Former City Councilman supports protest petitions

Former Greensboro City Councilman Nancy Vaughan supports the restoration of the protest petition, in advance of this week's vote by Council.

In a letter to the editor in today's News & Record, Vaughan states the measure will not impede growth:

To those who say that it will impede growth, I say look to Charlotte and Raleigh. It is obvious to anyone that the protest petition has not curtailed their growth and development. It is a question of fairness, and I hope that the City Council will restore our voice.

Good for you, Councilman.

E.C. :)

Wishy-washy Wade & Mike Barber unsure about petition vote

Lots of good coverage from yesterday's press conference from the local blogosphere.

I thought this was interesting...is Trudy Wade and Mike Barber really going to wait until the last minute to make their minds up on the protest petition vote next week? Are they really going to be swayed by either TREBIC or the citizens on this issue?

Our city really is in big trouble.

E.C. :)

Matheny, Perkins thumb their noses at you

This is YOUR City Council, ladies and gentlemen.

Greensboro City Councilmen Zack Matheny and Robbie Perkins are openly and publicly asking why they would be asked to recuse themselves from next week's vote on "Protest Petitions."

Greensboro Politics:

I sent a quick email to Matheny and Perkins yesterday asking if they planned to bow out from the discussion. Their responses are below.

Perkins – “No. What grounds would I have for a recusal?”

Matheny – “What would be the reason for me to recuse?”

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Arrogant.

Just arrogant.

It's almost getting "Chicago-style-like"...and I'm from Chicago!

E.C. :)

Presser today

Media Advisory
Council Member Press Conference
January 16, 2009
1 pm


What: Press Conference featuring Council Members Mike Barber and Trudy Wade

Location: Plaza Level Conference Room, Melvin Municipal Office Building
300 W. Washington St.

Date/Time: Friday, January 16 at 1 pm

Topic: Members of council will discuss pressing issues impacting the City of Greensboro. Council Members will also be available for questions.

Contact: Denise Turner – 373-3880
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E.C. :)

Action GSO on the defense

There's been a good deal of conversation here in the local blogosphere about Action Greensboro, even among myself included. I shared some personal thoughts earlier this week over at my flagship blog, Guilford School Watch. And I shared a letter I sent to Judy Morton here last week.

And while I won't repeat myself chapter-and-verse as to my thoughts on the future of Action Greensboro, the latest revelation that the organization made a $5,000 political contribution to the Simkins PAC in this past campaign season (via Keith Brown's Triad Watch) does, in my opinion, raise an eyebrow or two.

My friend Ryan Shell from Greensboro Politics asked me to be a little more positive:

I understand and equally appreciate how much you care about the school system, but sometimes you have to look at things from a positive standpoint. AG is attempting to jump start some action. While things might not appear to be perfect, conversations have started and the ball is rolling.

And our resident blogger Dr. Sue Polinsky said similarly:

Eric, have you contacted Action GSO and offered to participate in the education portion of Phase II? If not, do just that. They are eager for volunteers who commit to long-term projects. Heck, I've been doing this for 7-8 years. That's LONG term :)

...and I have, Sue. That's why I'm feeling so puzzled about this campaign contribution.

Guarino has more on this:

Action Greensboro is a not-for-profit organization, so the legality of its contribution is open to question.

He's right. Guarino, as usual, is on point with this. AG is a noble group, but this is really bugging me a little.

Skip Moore, AG's past president, in a response to Guarino, tried to explain the contribution:

A nonprofit by federal law is allowed to advocate on policy issues. The contribution to the PAC was part of our support for the bonds that, in our opinion, were beneficial to the future economic and community development of Greensboro. The funds helped pay for poll workers.

And Guarino appropriately responded:

...while federal law allows non-profits to speak on public policy issues, it does not allow them to endorse candidates or engage in activity that could be construed as partisan. The Simkins PAC does not even remotely restrict itself to advocating on behalf of bonds. It is composed almost exclusively of Democrats. It endorses political candidates, and its endorsement has carried a lot of weight locally. And in the last election cycle, it endorsed the straight Democratic slate.

So Action Greensboro's contribution inevitably went to support partisan political activity. That appears to me to be a flagrant violation of the law.

Despite your opinions on Simkins (positive or negative), one thing is clear, I think we should look a little more closely as to what AG is doing down on S. Elm. Are they advocating for the citizens of Greensboro in an appropriate manner?

When I tip-toed into this town nine years ago, the same conversations were taking place...job-losses were mounting, our local economy wasn't diversified, we had failing schools, we have a brain-drain problem, local politicians cared more about being in power than dealing with our issues head-on, etc.

And I got involved. I was proud to become involved.

Nine years later, there are nearly NO jobs in this town, there is no diversification of our local economy because we have no local economy anymore, we have even more failing schools, our brain-drain problem has increased, and local politicians STILL care more about being in power than dealing with our issues head-on. And now we have a public-safety problem in our midst.

Has the effectiveness of Action Greensboro waned, just a little? One has to ask. One has the right to ask.

Guarino says: And in a relatively small city like Greensboro, we should be represented directly by our elected officials; and we should not have to go through a quasi-governmental organization that, for some reason, is granted unique access and power by those same elected officials.

He is absolutely correct. The conversations and action plans from AG should be emitting from our City Council and our Mayor, directly. And when we question what's going on in our city, we have the RIGHT to ask, we have the RIGHT to complain (if necessary), we have the RIGHT to question our mayor, our city council (Zack), our city manager, our police chief, our economic development officials...about the direction of this city.

