Meet your candidates: Jody Vann for District 5 Commissioner

In advance of the upcoming local elections, the Gazette sat down with candidates seeking office across Cheatham County to hear directly about their priorities, platforms and visions for the community. 

Each candidate discussed what sets them apart and how they compare to their opponents in contested races. Early voting for the county primaries is scheduled to take place April 15-30 leading up to Election Day on May 5, giving residents ample opportunity to make their voices heard at the ballot box. See the full early voting schedule here.

Jody Vann is running as a republican for Cheatham County District 5 Commissioner – which represents Pegram. The position is currently held by Independent Diana Pike-Lovell and Republican Gene Evans, who are both seeking re-election.

Evans did not respond to the Gazette’s request for an interview. Since there are two seats for this position, both Vann and Evans will move forward to the general election ballot on Aug. 6. Lovell will only appear on the August ballot since she is running as an independent, and will not be included in the primary election. Only Pegram residents will see these seats on their ballot. 

Early voting will take place at Pegram City Hall. Kingston Springs residents will vote on election day at Harpeth High School. Pegram residents will vote on election day at Pegram City Hall.

Below, get acquainted with Vann, 53 – who is a Cheatham County native and has run for this seat twice before – and delve into his perspectives on crucial issues through our comprehensive Q&A session.

KSG: Can you introduce yourself and explain why you’re running for the District 5 County Commission seat? What qualifications and experience do you have?

Vann: I grew up in the county and went through our school system. I love our county. I want it to be the best of our 95 in the state. And I want to serve all of our citizens with anything that they may have concerns or problems with. I'm a graduate of Leadership Cheatham County class ‘21-’22. I served on the Board of Trustees for Leadership Cheatham County from ‘23-’25. I'm a current member of our county Board of Zoning Appeals. I'm a member of Cheatham Long Term Recovery. I’m a former firefighter, EMT, 911 dispatcher. I'm very familiar with the county. I worked for days and days and days after the 2021 tornado that came through southern Cheatham County. At that time, I was working full time for a hospital in Nashville – second shift – so I would come over here in the mornings and stay and help guide volunteers or whatever needed to be done up until the time that I had to go to work. I do love our county, and it doesn't matter whether it's Kingston Springs or Pleasant View or anything in between.

KSG: What are the top issues facing Cheatham County that you want to prioritize?

Vann: The first things that came to my mind were fiscal responsibility and our tax burden. I think those are closely related. I feel the tax burden is a hot topic, and I believe that we should really go after attracting new businesses to help offset potential tax increases. Nobody likes tax increases, and I can tell you, the commissioners don't like putting forth tax increases either. It's an evil thing that they have to do. We have a wonderful Economic Community Development team, and I've worked with them just volunteering, and I will continue to work with them to attract anything that we can. 

The opioid crisis is also an issue. It creates a ripple effect for our law enforcement, our EMTs and our local ERs. It adds to our call volume. It takes units out of service that could answer other calls, and anytime an emergency vehicle has to run lights or sirens, it adds another layer of danger to people on the road.

KSG: What are your concerns as it relates directly to District 5? 

Vann: While all districts in the county are unique, a lot of us have the same concerns and challenges: balanced growth, traffic, making sure that our infrastructure is fully funded, and also making sure essential services are keeping pace with the needs county wide – not just one district over another. 

As a whole, we need better roads and bridges. We need to continue funding our emergency services and add to it, if possible. Our call volume isn't getting any smaller. Our EMS call volume per capita is rapidly approaching Robertson and Montgomery counties. We have five ambulances, and we still have to ask for help from other counties. Those folks stay busy. 

And I always am eager to hear from the community on whatever concerns that they may have. 

KSG: How should the county balance growth and development with preserving its environment and character?

Vann: In my opinion, that's always been in the forefront of the county, and it goes back to the tax thing. I mean, we need low impact industry, something that's going to create a tax base, but not necessarily add to our schools, add a whole lot more to our roads. 

Nobody wants to see tall skinnies put up everywhere, and I'm one of them. I don't like that. If I wanted that, I would move across the county line. But I just think that we should focus on light industry. A grocery store would be light industry. It provides a tax base, it also provides jobs, but it doesn't add to our schools or heavily to our roads. And I'm open for ideas. If somebody says, ‘Hey, you ought to think about this,’ I'll listen.

KSG: How do you approach responsible budgeting and financial oversight at the county level? 

Vann: I would approach budgeting just like I do as an individual. Don't live above your means, don't overspend and save where you can. I think the county does a pretty good job of that. 

Now, obviously everybody likes to talk about the jail and it was a huge expense. Personally, I wish we could have begun construction on that prior to COVID, because everything has increased since COVID. It's not just here, it's everywhere. That would have saved a whole lot of money.

I feel that our emergency services and roads and bridge department needs that priority. If funds and budgets in the future allow for that to be funded more, it will be more. They could use a little help with our roads and bridge department. We need to find out a whole lot more and that's not a fifth district problem, in my opinion there's roads all over the county that could really use some help.

KSG: How do you plan to stay connected and responsive to residents in District 5? 

Vann: I've never been hard to find in our county, much less our district.

My wife and I are always out doing stuff. We are both co-founders of Bruce's Buddies, which is named after our oldest grandchild, and we have a couple of events throughout the year that help special needs kids. We are not going to go hide. If I'm elected, it's not like I'm going to fall off the radar. I'm still going to be out.

I encourage everybody to come to a county commission meeting to ask questions. And if you can't come, it's live streamed. And if you can't catch it on the live stream, it's always saved on YouTube. The public's comments and concerns are why we do what we do.

KSG: What would a successful term for you look like in Cheatham County? 

Vann: Success, to me, would be to eliminate our overdose deaths. I know that's a tough one to succeed at. There are groups and people who have been in this county who have been working really, really, really hard at that, and they've lowered those numbers. I would like to see them prosecuting the dealers. There's always room for improvement for anything in this county. But I hate to see people die needlessly.

KSG: Why should voters in District 5 vote for you?

Vann: I'm fair, I'm impartial. I want to be available, and plan to be available, and will listen to any of the citizens' concerns, and I'll do my best to resolve any issues. 

Nobody on the county commission can fix something by themselves. It takes us all, and we've got to be able to work together. That's what I want to strive for.