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# The Big Slice: A Timeline of Political Retaliation
- URL: https://pamphleteer.co/post/the-big-slice-a-timeline-of-political-retaliation/
- Published: 2026-11-03T21:11:26.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T21:37:51.000Z
- Description: A council cut years in the making
- Author: Megan Lee Podsiedlik

Yesterday, the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the 2023 state law capping Metro Council at 20 members. Nashville’s Metro Council has 40 members and is the only municipality affected by the change, which will cut the council in half. 

When the law was initially passed, Metro sued the state, arguing the law broke the home-rule protections in the state constitution. A three-judge panel [blocked the cut](https://thegrio.com/2023/04/11/judges-block-tennessee-move-to-cut-nashville-council-in-half/?ref=pamphleteer.co) before the 2023 elections, so the council stayed at 40\. The case then went back and forth through the lower courts and appeals. The Tennessee Supreme Court heard [final arguments](https://tennesseelookout.com/2026/02/13/tennessee-supreme-court-hears-arguments-in-legislatures-laws-targeting-nashville/?ref=pamphleteer.co) in February 2026 before ultimately releasing an opinion this week.

The ruling declares that the cap is in effect and can be enforced by law. Although Metro has long recognized the possibility that the courts may not rule in favor of retaining a 40-member body, no official plans to redistrict the county have been announced. Candidate petitions for the August 2027 Metro Council elections should become available Friday, February 19, 2027, and must be filed by noon on Thursday, May 20, 2027\. That gives the Council about 100 days to present and pass a new district plan that caps the council at 20 members.

The law sets no deadline or penalty if Metro fails to comply with the 20-member cap. But with the 2027 election approaching, Metro would likely face a new legal challenge if it doesn’t act. Vice Mayor Henderson called it “a somber day for democracy” in a [press release](https://www.nashville.gov/departments/council/news/vice-mayor-angie-henderson-and-charter-revision-committee-chair-clay-capp-issue-joint-statement-following-tennessee-supreme-court-decision?ref=pamphleteer.co), and criticized the change as “hyperpartisan hubris.” 

The battle over reducing the size of Metro Council has been a lengthy one, marked by years of back-and-forth between the state and Metro. Here's a semi-brief recap.

**The state's bathroom laws and Dobbs 2021–2022** In 2021, the Tennessee legislature passed a series of laws on LGBTQ issues, including bathroom rules for transgender people in schools and a sign requirement for businesses. Metro officials shot back.

“This law is part of an anti-LGBT political platform of hate and division,” said former Nashville Mayor John Cooper in a [statement](https://thepinknews.com/2021/05/25/nashville-district-attorney-general-bathroom-bill/?ref=pamphleteer.co) at the time.   
  
District Attorney Glen Funk piled on by [vowing](https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2021/05/24/nashville-da-not-enforce-trans-bathroom-signage-bill-tennessee/7422294002/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z1108xxe1108xxv004196d--46--b--46--&gca-ft=167&gca-ds=sophi&ref=pamphleteer.co) that he wouldn’t enforce the law: "I believe every person is welcome and valued in Nashville. Enforcement of transphobic or homophobic laws is contrary to those values. My office will not promote hate."

The “hyperpartisan” unrest continued in 2022 when state law took effect enforcing a near-total abortion ban in Tennessee after *Dobbs*. 

“I intend to fight to ensure that one of our core values does not become forcing motherhood through violence,” [said](https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2022/06/27/nashville-leaders-plot-post-roe-policies?ref=pamphleteer.co) then-councilmember now Mayor Freddie O’Connell at the time. “We must ensure access to safe, legal abortions.”

The Metro Council passed a [resolution](https://nashville.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5711955&GUID=FFA95C79-0930-48CB-AA94-54E000CAFF18&Options=ID%7CText%7C&Search=abortion&ref=pamphleteer.co) opposing the Supreme Court decision. Councilmember Ginny Welsch declared the Supreme Court “illegitimate” while councilmembers Kathleen Murphy and Delishia Porterfield denounced the state, claiming that Tennessee had taken away proper healthcare from “anyone with a uterus.” 

The Metro Council also attempted to [fund](https://pamphleteer.co/post/davidson-county-taxpayers-to-pay-for-out-of-state-abortions/) accommodations for out-of-state abortions using taxpayer dollars. Though those funds were diverted, the council did manage to [pass](https://nashville.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5724018&GUID=AF0E8C55-76A7-4127-973D-83A91F0A9035&Options=ID%7cText%7c&Search=abortion&FullText=1&ref=pamphleteer.co) the[ *Do Better* bill](https://standupnashville.org/the-do-better-bill/?ref=pamphleteer.co) requiring companies seeking either economic and community development incentive grants or payment in lieu of taxes (“PILOT”) incentives to provide out-of-state abortion accommodations for their employees.

**Nashville rejects the RNC summer 2022** Nashville was a finalist to host the 2024 Republican National Convention. To go forward, the Metro Council had to approve the [hosting agreement](https://nashville.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5747799&GUID=E72E66ED-72B6-4797-B05A-7245C4E90425&Options=ID%7cText%7c&Search=republican+national&ref=pamphleteer.co). Opponents in the council, including 14 who are still in office, kept it from advancing. The RNC picked Milwaukee instead, and Republican leaders took the rejection as a deliberate snub.

"Nashville's leadership has failed again," House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) posted on social media at the time. "The people of TN will remember this vote for a long time and so will I." 

"It is truly unfortunate Tennessee will now likely lose a great opportunity due to Mayor Cooper’s incompetence and the Metro Council’s obstinance,” [said](https://tennesseelookout.com/2022/08/03/metro-council-catches-legislatures-ire-with-vote-rejecting-republican-convention/?ref=pamphleteer.co) Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge).

**The legislature cuts the council 2023** Just weeks into 2023’s General Assembly session, GOP leaders filed a bill capping metro councils at 20 members. Nashville is the only city it really affects, and its council has had 40 members since consolidation in 1963\. Critics called it [an act of retribution](https://tennesseelookout.com/2023/01/09/metro-council-reduction-bill-called-act-of-retribution/?ref=pamphleteer.co). That session also brought other bills aimed at Nashville, such as handing the state control of appointments to the airport and sports authority boards. The Nashville Scene called this lineup "[the Metro punishers](https://pamphleteer.co/newsletter/anatomy-of-a-scandal/)." 

"This attack on the Constitutional rights of Metro and the people who live here is very dangerous,” [said](https://newschannel9.com/news/local/tennessee-governor-oks-bill-to-cut-nashville-council-in-half?ref=pamphleteer.co) then Metro Legal Director Wally Dietz of the council cap at the time.

“This will set us back decades,” said Senator Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville). “This will disproportionately impact the Black representation, the minority representation and dilute—not just dilute—it will steal and silence our voices.”

After a three-year court battle, here we are.