NASHVILLE, Tenn. Sept. 13 2008 – Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner (H3GM) represented the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce in its opposition to Councilman Eric Crafton’s “English-only” referendum from being placed on the upcoming November 4 ballot. H3GM litigation associate Kenny Byrd represented the Nashville Chamber, which is part of a larger coalition of individuals and organizations opposed to the “English-only” measure. The coalition sought to intervene in the legal dispute between Crafton and the Davidson County Election Commission. The Davidson County Chancery Court granted the Chamber’s alternative request to serve as amici, or a friend of the court, on September 4, 2008, allowing the Chamber and the coalition to assist the Court in its interpretation of elections law. Later that evening the Chancery Court handed the Chamber a victory and rejected Crafton’s attempt to place the referendum on the ballot. The Tennessee Court of Appeals refused September 9 to grant an expedited hearing to Mr. Crafton to review the Chancery Court’s decision. The Tennessee Supreme Court followed suit on September 10 and rejected Crafton’s request to take the case. As a result, the Chancery Court’s decision will stand and the referendum will not be placed on the November 4 ballot. Crafton first introduced an English-first measure in the Metro Council in 2006. The legislation was subsequently approved by the Metro Council and then vetoed by Mayor Bill Purcell.
In July 2008, Eric Crafton launched a petition drive to place the referendum on the November 2008 ballot. However, that petition was denied by the Davidson County Election Commission based on advice from the Metro Legal Department that not enough time had passed since the last petition-driven charter amendment was submitted to the voters. Crafton and Nashville English First then filed suit in chancery court, where Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman ruled against the referendum being placed on the ballot, upholding the decision by the Davidson County Election Commission. She also dismissed Nashville English First out of the case because it was not a legal entity. In response, Crafton took his case to the Tennessee Court of Appeals and the Tennessee Supreme Court, which both denied expedited hearings and consequently let Chancellor Bonnyman’s ruling stand.
According to Kenny Byrd, “The Chamber is rightly concerned that an English-only measure will drive business away from Nashville and hurt the city's welcoming reputation. As such, the Chamber sought to ensure that election laws were followed before an unwise and unconstitutional measure was placed on the ballot. Even politicians have to follow election laws. Chancellor Bonnyman's ruling is clear and correct and the refusal by both appellate courts to tinker with her decision before the November election marks the end of Mr. Crafton's most recent effort to foolishly amend the Metro Charter. It remains unclear whether this will be Mr. Crafton's last attempt."
The Nashville Chamber of Commerce issued a public statement that outlines its reasons for opposing the English-only legislative efforts. The Chamber’s reasons for opposing these measures are as follows:
• English is already the “official and legal language” of Tennessee. In November 2006, the Nashville Metro Council passed resolution RS2006-1650 clarifying that Tennessee State law already established English as the official language and expressing concern that further English-only legislation could actually be bad for English acquisition
• It is symbolic in nature and would prove costly to enforce, comply with and defend.
• Nashville has always been known as an open and inclusive city, a factor that leads many companies to move here. However, the English-Only petition drive positions Nashville as unwelcoming and un-inclusive to immigrant populations and businesses with large numbers of foreign-born workers, including locally headquartered companies such as Bridgestone Americas, Caterpillar Financial and Nissan.
• At a time when Nashville is enjoying tremendous success recruiting international companies – and thousands of high-paying jobs that grow our tax base – Councilman Crafton’s ballot drive divides our community and projects a negative and inaccurate perception of our city to the world.
• When this issue first surfaced in 2006, The Tennessean came out strongly against English-Only legislation, stating “Instead of stymieing communication in Nashville, the Metro Council should look for ways to foster more English-language instruction. Short of that, Crafton's ordinance should be chalked up to political posturing at the expense of the public's well-being.”
• This issue received negative press on a national scale as well, with publications as far reaching as USA Today, the Florida Times-Union, the Houston Chronicle, the Las Vegas Sun, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer describing Nashville as a tourist-driven city on the verge of taking an unwelcoming stance toward its visitors and out of touch with the city’s one in six foreign-born residents.
• The last thing Nashville needs is for its own citizens and those across the country to have a negative view of the city. This perception would be a detriment to Nashville’s growth and economic prosperity.• Councilman Crafton’s English-Only ballot initiative would make it illegal for some of our current citizens to have critical communications translated to their language, effectively reducing their ability to function in the community.
• It has been unfairly associated with the illegal immigration issue but, actually, has nothing to do with the legal or illegal status of foreign-born citizens living in Nashville.
• It unfairly assumes all immigrants (including those here legally) aren’t already trying to assimilate and learn English to advance their socioeconomic standing.
• The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce favors immigration reform that is comprehensive, rational and that works efficiently for employers, workers and government agencies.
• There are already federal laws in place that prohibit and penalize the hiring and harboring of illegal immigrants.• Those laws should be enforced before we adopt local laws that may be challenged as unconstitutional and would subject Metro government to costly compliance and enforcement measures.
• The Chamber encourages its members to support efforts to keep Nashville an international and welcoming city to all.
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