MAYOR DEAN IMPLEMENTS MINORITY BUSINESS INITIATIVES
Begins work to make Nashville 'a model of minority participation in public contracts'
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 9, 2007) -
Mayor Karl Dean announced today three immediate actions he is taking in the Mayor’s Office to help small and minority-owned businesses in Nashville receive a fair share of Metro Government contracts.
“Nashville needs to be a model of minority participation in public contracts,” Dean said. “I am addressing this issue directly from the Mayor’s Office and will work closely with Council members to get an ordinance passed that will affect real change in the way our procurement process is handled. It’s just the right thing to do.”
The initiatives immediately being implemented are:
- Griffin & Strong, the Atlanta-based law firm which completed Metro’s Disparity Study, have been retained to assist the Law Department in writing an ordinance that will enact changes to the Metropolitan Code that are consistent with their recommendations in the study.
- Michelle Lane will serve as special assistant to the mayor for small and minority business development. Lane is currently the program director for Metro’s Disadvantaged, Minority and Small Business Assistance in the Finance Department. Her position in the Mayor’s Office will raise the profile of Metro’s small and minority-owned business development efforts and increase communication between DMSBA, the mayor and the community at large.
- Pam Martin has been named head of the Mayor’s Minority Business Advisory Council. Martin is a Nashville businesswoman, currently working as president of Cushion Employer Services. She also serves as a member of the mayor’s transition team. The advisory council will develop further initiatives to assist the development of small- and minority-owned businesses in Nashville. Other appointments to the council are forthcoming.
Justice A.A. Birch, chair of the mayor’s transition team, said: “This is a major step and I applaud it, and I look forward to the progress I am sure will be made.”
For media inquiries contact:
Janel Lacy
(615) 862-6020
janel.lacy@nashville.gov