Mitchell Johnson, Robbie Perkins and Project Homestead

Among the documents Roch, Sam and I received from the city was an April 20, 2000 e-mail communication written by Mitchell Johnson when he was assistant city manager.  The memo was titled "The Michael King Experience", and was addressed to Ed Kitchen and another assistant city manager.

The contents of the memo is as follows:

Well, I almost got through the week without a Project Homestead (PH) issue but things got a little excited today. 

To make a long story short I will just pass on this info and what I have done.

This morning (about 11:00) a representative from PH wanted to talk to me about a concern he had with Internal Audit.  It turned out that he (at Rev. King's behest) had requested copies of audit reports the City had on Habitat and HOME Inc. along with the most recent draft of the audit report on PH.  Len gave him the draft of the PH report but told him the other documents were not available until Jackie returned Monday.

I went to Len's office to make sure this was accurate.  I asked the fellow from PH to wait in the hall while I had a brief private conversation with staff.  Len told me what he had said and that he needed to wait until Jackie approves turning the documents over.  I told him that I agreed with Rev. King that they were in fact public documents and that I could make copies for PH.

I did this and contacted Rev. King to tell him he could pick up the documents at about 1:30.  He was calmed down and OK with our response at that point.

Unfortunately in the meantime Rev. King started calling council members who then contacted me.  I talked with Robbie and Earl.  Earl was not concerned about it and said he told the rev. to "calm down and give staff a chance".  Robbie was more concerned but once I told him where we were and that he was getting the documents he calmed down. 

Then a little later Robbie called again about the draft report.  It appears that Rev. King is very concerned about the "tone" of the report and feels it does not accurately reflect the situation.  I told Robbie I could not comment on that due to ignorance about the situation but that it was still in draft form and that the final report would be reviewed and approved by the City Manager.  He made several more comments regarding staff's actions with King and then said that he understood that a member of the City staff (he did not know who) had contacted Habitat and told them that there would have to be some changes in the "way the city does business regarding land" due to the issues with PH and that this person was in essence "checking to see if Habitat was OK with this".  Robbie said this upset him and obviously upset Rev. King greatly. 

I have talked to Linda and to Andy Scott about these issues.  After quite a while it seems that there is consensus on their part regarding the following:

    - The audit report should be re-written to state only the facts and with respect to the contract/agreement which was in place.  This should be done by the outside auditors. 
    - There should be an executive report attached which details the bottom line issues and expectations of our relationship with Project Homestead.  Andy is going to take a run at this, this weekend, so we will have it Monday for review.
    -  We should focus on the future agreements. 

We must be aware that what ever report is released it will be a public document which will be broadly interpreted.  We should not leave the issues up to speculation (either negative or positive).  The present document, while most likely accurate from  a strict accounting viewpoint, can be interpreted many ways depending on the readers knowledge of accounting practice and the readers ability to review the supporting documentation to understand the more complex elements of the issues. 

We agreed that we should be able to create a document which is neither ambiguous or accusative as long as the facts support the conclusions reached by the writer.  Andy will be creating a draft of this type of document for Ed and Mona to review / modify so that they can concur and support whatever the conclusions are before we can take this out of draft and release it publicly.   

In the meantime I do believe it will be important to keep PH (and concerned Council) aware that we are dealing with draft documents and we are still defining as a staff what we need and want for the final report.

Another interesting e-mail was written by Johnson on August 16, 2001.  The city had just learned from the feds (HUD) that the city had just missed an annual bond sale, and that section 108 loan funds would be delayed.  This had some financial implications for the city because it would have to float several million dollars in funds over a period of time, and pursue alternative interim financing from HUD.

Another assistant city manager told Mitchell Johnson she was forwarding to him more information. 

Johnson's response?

From my office you hear a cry - "Oh my God- please no!, (you hear a window break) crunch, crunch (someone is walking on broken glass and concrete) then as the wind whistles through the office an eerie silence settles in the room, you hear a muffled prayer and then somewhat louder "Goodbye cruel world" and a horrible scream...

Then a loud thud.  I landed in the flower bed and unbelievably am unhurt.  Even more ironic, Rev. Michael King is walking out of the building and sees me.  He walks up and says "Hey, I am concerned about..."  My body slumps in recognition of a fate worse than death...

I will withhold my own comments on these e-mails initially; and instead will allow any commenters to offer their reactions if they feel led to do so.

 

 

Comments

[Stormy]

Is there any doubt that this whole odyssey begins with Project Homestead? Follow Project Homestead through, and you'll likely learn the truth of how Greensboro arrived at its present situation. It appears that Mitch Johnson isn't the sole villain in this mystery. As a matter of fact, it appears that Mitch was a minor player at one time.

[Bubba]

"It appears that Mitch Johnson isn't the sole villain in this mystery. As a matter of fact, it appears that Mitch was a minor player at one time."

As egregious as his individual crimes are, it's long been obvious that others have been very complicit in the activities that have led to the current sorry state of affairs in Greensboro.

Perkins and Miles are obviously on the list, and it appears Kitchen belongs there also.

[Billy The Blogging Poet]

I promise you Kitchen and his long time boss, the Bobblehead, belong there.

There are so many old timers with stories about Kitchen and his gang of thieves that some of them have to be true.

[Anon]

In the first email, it appears that Johnson, Perkins and Miles fell all over themselves to accommodate Reverend King's request and make whatever changes necessary to make him happy. And, for what reason?

This is yet another example of Mitch Management. He jumps into a situation and circumvents his own professional audit staff. He doesn't even take the time to learn from his own auditors why things are in the report as they are. He immediately backs Reverend King's position. Again, for what reason?

I think the answers are crystal clear.

Do you also see any parallels in how this was handled and how Mitch handled Joe Williams' complaints about James Hinson? Striking similarities!

