Priorities

Priorities

Accessibility

Civil Rights

Sharon wants to make sure Nashville is a place where everyone, regardless of their gender, sexual identity or disability status, is not just tolerated, but celebrated. Her civil rights platform includes:

Gender Equity

Re-establish the Mayor’s Commission on Gender Equity.
Fully fund gender-affirming care for Metro employees.
Ensure Nashville is a safe haven for reproductive justice.

Gun Reform

Accessibility

Support a federal assault weapons ban and red flag laws.

Enforcing accessibility requirements for all Metro buildings.
Establishing remote hours for government buildings outside regular business hours to increase government accessibility.

Crime

Sharon believes that you have to get to the root of the problem before you can get to the fruit of the problem. The root of crime is poverty and Sharon will address this root head-on. She will implement the following to ensure Nashville is a safe place to live for all of its residents:

Start the Restorative and Ethical Approaches to Children’s Hope (REACH) 2030 Initiative to Eliminate Black-on-Black Gun Violence in Nashville

Provide students with after school programs, recreational centers and social services to keep them out of crime.
Form a coalition of grassroots organizations, juvenile justice offices, mental health specialists and MNPD to advise.
Foster respect and trust between the MNPD and the neighborhood.
Model on the recent successful community-based violence-prevention pilot in Baltimore.

Involve Formerly Incarcerated Individuals in Our Workforce Development Programs to Reduce Recidivism

Re-establish our Community Oversight Board on the Municipal Level to Impartially Investigate Allegations of Police Misconduct

Education

Sharon understands how public schools are at the forefront of every parent’s mind but has not been at the forefront of past administration’s priorities. Sharon will:

Educational programs

Create a literacy initiative for all MNPS first-grade students so they are reading at grade level.
Bring back apprenticeship and vocational programs in public schools as an alternative to college for a middle-class lifestyle.
Supplying mental health professionals for students and teachers.
Making sure school documents are available in the 20+ languages spoken in Nashville.
Bring back Mayor’s First Day so Metro employees can take their children on the first day of school.

Support Students by Supporting Teachers

Providing workforce housing for school teachers and staff so they can live in the neighborhoods where they work.
Cutting educational bureaucracy so teachers have the freedom to teach.
Fully fund teacher pay, substitute teacher pay, and longevity pay.
Hire more teachers of color so teachers look like their student body.

Healthcare

Nashville’s top-tier healthcare system is unfortunately inaccessible to many of Nashville’s residents. As Mayor, Sharon will improve healthcare through the following:

Improving Healthcare Accessibility

Educating the community on what resources are currently and what residents already qualify for.
Making sure materials and interpreters are available in the 20+ languages spoken in Nashville.
Increasing clinic hours outside regular business hours for those who can’t afford to take time off work.

Equitable Distribution of Government Healthcare Funding

Prioritize Nashville General Hospital funding.
Provide provisions for transportation to and from doctor’s appointments.
Fight for the end of the HIV epidemic and harm reduction.
Fund grassroots healthcare organizations so they can better access people in healthcare deserts.

Housing

Housing is consistently the top issue for Nashvillians and rightfully so. Sharon believes housing is a right - not a privilege. Sharon has a vision for affordable and attainable housing so anyone who wants to live in Nashville can. She has a two-pronged approach to housing:

Creation of New Housing Stock

Tax credits for big and small developers to incentivize attainable housing on vacant properties.
Zoning the city-owned land in Bordeaux and East Bank for affordable and attainable housing.
Concentration of new housing along public transit lines.
Providing workforce housing for school teachers and staff so they can live in the neighborhoods where they work.
Converting unused office buildings to residential buildings.

Preservation of Existing Housing

Property tax relief for low income and working families
A maintenance fund so affordable housing recipients can keep their homes.

Labor

Sharon has always been a champion of labor and will continue to fight for everyday workers as Mayor. She will push through the following policies to support workers:

Require government contract recipients to meet stricter standards on workplace safety and utilization of federal apprenticeship programs.
Enforce the Do Better Bill. The Do Better Bill, which incentivized hiring local workers, was passed in 2017.
Create a labor liaison in City Hall to be in tune with the needs of the labor community.
Bring back apprenticeship and vocational programs in public schools as an alternative to college for a middle-class lifestyle.

Transportation

Sharon is committed to solving Nashville’s ever-worsening traffic crisis. Sharon will stop kicking mass transit investment down the line and make it a priority. Her transit plan includes:

Transit Infrastructure

Finally developing bus-only lanes (BRT) along the Murfreesboro Pike Corridor to beat the traffic.
Building transit centers across Nashville.

Pedestrian Safety

Building crossing islands across major roadways so bus stops are accessible.
Improving bus stop quality with benches and shelter.

Service Improvements

Adding crosstown lines to make transfers easier.
Increasing frequency of bus routes.