Pro-transportation group finally reveals its donors
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
The political action committee that bankrolled the successful transportation funding referendum finally disclosed its financial donors this weekend.
Why it matters: The new filings provide a layer of transparency, even if they come later than typical campaign disclosures and well after voters weighed in.
- The Nashville Moves Action Fund reported a combined $2.34 million in donations spanning two fundraising periods. The group submitted its filings around 10pm on Friday.
The big picture: Predators co-owner and former Gov. Bill Haslam, labor union groups, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and engineering firms that figure to bid on the upcoming city contracts all contributed to the effort.
- Sixteen Thirty Group, a progressive political fund affiliated with Bloomberg Sustainable Cities, gave the largest donation at $300,000.
- Top progressive groups like The Equity Alliance, Stand Up Nashville and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition lended help with organizing, according to previous disclosures.
Catch up quick: After Mayor Freddie O'Connell announced plans last February to put a $3.1 billion transportation funding measure on the November ballot, backers created two separate but affiliated organizations to support the cause.
- A group led by two former O'Connell campaign aides called Green Lights for Nashville filed as a political action committee. PACs are required to file regular financial disclosures.
- However, on its initial filings, Green Lights for Nashville only reported funding from the Nashville Moves Action Fund, which formed as a 501(c)4. Such nonprofit groups did not historically have to file financial statements detailing their donors with the state.
- In 2018, the anti-transit coalition was largely funded in secret by a 501(c)4. However, after complaints were filed with the state this year, the Registry of Election Finance directed the Nashville Moves Action Fund to register as a PAC and disclose its donors.
By the numbers: Big civic spending projects are typically bankrolled by downtown business interests and labor unions, and that's the crowd that backed this year's transportation funding referendum.
- The Greater Nashville Realtors Association and Pinnacle Financial Partners each gave $100,000. Engineering and design firms such as Barge Design Solutions and Gresham Smith contributed to the cause.
- Haslam contributed $25,000. The chamber gave $25,000.
- The laborers union, SEIU, AFL-CIO, Plumbers and Pipefitters and Ironworkers were among the labor groups supporting the cause with relatively modest donations.
The bottom line: The transportation effort was funded by a conventional cross-section of business interests, which previously backed the Music City Center and downtown stadium projects.
- Considering the unsurprising nature of its donors, the fact that it sought to keep its donors secret is surprising in itself.