I met Ken Jakes 5 or 6 years ago at community meeting regarding a zoning issue. He caught my attention because he boldly asked questions that brought out some very interesting flaws concerning the project.

Although almost everyone in the room knew the project was not good for our community, the group heading up the project was hell bent on getting their approval from the council and later from the board of zoning appeals. During a BZA hearing was when I first learned Ken Jakes was a man with integrity, grit and the word retreat was not in his vocabulary. When the BZA chair person attempted to close the hearing prior to all individuals being heard, Ken was willing to go to jail if that is what it took for our community to be heard in a fair way. It was our legal right to be heard. I have heard him say many times “that ain’t right” when referring to some of Metro’s one sided shenanigans. Now he says “enough is enough”.

I have in past years had the opportunity to get to know Ken well and I have seen him fight and win time after time when Metro was not giving its citizens a fair shake or when Metro was down right breaking the law. He is a fighter and there is no back up in him!  He has never served in any elected office but he has helped numerous citizens receive a fair shake from Metro when it seemed they were running into stone walls that the administration placed in there paths.

Ken did run for District 1 council seat and almost won. He almost won despite the fact he refused donations from PAC groups and special interest groups. 100% of the money donated to his campaign was donated by people in his own district who know Ken to be the best man for the job. His opponent received more than 90% of his donations from PAC groups and people from other districts, cities and states. Ken was out spent 4 to 1 by his opponent. His opponent received his large campaign war chest from sources outside his own district. What does that say? It is my opinion that large donations to his opponent were more an effort to insure Ken did not get elected. When you check public records and see who donated to his opponent’s campaign, it becomes obvious why they did not want Ken in the council.  I know for a fact Ken has turned down PAC money donations and will not accept donations from any special interest groups. As he says it “I don’t want to be beholding to anyone but the citizens of Nashville”. He supports Metro employees and appreciates their individual donations but refuses PAC money and asks unions to donate that money to families of fallen emergency workers or other good causes.

Things you may not know about Ken: He is a hard working family man and a good provider for all of his family. He checks daily on his elderly parents and provides their needs. His mother is a devout Christian angel whom we are all most likely to get a phone call from during this campaign season. She is a very sweet lady so be nice! His father is a World War II vet and was wounded in action and as a result he lost his hearing. He is now showing signs of dementia and requires extra care from Ken and family. Kens wife Deena and daughter Megan are among his greatest supporters.

Ken is a Mason and a Shriner. He went to school to become an electrician and worked with his uncle Ellis Jakes at farmers market selling produce and the business grew. Ken bought the business from his uncle and it continues to be successful today thanks to Ken’s good business sense. During the holidays you can bet when baskets are being delivered to the needy, that most of the fruit delivered came as a donation from Jakes Produce.

Other things you might not know: If you have in the past couple of years needed copies from Metro, you might have noticed a few changes. Copies of police reports that once cost an average 9 bucks will now cost you 90 cents. He just simply demanded that Metro follow the laws of the state of Tennessee which allows only a reasonable fee for copy charges. As Ken sometimes says “I had copies made on the 1^st floor for 25 cent and got on the elevator and the higher I went the higher the copy cost were. I had to pay 1 dollar per page for copies on the upper floor”.  Another thing Ken advises on that I found interesting is the 2.35% charge Metro charges to use your debit or credit card. Metro breaks an agreement with Visa card every time they charge the fee to Metro citizens. All you have to do is call the number on the back of your Visa card and have them remove the charge.

Ken has a lot of good ideas for the city of Nashville that are just good old common sense. He was called a Metro critic by one local news paper. In my opinion he is just like the rest of us, sick and tired of our government wasting money and being out of touch with the everyday citizens of Davidson Co. and would like to return our government back to the people it was designed to serve. Ken is a supporter of Metro employees and knows what a good and important job they do on a day to day basis. He also knows Metro employees have been receiving the blunt of cuts made in the past several years. Most are bringing home less pay than they were 5 years ago and doing more work to make up for those who have lost their jobs due to lay offs and vacant positions not being filled. All of this while the administration grows and grows. The Mayor and council continue to make political appointments at high level positions and even creating new positions, boards and departments while the rank and file are stagnant in their pay and benefits. The council and the Mayor have continued to purchase property for millions and millions and build while services have been cut at parks, libraries, public works and almost every other department. Employees and citizens deserve much better. Ken will be a very loud voice for all of us when he is elected. I know this man well and he will demand that the will of the people be carried out and he will demand it loudly.

He needs our help and support to win. We all can do something to help him help us. A yard sign, a truck sign, a phone call or two to friends, fund raisers or the smallest of donations would help. But most of all he needs our vote.

Thanks,

Joe Soard

6630 Clarksville Pike

Joelton Tn