Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Nashville

Koch Brothers and Dark Money Gang Up on Nashville Transit Referendum

An anti-transit group that goes by the deceptive name “Better Transit for Nashville” used the Waffle House shooting to gin up fear and confusion about the upcoming transit referendum.

The Koch brothers are at it again in Nashville.

Three years after funding a campaign to sink the city's high-profile BRT project, the world's richest climate deniers are paying their minions to wage a vicious fight against Nashville's potentially transformative $5 billion transit referendum.

Transit policy experts view the package of bus and light rail improvements as a breakthrough that will deliver on its promise to create service people will want to use. On May 1, voters will decide whether to proceed with expanded bus service, new light rail and bus rapid transit routes, and pedestrian safety improvements, to be funded mainly by a sales tax bump.

As the election draws near, Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity Tennessee and a swarm of opposition groups funded by dark money have mounted a vicious disinformation campaign to prevent the proposal from passing, undermining years of public consensus building.

A single group, "NoTax4Tracks," raised about $950,000 in three months to fight the transit package, reports the Tennessean. Most of it -- $750,000 -- was from a separate dark money organization whose donors are secret.

Meanwhile, the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity has been phone banking, sending opposition mailers, and organizing against the transit referendum.

The closer the election gets, the dirtier the tricks.

One of the transit opposition groups goes by the confusing name "Better Transit for Nashville." The Tennessean recently published an op-ed submitted by the group, but was forced to print an apology after it was revealed that the byline was fake.

In another display of absolute shamelessness, the same group posted on Facebook that approving the transit referendum would "bring crime" like the Waffle House shooting, in which four people of color were killed by a 29-year-old white man with an AR-15. According to the Tennessean, the shooter arrived by truck.

Nora Kern, director of Bike Walk Nashville, which is one of 130 groups backing the referendum, says the debate has definitely taken an ugly turn in the last few weeks.

"The transit for Nashville side is trying to explain a really complicated infrastructure referendum," she said. "The opposition just needs to make people confused or scared and they win."

But Kern thinks the optimistic message from the pro-transit coalition can carry the day. Supporters expect the vote to be close and the outcome to come down to turnout.

"Our city desperately needs transportation options," she said. "If you don’t have a car in Nashville you’re a second-class citizen. The only way we’re really going to move our city forward is to have dedicated funding for transit and walking. This is our city’s opportunity."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Talking Headways Podcast: Bike Guides to Build Your City

Bill Schultheiss on AASHTO and NACTO bike lane design guides, the importance of history, political will and the stress of being an expert witness in court.

May 29, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Live to Fight Another Day

Congestion pricing won a major court victory that suggests it's here to stay, and could eventually open the door for other cities to follow New York's lead.

May 29, 2025

Duffy Tells Congress He’s Not Delaying DOT Projects — As He Delays DOT Projects

Thousands of federal transportation grants remain in limbo as the Trump administration cuts staff and cracks down on DEI, bike lanes and environmental rules.

May 29, 2025

Chicago is a world-class city. Our transit system should reflect that. 

Creating a unified transit system across Northeast Illinois will allow us to serve riders' needs now and tomorrow.

May 28, 2025

‘Whether They See It Or Not’: How the ‘Arrested Mobility’ of Black Americans Harms Everyone

"Policy could be the decision to invest in a community, or to disinvest [in that community]. In Black, brown, low-income communities, the policy has been disinvestment."

May 28, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Look for a Bailout

Congress's latest Band-Aid for the Federal Highway Trust Fund won't keep it solvent, but it will hurt transit.

May 28, 2025
See all posts