And when pet projects are put on the front burner, ahead of bringing more diversified companies into this town, like Guarino, I have the RIGHT to question that.

Rumors are swirling about an aviation-related company possibly bringing as many as 800 jobs to town...if it comes to town. I will be excited if it does come to town, but we have to expand beyond manufacturing. We must diversify our economy once again...it is part of the reason why our area has been stuck in this rut in the first place.

For far too long in this town, there have been reports after reports, action plans after action plans, meetings after meetings...

Enough.

Actions speak louder than words. It's time to get busy and get this city moving again. It's time to do away with the corruption in our city hall, it's time to get rid of the criminals on our streets, time to get the local economy out of the garbage can and get it moving again. We have real problems that require real solutions, and I want to start hearing these real solutions directly from our elected officials.

...climbing off the soapbox...

E.C. :)

Step aside

With the long-awaited discussion of allowing citizens of the city of Greensboro to challenge zoning cases via protest petitions only days away, the YES! Weekly is joining the chorus in asking Greensboro City Councilmen Robbie Perkins, Zack Matheny and Mike Barber to properly recuse themselves from next week's vote. And even if the vote fails, the measure could be taken up in Raleigh (see today's editorial in the News & Record).

YES! Weekly:

...Perkins, Matheny and Barber, who rely on the Greensboro real estate industry for part or all of their livelihoods, are clearly conflicted between the wishes of that industry’s most influential professional organization and the interests of Greensboro citizens who want a say in the way their neighborhoods are zoned. As such, they should recuse themselves from the vote.

I couldn't agree more. Do the right thing and please step aside.

Obviously, since this is an election year, each councilman that votes "nay" will be noticed.

E.C. :)

Matheny's in

Greensboro City Councilman Zack Matheny (Dist. 3), who recently said publicly that he's had it with those who want to sit around and bash the mayor, city council, the city manager, the police department, et. al, has told the News & Record's Amanda Lehmert that he will seek a second term later this year.

Matheny is a prime cheerleader of Greensboro's runaway-development community, yet he's severely short on substance when it comes to jobs, our local economy and public safety.

Not a fan...

E.C. :)

Call the question on Mayor Yvonne

Dr. Guarino shares some poignant thoughts on the re-election bid of Greensboro Mayor Yvonne Johnson. He is on point.

Guarino reminds us that Johnson was part of the majority that raised city taxes during her years on City Council.

Guarino reminds us that Johnson was part of the majority that made bad decisions on public safety and law enforcement in our city (two more armed robberies in the city last night).

Guarino also reminds us that our economy is not on par with our other Southern counterparts.

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oh, and that drivel that Johnson released...you know, the so-called "2009 Economic Address" that was just recently released? That doesn't seem to be going over well here in the blogosphere, especially among readers over at The Troublemaker.

By the way, Mayor J., since we here in Brook Run (south Greensboro/Adams Farm/unincorporated Jamestown area) were recently annexed into the city, I don't remember you coming down here to my part of town to get our thoughts about the economy.

And the beat goes on...

E.C. :)

Yvonne's in (Part II)

So now it is official...Greensboro Mayor Yvonne Johnson wants a second term as second-in-command of the Gate City (under the mayor-manager form of government, the manager is really in charge, but that's another talk show).

During a mid-morning presser, Johnson outlined key goals for not only this year, but her upcoming reelection campaign.

N&R:

Build the economy, bolster public safety and don't increase taxes.

Those were the new year's goals Mayor Yvonne Johnson shared with reporters Tuesday morning at One Step Further, the non-profit she leads.

Johnson called on her fellow council members to dedicate themselves to the same goals.

"How we perform as a city government during this time of crisis will be the real measure of our character," she said.
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I think the entertaining part of the upcoming campaign is not only who will run against her, but who will also run for City Council. Because this city needs to take a drastically different direction...and fast.

Click-ables:

• Yvonne Johnson's 2009 Economic Address (video)
• Text of Yvonne Johnson's 2009 Economic Address (pdf)

E.C. :)

Red Mike's hit again

Red Mike's Grocery was hit yet again with another unfortunate robbery last night.

The downtown convenience store at the corner of Elm and Fisher, the scene of a violent robbery/homicide this past November that claimed the life of the store's owner Muhammed 'Mike' Ali, was robbed of an unspecified amount of cash Monday night by two armed men. FOX-8 reports no one was hurt in the incident.

As in the last incident, there are no suspects as of yet.

It's interesting that on the same evening, just blocks away, Action Greensboro officials, along with Greensboro Mayor Yvonne Johnson and Guilford Co. Board of Commissioners chair Skip Alston were gathering to wax poetic about downtown. And gee...wasn't it part of a downtown strategy at one point in time to bring more convenience stores and grocery stores to downtown. After all, since we have people living downtown, they need those conveniences, right? But if these stores are getting robbed with unusual frequency, why would these businesses stay?

(A sidebar...Guarino reports on another incident that may have occurred at Friendly Center this past Sunday evening)

But remember...we can't bash the police department, we can't bash the mayor, the city manager nor city council...because Zack Matheny's 'had it' up to here with you bashers!

Well, where's Zack today? The damn mayor was FOUR BLOCKS AWAY when this happened last night! Do you think she left the meeting to go over to the scene?

Is it me, or is this getting disgusting?

E.C. :)