auto industry
bailout
barack obama
bedford county
congress
conservatives
democrats
economy
gm
gop
hillary clinton
job
john mccain
kaleidoscope
love
memphis
mom
music
nashville
obama
parents
phil bredesen
photos
president elect
republicans
sarah palin
secretary of state
tennessean
tom daschle
tuesday night
Sign lobbyist co-chairs Metro's LED Task Force
Submitted by Christian Grantham on August 26, 2008 - 9:46am.
A registered lobbyist for a major commerical sign company is co-chairing Metro's LED Task Force. A commenter on Enclave pointed this out.
Did you notice the co-chair of the LED task force? Her name is Jane Alvis and she is a registered lobbyist for Lamar Advertising. Looks like [Vice Mayor Diane] Neighbors is putting the fox in charge of the hen house. I am still looking to see if Bobby Joslin [owner of local sign company] is on the list.
According to a report in the Nashville City Paper, Jane Alvis was appointed by Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors to co-chair the task force.
The task force is being co-chaired by Burkley Allen and Jane Alvis. Other committee members are At-large Council members Megan Barry and Charlie Tygard as well as John Brittle, Stewart Clifton, Terry Cobb, Bob Cooper, Judge Gloria Dumas, Dan Haskell, Debby Dale Mason, Larry McWhirter, Anna Shepherd, Patricia Totty, zoning administrator Sonny West, Christ Whitson and Anne Withers.
The 2008 list of registered lobbyists on Metro's website lists A. Jane Alvis as a registered lobbyist for Lamar Outdoor Advertising. Her re-filing with the city was March 3, 2008, more than a month before the task force's first scheduled meeting.
The LED Task Force was formed by at-large Council member Charlie Tygard after his own proposal to put lighted signs in Nashville neighborhoods was condemend by neighborhood groups. Tygard is also a member of the task force which will make recommendations to the city council on LED sign use.
This is not a case of the fox guarding the henhouse.
For what my opinion is worth, Jane Alvis is an intelligent, thoughtful person who always contributes to any discussion of policy. That's why she has served with distinction on many non-profit and municipal advisory boards.
Sure she may bring the opinions and desires of the advertising community to the discussion. That's the point of having 15 people on a committee: to look at and consider many sides of an issue. No one member will railroad this talented group of volunteers. To suggest that someone who is connected to the sign industry shouldn't be entitled to be a part of the decision-making process is demagogic.
Smart People
ceeelecee, I wonder what matters more when it comes to whether electronically lighted signs should flicker to life in your neighborhood: what a smart woman who works for a commercial sign company concludes or what the neighbors want?
What the neighbors want or don't want in their neighborhoods ultimately is what the government is obligated to respect and defend, not the business interests of a paid lobbyist. Alvis may objectively conclude that on her own, but it's worth reporting to neighborhoods that policy decisions are in a lobbyist's hands, otherwise government is willfully turned over to business interests by an uninformed citizenry.