Tennessee State Official Threatens To Seize Town Over Ford Motor Company Investment

[liberal N proud]

Tennessee State Official Threatens To Seize Town Over Ford Motor Company Investment

An all-new $5.6 billion mega campus in Stanton, Tenn., called BlueOval City, will create approximately 6,000 new jobs and reimagine how vehicles and batteries are manufactured.

Mason, Tennessee, is a tiny town that stands to benefit a great deal from Ford Motor Company’s massive investment in electric trucks and batteries. With construction starting on a 4,100-acre truck and battery plant sometime this year, Tennessee’s Comptroller has a message for elected leaders and residents: Dissolve your town’s 153-year-old charter or the state will simply take the town over.

https://jalopnik.com/tennessee-state-official-threatens-to-seize-town-over-f-1848666004

The town is a mostly black government

[eppur_se_muova]

1. The comptroller acknowledges this is "unprecedented", but doesn't offer a clear justification.

More details in the original article at the Tennessee Lookout; the town gov't has fallen behind in their annual audits, but they've been digging themselves out of a hole created by corrupt officials who resigned (and were prosecuted) in 2016. It sounds like they'd be fine if they were just left to their own business for a little longer.

Worth noting that the plant is not being built in Mason, but only nearby. Other towns will benefit plenty, as will the county. So what's the big problem with some of the indirect benefits going to Mason ??


ETA: The original letter is at https://tntribune.com/will-black-peoples-land-be-stolen-in-tennessee-again/ . He seems to be quite concerned about getting this done in a big hurry -- all for the town's own good, to be sure.

[UncleTomsEvilBrother]

2. Oh...

...it's a Black town. Doubt if this gets much media or pushback at all.

[brewens]

3. Sounds like a better deal that Tulsa got, but the same principal. n/t

[llashram]

4. looks like

'Reconstruction' 2.0 is over since the state administration is afraid too many African-American will benefit GREATLY from jobs. . And the Lord knows too many African-Americans with good jobs with good pay means greater economic power. Not to mention those lazy pesky blacks will be taking too many jobs from the good southern whites who deserve them more... And I know what's this behind this move from the state...money, racism and the whole ball of southern stinking wax, I quit.

The state will probably win no matter how they spin their moves(s) against these townfolks. 403 years and the beat goes on. Gentrification on steroids here.

[lagomorph777]

5. This should be featured on MSNBC.

[spanone]

6. Republicans are destroying my beautiful state of Tennessee.

Damn them to hell.

[Mr.Bill]

7. If Ford lets them do this and still builds the plant

I will never buy another Ford product. Politicians be damned, Ford has the power to keep this from happening.

[LiberalFighter]

8. Small government Republican? Hmm

[NullTuples]

9. Not mentioned: Race is a big, big factor

The town was run by white people. They stepped down or were removed due to fraud & mismanagement. Black people were elected to replace them in the mostly Black town. Ford announced the new plant; Mason is the closest town. Suddenly the White state government wants to take over management of the town.