Tomorrow is the last day to register to vote in next month’s general election. There will be plenty of interest in Nashville’s School Board election and a few General Assembly primary races, but not a whole lot else. With early voting set to begin on July 18, the city Election Commission hasn’t even posted the ballot online yet. This election may serve as a study in contrast to the November session, when the hotly contested presidential race and, likely, the misguided English First initiative will be on voters’ minds. If you haven’t registered, please take time today to do so.

Is Councilmember Eric Crafton following in former Nashville Mayor Bill Boner’s notorious footsteps?

That question is admittedly somewhat unfair to Crafton, who hasn’t humiliated local residents with his harmonica playing, extramarital affairs or tales of “seven-hour-long passion” on national television. By accounts I’ve read, Crafton’s personal life is free of the level of nonsense that Boner seemed to champion. Nonetheless, last year Crafton revelled in the opportunity to discuss his English First ballot initiative on Fox News for viewers across the U.S. to see. For anyone who’s proud of the great city Nashville has become in the past 20 years, it wasn’t pretty.

The news that Nashville’s Metro Council had passed an English-first bill generated media attention, much of it casting the city in an unwelcome light, in cities nationwide. Only then-Mayor Bill Purcell’s subsequent veto helped to balance the coverage with a more positive view of Nashville.

For a city that’s a lot closer to being progressive and cosmopolitan than it was when Boner served as last lead executive in 1991, it’s unfortunate, in my opinion, to have a local elected official drawing attention to a measure that will accomplish very little–other than casting our city as an intolerant and unwelcoming place and possibly resulting in costly legal expenses down the line.

The good news this time around is that Crafton’s posturing and shortsighted initiative is focused squarely on his work as a Council member (and not on any Boneresque antics that involve infidelity or musical instruments). No, Crafton isn’t Boner (at least not yet), but in my opinion he’s doing much more harm than good when it comes to Nashville’s image and identity.

Hats off to Council member Erik Cole for his motion at the council meeting last night, as reported in today’s City Paper:

District 7 Council member Erik Cole, who last week voted against the English First bill, motioned for the council to override Purcell’s veto. On a vote, the motion failed 12 – 14, with four members abstaining. The bill’s original sponsor, 22nd District representative Eric Crafton, made an immediate motion to reconsider. His motion was denied by the Council Chairman, Vice Mayor Howard Gentry.

Thanks to Vice Mayor Gentry for preventing Council member Crafton from avoiding the vote, too. The Tennessean reported Cole’s reasoning for the motion, and I fully agree: “The intent was to dispatch with the discussion,” Cole said. “This has been a purely political exercise, and the citizens of Nashville are ready to move on to more important matters.”

Please let this go, Councilman Crafton. In my opinion, you are wasting our time and our money.

Tennessean columnist Gail Kerr applauds Mayor Purcell for his recent veto of the English-first bill in this morning’s paper.

I wholeheartedly agree. Despite Councilman Eric Crafton’s plans to continue his quest for this legislation with a public referendum, I think Purcell’s veto was a noble action in the best interest of our city. Thanks again, Bill.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial page editor Cynthia Tucker has a great column in today’s paper regarding Mayor Purcell’s veto of the Metro Council’s English-first bill:

Profiles in political courage are rare, indeed, but there’s an early contender for the awards Caroline Kennedy hands out every May: Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell. On Monday, defying the xenophobes, know-nothings and nativists, Purcell vetoed a local ordinance that would have enshrined “English-only” as official city policy and dictated that virtually all government communications be in English.

“This ordinance does not reflect who we are in Nashville,” the mayor said at a press conference. Wow. Rather than taking the easy path to cheap acclaim, Purcell took the high but rocky road of leadership. Will his gesture be widely emulated? Probably not. Politics is too much about popularity, and Purcell’s stand against the nativism that has taken hold among so many Americans certainly won’t be popular.

I have no issue with continuing to monitor how our country is changing as new residents arrive and begin to contribute to our culture, but I do have a problem with passing legislation that accomplishes little except increasing divisiveness, which is one thing we don’t need to encourage. Tucker goes on to note that this is not the first time that xenophobia has been an active force in American politics:

Some demographers believe that widespread access to TV and the Internet is helping current immigrants learn English faster than immigrants of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The immigrants of yesteryear — Italians, Germans, Poles — often lived in contained neighborhoods where granddad and grandma never learned English. And they, too, were resented by WASPy native-born Americans who thought they’d ruin the country. They didn’t. Neither will the current crop of immigrants. We need more courageous politicians such as Purcell to say so.

Some pundits argue convincingly these days that media, technology and industry together have made our country more homogeneous, not less so. The regional differences that used to distinguish one part of the country are not as pronounced as they once were. That sounds a lot like a melting pot to me, and I see no problem with celebrating the unique elements of our culture while welcoming new arrivals. Thanks again, Bill. Your actions on Monday are already paying dividends.

I’m grateful to see that Governor Phil Bredesen has publicly praised Mayor Bill Purcell’s decision to veto the Metro Council’s much-debated “English-First” bill today. As the City Paper has quickly reported, Bredesen called the veto the “right thing to do:”

I think a lot of that stuff has way too much of a posturing aspect about it for my taste… I always thought that English-only stuff was kind of a very un-American way of going at things… I think this has always been, at its best, an open and accessible country that values everyone who lives here.

There’s no denying, as Councilman and bill sponsor Eric Crafton has mentioned, that there is significant public opinion in favor of this bill. Illegal immigration has been a major point of discussion over the past year locally and nationally. I personally oppose this legislation because I think it’s small-minded and a significant waste of time when the council would be better suited addressing issues that impact a larger share of its constituents. I also believe that this bill does very little in terms of practical changes for city communications, and I’m left to wonder what allowing it to pass really accomplishes other than subjecting the city to the possibility of future lawsuits when the bill eventually gets in the way of delivery of legitimate city services.

Thank you, Mayor Purcell, for taking this stand. Thank you, Governor Bredesen, for shedding additional light on what in my opinion is a very sound decision by the mayor. It’s no secret that Bredesen and Purcell haven’t always been able to agree, but I respect both men for taking firm action in this instance. I am much prouder of our city and our state today than I was last Tuesday when this measure passed the council. To the 14 council members who voted against the bill when it passed, thank you for voting as you did. Please remain strong in your commitment to a more welcoming and diverse community when this legislation is addressed again next Tuesday.