December 2025

The Tony Award®-winning Suffs comes to TPAC this March! Written and composed by Shaina Taub, this acclaimed musical tells the powerful story of the American women who fought for the right to vote. Through passion, persistence, and sacrifice, Suffs shines a light on the leaders and unsung heroes of the suffrage movement in a struggle that still resonates today. Please click here to purchase your ticket. You can also use promo code: LWVSUFFS2026

Renewing the state’s participation in the Summer EBT program to ensure the state receives federal funding to support our summer EBT program is an immediate and attainable step to making a hunger-free Tennessee a reality. This program helped feed 700,000 children last year. LWVTN respectfully urges Gov. Lee to renew by the January 1, 2026, deadline to secure the needed funds.

LWV Northeast hosts "Coalitions Build Communities: The Impact of Working Together."
Time: Sunday| 1:00 PM CT

Are you ready to learn how to strengthen and mobilize voter engagement?  Do you want to renew your enthusiasm and be a part of supercharging our local civic community? The program will provide an overview of LWV’s Unite and Rise initiative, which aims at increasing voter engagement and turnout for 2026 by 8.5 million voters.

As we wrap up the year, we are proud of what our League has accomplished together. With your support, we hosted voter registration drives, shared clear and trusted voter information, partnered with community allies on a candidate forum, and sent more than 1,000 postcards to voters ahead of the special election. These efforts made a real difference for civic engagement in our community.

Looking ahead, 2026 will bring a packed agenda, and we hope you’ll join us for timely Hot Topics, fun social events, and meaningful volunteer opportunities to stay informed and civically engaged. There’s much more in store, and we’re excited to continue this work with you.

One more note as the holidays approach: our group outing to Suffs, the Musical in March is coming up soon. Tickets make a wonderful Christmas gift if you’re still looking for something meaningful for friends, neighbors, or family—and a great way to support the arts and women’s history at the same time.

Thank you for being part of the League. We hope you’ll join us in 2026 as we keep building momentum together.

The January Hot Topic will be a combined conversation with other Leagues across the state of Tennessee. We will hear from our state lobbyist, Courtney Atnip, who will share her perspectives on the upcoming legislative session. The time and date for the January Hot Topic will be announced in the coming weeks.

If you missed the December Hot Topic, Co-Housing: A solution for many individuals and families, you can watch the conversation on YouTube.

The League of Women Voters of Williamson County will host Sarah Fisher Executive Director Tennessee Coalition for Open Government for the League’s January program. The meeting will be held on January 21 from 1-2 pm at the Main Branch of the Williamson County Public Library, located at 1314 Columbia Ave.

Deborah Fisher is executive director of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting and preserving access to government records and meetings through the state’s public records and open meeting laws. She has led the organization for 12 years.

Fisher is also the part-time director of the John Siegenthaler Chair of  Excellence in First Amendment Studies at Middle Tennessee State University, where she manages the online First Amendment Encyclopedia with over 20,000 users a day, develops First Amendment programs for students, and teaches an editing class.   She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from Baylor University. 

Please register to attend through the link below.

Voting/Elections:
Jeff Roberts reported during the December 5 Election Commission meeting that Davidson County had 235 provisional ballots submitted in the December 2 Special General Election. 118 of these ballots, 50%, were submitted because people had moved into Davidson County and did not realize that they needed to re-register to vote in the county.

The next Davidson County election is the Berry Hill Municipal Election on March 17, 2026.

Affordable Housing:
On 12/4/25, Bl2025-1005 passed on third and final reading. This ordinance creates two new zoning district groups, Residential Neighborhood (RN) and Residential Limited (RL), and five new zoning districts in total. These new zoning district groups allow additional forms of residential development with standards and regulations to ensure that they are not detrimental to adjacent or nearby parcels zoned single-family (RS) or two-family (R).

On 12/4/25, BL2025-1007 passed on third and final reading. This ordinance amends the regulations for detached accessory dwelling units (DADU). The ordinance increases the permitted living space size of DADUs to 850 sq ft. on lots smaller than 10,000 sq. ft. and 1,200 sq. ft. on lots larger than 10,000 sq. ft. Currently, the living space of DADUs is restricted to 700 sq. ft. on all lots. Any DADU will still have to be subordinate in size and scale to the principal structure on the property.

On 12/16/25, BL2025-1006 passed on third and final reading with several amendments. The bill lowers the maximum height of homes in R and RS districts, where duplex and single-family homes are allowed. The maximum height would be reduced from 45 feet to 35 feet and from 3 stories to 2 ½ stories, which seems likely to reduce teardowns and encourage more renovations. The implementation date is 2/27/26 to allow people about to submit plans a little time to get them submitted, before the rules change. An amendment exempts parts of town, such as the downtown interstate loop, from the bill. 

