No Cutting: Jason Holleman Endorses Doug Henry Over Yarbro

By Kleinheider Posted on September 30, 2009 at 3:39 pm

The Councilman lists the accomplishments of the state Senator from Belle Meade in a letter to friends:

I am writing to ask you to join the Committee to Re-Elect Senator Douglas Henry. If you are willing to lend your good name to this cause, it will make a difference in the election next year. He would like to compile a list of supporters for use on his website and in his fundraising invitations. You won’t be asked to raise money, but he does need your support in his upcoming campaign.

Senator Henry is one of my personal heroes. He is a man of unwavering principles who has served our state with dignity and courage, and I am unabashedly proud to say that he has been my State Senator throughout my entire life. Even when I have disagreed with his position on a particular issue, I have respected the process by which he arrived at his conclusion; he votes for what he believes is right, not what he believes is popular or politically advantageous.

If I have a criticism of Senator Henry, it is that he flat refuses to promote any of his contributions, and because he won’t do that, I feel like I should tell you a few that make me proud of him and that make me believe he should continue serving us in the General Assembly:

- Defeating the English Only proposition as a means of promoting multiculturalism is an achievement many of us in this city worked hard to accomplish in January. In 1986 — a time when multiculturalism was far less of a popular cause in Nashville — Senator Henry was a quiet force for advancing linguistics diversity. He was instrumental in establishing the Tennessee Foreign Language Institute, the only agency of its kind in any state government throughout the United States. TFLI provides ELS, translation, and other linguistics services to help citizens and businesses throughout our state reach intercultural communication goals. And, for anyone that doesn’t know, Senator Henry leads by example on this front ashe speaks 7 languages (English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Greek & Latin). He even uses his free time to read the classics in the original Greek text.

- Radnor Lake is one of the recreational and ecological assets that makes Nashville such a special place to me. I spent a lot of time there as child and continue to do so as an adult. Without Senator Henry, there would be no Radnor Lake. The area once belonged to the L&N Railroad, which declared it to be a “Wildlife Sanctuary” in 1923. However, the property was sold to private investors in the 1960’s who planned to develop the area into a large subdivision. Senator Henry took action and played an integral role both through the personal expenditure of funds and through advocacy in state government — in the land being preserved in 1973 as the State’s first natural area and protected ecosystem.

- In his almost four decades of service, Senator Henry has never taken any per diem or travel expenses (even though he has represented the Tennessee General Assembly in several organizations that required national and international travel), and he has given hundreds of thousands of dollars of his legislative salary back to the people of Tennessee.

- In 1972, Senator Henry authored the first child restraint law in the United States, and it became a model for states across the country. Though no one would consider this bold legislation today, it was at the time The next time you buckle your child into his or her safety seat, think about the number of lives Senator Henry’s leadership has saved.

- Senator Henry has an unparalleled — and almost incomprehensible — knowledge of the state budget.

- Senator Henry is 83 years old . . . but he still goes out on a limb when his constituents need him. When the May Town Center was proposed earlier this year, Senator Henry filed a bill in the General Assembly that would have created a Rural and Natural Resources Area from Beaman Park to the bottom of Bells Bend. Within that area, development would have been limited to one dwelling or primary structure per 10 acres if two-thirds of area residents elected to have the RANRA designation.

Filing this bill lost Senator Henry friends and supporters. Senator Henry didn’t have to file the bill. He could have have very easily taken a pass on the issue, as conventional wisdom says that land use is primarily the purview of the Metro Council. However, he didn’t take a pass. He did what he thought was right.

Senator Henry would be most grateful for your endorsement. I hope that you will give it to him. Please email me and let me know.

Thank you,

Jason Holleman
Metro Council, District 24
4210 Park Avenue
Nashville, Tennessee 37209

permalink

Comments