Image Credit: City of Clarksville
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
Clarksville City Councilmember Travis Holleman sponsored a rather unusual ordinance at the December 30 City Council meeting when he proposed eliminating the Director of DEI position from the city’s Human Resources Department and reallocating the funds from the $120,000 salary to the creation of a seed bank for emergency preparedness.
Holleman asserted that the Biden administration doesn’t care about “the American people’s wellbeing” and that the city cannot depend on the federal government to “aid us in a time of need.”
His ordinance proposed the creation of a Clarksville Emergency Seed Bank as, “a solid backup plan in the event we lose access to all supply lines and grocery stores run empty.”
The ordinance would transfer the $120,000 salary to the Building & Facilities Maintenance Department to construct the seed bank.
Other councilors raised legitimate points about the viability of the ordinance and its implementation, including questioning if Holleman consulted the proper experts and departments, oversight of the funds once they are transferred away from HR, and ongoing costs of refrigeration and maintenance expenses.
Other arguments against the proposal seemingly rested on emotional distress over one person losing a job. Councilmember Stacey Streetman said, “Should this pass, we are going to be letting someone go, and that’s heartbreaking to me to think we’d be firing somebody.”
The ordinance was then declared out of order and invalid by Democrat Mayor Joe Pitts as he decreed certain line items would require changes to the city’s fiscal year budget, an act exceeding the council’s authority according to Pitts. Yet also on the agenda for the meeting was another ordinance to amend the budget regarding receipt of grant monies.
In June of last year this same council, including Pitts, approved the city’s 2024-2025 budget which included pay raises for city employees, higher property taxes for residents, and over $884 million in expenses.
Regardless, it is highly unlikely the liberal mayor would support this proposed ordinance or any other efforts to remove the DEI position as he very publicly welcomed the celebration of gay pride back to Clarksville including “nonstop” drag shows, despite Tennessee law protecting minors from exposure to such events in public spaces.
Holleman amended and refiled his ordinance for the next council meeting on January 2, citing the city charter’s provision for amending the budget at any time with a majority vote of the council.
He renewed his calls for support in creating an emergency preparation plan, mentioning the two recent terror attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas and voicing his commitment to protecting Clarksville’s citizens, food, and families from “any type of threat, foreign or domestic.”
He stated, “It’s a backup plan, it’s not 100% solid, we don’t know if these seeds will grow, but some plan is better than nothing at this stage. And if you want to ridicule me or bash me on the news or whatever, then so be it, I’ll take the beating and keep doing what I have to do. Think about the tens of thousands of dollars we spent on the canopy study, how much money did we spend to count trees? This is not money that’s wasted, this is money for security of Clarksville.”
In the discussion following Holleman’s speech some members were intrigued by the idea of seeds, but felt the proposal needed more study and information about practical execution before they could vote in favor of such an ordinance.
Councilmember Streetman reiterated that the HR department losing a staff member made the measure unsupportable to her, and Pitts expressed desire for someone to call the question to end discussion and force the vote.
The ordinance failed during the vote with all other council members, including Mayor Pitts, voting against and only Holleman in favor, with one abstention, but Holleman decided to make one last splash before the meeting’s adjournment.
He directly questioned Pitts about the presence of illegal immigrants in the city, citing constituent concern. Pitts replied he had not heard of any activity or crimes specifically related to illegal aliens, an unsurprising response given his political leanings.
Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
