A Middle Tennessee mayors association that pushed for Nashville’s failed $9 billion transit plan has handed out an award to State Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet) as state legislator of the year.
Voters in Nashville/Davidson County resoundingly rejected the transit plan by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin in a May 1 referendum.
The Tennessee House Republicans issued a statement on the award Monday. Greater Nashville Regional Council honored as its legislator of the year during its May executive board meeting. This award is given annually to one member from both the House and Senate for their work towards the legislative priorities of area mayors.
“As an organization, we are grateful to Rep. Lynn for her tireless efforts and continued leadership on behalf of Middle Tennesseans,” said City of Franklin Mayor Ken Moore, president of the Regional Council.
Moore endorsed “Let’s Move Nashville” as “the first major step in constructing a regional transit system,” the Brentwood Homepage website said in March. The endorsement came after years of collaboration among regional leaders who serve on the Regional Council and its Transportation Policy Board (TPB). The TPB convenes mayors from across seven counties with transportation officials and is responsible coordinating regional plans and programs.
The legislator of the year award given by the Regional Council is Lynn’s third such honor, the Tennessee House Republicans said. She received the award for her work to “help address Tennessee’s growing challenges related to maintaining and improving the state’s transportation system.”
The Tennessee House Republicans’ statement refers to Lynn’s help in passing the IMPROVE Act in 2017 to raise gas taxes — and which authorized cities to hold referendums on creating transit programs like the one that failed in Nashville on May 1.
