NEWS FROM NASHVILLE: Lessons From the Transit Plan’s Crushing Defeat: The May 1 election wasn’t just about public transit — it was a referendum on the direction of the city.

People are posting a lot of take-aways, though, that to me seem to miss some fundamental points. As much as politicians and strategists want to and are able to separate our current financial shitshow from public transit, regular people can’t. Yes, transit would have dedicated funding, but we can’t get paper in our schools without parents buying it. There is lead in our schools’ water. If we have a very limited pool of money, I think most Nashvillians would rather spend it on adequate schooling in non-poisonous schools. In other words, let’s take care of our responsibilities before we spend on our wish-list items.

Also, no one understands why we’re in a financial shitshow. At first, it was all “Oh, too many people appealed their new appraisals,” which, okay, sure. Appeal. That’s your right. But why was every appeal granted? I mean, if every assessment that was appealed was found to be wrong, should we assume every assessment is wrong? In which case, are those of us who didn’t appeal dumb? Shouldn’t someone be fired?

If I recall correctly, Nashville’s last Republican mayor was Morton Howell, in 1874-75.

UPDATE: In the comments, T.M. Lutas corrects me — the last Republican mayor was longer ago than that.