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TN Department of Education Announces School Counselor InstituteEducating the Whole ChildNASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Education is proud to announce the fifth annual Tennessee School Counselor and Administrator Leadership Institute beginning next week in Murfreesboro. This year’s theme, “The 360 Approach: Educating the Whole Child,” addresses the critical need of ensuring that our students are both college- and career-ready. read more [Link]
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Recreation Initiative Program Grant Cycle Announced; Workshop Slated for March 3NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is soliciting Tennessee Recreation Initiative Program grant applications from local governments that do not currently have parks or recreation departments. TRIP grants help communities create recreation opportunities for citizens by assisting with the establishment of a parks department. Applications are due April 15, 2010, and award recipients will be announced in ... [Link]
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Jan
2
Mayor Dean says Happy New Year urges votes against English Only
By Nate Rau | Filed Under English Only, Mayor Karl Dean
Mayor Karl Dean sent out an email to supporters from his campaign urging them to vote against the English Only charter amendment proposal.
The full body of Dean’s email is below.
Dear Friends,
I hope that you and your family enjoyed the holidays and were able to take some time to reflect and appreciate the year gone by.
As I have had the opportunity to say many times over the last year, Nashville is a great city. I enjoy being Mayor and I am grateful to the citizens of Nashville for allowing me the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. It has been an exciting year for the city. We’re making progress on my plans for education reform. We’ve added over 100 new officers to our police force. And plans to build a new downtown convention center are well underway, which when completed will give our city a huge economic boost. We face many challenges, but I truly believe that our best days are yet to come.
As we work together to make progress for our city, I want to bring to your attention an issue of pressing importance. Starting today with Early Vote and on Election Day January 22, voters will have the opportunity to go to the polls for a special election on two amendments to the Metro Charter.
One of these amendments makes English the official language of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and prohibits government services from being offered in languages other than English. The other amendment makes it far easier to amend the charter.
I am strongly against these charter amendments and I want you to join me in voting against English Only and Amendment No. 2.
While I do not question the intentions of the proponents of this initiative, I feel a responsibility as mayor to explain the implications such a radical change in our law could have for our city.
First, let me explain what the English Only amendment is not. It is not a vote on immigration reform and it is not a harmless message to office holders. The proposed charter amendment will have absolutely no effect upon efforts to curtail illegal immigration or to reform current national policy. Rather than permitting voters to send a message to the government, the referendum alters our charter in a way that will create legal, political, social and even moral consequences for years to come.
To me, it is the antithesis of hospitality and an unnecessary drain on taxpayer resources. The issue is divisive and will distract us from doing those things that will help us realize our potential as not just a great American city, but a great international city.
English is the official language of Tennessee. That is not in question. We have too much potential to allow this unnecessary measure to hurt us in so many ways.
Amendment No. 2 will make it easier to change our Metro Charter. This amendment is unnecessary because Nashville citizens already have the power to change the charter and it has been changed, even in the short time I have been Mayor. If this amendment passes, special interest groups will be able to put amendments on the ballot every year, even if they keep losing, and this process will likely make government more expensive and inefficient.
A coalition has formed to fight these amendments. It is called Nashville for all of Us.
They will be sending out information and e-mails about the campaign to stop these changes in our charter. Please sign up to join their effort.
And I hope that you will join me in voting against English Only.
Karl F. Dean
Mayor of Nashville
Comments
5 Responses to “Mayor Dean says Happy New Year urges votes against English Only”
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While I was working as a security guard at University Square, an out-of-town firm was hired to reface the building. My duties included checking tenants reserved parking spaces. I had to check a complaint that an unauthorized truck was in a tenant’s reserved space. It turned out that it belonged to one of the imported workers. The only English speaking person I could find in that group of 15 or 20 was the foreman.
How many Americans, perhaps even combat veterans, were denied the jobs being held by people who can’t even speak the language and never risked their lives to protect the land they invaded? Every generation of our countrymen and women has donned the uniforms of the U.S. military and risked death to secure and preserve OUR freedom. INVADERS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE NOT!
“Mayor Karl Dean sent out an email to supporters from his campaign urging them to vote against the English Only charter amendment proposal”
While I did not receive an e-mail. I did receive and unsolicited and UNAPPRECIATED, pre-recorded NUISANCE voice message placed to my cellphone from a telephone that had the callers telephone number blocked.
As far as I am concerned, whatever good Karl Dean thought he was accomplishing went down in flames.
Moreover, Karl Dean, what made Nashville the warm friendly town your message stated it WAS is neither illegals nor concentrated mass immigration. Therefore, my answer to you is NO!
Remove my telephone number from your distribution list.
[...] The Letter. Even Mayor Dean has gotten in on the action (which seems to take a lot these days) by sending out this email. [...]
The mayor said it, but it bears repeating, that this is not about illegal immigration. If this amendment passes it will prohibit local government communication with many groups of people who are here legally and are benefiting our city. These people include tourists, refugees, foreign business people wanting to bring jobs to Middle Tennessee and legal immigrants in the process of learning English. Let’s not throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. Vote no on this amendment.
In my opinion and as an immigrant myself, it is important to embrace diversity in our country. But the embrace, begins with embracing the roots of what our country stands for. Know that in doing that, I have never forgotten my culture, my great-grandparents, my native foods and my native tongue.
From the age of three, I learned that America stood for peace, opportunity, loyalty, hard work, helping our fellow brother and sister.
I am living proof and can say that often we will fall down, but through our respective beliefs, ethics, and perseverance we will get up and prosper.
As a proud American, aside from apple pie, baseball games, country music, there is no greater common bond than our English language.
Our troops are preserving our rights and freedom all over the world, I lost two great friends in Iraq.
May their souls be at peace, but know this, there isn’t a moment in my life where I feel they lost their lives because another soldier couldn’t understand or speak English.
Every race, ethnicity serves our country proudly, so if our soldiers prosper on the front lines by communicating in English, why can’t we back home prosper by rolling up our sleeves and encouraging all Americans [new and those yet] to breathe fresh, free American air to learn English.
The referendum has nothing to do with curtailing a person’s right or ability to speak their native tongue anywhere or anytime except when doing business with government.
Foreign companies don’t care if the only language spoken at Metro Center is English. The courting of companies to come here is done by the private sector. Mayors, senators, etc. act as an official head of state in that process. Any company wanting to open an office or relocate here is solely interested in making money [yea, that's in the private sector]. You mean to tell me that Nissan Corporation relocated to TN because multiple languages are offered at City Hall?
Tourism? Karl, do you really want to open that debate?
Why don’t you exercise some effort and diligence and require cab drivers to learn English so that our tourists enjoy their visit to Music City and go back home with great stories about Nashville and NOT a negative story about how bad the cab drivers are in our great city!
A recent letter to the editor by F. Delk wrote about a joke. “What do you call a person who speaks one language?” “American”
That is so narrow-minded of a comment, Fay.
Encourage people to learn multiple languages for their benefit and prosperity WHEN they exercise their multi-linguistic acumen while doing business, commerce or personal tasks. But when voting, doing official government business, do it in ENGLISH.
Please support by voting YES on January 22nd, 2009 at your Nashville voting precinct. You may confirm your precinct at 615-862-8800 or http://www.nashville.gov/vote
David Fernandez