Three conservative groups are planning to rally against Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s expected announcement of an increase to Davidson County property taxes during his State of Metro address next week.
On Thursday, May 1 at 10:00 a.m., O’Connell will deliver the 62nd State of Metro address at the Nashville Public Library where he will lay out his policy agenda and budget priorities for the 2026 fiscal year, which will reportedly include a remarkable increase to Davidson County property taxes.
As a result, Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee (AFP-TN), GOP-Nashville, and the Nashville Tea Party have come together to plan a counter protest in opposition to the mayor’s expected announcement of increased property taxes.
THE FIGHT HAS BEGUN! 💪 Our first stop? Mayor @freddieoconnell's State of Metro address at the Nashville Public Library. ✅ We'll gather between 9a-930a. TELL METRO CITY COUNCIL & the Mayor — NO NEW TAXES! Link in the comments. 👇 https://t.co/ljyqnlq04u
— AFPTN (@AFPTN) April 24, 2025
The groups are urging residents to attend the “NO NEW TAXES” rally which will be held at the Nashville Public Library on the same day O’Connell will deliver his State of Metro address.
The rally will begin at 9:00 a.m. – one hour before the mayor is scheduled to begin speaking to all Metro Council members, city officials, and other Davidson County residents who choose to attend.
Pamela Furr, AFP Middle TN Grassroots Director, said the rally is meant to serve as a “reminder” to city leaders that “Nashville families simply can’t bear the burden of another tax increase.”
“Whether it’s sales or property taxes, the message is the same—people are being priced out of their own city. We’re becoming the city of broken dreams simply because dreamers can no longer afford to live here,” Furr added.
Jason Weakley, Chairman of GOP-Nashville, echoed Furr’s comments, noting how Nashville tax increases over the years have driven people out of Davidson County and to surrounding counties.
“The facts are clear. Since 2014, over 40,000 residents have left Davidson County. Meanwhile, surrounding counties like Wilson, Sumner, and Rutherford have gained more than 100,000 people. That’s not a coincidence—people are voting with their feet, escaping Nashville’s tax-heavy policies,” Weakley said.
Nashville’s last property tax increase of 34 percent in 2020 was the largest in the city’s history.
Noting this and the recent half-cent increase to the city’s sales tax to fund the mayor’s “Choose How You Move” transit plan, Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, said O’Connell’s expected announcement of increased property taxes “could be the final straw.”
“It’s a threat to working families and risks turning Nashville into just another struggling urban center, hollowed out by overtaxation,” Cunningham added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “WeGo Bus Stop in Nashville” by WeGo Transit.
