Tennessee can become a great civic leader again
Engagement project from mayors has potential to become national model
The statistics are grim.
Tennessee ranks at the bottom when it comes to voter turnout (No. 49) and voter registration (No. 45) in statewide elections for federal office. And at the local level, it is often even worse: Fewer than 25% of eligible voters participated in recent local elections in the state’s four largest cities.
As Tennessee mayors, we understand that local civic engagement – Tennesseans registering to vote and going to the polls – is a critical part of ensuring that decisions made at city hall reflect the true needs of our communities. We value every vote as a voice that guides how we serve. But in a state that typically drags its feet on the way to the ballot box, how do we achieve greater civic engagement?
The truth of the matter is this: Civic engagement in Tennessee was great not that long ago, and it had an enormous and positive impact on the direction of our state and our country.
Next year, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which earned Tennessee a proud place in history as the deciding vote that gave millions of women across the country access to the ballot box.
And in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on gerrymandering earlier this summer, headlines across the state recalled the watershed case of Baker v. Carr, the Tennessee-based dispute that paved the way for the “one person, one vote” standard.
So the question is not how does Tennessee become a civic leader; the question is how can Tennessee demonstrate civic leadership once again.
As mayors, we are used to solving problems – everything from filling potholes to growing economic development. We know our challenges; we know our people; and we know we are the building blocks for the progress that does, or does not, get made in our state.
That is why we are joining with mayors from across the state and both sides of the political aisle to launch Tennessee Mayors Growing Civic Engagement, an innovative project to increase participation where it matters most – in our own communities. We are proud to be the first state in the nation to take this important step.
In partnership with Thinktennessee, a nonpartisan think tank working to build a state where all Tennesseans are civically engaged and economically secure, we will develop and execute plans to increase civic engagement from Memphis to Kingsport, coming together to take on common challenges, share best practices, and scale up solutions.
While this is an important first step,
we know we cannot do it alone. We are eager to engage with community members and local organizations to make Mayors Growing Civic Engagement a success – and a national model.
Together, we know we can restore our state’s place as a civic leader and ensure that more Tennesseans are able to play a role in shaping our future.
Jake Bynum is the mayor of Weakley County. Chaz Molder is the mayor of the City of Columbia. Ken Moore is the mayor of the City of Franklin.
The other local leaders represented in Mayors Growing Civic Engagement are: Kingsport Mayors John Clark (2015-2019) and Pat Shull (2019-); Nashville Mayor David Briley; Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke; Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland; Chester County Mayor Barry Hutcherson; Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris; and Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson.