Mayoral Candidates Address Key Issues in FOX 17 Debate

By Sky Arnold NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Wednesday night, all seven candidates for Metro Nashville Mayor squared off in the FOX 17 Mayor's Debate. Moderators Scott Couch and Stacy Case asked each candidate questions about the FOX 17 Green Mile Investigation, education and the riverfront. The topic of how to provide affordable housing brought out some of the most disagreement. RELATED: WATCH THE ENTIRE FOX 17 MAYORAL DEBATE Bill Freeman pointed to his experience working with private developers as one way to generate affordable housing. "We can get thousands of units online and developed using the private sector. That's the magic in my plan using the private sector," said Freeman. Charles Robert Bone quickly made it a point to say he feels that's the wrong choice. "I'm not sure I wanna incentivize a developer from Dallas or Atlanta or Chicago I wanna incentivize those doing that work today," said Bone. Other candidates sounded off on affordable housing in other ways. Megan Barry pointed out one problem Nashville is facing is what happens after property is developed. "When we have developers who speculate on property and come in and spruce them up and jack up the rent that's a problem as well," said Barry. The candidates were also asked how they'd improve transportation. David Fox pointed to new ways to get people into Davidson County. "The extent that we can have the private sector shoulder some of this burden that would be a good opportunity so seeing what in the railroad lines can we use for commuter transportation," said Fox. Linda Eskind Rebrovick took another approach, talking about her plan to use technology to create improvements immediately. "It is about technology and sensors to make traffic move smarter. It is about making sure we get info in our smartphones to make better decisions everyday about where we're going," said Rebrovick. Other candidates made it a point to say they favor focusing on the MTA bus system we already have. "Ramp our public transportation MTA to its capacity and to hopefully move our people in a way they can move effectively on time," said Howard Gentry. Jeremy Kane says his plan involves a variety of transportation improvements including altering the way MTA moves people. "It's connected to our jobs it's connected to our schools and it's connected to our neighborhoods. I believe we also need to think regionally within Davidson county so you don't have to come downtown to transfer," said Kane. Early voting for the August election begins July 17. _______________ Stay up to date with our social media: WZTV on Facebook:   / foxnashville   WZTV on Twitter:   / foxnashville   Subscribe to WZTV on YouTube:    / @fox17nashville   Daily News Playlist:    • Playlist   For more information, visit https://fox17.com/ Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: [email protected] Call the Newsroom: 615.369.1717 Fox 17 provides local news, weather, sports, traffic and entertainment for Nashville and nearby towns and communities in Middle Tennessee, including Forest Hills, Brentwood, Franklin, Fairview, Dickson, Clarksville, White House, Greenbrier, Springfield, Gallatin, Hartsville, Lebanon, Mt Juliet, Smyrna, College Grove, Thompson’s Station, Centerville, Murfreesboro, Columbia, Lewisburg, Shelbyville, Manchester, McMinnville, Smithville, Sparta, Cookeville, Hohenwald, Waverly, Camden, Paris, Lafayette, Portland, and in Kentucky, Russelville, Bowling Green, Franklin, Alvaton, Scottsville, Hopkinsville, Glasgow. #WZTV #fox17news #foxnashville