Jan. 22 vote -- "In Calif. some state representatives have interpreters because they can't speak English. That’s not the vision I have for Nashville."

From The New York Times:

Nashville, like most cities in the country, allows government officials to communicate in any language they choose . . . .

On Jan. 22, city residents will vote on the proposal [to make Nashville the largest city in the United States to prohibit the government from using languages other than English, with exceptions allowed for issues of health and safety] . . . .

“I happened to see a state legislature meeting in California where several of the state representatives had interpreters at their desk because they couldn’t speak English,” Mr. Crafton [, the person behind the proposal, said. “That’s not the vision I have for Nashville.”

Thirty states, including Tennessee, and at least 19 cities have declared English the official language, according to Rob Toonkel, a spokesman for the U.S. English Foundation, which advocates such policies. But most of the cities are small, places like Hazelton, Pa., and Culpeper, Va.

In Nashville, which has a population of about 600,000, two factors have been driving interest in Mr. Crafton’s proposal: the booming immigrant population and the faltering economy.