Anti-racing group releases debut ad in support of petition drive
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Organizers seeking to ban auto racing at the Nashville fairgrounds released their debut ad, which will run on television and radio and on social media.
Why it matters: The political battle over what to do with the fairgrounds racetrack is revving up.
The latest: In the ad from the Restore Our Fairgrounds group, a narrator criticizes the push to renovate the track and bring NASCAR back to Nashville.
- "We don't need a big, expensive sports deal pushed by out-of-state NASCAR billionaires," the narrator says.
- The issue should be decided at the ballot box, a woman adds.
Between the lines: Because the issue is not on a ballot yet, the anti-racing group is not required to disclose its donors.
- Critics have accused Nashville SC owner John Ingram, who opposes a racetrack renovation plan, of being behind the petition drive.
State of play: The anti-racing group wants to put a proposal on next year's ballot that would ban auto racing at the fairgrounds and replace racing with affordable or workforce housing on the list of required programming.
- To advance the ballot measure, organizers need around 41,000 registered voters to sign a petition. The deadline is in late September.
- It's a high bar to clear since Metro imposed stricter rules a few years ago for petition-driven charter referendums.
Friction point: Pro-racing organizers have criticized the petition effort, arguing that paid activists, when they approach people for signatures, are misrepresenting what the ballot measure would do.
- News Channel 5 covered the tactics of the field workers gathering the signatures.
- Earlier this month, school board member Zach Young, who supports the push to revitalize the racetrack, sent a letter to the Election Commission and the Metro Legal Department asking them to look into the issue.
The other side: A resident who opposes racing filed an ethics complaint against Young, accusing him of "demonstrably false accusations against young-adult petition canvassers in the community," according to the Nashville Banner.