Vice Mayor Angie Henderson and Charter Revision Committee Chair Clay Capp Issue Joint Statement Following Tennessee Supreme Court Decision

Vice Mayor and Metro Council President Angie E. Henderson and Charter Revision Committee Chair Clay Capp confirmed in a message to Council Members this afternoon that the Council Office's Legislative Services Division, the Metro Legal Department, and the Metro Council will undertake a close review of the Supreme Court of Tennessee's ruling in Metro v. Lee upholding a state law passed by the General Assembly in 2023 and amended in 2026 relative to the size of metropolitan councils.

"This is a somber day for democracy in Tennessee. Nashville is our State's largest city," Henderson said. "We are 526 square miles of beautiful urban, suburban, and rural land, home to a diverse and growing community of 715,000 people. The hyperpartisan hubris of a relatively small clatch of state legislators and lobbyists who initiated this legislation remains staggering. Of the myriad issues the General Assembly could address to the benefit of all Tennesseans, they have seen fit to spend their time dictating how Nashville's local, non-partisan, home-rule government should operate."

Chair Capp added, "The State Constitution should protect us from this attack on our Charter. We will have to carefully read and evaluate what the decision says, and we will be holding a meeting of the Charter Revision Committee to start a robust discussion next week."

Vice Mayor Henderson and Chair Capp will call a special committee meeting in the Council Chamber to which the entire Council will be invited to discuss the implications of this ruling.

"I appreciate the work of the Metro Legal Department over these last several years as they continue to defend Metro's Charter," Henderson added.

Follow the Metro Council Office on social media or Nashville.gov to receive further updates about this process.