City Council Candidate Questionnaire-- Berkley Blanks, District 3

I have received a candidate questionnaire response from Berkley Blanks, who is running for a city council seat in District 3.  I appreciate his completing and returning the questionnaire.  His responses are as follows, unfiltered:

1. What do you regard as the single most important function or purpose of local government?

To provide the basic infrastructure that a community needs to support a healthy quality of life for all residents; which consists of public safety, public works, and economic growth.

2. What would be your specific plan or approach to attract new employers, and retain existing employers, in the City of Greensboro?

Recent economic news (HondaJet/RF Micro, etc) indicates that Greensboro has the necessary ingredients; a well trained and well educated workforce, as well as interstate highways, rail and air transport, to be competitive with similar, and even larger markets.  An approach that considers economic incentives on a case-by-case basis, plus the continued marketing of Greensboro to the business community, should be at the forefront.  The incentives offered to internet giant "Google" by the City of Lenoir and the State of North Carolina have highlighted both the negative and positive aspects of economic incentives.  Each case should be carefully studied.  Inherent in the approach should be a renewed commitment to protecting Greensboro's natural beauty, which is critical in maintaining a quality of life that is also important in recruiting businesses and a qualified workforce.

3. What would be your specific plan to reduce crime?

To have in place the most qualified person as Chief of Police, and trust him to do his job.  I believe Chief Bellamy is that person at this critical point in time.  As a retired Greensboro Police Supervisor, I have seen first hand the needs of this city.  Chief Bellamy is currently evaluating all aspects of the agency in an effort to get more officers on the street.  This is the most crucial step in reducing crime.  The public will be willing to take more ownership of the crime issue when they are confident a well trained, professional police officer will respond to their call for help in a timely manner.  Training all officers, not just a special unit, to be community policing officers, will further engage the public in the process.  Educating the public about public safety must play a part.  An officer was recently berated by a business owner for a slow response to an alarm call.  The reason for the alarm?  A faulty alarm sensor.  If the business owner had properly maintained his system, that officer would have been free to respond to a more serious call.  The police department has historically responded to thousands of larceny of gas calls.  This offense is 100% preventable, yet the department has spent untold hours and resources responding to and investigating these type offenses.  Educating business owners and the public will play a part in decreasing crime.

4. Would you ever vote in favor of a tax increase?

No.  We need to work on expanding the tax base, not the tax rate.  This is accomplished by promoting a steadily growing, healthy and diverse economy.

5. Are you going to seek or accept the endorsement of the Simkins PAC?

Yes.  The Simkins PAC represents the interests of a significant portion of the citizens of Greensboro. 

6. Are you going to seek or accept the support of TREBIC?  No.

7. Do you support same-sex domestic partner benefits for City employees?

It is my political belief that this issue will be settled at the state level, such as occurred in Massachusetts.

8. What would be your specific plan to clean up the Greensboro Police Department?

As a member of City Council, my first commitment would be to determine what, if anything, needs to be cleaned up.  The media reports need to be set aside in favor of the findings of the SBI and the EEOC.  Once these findings are complete, the responsibility for taking appropriate action rest with Chief Bellamy.  Intervention by the City Manager should only occur if the Chief is negligent in his duty.

My response:

I appreciate Mr. Blanks' response. 

He responded to the first question the way most candidates have-- with a broad statement of mission along with a potpourri of services.

His response to the question regarding how to attract and retain employers was interesting.  He supports the judicious use of incentives, salesmanship, maintaining quality of life, and the like.  He does not want to raise taxes, which is very good.   What is absent from his response is a general attitude of being business-friendly.

Mr. Blanks  emphasizes "more officers on the street" and community policing.  He suggests that certain pieces have to be in place in order for the public to take ownership of the crime issue.  While these are reasonable observations, it is equally important what these police officers do when they are on the street.  Effective crime control should not be dependent on whether the public "takes ownership."  It also can be directed from the city council, the city manager and the police chief.

His response to the tax question is very good.

He indicates he will seek and/or accept the Simkins machine endorsement.  This is regrettable.  He indicates this is because the group claims to represent a significant portion of Greensboro residents, but regardless of whether this claim is legitimate, it does not obligate him to seek support from such a questionable organization.

He states he will not seek TREBIC support.

His response to the question regarding same-sex domestic partner benefits for city employees was a dodge.

Finally, his response regarding the GPD matter seems to suggest he supports the status quo.  His statement about awaiting the EEOC process and the SBI report seems insufficient.  The EEOC process apparently did not consider the entire range of available information; and will begin to yield answers only if the matters go to court.   The SBI report likely will not be released, but rather will be used by the State Attorney General's office to determine if indictments will be sought.  The matters, again, would still need to be tested in court.  So this leaves us with an unchanged approach in the foreseeable future if Mr. Blanks had his way.

To view all of the candidate responses, click "Council Candidates" below or at the top of the right column.  Or go to this web page.

