To Whom the Money Flows
👁🗨 The mayor’s war chest · Check out our early voting tracker! · New threats against TN candidates and election officials · Much more!
Voting & TN U.S. Congressional District lookup Early voting is underway. Use your address to find your new congressional district here, find voting information and a sample ballot here, and take a look at the Constitutional amendments here.
Early Voting Tracker Check out our early voting tracker. (Take a look)
Like what we do? Forward us to a friend.
The mayor’s war chest: laying the groundwork for 2027?
From Megan Podsiedlik
Alliances are forged long before the battle begins, and Mayor Freddie O’Connell appears to be solidifying his political coalition well ahead of the 2027 election.
O'Connell's PAC, Ready PAC, has pledged $100,000 to the Tennessee Democratic Party’s statewide voter-protection program and also supports Nashville Guardians of Democracy, a local poll-watching group. Democrats worry that ICE could show up at polls. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said agents won't patrol polls but could still make warrant-based arrests there. Lisa Quigley of the Guardians group has trained 200 poll watchers and wants 500 by Election Day.
And it’s worth noting that Luis Mata, who is now the Tennessee Democratic Party’s communications and deputy executive director, used to work as the policy coordinator for TIRRC and TIRRC Votes. O'Connell proposed a $735,000 payment to the TIRRC in his FY2027 budget. The Metro Council kept it in despite criticism from state Republicans. Metro has given TIRRC about $2.6 million since 2022 and has a political arm, TIRRC Votes, that has endorsed and campaigned for O'Connell.
It all comes together when you look at a lawsuit filed in May. TIRRC and seven Tennessee residents sued the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the state Department of Safety and Homeland Security, arguing that troopers pull drivers over as an excuse so ICE agents can check their immigration status. In September, U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger refused to temporarily halt the stops. She said the claim has “no likelihood of success” because a stop is legal when there’s probable cause of a traffic violation, but she found “some likelihood” that the discrimination claim could succeed.
O’Connell’s investment demonstrates where he is trying to pull his loyalties. At the moment, Nashville is facing down midterm turmoil, but Mayor Freddie O’Connell is wargaming and seems to be pulling together his coalition for 2027.
✹ EARLY VOTING TRACKER
🗳️ Who's Voting Where Our early voting tracker updates every morning with counts for all 95 counties, compared with the 2022 and 2018 midterms. Pick your county or look at the whole state to see where turnout stands (See the tracker)
HEADLINES
- 🛡️ Threats made against Tennessee candidates and election officials as voters head to the polls. Eva Romero, the Republican candidate for House District 60 in Nashville, said someone replied to her campaign’s early-voting reminder text on Wednesday with a threat to kill her and her family. MNPD is working to identify the sender. Romero continues campaigning and her Democratic opponent, Shaundelle Brooks, has condemned the threat.
Separately, Federal investigators intercepted a suspicious package addressed to Tennessee’s State Division of Elections before it arrived. State Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins said his office never opened it. It’s one of a wave of suspicious packages sent to election officials in more than a dozen states, some of which contained white powder.
A few weeks ago, a death threat was spray-painted on a building adjacent to independent gubernatorial candidate David Hatley’s office in Johnson City. “Drop out or die,” the graffiti read, accompanied by an anarchy symbol. The Hatley campaign is not speculating about who may be responsible and has referred all questions to local authorities. - 💰 Q3 finance reports show Tennessee Democrats boosting funding in key legislative races. Third-quarter campaign finance reports show the House Democratic Caucus and state Democratic Party putting tens of thousands of dollars into select races to flip Republican House seats before the November 3 election. The caucus gave $65,000 this quarter to Mark Proctor in open House District 59 and $27,000 to Jesse Huseth in House District 97, where Huseth outraised Representative John Gillespie nearly 2 to 1 after losing to him by about 3 points in 2024. Republicans are getting $2,500 to $5,000 contributions from House Majority Leader William Lamberth’s PAC, including to Eva Romero, who has about four times Representative Shaundelle Brooks’s cash on hand in House District 60, though much of Romero’s total is loans she made to her own campaign. (Lookout)
- ⚖️ Judge orders CARE canvassers to pay Fairgrounds racing advocate Kevin Wisniewski’s legal fees over false stalking claims. Davidson County General Sessions Judge Allegra Walker found that Citizens Against Racetrack Expansion (CARE) canvassers William Lee Pardue and Alexander James Mott “knew their claims were false” when they accused Kevin Wisniewski of stalking them when out gathering signatures in August. She ordered them to pay his court costs and attorney fees. The two dropped their petitions at a September 30 hearing after their attorney said they didn’t expect to win. Wisniewski works for Calvert Street Group, which has represented NASCAR at the Fairgrounds, and CARE is petitioning for a charter amendment that would replace auto racing with affordable housing as a required use there. (Fox 17)
✹ PAMPHLETEER TOOLS
Pamphleteer Tools Council Watch tells you who funds your councilmember and how they vote. The Property Tax Calculator tells you what that cost you.
DEVELOPMENT
- Hamilton Development and Clarion Partners to turn former Bridgestone plant in La Vergne into 1.5M-square-foot industrial park (Hamilton Development)
- Starbucks-anchored Hillsboro Shoppes in Green Hills sells for $10.8M (Post)
- Construction underway on 66-acre Fort Negley Park at former Greer Stadium site (Scene)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🕺Supertaste @ The Blue Room, 7p, $25.34, Info
+ indie disco
🎸 Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit w/ The Bo-Keys @ Ryman Auditorium, 8p, $76, Info
🪕 Route 3 @ Station Inn, 9p, $25, Info
🎻 A Symphonic Celebration: Verdi, Mozart, and Marsalis @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 7:30p, Info
🥁 The Blair Jazz Trio @ Rudy's Jazz Room, 5:30p, $28, Info
🎸 Country Club Day ft. The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12:30p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelley's Heroes @ Robert's Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
SATURDAY
🎸 Greta Van Fleet @ The Basement East, 8:30, Info
🎸 Interpol w/ DIIV @ The Pinnacle, 7p, $76+, Info
🎸 Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit w/ Al Kapone & The Blues Rap Band @ Ryman Auditorium, 8p, $76, Info
✨Bayonne @ The Blue Room, 7p, $25. 34, Info
+ electro-pop
🎻 A Symphonic Celebration: Verdi, Mozart, and Marsalis @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 7:30p, Info
🪕 The Borrowed Mules @ Station Inn, 9p, $25, Info
🥁 Nashville Jazz Festival @ 3rd & Lindsley, 4p, Info
🎸 Kelley's Heroes @ Robert's Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
SUNDAY
🎸 Tom Landstreet & Friends @ Brown's Diner, 3p, Free
+ Go to church, beg forgiveness for your sins, and come to Brown’s to start sinning again with Tom Landstreet, Pamphleteer co-founder, and his musical friends.
🎸 Morrissey @ The Pinnacle, 7p, $87.52+, Info
🎸 Live on the Green @ Ascend Amphitheater, $24+, 4:30p, Info
+ featuring Guster and Grace Potter and more
🥁 Nashville Jazz Festival @ 3rd & Lindsley, 4p, Info
🪕 Bluegrass Jam @ Station Inn, 7p, Free, Info
+ a night for musicians and singers from all over the world to gather and enjoy making music together
🪕 Sundays Between with Easy Green @ Tennessee Brew Works, 1p, Info
+ a fusion of two beloved musical genres – Bluegrass and the iconic sounds of the Grateful Dead!
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan.