Part 1 of 3: “Uncommon Sense.”
If a corrupt political machine exists, but no one hears about it, does it destroy your community?
The sky is blue. Water is wet. The only things that are guaranteed in life are death & taxes. Self-evident truths that don’t need explanation or long exposition.
In the recent past, there has been an explosion of issues for which there are purportedly self-evident, “common sense” solutions.
Gun control is the most notable. A solution to climate change is another. Tax policy that only requires a “fair share” is yet another. In each case, the invoker of the common sense mantra is insinuating that if you do not agree with their solution, you are somehow defective and therefore lacking in that precious commodity—common sense.
Of course, this is simple rhetoric to cow the target into submission. “Get on board or we’ll label you stupid” is the real message being sent each time, along with the implied ostracism from polite society.
A political action committee that employs this “Common Sense” mantra recently sprung in Williamson County, just in time for the pivotal Franklin BOMA election.[i] The Coalition for Common Sense TN is chaired by Bob Ravener (former candidate for Tennessee State Representative in District 61) and Lynn McAlister.
If you’re time limited, I’ll cut to the chase: you have been and are being gas lit on everything involving Ken Moore and his preferred alderman candidates, to say nothing about the broader political/social aristocracy here in middle Tennessee. What has been carefully crafted to appear reasonable and moderate is a façade hiding a corrupt network that cares little to nothing about the average citizen, but everything about maintaining power, which leads to money.
With that, let’s dig into one facet of this enterprise hiding behind “Common Sense.”
You Scratch My Back, I’ll Scratch Yours…
Bob Ravener sought the TN-61 seat in 2022 against now Tennessee Representative Gino Bulso. Ken Moore (and alderman side kick, Matt Brown) looked to give him a boost, using their positions as elected officials and city of Franklin resources. You probably haven’t heard that because Moore enlisted the help of four long-time friends to scuttle any public investigation, and our own fake news media turned a blind eye to the mountain of evidence available to them.
Bob Ravener launched his campaign on April 26, 2022.[ii] However, he likely held a preliminary strategy meeting at Moore’s behest with Williamson Inc CEO, Matt Largen, on March 23, 2022 in a conference room in Franklin City Hall. Moore’s assistant, Hannah Lampella, coordinated this meeting between the three big wigs. While there is no direct indication what this meeting entailed, several actions by both Moore and Brown following this meeting indicate this is when Ravener’s campaign actually started. It is also telling that the CEO of Williamson Inc was part of the campaign’s genesis.
On April 10, 2022, Alderman Matt Brown emailed Arthur L. Young (president of the Board of Managers at the Villages of Morningside HOA)[iii] to discuss a city commissioned traffic study and its impact on Young’s subdivision. Disturbingly, Brown then launches into a pitch to connect Young with Ravener, praising the latter as “phenomenal” in an email that is ostensibly about city business. To even the casual observer, this connection of city business involving an HOA president with an extant political campaign gives the disturbing impression that quid pro quo tactics could be in play.
On April 21, 2022, Mayor Moore emailed Brentwood City Mayor Rhea Little, openly campaigning for unannounced candidate Ravener. To his credit, Little did not respond—perhaps having a better understanding than Moore of the gross ethical violation this shameless pandering from public office presented.
On April 23, 2022, Mayor Moore emailed someone named Kent at the Tennessee Road Builders’ Association (TRBA), again campaigning from his office for Ravener. Like Brown’s earlier contact with Arthur Young, this is problematic as the city likely has contracts with TRBA members and this could be viewed as a quid pro quo request from an elected official.
On April 24, 2022, Alderman Matt Brown facilitated an in-station dinner between Ravener, Franklin Fire Chief Glenn Johnson, and the firefighters at Station 7. This meeting was then highlighted on Facebook by Firefighters Local 3758 the following day, showing Brown taking a selfie with Ravener, a Franklin fire truck and in uniform Franklin firefighters in the background. The obvious intent was to raise Ravener’s public profile and engender support off the appeal of hard working public servants.
These examples suggest an attempt to build pre-campaign momentum for Ravener through the use of City of Franklin resources and the official positions both Moore & Brown hold. These were not the end of their overt violation of City of Franklin ethics codes, nor state of Tennessee “Little Hatch Act” laws.
Moore facilitated several fundraisers and neighborhood gatherings for Ravener from his City of Franklin office, begging the question what he really does as mayor. These emails give a glimpse into the connected elite within Franklin and the broader Williamson County community. Of note, a June 15, 2022 email (1, 2, 3) from Moore to Williamson County mayor Rogers Anderson shows both men were coordinating to help Ravener raise money among the WillCo aristocracy.
Ravener was afforded two City of Franklin-sponsored high visibility events in the immediate aftermath of his campaign announcement.
First, Ravener was the keynote speaker at the joint Franklin-Williamson County May 30, 2022 Memorial Day program (page 1, 2, 3). This, and the pre-event publicity in the Williamson Herald (estimated to have reached 5,762 Williamson County residents) gave Ravener an advantage not afforded his competitor. While Ravener is a military veteran who could speak to the sacrifices of friends and colleagues, the City of Franklin/Williamson County’s choice of this particular veteran during his active political campaign is at the very least questionable and likely purposeful to help broaden Ravener’s appeal.
Second, Moore facilitated a Ravener photo op (1, 2) at the June 14, 2022 Board of Mayor and Alderman monthly meeting. The pretext of this was a newly commissioned local graduate of the Naval Academy reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at the meeting. Nevertheless, City of Franklin social media ensured Ravener received outsized coverage during his campaign. Like the earlier social media photo op with the fire department, the intent was to leverage someone else’s appeal to help Ravener’s campaign.
Finally, it is apparent someone facilitated Ravener’s direct engagement with city employees via City of Franklin official email channels. A June 6, 2022 email from Ravener does not have a recipient in the “to” address line (suggesting a bcc blast mail delivery), but does indicate it came from outside the City of Franklin email system to City of Franklin recipients. In the email, Ravener openly campaigns and asks for assistance from the recipient. Assistant fire chief Glenn Johnson received one of these emails and reported it on June 23, 2022 (in apparent response to a FOIA request). This begs the question who provided City of Franklin email addresses to the Ravener campaign, how many were provided, and why no one in city leadership thought to stop this misuse of taxpayer resources for a political campaign?
The entire file of Moore & Brown’s coordination and advancement of Ravener’s campaign through their positions and use of city resources is available here. It is readily apparent that Moore attempted to help Ravener in 2022, and not at all surprising that Ravener would return the favor in 2023.
Continue unraveling the “Common Sense TN” PAC in Part 2: “The Nothingburger with a Suprising Amount of Meat.”
[i] https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp/public/cpresults.htm
[ii] https://www.williamsonherald.com/news/local_news/ravener-announces-candidacy-for-house-district-61/article_d502b386-c57b-11ec-a414-b75e32eeae39.html