Adam Dread (born February 1, 1963, in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

) was a city council member-at-large for the

Metropolitan Council The Metropolitan Council, commonly abbreviated Met Council or Metro Council, is the regional governmental agency and metropolitan planning organization in Minnesota serving the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area, accounting for over 55 pe ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

and Davidson County until September 2007. he was 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 four 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 limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

ed, and could not run again.

Education

Adam Dread graduated from Palm Beach Academy and

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree. He obtained his J.D. when he graduated from Nashville School of Law in 2004.

Law

Adam Dread works as an attorney at Durham & Dread, PLC

They are well known 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. In 2007 and 2008 the Readers of The ''

Nashville Scene ''Nashville Scene'' is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with ...

'' voted Dread one of the ''Top 3 DUI Attorneys in Nashville'', and "Best Attorney" for five years.

Journalism and Radio

Dread was a freelance

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...

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 A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

in the US and abroad.

Author and Songwriter

He is also a published songwriter and book author. His four books, ''You've Obviously Spent Time on Nantucket If...'' and ''ACK't 2'' and "ACK't 3" "ACK't 4" are still popular on the resort island. He has also launched ManFromNantucket.oom, that designs and markets island based men's accessories. One of his parody songs, "Titans #1", was performed at the

2000 Super Bowl Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis R ...

festivities. Another parody, "Did I Shave My Back for This?" was the title track of a popular

Cledus T. Judd James Barry Poole (born December 18, 1964) is an American country music artist who records under the name Cledus T. Judd. Known primarily for his parodies of popular country songs, he has been called the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music, and ...

country comedy album.

Volunteerism

Prior to his terms on the Metro Council he served on the Boards of the

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States established to provide the means to cure cystic fibrosis (CF) and ensure that those living with CF live long and productive lives. The Foundation prov ...

, The Community Resource Center (CRC), and The

Belcourt Theatre The Belcourt Theatre is a nonprofit film center located in Nashville's Hillsboro Village district. History The theater was opened in 1925 as the Hillsboro Theatre by M.A. Lightman Sr. of Malco Theatres and his father Joseph Lightman. It was a s ...

. He still hosts the annual "Oyster Easter" event for the CRC and was named their "2007 Volunteer of the Year." As an attorney, Adam Dread performs much

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

or reduced-fee work. For his efforts, he has been voted "Best Attorney" in Nashville by the readers of the ''

'' a record five times, more than any other attorney in Nashville.

2009

In the summer of 2009 Dread became very involved in the controversial new

gun laws Gun laws and policies, collectively referred to as firearms regulation or gun control, regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, and use of small arms by civilians. Laws of some countries may afford civilians a right to ...

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 alleged that the law was passed due to fraudulent facts provided by

lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

s. In addition to the public safety and economic arguments, the team argued that the law was

unconstitutional Constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applicable constitution. When l ...

on its face, and created an unsafe work environment, thus violating

OSHA OSHA or Osha may refer to: Work * Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency of the United States that regulates workplace safety and health * Occupational Safety and Health Act (United States) of 1970, a federal law in the Un ...

standards. Dread debated this issue multiple times on ''

Fox & Friends ''Fox & Friends'' is an American daily morning news and talk program that airs on Fox News. It premiered on February 1, 1998, and is currently hosted by Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade on weekdays. Will Cain, Rachel Campos-Du ...

''. The case is still pending in Chancery Court. In September 2009, Dread joined

Brady Campaign Brady: United Against Gun Violence (formerly “Handgun Control, Inc”., the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against ...

President,

Paul Helmke Walter Paul Helmke, Jr. (born 1948) is an American politician, and the former president of the Washington, DC-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. He held this position from July 2006 to July 10, 2011.

, in a debate with

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

(NRA) lobbyists at the

University of Tennessee at Martin The University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin or UTM) is a public university in Martin, Tennessee. It is one of the five campuses of the University of Tennessee system. UTM is the only public university in West Tennessee outside of Memphis ...

campus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dread, Adam 1963 births Metropolitan Council members (Nashville, Tennessee) Living people Politicians from Pittsburgh