The Democratic-leaning city of Nashville's Metropolitan Council will get to keep all 40 of its seats for now, under a temporary decision issued Monday by three state judges.
The ruling stymies an effort by state Republican lawmakers to cut the council in half after it blocked the the 2024 Republican National Convention from coming to the Music City.
The new statute at issue would require Nashville to craft new council districts by May 1, a deadline city officials say is unreasonable.
Three state court trial judges — one from Nashville, one from Shelby County and one in Athens, Tennessee — agreed, saying there is a "compelling public interest in preserving the integrity of the Metro election process that is already underway.".
The state law, which only applies to city or city-county governments, would cut Nashville's combined council to 20 people.
A quarter of Nashville's council seats are held by Black members, half by women and five members who identify as LGBTQ+.
One bill would have renamed a portion of Nashville Rep. John Lewis Way to Trump Boulevard. »