{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Steve Brubaker","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nSteve Brubaker is a candidate for State Executive Committeeman, District 19 in the 2026 Tennessee election (Davidson County).\n","firstname":"Steve","lastname":"Brubaker","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"2m8k1Qyh7N"},"token":"steve_brubaker"},{"candidatename":"Jonathan Saad","chatgptsummary":"Jonathan Saad's biography shows experience in grant management and nonprofit leadership relevant to intra-party governance. It documents a 2026 legal dispute with Metro Arts where he alleged racial discrimination and received a $150,000 settlement after the city did not contest his claims. Bio does not indicate experience with party rules or coordination with county-level committees.","notes":null,"party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nJonathan Saad serves as the executive director of The Forge Nashville, an arts nonprofit organization [1]. In this role, he manages grant programs and community support initiatives to further the organization's mission of fostering creativity and innovation [1]. Prior to joining The Forge, Saad worked as a grants manager for Metro Arts [1].\n\nSaad is running in the 19th District primary election for the Tennessee Executive Committee in 2026. His campaign follows a legal dispute with his former employer, Metro Arts, where he alleged racial discrimination, hiring bias, and workplace retaliation after being passed over for three full-time positions [2]. The city of Nashville agreed to a $150,000 settlement without contesting Saad's claims in the lawsuit filed against former Metro Arts director Daniel Singh [2].\n\n## Career\n\nPrior to his appointment as executive director of the arts nonprofit The Forge Nashville in June 2024, Saad served as a grants manager for Metro Arts [1]. His professional background includes roles in visual arts, state and local government, management, and technical advisory positions for community nonprofits and artists [1].\n\nSaad previously filed a legal complaint against his former boss at Metro Arts, Daniel Singh, alleging racial discrimination, hiring bias, and workplace retaliation after being passed over for three full-time positions [2]. City attorneys described Saad as a victim of these issues in court documents, noting that the city did not contest his version of events despite a lack of direct evidence [2]. The city agreed to a $150,000 payout to Saad less than two months after he filed suit [2].\n\n## Office history\n\nJonathan Saad previously served as a grants manager for Metro Arts [1]. In that role, he managed grants and provided community support for the agency's mission [1]. He was passed over by then-director Daniel Singh for three full-time positions within Metro Arts [2]. Following his departure, Saad filed a legal complaint alleging racial discrimination, hiring bias, and workplace retaliation against Singh and the city [2]. The city did not contest Saad\u2019s version of events and agreed to a $150,000 settlement less than two months after the suit was filed [2].\n\nIn June 2024, Saad was appointed as the executive director of the arts nonprofit The Forge Nashville [1]. In this capacity, he oversees the organization's mission to support creativity and innovation within the artistic community [1]. His background includes roles in state and local government, management, and technical advisory positions for community nonprofits and artists [1].\n\n## Documented disputes and controversies\n\nJonathan Saad filed a lawsuit against his former supervisor, Metro Arts director Daniel Singh, alleging that he was passed over for three full-time positions due to racial discrimination, hiring bias, and workplace retaliation [2]. Although court documents noted there was no direct evidence supporting these specific claims, the city of Nashville did not contest Saad\u2019s version of events and agreed to a settlement [2]. Less than two months after filing the suit, Saad secured a $150,000 payout from city lawyers [2].\n\nPrior to his legal action against Singh, Saad served as the grants manager for Metro Arts before transitioning to the private sector [1]. He later joined The Forge Nashville as executive director in June 2024, bringing experience in grant management and community support to the arts nonprofit [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [On the Move: June 6, 2024 | People | nashvillepost.com](https://www.nashvillepost.com/business/people/on-the-move-june-6-2024/article_a06d93ba-23fd-11ef-b038-1f7484aa7f85.html)\n[2] [Metro Bleeds Another $150K in Metro Arts Cleanup | Pith in the Wind | Nashville News | nashvillescene.com](https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pithinthewind/metro-arts-saad-legal-complaint/article_f3038c3a-7469-11ef-a2d5-07b33a9e3c25.html)","firstname":"Jonathan","lastname":"Saad","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"fOYSCNc6zR"},"token":"jonathan_saad"},{"candidatename":"Josh Wesley","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJosh Wesley is a candidate for State Executive Committeeman, District 19 in the 2026 Tennessee election (Davidson County).\n","firstname":"Josh","lastname":"Wesley","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"2WkfovRzJw"},"token":"josh_wesley"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"party_exec_committee","o.office":null,"office":"tn_exec_committeeman_19","officedescription":"The State Executive Committee is the elected governing body of a Tennessee political party (Democratic or Republican). It is a party-organization office, not a government office \u2014 its members set party rules and organization, and are chosen by voters in that party's primary.","officequalities":"- Intra-party governance: the State Executive Committee is the elected governing body of a Tennessee political party, not a public office that legislates or administers government.\n- Working knowledge of party rules, conventions, ballot-access requirements, and how the party interacts with state election law.\n- Coordination with the party chair and county-level party committees.\n- This is a partisan party-organization role; voters in the party's primary choose the committee members. The qualities here describe party-organization fit, not government competency.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"State Executive Committee","partisan":1,"pgr":"primary","quantity":null,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"TN State Executive Committeeman District 19"}