For the past 16 years Eric Crafton has been active in our Nashville community. You may already know him from his public service as a Metro Council member, Bellevue YMCA Board member, or Bellevue Exchange Club member. He has also served as a Deacon at Charlotte Road Baptist Church since 2003. You may not know that Eric Crafton attended Gower Elementary, Bellevue Middle, and Hillwood High School. Upon graduation from Hillwood, he received a Naval R.O.T.C scholarship to Vanderbilt University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with degrees in both Mathematics and Economics.

    Eric served as a naval officer aboard the CG-53 USS Mobile Bay, which was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan. He is a combat veteran of the Persian Gulf War and received the Navy Achievement Medal for saving his ship from hitting a mine. After his naval service, he attended Keio University in Japan for two semesters. Eric studied in a Japanese language immersion political economy program, where he became fluent in Japanese.  Shortly thereafter, Eric returned to his hometown where he immediately got involved in shaping the community and future of Nashville.

Why has Eric Crafton remained so active in our community for so long?

Because... he cares.

    Eric Crafton has continuously demonstrated his commitment to Nashville's children throughout his public service on the Metro Council. In 2003, Eric founded Save Our Students (SOS), an organization that has evaluated Nashville’s Public School performance for seven consecutive years. In his initial report, he showed his concern for our children's education by forcing the Metro Nashville Public School system to acknowledge its students' poor graduation rates and create solutions that have led to significant improvements. Eric continues to publish a Save Our Students progress report each year. In 2005, Eric warned of the takeover of our schools by the State of Tennessee if more action was not taken. Unfortunately for our public school children, Eric was right.

Why did Eric Crafton stand up and deliver such an unpopular message?

Because... he cares.

    Eric cares about the issues facing this great community of ours, and now he wants to broaden his pubic service by being a voice for Nashville’s most vulnerable children - those in our juvenile court system.  Currently, there are over 13,000 active cases in Nashville’s juvenile court system.  To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to 1 out of every 6 children in our public school system! According to Juvenile Court Judge Betty Green, ninety percent of these children have unaddressed emotional, psychological, or educational needs.  If nothing changes, many of them will graduate, not from high school, but into our adult prison system.

So why is Eric Crafton running for Juvenile Court Clerk?

Because… he cares.

    Eric Crafton cares about Nashville's most vulnerable children and wants nothing but the best care and support for them. Through the office of Juvenile Court Clerk, Eric Crafton will make a difference in these children's lives. His volunteer based program, Operation Helping Hands, will offer the chance to identify these children's needs and help them reach their full potential. 

   Eric will bring professional management, organizational efficiency, and a caring attitude to the office of Juvenile Court Clerk.  Please help Eric by voting for him on August 5th!  Early voting begins July 16th!

    For the past 16 years Eric Crafton has been active in our Nashville community. You may already know him from his public service as a Metro Council member, Bellevue YMCA Board member, or Bellevue Exchange Club member. He has also served as a Deacon at Charlotte Road Baptist Church since 2003. You may not know that Eric Crafton attended Gower Elementary, Bellevue Middle, and Hillwood High School. Upon graduation from Hillwood, he received a Naval R.O.T.C scholarship to Vanderbilt University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with degrees in both Mathematics and Economics.

    Eric served as a naval officer aboard the CG-53 USS Mobile Bay, which was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan. He is a combat veteran of the Persian Gulf War and received the Navy Achievement Medal for saving his ship from hitting a mine. After his naval service, he attended Keio University in Japan for two semesters. Eric studied in a Japanese language immersion political economy program, where he became fluent in Japanese.  Shortly thereafter, Eric returned to his hometown where he immediately got involved in shaping the community and future of Nashville.

Why has Eric Crafton remained so active in our community for so long?

Because... he cares.

    Eric Crafton has continuously demonstrated his commitment to Nashville's children throughout his public service on the Metro Council. In 2003, Eric founded Save Our Students (SOS), an organization that has evaluated Nashville’s Public School performance for seven consecutive years. In his initial report, he showed his concern for our children's education by forcing the Metro Nashville Public School system to acknowledge its students' poor graduation rates and create solutions that have led to significant improvements. Eric continues to publish a Save Our Students progress report each year. In 2005, Eric warned of the takeover of our schools by the State of Tennessee if more action was not taken. Unfortunately for our public school children, Eric was right.

Why did Eric Crafton stand up and deliver such an unpopular message?

Because... he cares.

    Eric cares about the issues facing this great community of ours, and now he wants to broaden his pubic service by being a voice for Nashville’s most vulnerable children - those in our juvenile court system.  Currently, there are over 13,000 active cases in Nashville’s juvenile court system.  To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to 1 out of every 6 children in our public school system! According to Juvenile Court Judge Betty Green, ninety percent of these children have unaddressed emotional, psychological, or educational needs.  If nothing changes, many of them will graduate, not from high school, but into our adult prison system.

So why is Eric Crafton running for Juvenile Court Clerk?

Because… he cares.

    Eric Crafton cares about Nashville's most vulnerable children and wants nothing but the best care and support for them. Through the office of Juvenile Court Clerk, Eric Crafton will make a difference in these children's lives. His volunteer based program, Operation Helping Hands, will offer the chance to identify these children's needs and help them reach their full potential. 

   Eric will bring professional management, organizational efficiency, and a caring attitude to the office of Juvenile Court Clerk.  Please help Eric by voting for him on August 5th!  Early voting begins July 16th!