Meet your candidates: Cody Howard for Pegram

The local election season is upon us in Pegram, and residents are eager to learn more about the individuals vying to represent their interests and lead their community forward.

The Gazette sat down with each of the five candidates running for the town’s two open alderman seats, offering insights into their backgrounds, motivations and visions for the town. Current Pegram aldermen Randy Howington and Michael Paszek are not seeking reelection.

Early voting for Pegram’s local election will take place Friday, July 17 through Saturday, Aug. 1. See the early voting schedule and polling locations here. Pegram residents can also vote at Pegram City Hall on election day on Thursday, Aug. 6.

Each candidate brings a unique perspective shaped by their experiences and dedication to Pegram. Whether they are long-standing residents deeply ingrained in the fabric of the community or newer arrivals driven by innovative ideas, their stories represent a diverse spectrum of voices committed to tackling local challenges and propelling positive growth.

Below, get acquainted with alderman candidate Cody Howard, who moved to Pegram in 2024, and delve into his perspectives on crucial issues through our comprehensive Q&A session. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

KSG: Why are you running for alderman, and what unique perspective would you bring to the board?

Howard: I decided to run for alderman because I've been drawn to public service and public work my entire life. I want to do what's best for the community, and I decided that would be one of the best ways to give back and become part of the fabric of my community. Jordan, my wife and I, we didn't move to South Cheatham County by mistake. It was a very intentional move. It reminds us of where we grew up and on the other side of the state, and it has a lot of the things that we're looking for – the small town vibes in the community, and being able to know your neighbor and talk to people. I don't live in Pegram by mistake. It's very important to me that I live in Pegram, and I want to be part of the solution to any issues the community has, and I want to give back in whatever way I can.

I feel like Pegram is in a really unique position right now, because of the continued growth and sprawl of Metro Nashville, and we're at a bit of a crossroads in trying to find the balance between growth and development and maintaining that small town community, rural feel, and how do we do that? Being from Sevier County, I've seen firsthand how that can work if you sway too much in one direction or another, and I think that is my unique perspective that I'm bringing in. I understand the need for growth, understand the want for growth, but also understand other people's concern for maintaining who we are, what we are and what we want to be.

The part of the state that I'm from, especially when I was growing up, there was lots of poverty. My family definitely went through its share of poverty, and coming from that definitely helps form your outlook pretty early on, and realizing the importance of community and charitable organizations, and people that are there to help. As I got older, I decided to go to school for social work and psychology, that way I could go out into the community and give back to people who needed it the most. It's been a constant thing in my life. The drive is to just be involved in things that are grassroots or local level support of the people in our community, the most vulnerable who need help the most, and that's that's why I was immediately drawn to The ARK. Everything that they do is so important to help make sure that everyone in our community, almost no questions asked, is loved and taken care of and knows that they've got that safety network and that net to catch them.

KSG: What do you believe is the biggest issue facing Pegram over the next four years?

Howard: I think the growth and development is number one, foremost, both internally, our own growth and development, and externally, with, like I said, Davidson County. I think the Davidson County one, for a lot of people living in Pegram, is constantly in the forefront of their mind with things continuing to push down 70 and get closer and closer up to the border for us. I do think that is something we have to keep an eye on and make sure that if we decide that we want to grow as a town and have more development, and have either another subdivision or neighborhood or things like that, that we do it the right way and maintain our current way of life and aesthetic. I think that the development of our Main Street, so to speak, along Highway 70 and the main corridor is really important – to continue to support the businesses that are there, but also try to rejuvenate the spaces where there is opportunity for more business, and I think one of the things is really, really try to, as much as we can, focus on local businesses and support them as much as we can.

At the end of the day, Davidson County and Nashville are our neighbors, and so you need to know your neighbor. You need to talk to your neighbor. It's no different as a municipality to be talking to your neighbors than it is as a person living in a community and knowing your neighbor that way. I think for Pegram, I really, really worry about that Highway 70-McCrory Lane intersection, because the train tracks being there already occasionally cause problems when the train is going by, or if the train stops and blocks it, but then with the new development of the housing that's going in right next to Eddie's, closer to Bellevue, or the development of the apartments and the housing and the neighborhoods along McCrory Lane between 70 and 40 – that's going to become a choke point. 

If that intersection right there isn't really watched closely and the development around it, I think it can really quickly become a problem for our town. If it's backing up at that intersection, it can very quickly back up all the way to the fire hall and start blocking our emergency service vehicles from being able to get where they need.

KSG: Pegram continues to grow. How should the town balance new development with preserving its small-town character?

Howard: I think grassroots sustainable businesses are the lifeblood of small towns. Look at what Finches is to Pegram – that is a beloved institution in our town, and people very much value Finches and what they do when you have a family-owned, long-term not only business, but also commitment to the community and commitment to the culture of the community. If we can focus on developing businesses within our town that are locally owned, or at least people that live in our region, and people who want to be part of the fabric of who we are and what we are, they're going to have a lot more long-term success versus this corporate entity. I would much rather focus on what we can do within our own community with our own businesses.

KSG: What infrastructure projects should be prioritized?

Howard: One of the biggest things that initially got me involved in going to city council meetings and trying to talk to some aldermen and ask questions was our sewage system and water system. At the end of the day, and I understand we're a small town utility, and it's expensive to be a small town utility, but our water bill is very expensive. My wife and I live alone. It's just the two of us. I don't think that we waste water. Our water bill runs about $120 to $140 a month. I'm a young working professional – we can make that work. I'm more worried about the people within our community – our seniors, people with disabilities, single parents – there shouldn't be such a threshold to getting fresh clean water. 

We're going to have to expand, and that's one of the things that I want to be involved with. How do we do that the right way? We have to get some funding, whether that be at the county level, the state level, at the federal level – we need to be working to secure more funding to help bring that cost of living and cost of a basic necessity for people within our community down to a more reasonable level.

KSG: What is one area where the town should spend more money and one area where it should spend less?

Howard: I don't necessarily see any areas where I feel like they're overspending or areas that I would like to see more spending. The public works department does an absolutely fantastic job with our city park – our city park is excellent. I would like to see a little bit of expansion or renewal of some things within the city park to make it a little more fun. 

We have a lot of space, so there could be some simple little things that we could do, and we've got the space behind the public works building, along the train tracks, that would be an excellent place for a community garden, community flowers, maybe a partnership with The ARK. That would also be a great space for a little skate park, so kids who are interested in that sort of thing have more to do. I noticed there are a few of the playground equipment that were broken and  they just need a little love. Anything to draw people into the park – back to that sense of community. Let’s hear what people in the community want and what they would want in the park, and how can we make that happen?

KSG: How can the town better engage residents in local government?

Howard: When I first moved to town, I was wanting to get involved and what's going on, I started trying to track down city council meeting information, and it is there. It's posted, but it can be a little difficult to find. There’s also no live video, and I think with what exists with social media and the different things that we have at our disposal that are free, it wouldn’t cost us anything to create an online presence for the local government. I'm sure there are lots of people in the community that want to see what's going on in those meetings or want to participate but maybe they can't be there at that specific time. I think it's just really important that we take advantage of what we have with digital media and social media to just try to be more inclusive and engaging with, you know, the electorate within the town.

KSG: Why should the residents of Pegram vote for you? 

Howard: I'm a Tennessee native. I love living here. I don't want to live anywhere else. This is my home intentionally, I want to be part of the solution to development, infrastructure, and how we are going to function as a community. I want to be ready, available and supportive of everyone and everything in our community as much as I can. I just want to help people and help my community be the best that it can possibly be.