[Brenda Bowers]

Just who are these people (or person) that are/is so powerful as to get the city staff to jump?!? King surely wasn't all that influential even being a member of the PAC. Just as I can't see Hinson or Joe Williams or any of the known players as being in such a position of power. BB

[Joe Guarino]

Thanks, Brenda, Anon, Billy, Bubba, Stormy.

Here is what I think.

I think the e-mails demonstrate that Mitchell Johnson was acutely aware of the political clout of Michael King. This power stemmed from his key role in get-out-the-vote efforts; his role in the Simkins PAC and perhaps the Pulpit Forum; and also from his having City Council members beholden to him.

The e-mails suggest to me that Johnson was experiencing role conflict. He may have wanted to do the right thing, but was tortured by the demands King and his men were placing on him and on city staff. Because he was aware of the inordinate influence of the machine, and the resulting involvement of council members, he knew he had to work with them.

There may not be enough in these e-mails to suggest whether anything improper took place. But it does raise questions. Was the draft audit sanitized because it contained language that was unfavorable, but truthful?

Another thing that strikes me is how Robbie Perkins' name keeps on surfacing repeatedly on Project Homestead. It is interesting to see his righteous indignation over the alleged staff phone conversation with Habitat for Humanity. We have seen that righteous indignation expressed recently in other contexts. In retrospect, it all seems almost amusing, if it were not so serious.

Finally, this episode raises questions as to whether Mitchell Johnson's awareness of the political clout of the machine was capable of influencing his behavior as a city official inappropriately. His knowledge of this clout likely was there when Joe Williams-- an influential PAC principal-- started making noise on behalf of black police officers claiming discrimination after June, 2005.

[Brenda Bowers]

Some have said the person is Melvin. But in the latest bid to fire Johnson Melvin only influenced Matheny. IMO the Four would have stood firm. I believe Mike Barber that he suggested the compromise that the majority could get behind so the "keep johnson" crowd wouldn't get the votes. This compromise vote at least puts Johnson and his supporters on notice and keeps the option of firing him open if another shoe or two drops during the next month. He got thru this week without a "shoe" (I don't consider the preachers as anything but noise makers).

No one is paying any attention to The Pulpit Forums diatribe and innuendo but the N&R. The city staff and GPD are merely pretending and playing along. BB

[Brenda Bowers]

Your idea puts a lot of weight on Johnson Joe. I tend to believe it goes higher or deeper than him. For one thing the man simply doesn't have the moxie to be running the show on his own as he has demonstrated again and again the past two years. I do agree that the "Powers" haven't yet realized that their day is coming to an end. Thanks to the Rhino and ever higher taxes the people of Greensboro have been pushed enough. BB

[Joel Gillespie]

Joe,

I wish you or someone could provide a primer about the Simkins PAC, Project Homestead, (and Michael King), the relationships in the Simkins PAC on local politicians like Robbie Perkins and others, and the alleged relationship between PH and the Simkins PAC and Mitchell Johnson and the David wray affair. I'd like to read something about two pages in length, a short summation, somewhere. Thanks.

[Sue]

At the risk of being knee-jerked disparaged for suggesting this, what the heck. Mitchell Johnson made sure that someone had a public document in a timely manner. Isn't that what we want him to do? Or do we have to speculate about his motives for doing precisely what you want him to do? Seems like there's nothing he can do that you're not assigning some sort of hidden motive to; it's remarkable.

One minor thing, Joe: you don't seem to tolerate name-calling on your blog as referenced in an earlier admonition to JW in your comment. Perhaps you could likewise suggest that Billy refrain from name-calling a disparaging term for former Mayor Melvin in his comments here. I expect that name-calling is equally reprehensible for those you prefer and those you don't, right? Civil discussion is always preferable, isn't it?

[Ben Holder]

"Civil discussion is always preferable, isn't it?"

Sue, shut the hell up.

[Joe Guarino]

Sue, I really don't have a major concern with the way Johnson handled the literature request, although it is clear that Michael King was given a level of service that is generally not available to the rest of us.

I do have concerns, however, about rewriting the language on a draft audit to appease King's concerns. It would be good to know more about that, and whether anything improper took place.

[Joe Guarino]

Joel, I will try to do a post on that sometime within the next week or so. Thanks for asking.

But Jerry Bledsoe also did a great job of discussing the Simkins PAC in his series in the Rhino, in part 13, found on the Rhino website. The discussion on the Simkins PAC begins midway through the installment. You, and all others may want to check out the link:

http://greensboro.rhinotimes.com/Articles-i-2006-11-02-151325.112113-Hinson_Finds_The_Tracker_Part_13.html

[Joe Guarino]

Brenda, I agree with you that things go higher and deeper than Johnson. It is clear to me that there was a fear of racial politics-- and in fact, Ed Cone pretty much said the same thing in a column last fall.

But I do not believe this was an irrational, abstract fear. I believe it was based in reality. It was based on the way that mayors and city council members have behaved.

Former (and current) mayors and city council members share ample responsibility in these matters.

[John]

In the immortal words of Jack Nicholson as the Joker, "This town needs an enema."

One day a courageous journalist unaffiliated with any particular side in this story will write the definitive expose on Greensboro politics. It will rival Woodward and Bernstein's work on Watergate. Hell, it might win the damn Pulitzer Prize. I await that day and the full truth. Until then, take everything you hear from Mitch Johnson and his close circle of cronies with a grain of salt, if not the whole salt shaker.

[Joe Guarino]

John, I appreciate your sharing the figurative use of the word "enema" to describe what our town needs.

However, I prefer to use more literal terms. What the town really needs is an exterminator, or a fumigator.:)

Thanks for your comments.