Public Safety/ Transportation/ Traffic/ Police:
On 12/16/25, the Metro Council deferred to the 1/20/26 meeting a resolution approving a letter of agreement and memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and the Nashville Downtown Partnership related to an application for the Downtown Public Safety Grant of $15 million from the State of Tennessee. Seven citizens spoke against allowing this money to be used to buy surveillance equipment. Three amendments were added to the MOU by the council. By a narrow vote, 19 to 17, the resolution was deferred to January after an hour of discussion.

"Smart Signals" have been installed at 36 intersections along Lebanon Pike. Fiber lines will be installed for the Lebanon Pike signals. Next, signals and fiber will be installed first downtown and along Nolensville Pike, and then at most of the county traffic signals. The upgraded systems enable signals to adjust traffic patterns in response to congestion and to communicate with one another and with a centralized management center. (Nashville Banner)

WeGo’s Journey Pass is intended to make transit easier and more accessible for people living on a limited income. The implementation of the program is happening in phases. In the first phase, which is underway now, Journey Pass is available to Davidson County residents who currently receive social services through select Metro departments and partner agencies. To find out more information, go to Wegotransit.com. WeGo also has $8 voucher passes for Uber. Check your address to see if you are eligible for the WeGo Link service by downloading your voucher and using the Uber App to schedule pickup or drop-off at select bus stops. Go to vouchers.uber.com or wegotransit.com to check eligibility.

Health:
Whooping cough (pertussis) cases in Nashville, Tennessee and surrounding states are high. 3 infant deaths in Kentucky have been reported. Vaccination rates in children are below 95%, which is needed for herd immunity. Adults are supposed to get a Tdap booster every 10 years.  If you are well, please check your vaccination record. If you haven’t had one in 10 years, please go to a drug store and get one.  A vaccine is much better than getting a 2-week coughing disease and/ or spreading it to a baby.

General:
On 12/16/25, the council passed on third reading a bill to create a Midtown Central Business Improvement District.

In early February, most people’s trash and recycling days will be changing. Keep a lookout for a mailer. Nashville Waste Services is switching to 4 days a week pickup (Tues-Fri) from 5 days. When your new day falls on a holiday, your pickup day will be Monday.

While decorating, if you discover a broken strand of lights, consider replacing the dead bulb or recycling the whole strand. Davidson County residents can recycle holiday lights at an Electronic Waste Recycling Drop-Off located at Ezell Pike, East, and Omohundro Convenience Centers.

When the holidays are over, recycle your natural Christmas tree through NDOT’s quarterly brush collection or at one of 14 drop-off tree recycling locations. Artificial trees can be reused, donated, or dropped off at any of Metro Nashville’s four convenience centers for disposal.

Public health policies are strongest when they reflect the real experiences of the people working on the front lines. In Tennessee, health professionals and community members have an influential role in shaping federal public health decisions by engaging with their members of Congress.

One key issue right now is summer food security for children. Programs like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and summer nutrition benefits help families afford food when school meals are not available. Tennessee’s 2025 Summer Nutrition Initiative provided a one-time $120 benefit to children in 15 counties through EBT cards for families enrolled in SNAP or TANF — but this effort was much smaller than the broader federally funded summer EBT program that many other states continue to use to support low-income families statewide during summer months. 

Sharing your public health perspective with Congress — especially on issues like nutrition assistance, food security, and child health — helps legislators understand how federal decisions affect Tennessee families and communities.

How you can be heard:

Your voice matters. When you share firsthand experience about how food assistance programs support public health in Tennessee, it helps lawmakers make better decisions that improve health
for everyone.

Co-Presidents: Ophelia Doe and Kathryn Anderson

1st Vice Presidents: Karen Hernan and Ethel Detch

Secretary: Ethel Detch

Treasurer: Susan Mattson

Nominating Committee Members:

Betsy Walkup

Constance Caldwell

Hasina Mohyuddin

June Bond

Brenda Wynn

Portfolio Chairs

Communications: Yolonda Beech

Community Connections: Sabina Mohyuddin & Leona Edwards

Education: Dr. Patricia H. Brock, Dr. Leslie Cowell, and MaKenzie Mosby

Environment: Kelley Knott-Sandifer, Simone Chhut, Carynton Howard, and Catherine Price

Health Care/Public Health:  Harper-Grace Niedermeyer and Ashudee Kirk 

Membership: Reba Holmes, Dani Sheree Ross, and Dylan Schlesinger

Metro Government:  Pat McCauley and Brenda Haywood

Voter Services: Sue Johnson

Williamson County Representative:  June Bond

Nominating Committee Chair: Senator Brenda Gilmore 

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS NASHVILLE
Box 158369, Nashville, Tennessee 37215

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contact@lwvnashville.org

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