Comments

[tonywilkins]

Mr. Blanks,
You state, "Intervention by the City Manager should only occur if the Chief is negligent in his duty."
Are you saying by this statement that you believe Mitchell Johnson's actions against David Wray were warranted?
And that you support the current city manager?
Joe, did you understand this statement, "The public will be willing to take more ownership of the crime issue when they are confident a well trained, professional police officer will respond to their call for help in a timely manner."
Does this mean that if you're getting beat over the head with a tire iron that you would like to have a warm and fuzzy feeling about calling 911?
I don't get it.

[Joe Guarino]

That was the same feeling I got from the response, Tony. The emphasis is not on the police department, and individual police officers, aggressively doing all that is permissible within the law to drive crime rates down. Instead, the emphasis (and this is not just on Mr. Blanks' part) is on making sure the public uniformly likes the police. But that may not always be possible.

[Bubba]

"So this leaves us with an unchanged approach in the foreseeable future if Mr. Blanks had his way."

Which leads me to think that Mr. Blanks is not the right candidate to represent me in District 3.

It's becoming more apparent who the right candidate is for District 3.

[Joe Guarino]

Bubba, I am beginning to believe these questionnaire responses are quite useful in helping differentiate the candidates. I hope more respond.

[Matt Comer]

I find Blanks' answer to the Domestic Partner benefits question lacking, at best. As a vibrant community that has contributed much to the communities of Greensboro and Guilford County, LGBT citizens deserve direct answers on issues of importance from those candidates who seek to be our representatives.

More in detail at
http://www.interstateq.com/archives/2292/

[Joe Guarino]

Matt, I agree with you about the answer being lacking, but obviously for different reasons.

[Wendell Sawyer]

Berkley Blanks: “The media reports need to be set aside in favor of the findings of the SBI…”

On 10/6/06, the News & Record reported: “A senior official for the state Attorney General said in court filings it may take until the end of the year for the SBI to complete its investigation.”

So, the SBI investigation was supposed to be concluded in December of 2006. Then, we were told it might be March of 2007. The clock keeps ticking, it’s August 22, 2007, and we still don’t see any light at the end of the Wray/GPD investigation tunnel.

Finally, on 8/14/07, the news-record.com reported: “Part and parcel of all the confusion surrounding the police is the excruciating amount of time the investigations have taken. …An SBI investigation, expected to conclude early in the year, has lasted nearly 15 months.”

Why is there no closure to this investigation? There might be justifiable reason for the SBI’s failure to complete its mission. What if another investigation has superceded the SBI probe? If the FBI and the DEA have launched an investigation into subject areas that cross over into the focus of the SBI probe, the SBI would back off such an investigation in deference to the federal authorities.

I think that there is a kettle boiling beneath the public eye. When it finally boils over, we all might be in for a big surprise.

[Bubba]

"I think that there is a kettle boiling beneath the public eye. When it finally boils over, we all might be in for a big surprise."

.....which probably will not occur until well after the city council elections, by which time we may be in the process of suffering a few more years of the same old song and dance.

[Joe Guarino]

Wendell, I suspect you may be right. And gee, it sure has been a long time, has it not?

[Joe Guarino]

Bubba, my reaction was similar to yours-- that the results may not come until after the elections.

I do not feel that the candidates in this election should be held hostage by the process at the state level. They should feel free to speak their minds.

Unfortunately, the News and Record editorial last week, about which I posted then, sent a clear but implicit signal to candidates that they risk losing the newspaper's endorsement if they openly criticize the handling of the GPD matter.

Once again, I think candidates need to make their appeal directly to voters. They should not rely on the newspaper's endorsement, or the newspaper's handling of their positions.

[Brenda Bowers]

I simply didn't even bother to consider Blanks for my vote and his answers to the questionnaire support my decision.

Now as to the election and electing those who would continue down the same old path, as I told Bubba on my site yesterday: "It is up to us the people to see that it doesn't Bubba. I have come out for Joe Wilson in my district (3) and will do all that I can to help him. I haven't yet offered any specific help but intend to as elections get closer. If the same old people and the same old ways get back in office it is what the people of Greensboro deserve.

Diane Bellamy Smalls win yesterday was a surprise to me too but it really shouldn't have been because I heard that she hauled her buns around her district going door to door. I can not say this enough and no one seems to be listening: Every hand a candidate shakes is a vote! (and sometimes two votes) Why do you think presidential candidates are so often seen standing outside of factory gates at quitting time?"

Waiting for the pot to boil over? Ohhhhhh yes. There is indeed a big pot boiling out of sight but not out of mind, at least for some of us. What's more I don't think "we" will be surprised at all when the lid flies off, but I do think the criminals will be. There are just too many people smugly twisting and breaking the law in Guilford/Greensboro. They feel they are so well insulated from their deeds that they won’t be caught, but I feel we will have the last laugh. Just hang loose and wait and see. BB

[Joe Guarino]

Brenda, it will certainly be interesting to see how this all plays out. Thanks for commenting.