Franklin voters give Mayor Ken Moore and aldermen a mandate for civic action and sanity

Franklin, Tennessee voters should be commended for going to the polls like their community and democratic values depended on it.

• David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee.

Franklin, Tennessee voters sent a strong message Tuesday that they want good governance based in substance and reality.

A vast majority of citizens re-elected a mayor and selected aldermen who are serious about finding solutions to complex local problems.

They aren’t dabbling in conspiracy theories or associating with neo-Nazis.

They aren’t spreading misinformation about voting machines or voting centers that the City of Franklin had to challenge with a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, with the label “Rumors.”

They are doing the work of trying to bring the community together on issues ranging from traffic mitigation to affordable housing to responsible planning for rapid growth. They are working to create a Franklin that is welcoming to diverse groups of residents, workers and visitors.

Voters should be commended for going to the polls like their community and democratic values depended on it.

In fact, early voting for Franklin’s election totaled 10,214, or 16.8% of the city’s 60,950 registered voters. That’s more than the last three Franklin election early voting totals combined.

Local elections have notoriously low turnout, but this is about the government closest to the people that directly affects them most.

Featured letter: Franklin faces the threat of fascism. Voters must defeat like they did in World War II.

Voters defended the ‘soul’ of Franklin

On Oct. 4, I wrote a column titled “Franklin battles for its soul in mayor race pitting Gabrielle Hanson against Ken Moore.”

I described the controversy facing Hanson, a city alderman, who has spread conspiracy theories about The Covenant School, urged Nashville International Airport to rescind a donation to a Juneteenth celebration, and associated with local members of a Neo-Nazi white supremacy group.

She has faced the penalty of censure for her behavior. On Tuesday, she alleged without proof that there were problems with election machines, which is why the City of Franklin contested the accusation.

Moore has served as mayor for 12 years and has focused on municipal issues, participated in efforts to connect diverse group of citizens, and worked with regional mayors to work on problems facing all of Middle Tennessee. Under his administration, the city supported the “Fuller Story” initiative to present Black history in the public square alongside a Confederate monument.

Moore was unopposed in his re-election four years ago, and attaining nearly 80% of the vote in the 2023 vote is a powerful mandate to continue this important civic work.

Hear more Tennessee Voices: Get the weekly opinion newsletter for insightful and thought provoking columns.

What were the results in the Franklin election

With eight of eight vote centers reporting, these were the unofficial results from the Williamson County Election Commission:

Mayor

• Gabrielle Hanson: 3,322
• Ken Moore: 12,822
• Write-in: 65

Alderman At-Large

Position A

• Clyde Barnhill (incumbent, unopposed): 11,837
• Write-in: 639

Position B

• Brandy B. Blanton (incumbent): 10,946
• Gary Moore: 4,666
• Write-in: 22

Position C

• Greg Caesar: 10,336
• Patrick George: 4,249
• BK Muvvala: 825
• Write-in: 36

Position D

• Jeff Feldman: 4,243
• Ann Petersen (incumbent): 10,961
• Write-in: 42

David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. He is an editorial board member of The Tennessean. He hosts the Tennessee Voices videocast and curates the Tennessee Voices and Latino Tennessee Voices newsletters.. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.