(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



Judge temporarily halts plan to shrink Metro Council [1]

['Emily West']

Date: 2023-04-10 21:11:49.696000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A 3-judge panel has temporarily halted a state plan to cut the Metro Council in half.

Metro sued the state in early March after lawmakers passed a bill that would cut the Metro Council from 40 seats to 20.

"We are grateful that the court issued an injunction based on its unanimous finding that Metro is likely to succeed on our claim that the legislature violated the Constitution by changing the rules for Metro alone in the middle of an election," Metro legal attorney Wally Dietz said.

The new law would prohibit any city in Tennessee from having a governing body with more than 20 members. The bill specifically targeted Nashville - the only city with a council that size.

Nashville has the third largest city legislative body in the United States — just behind Chicago and New York City. Republicans argued that's wasteful and want to reign that in.

"I am grateful that the court protected the integrity of an election process that has already begun," Mayor John Cooper said. "The people of Nashville should decide how our city is governed, as they did when they formed Metro 60 years ago."

The injunction will likely remain in place until the court case makes its way through the legal system.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/injunction-in-place-effort-to-shrink-metro-council-seats-is-paused

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/