The Middle Tennessee Mayors Caucus was formed in 2009 in order to provide leadership on important issues facing a rapidly changing regional landscape. Transportation, and particularly the pursuit of a modern regional transit system, served as the early catalyst, but in its brief history the Caucus has served as an effective forum for building working relationships among mayors and has helped local governments support each other on issues ranging from flood recovery to state and federal legislative and policy priorities. The Caucus is open to nearly 70 city and county mayors from across Middle Tennessee. Legislative issues for the GNRC area are discussed and prioritized by the Middle Tennessee Mayors Caucus.
Although transportation, and particularly the pursuit of a modern regional transit system, served as the early catalyst, the Caucus has grown into an effective forum to discuss issues that cross political boundaries, identify shared opportunities and challenges, and develop collaborative strategies for action among mayors and county executives.
The Caucus advocates for public policies beneficial to individual cities and counties, and the region as a whole. In 2017, area mayors played a pivotal role in the passage of Governor Haslam’s IMPROVE Act. The legislation not only provided much-needed funding for roadway projects but also included a local option for communities in Middle Tennessee to ask voters to approve local revenue to build a regional transit system.