Adam Dread

Adam Dread (born February 1, 1963 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was a city council member-at-large for the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County until September 2007. Born with a different birthname, he had his name legally changed to Adam Dread as an adult. He is currently a practicing attorney and businessman in Nashville.

Education and career

Adam Dread was elected to the Metro Council in December 2002 Since then, he set a Metro record for winning the most county wide races in the shortest period of time (he won 4 races in one year, including run-offs.) He was endorsed by every major newspaper, union, and trade organization. Prior to that, he had run for a Metro Council at-large seat in 1999. He Chaired the Public Safety - Beer and Regulated Beverages Committee and also served as a member of the Public Works Committee and the Traffic and Parking Committee. He was at one point Chair of the Convention and Tourism Committee. He is also known for building the live music stage at the airport, in conjunction with the Convention Tourism Bureau, to welcome visitors and locals to Music City with live music. Popular with the public,in 2008 he was voted "The Best Metro Councilman Out the Door", as he was term limited, and couldn't run again.

Adam Dread works as an attorney at Durham & Dread, PLC. His law firm can be viewed at www.durhamanddread.com They are well-know for being one of the first Tennessee firms to go after the makers of tainted pet food from China. Since 1999, he has worked as a freelance consultant and corporate spokesman for numerous clients including Jack Daniels and Fruit of the Loom. From 1999 until elected for Metro Council, he was on the Metro Beer Permit Board.

He was a freelance columnist between 1996 and 2000. Between 1996 and 1999, he was the feature producer of TNN's Prime Time Country. Between 1992 and 1995, he was the radio host of the award-winning "Man of Leisure Mornings" on Thunder 94 and Lightning 100 Morning. Between 1986 and 1992, he worked as a professional touring stand-up comedian in the US and abroad. Adam Dread graduated from Palm Beach Academy and Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He obtained his J.D. when he graduated from Nashville School of Law in 2004. In 2007 and 2008 the Readers of The Nashville Scene voted Dread one of the Top 3 DUI Attorneys in Nashville. He is also a published songwriter and book author. His two books, "You've Obviously Spent Time on Nantucket If..." and "ACK't 2" are still popular on the resort island. One of his parody songs, "Titans #1" was performed at the 2000 Super Bowl festivities. Another parody, "Did I Shave My Back for This?" was the title track of a popular Cledus T.Judd country comedy album. Prior to his terms on the Metro Council he served on the Boards of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundations, The Community Resource Center, and The Belcourt Theatre. He still hosts the annual "Oyster Easter" event for the CRC and was named their "2007 Volunteer of the Year." In October 2009 Adam Dread wast voted "Best Attorney" in Nashville by the readers of The Nashville Scene.

In the summer of 2009 Dread became very involved in the controversial new gun laws enacted in Tennessee. When the Legislature passed a law allowing people with carry permits to take their handguns into bars, Dread, and a team of lawyers, sued the State of Tennessee. They discovered that the law was passed due to fraudulent facts provided by lobbyists. In addition to the public safety and economic arguments, the team argued that the law was Unconstitutional on its face, and created an unsafe work environment, thus violating OSHA standards. Dread debated this issue multiple times on Fox & Friends. The case is still pending in Chancery Court. More on this can be found at www.gunsandalcoholdontmix.org. In September 2009, Dread joined Brady Campaign President, Paul Helmke, in a debate with NRA lobbyists at the University Of Tennessee, Martin Campus.

Political views

Proposals

Adam Dread filed a local resolution in support of the U.S. Armed Forces involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom. When he became Chair of the Convention and Tourism Committee on August 24 2004, Adam Dread stated his first initiative would be improving the city's taxes system. He filed an ordinance that he said would improve and amplify the bill of rights approved by the Metro Transportation Licensing Commission in 2001. The ordinance required that all cab drivers speak and understand English, cabs be air conditioned and drivers do not take personal calls while a customer is in the car. Forms of this Ordinance were adopted in Bermuda,where Dread appeared before Parliament, as well as Trinidad and other island nations.

Votes

Adam Dread voted against canceling zoning in Percy Priest Lake, against Sylvan Park historic zoning, for a Westin Hotel on Lower Broadway, for Lower Broadway historic zoning, and for rezoning Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. On the third reading, he voted in favor of the proposal for a new ballpark for the Nashville Sounds, which included provisions for hotels, condos, shops and other businesses on the land adjacent to the stadium. Dread voted for a proposal that would have banned discrimination against gay and lesbian employees of Metro government. Dread drafted and passed the city's "Sensible Sidewalk law" which ended mandatory sidewalks going nowhere, and earmarked those funds to be spent on sidewalk where they were necessary.

Car accident

After Adam Dread was involved in a near fatal car wreck in May 2003, Vanderbilt Medical Center doctors placed him on a ventilator, and he was in critical condition. The wreck was caused by a stroke. His rare type of stroke, and the press surrounding it, is credited with saving many lives in Nashville since. The local television network affiliates interrupted "Oprah" to do live reports on his condition. He coded twice. He was later upgraded to stable condition. "When I had my stroke I couldn't drive for six months so I personally spent at least $3,000 on taxis last year," he later said. That's where he learned where the problems existed, and legislatively sought to fix them with great results.

Other Dreaded Information

On a lighter note, Adam Dread has appeared in many movies and television programs. Dread was cast as an extra in "A Few Good Men", as well as "White Men Can't Jump." On television he has appeared on numerous game shows (including as a "picker" on "Love Connection.") He appeared on "Prime Time Country", and "Talk Soup" in the late 1990s. There are a currently few of Adam Dread's football parody songs posted on YouTube, including "Titan Baby" and "I Wanna Be a Titan." Dread shows up often as a "sound bite " on the local Nashville news network affiliates, Plum Television in Nantucket, and on Fox News's, "Fox and Friends." He has penned several "Op-Ed" pieces that have run in the local Gannett newspaper, The Tennessean.

Dread also administers several group sites on FaceBook including, "Guns and Alcohol Don't Mix", "Palm Beach Academy/Graham-Eckes in the late 70's and Early 80's.", "I Survived A Summer at El Ponderosa-Nantucket", "People who are sick of Being Asked to Join Frivoulous FB Groups", and others. His latest claim to fame has been as a "Cat Whisperer", training a Tabby kittten to give up her litter box, and use a toilet instead. Seriously. More information, both trua nad false, on Dread can be found through searches on YouTube, Google, and Bing.