An ethics dust-up hit Metro Council this week, as two East Nashville residents accused District 26 Councilmember Courtney Johnston of quietly sitting on the board of a kids museum tied to a major redevelopment vote. The complaint says Johnston failed to disclose her role with the nonprofit Music City Children's Museum and then took part in a council vote involving the proposed site. Johnston has brushed off the filing as “nonsense,” and the Metro Council has put the related rezoning on hold while the dust settles.
According to the Nashville Banner, East Nashville residents Melanie Cochran and Elizabeth MK Sullivan filed the ethics complaint on Thursday. They allege Johnston did not list her seat on the museum’s board in her annual financial disclosure and did not recuse herself from a council vote involving the former scrapyard property on the east bank of the Cumberland River, where the museum is proposed. The complaint asks the city’s Department of Law and the Board of Ethical Conduct to investigate.
Johnston’s museum role
The Music City Children’s Museum lists Johnston as a member of its board of directors and identifies her as Metro Nashville’s District 26 councilmember, according to the Music City Children’s Museum. The museum’s website outlines its leadership and describes its effort to secure a permanent venue in Davidson County.
What the complaint alleges
The complaint says Johnston texted a constituent that she was “working with the investor group as a board member” and then participated in Metro Council action involving the same property, which the complainants argue creates an apparent conflict of interest. As reported by the Nashville Banner, the council responded by deferring the rezoning request tied to the site at a recent meeting while the Office of Law looks into the allegations.
Rules and next steps
Metropolitan Nashville’s Standards of Conduct require elected officials to disclose potential conflicts of interest and spell out a formal complaints process. Under that process, the Department of Law reviews allegations and has 14 days to recommend either dismissal or a formal hearing. That framework is laid out in the Metropolitan Code of Laws, in ordinance BL20071382.
Local political context
Johnston represents District 26 and serves on key Metro Council committees, including Budget and Finance and the Charter Revision Committee, according to Metro Council records. Depending on what the Department of Law recommends, the complaint could either be tossed or sent to a formal hearing, a decision that will influence both the timeline of the museum-related rezoning and the broader public debate over the east bank redevelopment.
What to watch
The Office of Law will make the first call and may advise the Board of Ethical Conduct to dismiss the complaint or proceed to a hearing, following the procedures in the city code. Until that happens, the council’s decision to defer the rezoning keeps the museum proposal and any related land use approvals on ice while the ethics case plays out.
