amount that transit opponents have on hand. As Election Day approaches, proponents are ramping up their field program, canvassing voters, standing outside polling locations, sending mailers and continuing to air television ads.
The leading opposition, a group registered as the “Committee to Stop Unfair Tax,” reported raising $64,300 during the same period. Unlike proponents, who reported using almost all funds, opponents show about a third still left in the bank.
The group reported spending $16,440 on digital advertising, and an additional $4,870 on yard signs.
“We’re going to keep doing digital. If we have enough money, we’ll do some more mail,” said Emily Evans, one of the committee’s leaders. “We don’t have the budget to pay people like the mayor’s campaign has. So, you know, we’ll do what we can do.”
Nashville Moves and Green Lights for Nashville are legally independent from the mayor.
The Committee to Stop Unfair Tax has one person to thank for the bulk of their funds: Lee Beaman. The former car dealership magnate donated $50,000, a move that’s in line with his past donations to defeat mass transit proposals.
One other opposition group filed a third quarter report, although as far as contributions and expenses go, it read zeroes across the board. The group, “Property Tax 4 Nashville Transit” is an effort by Bill Howell, the former treasurer of Nashville Organized for Action and Hope. After NOAH formally endorsed the transit proposal, Howell resigned from his position and launched an opposition effort. It supports the implementation of a transit tax, but calls for the hike to be applied to property taxes, rather than the regressive sales tax.
Given that these reports only show campaign finances from July and through September, there could be another flurry of donations as decision day approaches.
Nashville’s transit referendum asks voters to approve a half-cent sales tax increase to fund $3.1 billion worth of transit upgrades. These include things like a bus rapid transit system, miles of new sidewalks and bike lanes, a dozen new transit centers and more.
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