Meet Burkley Allen, candidate for Nashville Metro Council At-Large

Editor's note: The Tennessean Editorial Board invited candidates for the 2023 Metro Nashville-Davidson County municipal elections to fill out our questionnaire. They include biographical information and answers to 12 questions on variety of topics from key policy issues to their recommendation for visitors on what to see or do in the city.

Election Guide:Learn about candidates running in the Sept. 14 Metro Council At-Large election

Key dates:

• Aug. 15: Voter registration deadline
• Aug. 25-Sept. 9: Early voting
• Sept. 7: Deadline to request absentee ballot
• Sept. 14: Runoff election

Biographical Information

• Name: Burkley Allen
• Which office are you seeking? Metro Council At-Large
• Age: 65
• What neighborhood/part of the county do you live in? Hillsboro West End
• Education: MSME in Engineering from University of VA, BA in Physics from Davidson College
• Job history: Mechanical Engineer at I.C. Thomasson Associates
• Family: Husband, Dr. Newton Allen, three children, one grandson

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Twelve questions for the candidates

Why are you running for this office?

I am running for reelection as Council Member At-Large to continue my work on city-wide issues like improving infrastructure, enabling the creation and preservation of affordably priced housing, and supporting great education for our children.

What makes you qualified to hold this office and better qualified than your opponent(s)?

My 35 years as a neighborhood activist and 12 years on the council give me extensive experience in advocating for and making change. I can work with people with differing opinions to find common solutions. That is an important skill in these divisive times.

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If you are elected (or re-elected), what are your top 2 to 3 priorities for your new (or next) term in office?

My top three priorities for the next term are housing, infrastructure, and education.

What are you hearing most from voters about what they want you to accomplish, if elected?

Most voters want to be protected from the negative consequences of Nashville’s rapid growth. That means improving traffic, protecting neighborhoods, reducing crime, and relieving overcrowded schools.

A 2023 Vanderbilt poll showed that most Nashvillians do not agree with the direction of the city. Do you agree? Why or why not?

I understand why people are frustrated with the impacts of growth like increased traffic and rising housing prices. Growth is always challenging, and we are still learning how to harness it positively. As a city, we have focused more in the last couple of years on ensuring new jobs that come to Nashville are filled by Nashvillians. We’ve worked deliberately with universities, community colleges, trade schools, and our high schools to align education and training for the needs of the job market. We can’t slam the doors shut and keep people and businesses out, so we need to work harder at channeling that growth to benefit everyone.

What is your assessment of the performance of the Mayor and Metro Council over the last four years?

The Mayor and Metro Council have had an extremely difficult four years dealing with a tornado, pandemic, bombing, civil unrest, school shooting, and state overreach. It has been a challenge to focus on improving the everyday running of the city in the midst of responding effectively to crisis after crisis. I believe that we managed to keep the city operating well through everything, while giving teachers long-overdue raises, and putting meaningful funding into our housing and homelessness issues.

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Affordable/attainable housing has been named by citizens again and again (NashvilleNext, polling, etc.) as a top concern. What should the city do to address this crisis?

The city should continue its work to develop more tools to enable affordably priced housing to be built and preserved. In this term, we have created a Division of Housing in the Planning Department, which means that housing is now a central topic in every development conversation. We have used the influx of federal funding to set up programs to move people from homelessness to permanent supportive housing, and now we need to sustain that effort. I’ve passed legislation to expand options for mother-in-law cottages and to create tax incentives for including affordably priced housing in apartment buildings. As a member of the Mayor’s Affordable Housing Task Force, I am supporting implementing the recommendations from our report. That includes putting $30 million into the Barnes Housing Trust Fund annually and creating a public website that will show the progress the city is making in increasing housing options.

The Tennessee General Assembly has gutted Metro Nashville's governance model and finances. What is your position on this and how should the city address the relationship with lawmakers?

I am optimistic that the courts will uphold Nashville’s right to home rule in the long run. But we cannot continue operating in such an antagonistic atmosphere. The next mayor and council have to pro-actively try to rebuild relationships with legislators and fellow municipal leaders in surrounding counties and look for issues where we have common interests.

Are you supportive of Mayor Cooper's plans to renovate the East Bank now that the Titans deal has been approved? Elaborate on your position.

I support the plans to develop the East Bank, including building a new stadium. The current stadium lease was made from a position of relative weakness and put the burden of maintaining the structure on Metro while limiting city access to the facility and the land around it. The proposed new lease relieves the taxpayers of an obligation to renovate at a cost of at least $300 million and gives us back the land around the stadium. The proposed lease puts the burden of maintenance and the risk of cost overruns on the owners, who are now paying the biggest portion of the construction cost. While the public funding is a large sum, it is coming from tourist tax, sales tax, and sports fan spending, not from the property taxpayers of Davidson County. The overriding message I heard from opponents at the five community meetings was that they didn’t want their tax dollars supporting this, and they want more funding for schools and neighborhoods. The proposed lease frees up general fund dollars to go to those important public needs. The $500 million state contribution is available only for an enclosed stadium and is simply not there to spend on schools if we renovate the existing open stadium. The same is true of the Hotel Occupancy Tax and the dedicated state sales tax from the area. However, the council created the Nashville Needs Fund, which will channel $1 million annually from the Titans to non-profits focusing on education, transit, and housing. We have also added an additional rent charge to the proposed lease that would direct $4 million annually from the Titans proceeds back to Metro’s general fund to be used for schools, sidewalks, or whatever the council directs. Development of the East Bank will also ultimately contribute property taxes, rent and sales tax that will go to the Metro general fund.

What else do you want voters to know about you that will help them make an informed decision on Election Day?

I love public service. I’ve relished the opportunity to work to make Nashville better, and I want to continue that effort. My training as an engineer helps me evaluate the very complex issues that Nashville frequently deals with and to make the hard choices that legislators are often faced with.

A "fun" question: When visitors ask you, "What should I do in Nashville?" what are the top 2 or 3 things or places you recommend?

Edwin Warner Park, Centennial Park, and any greenway

Will you commit to being civil in how you present yourself and the way you interact with opponents and others? (Our definition of civility is being a good, active, honest and respectable citizen)

Yes

Call Opinion and Engagement Director David Plazas at (615) 259-8063, email him at [email protected] or tweet to him at @davidplazas.