Franklin elections: Alderman candidates talk God, In-N-Out Burger tax incentives, more

Franklin's election cycle may be mostly dominated by a controversial mayoral race, but the city's aldermanic race is also shaping up to be a challenge as three of four incumbents face opponents.

Alderman are elected at large in Franklin with seats divided into lettered positions.

Incumbent Clyde Barnhill is unopposed in seat A. Brandy Blanton is being challenged by Gary Moore for seat B. Newcomers Greg Caesar, Patrick George and BK Muvvala are seeking seat C, which is being relinquished by Gabrielle Hanson as she's running for mayor. And Ann Petersen, a sitting board member since 2007, is being challenged by Jeff Feldman for seat D.

Franklin residents were given a chance to hear from all the candidates earlier this week in a forum at city hall.

Many of them spoke about their religious beliefs and their desire to make Franklin into a community where people could raise their families. They talked about why they moved to Franklin and pondered tax incentives for big corporations and growth.

'Freedom and Jesus'

Candidate Gary Moore identified as a self-professed "Bible-thumper," and said he follows the Bible's teachings in an aggressive evangelical way.

"We all have big Bibles at home that we just dust off occasionally ... and if I use a big one and thump you on the head with it, it may make a little knot or a bruise on your head," he said.

Moore pulled out a pocket-sized Bible, waved it around during the forum and said if he tapped someone slightly on the head with it, it would just mess up the person's hair.

"Get ready when you're meeting me that we're going to meet the Lord in this conversation, and we're going to talk about things and how it can heal the land," Moore said.

Candidate Feldman said he moved from California a few years ago for "freedom and Jesus."

Once he got to Franklin, he said he became concerned about how the city was operating and decided to run for alderman to give people back their voice.

Franklin elections: Hanson says Tennessee Active Club not hired; board decries 'neo-Nazis'

Feldman's opponent, the incumbent Petersen, is a retired math teacher who said she studies all the materials she votes on as an alderman so she can make decisions that are in the best interest of all citizens.

"I want to keep Franklin a desirable place to live and work and raise families, not only for the enjoyment of our daily lives, but also for those who come after us," Petersen said.

Talking about growing pains

Growth is often a hot-button topic in Franklin, and all of the candidates seem to realize it.

Aldermen need to consult Envision Franklin documents and zoning ordinances to ensure the proper infrastructure is in place to accommodate growth, Blanton said.

Caesar agreed.

"Between now and 2040, we're expected to grow to a community over 120,000," he said. "That's a lot. We need to make sure we have roads, we need to make sure we have sewers and we need to make sure that we don't impair the community sitting in this room and at sitting home from being able to live freely."

Meanwhile, Moore said he is pro-growth, but he also said he wanted to dig deeper into the issues.

"We need to look at all the permits that are coming into the city. If any of them are sexual in nature, then we need to take even a harder look at them and decide whether we want to pass them or not," he said during the Monday forum. He didn't explain any further.

Other issues the candidates explored related to growth included traffic congestion, sewer and water issues and fiscal responsibility. George said leadership needs to take a look at the short and long-term implications of any decision before moving forward.

Muvvala took issue with the number of rental units in Franklin.

"We have plenty of them," he said. "We need to manage and maintain the sustained growth, a balanced growth ... I want to preserve the beauty and fabric of the downtown."

One thing everyone seemed to agreed on was the need for a new city hall at a cost of around $100 million.

About 58% of Franklin's revenue comes from sales tax, and city hall sits downtown and doesn't generate any sales tax, Feldman said.

"It would be best to move city hall by the police station or somewhere else and use this space as somewhere we can generate revenue," he said, noting that he believes sales tax revenue will decrease in time.

The incumbent Peterson disagreed.

"We are fortunate we have been careful about what we spend and what we spend it on," Peterson said. "There's a reserve fund of $40-something million right now."

Helping corporations or not

While money was still on their minds, the candidates were asked about the tax incentives being used to lure businesses, like In-N-Out Burger, to Franklin.

Caesar said those kinds of deals should be used sparingly.

"They should be judicious. They should have thresholds and fair expectations to ensure that they meet those thresholds. And if they don't, we should claw those monies or incentives back," Caesar said.

Others disagreed.

When will it open: In-N-Out Burger's first Middle TN restaurant opening sooner than expected

Muvvala, Moore and Feldman opposed giving tax incentives to businesses looking to move to Franklin.

And George said he wouldn't gamble with taxpayer dollars.

"I'm not in the business of picking winners and losers, nor should anybody else here in the city government (be)," George said. "Corporate welfare is not the way we build and preserve Franklin."

Instead of incentives, George said corporations should come to places like Franklin for the atmosphere and the talent they can recruit.

"We are not taking our tax dollars and trying to guess who's going to be the best employer, who's going to be sticking around the most, who's going to build our community for us, " George said.

Petersen and Blanton, both incumbents, approved of offering tax incentives to attract businesses and voted for the In-N-Out Burger deal.

Early voting for the Oct. 24 election began Wednesday and runs through Oct. 19.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Franklin alderman candidates issues include God and In-N-Out Burger