Hear the radio version of this story.
Residents in the City of Clarksville and Montgomery County are voting on whether to consolidate their governments this election. It’s the third time since the 1980s this issue has come up for a vote.
One of the organizers of the movement against consolidation, Hank Koebler, has been standing outside early voting polls in Clarksville. He and a friend have been holding up a sign with the face of a man with a pinocchio nose. “Don’t buy the lie,” it says. “Vote no to consolidation.”
Koebler believes with this merger, Montgomery County would lose representation, take on the city’s debt, see tax hikes and would have to change its way of life.
"I wanted to live in a quiet rural area. And that’s one of the things I’m fighting to preserve, a quiet rural life. I don’t want to live in a city," said Koebler.
He also thinks the issue has become unnecessarily politicized. Referendum supporters, he said, sent out manipulative flyers with photoshopped politicians.
Some had President Obama and Hillary Clinton holding "vote no" signs, in an attempt to convince Republican voters to say yes. Others had Trump holding the sign to persuade Democrats.
Supporters of the merger include Scott Sowers, who's lived in Clarksville since 1985. He believes streamlined government is necessary to reduce wasteful spending as both the city and the county grow.
"Since I’ve been here it’s grown quite a bit, and I think it’s about time the consolidate the two," said Sowers. "Hopefully they will use this as an opportunity to grow but slim down costs."
In the most recent referendum on the matter, Clarksville voters approved consolidation but rural residents have not.
Correction: A previous version of this story said Clarksville residents approved consolidation in both previous referendums.
Copyright 2018 WPLN News
