In the op-ed section of the News and Record this morning, there was a piece jointly written by the presidents of each of the three components comprising the Greensboro Partnership.
Their article was fairly similar to that written by Bill Carstarphen which was run last week. It cited all the shopworn reasons why city council members and county commissioners-- the elected representatives of the people-- should not interject themselves into the management of their respective jurisdictions. According to these parties, elected officials should behave much like potted plants; and representative democracy should carry little weight.
These parties claimed concern over what is happening on the Guilford Board of County Commissioners. But interestingly, they did not speak up until Mitchell Johnson was terminated as city manager. I don't think that is a mere coincidence.
We need to remember that Action Greensboro, a non-profit organization, gave $5,000.00 to the Simkins PAC during the last election cycle, in likely violation of the law. The president of this organization was one of the authors of today's N&R article. Recall that Action Greensboro is one of the three components of the Greensboro Partnership.
And let's also remember that proud day several years ago when our local business establishment appeared before our City Council to express concern over the taping of local black professionals that was being trumpeted by the city at that time; and to give support to the city for the approach it was taking on that issue. Of course, the city of Greensboro and the Greensboro Partnership were dead wrong. And the credibility of the Partnership as a legitimate, independent voice of the local business community is now utterly open to question. The Partnership receives funding from our local units of government; and is granted priority input into decisions and plans made.
When readers review today's article, they should consider the content of this YouTube, which has one of the most astonishing displays of mutual fawning, obsequious behavior that we could ever hope to see:
You have to wonder which planet Susan Schwartz, Chuck Corneilo, and Rick Burns have been on. How could they suggest that Mitch Johnson was not given clear goals and objectives? If they are our LEADERS maybe they should be replaced.
Posted by: wayne | March 22, 2009 at 10:05 PM
Oops, Chuck Burns
Posted by: wayne | March 22, 2009 at 10:06 PM
Wayne, giving Johnson goals and objectives was a big talking point for the N&R editorial page also. But they all were relatively unconcerned with respect to holding public officials accountable for allowing a fiasco to be engineered that has been very costly from a number of different standpoints.
It should be within the prerogative of the City Council to hold a legitimate "no confidence" vote. What was done in Johnson's case was justifiable.
It is a bit more difficult for me to say that the removal of the last two county managers was justifiable. I am not prepared to make that case. But again, they did not write this piece until Johnson was removed.
Posted by: Joe Guarino | March 22, 2009 at 10:53 PM
I recall that Council meeting . I wondered at the time what could have caused the wussified incoherence displayed by Mayor Holiday. Was it something he ingested, and I don't mean BBQ. Unreal . ' 24 '????
" Bring to justice those responsible for this surveilance " . This guy had to have been brainwashed. He was then and is in retrospect a pathetiic figure.
Posted by: Anonymous | March 23, 2009 at 12:26 AM
I started reading the article but didn't have the fortitude to finish. Thanks Joe for having a stronger stomach than me so I could get the gist of it from you without having to personally wade thru the muck.
The same goes for Allen Johnson little piece. Where do these people reside and/or how can they look themselves in the mirror in the morning when they know what they are speaking is so much .....well darn it words just fail me here. BB
Posted by: Brenda Bowers | March 23, 2009 at 05:42 AM
Anonymous, this video, courtesy of Ben Holder, presents a sad spectacle-- on the part of our vaunted "local business establishment", and also the City Council that existed at that time-- including Holliday and Yvonne Johnson.
Brenda, the response of the Greensboro Partnership reflects self-interest. They are attempting to preserve their capability to influence the way local government works, according to the worldview of a limited number of unelected elites, by preserving the machine's influence on local government. That is what this is all about.
Posted by: Joe Guarino | March 23, 2009 at 10:27 AM
" by preserving the machine's influence on local government." I could not agree more. But I wonder how Mitch Johnson or the previous and present Council has helped the pacs. The Simkins Pac needs jobs for the monority it represents. We've lost many thousands of textile jobs which many minorities depended on. To my knowledge, very little has been done to bring jobs by this or the previous Council. It would seem to me the Randleman Dam is the key to the jobs. Beavers could have build the dam in thirty years. When do we get this water?
If Tom Phillips runs for mayor or council he needs to be held accountable since he was the liason to the water authority.
Posted by: wayne | March 23, 2009 at 03:44 PM
Wayne, it would be difficult to demonstrate that the primary objective of our local government over the years was to attract private sector jobs for minorities. If that were its orientation, it would have behaved differently.
Posted by: Joe Guarino | March 23, 2009 at 04:14 PM
Please correct me if my understanding is wrong, but all the people speaking in this video are accepting as fact "events" that were only rumor lacking substance. Both the stimulus and the response are just empty words- but damaging.
Posted by: Ken Hill | March 23, 2009 at 05:53 PM
It's kind of like wrestling. They pretend, but they already know what is going to happen and why.
Posted by: brandonB | March 23, 2009 at 06:07 PM
BrandonB, there is a lot of truth in what you are saying. You pretty much nailed it.
Posted by: Joe Guarino | March 23, 2009 at 08:53 PM
haha...so I guess that makes Jim Melvin the Vince McMahon of Greensboro. I could really go on for days with the wrestling/politics analogy but I don't think that's neccessary. I think we all need to really start focusing on the upcoming elections. The only names I've heard thrown around are Nancy Perkins for mayor and Ray Trapp for (my) district 2.
Posted by: brandonB | March 24, 2009 at 11:30 PM
brandon b,
in district #3 will be nancy perkins boy friend zack matheny and challenger cyndy hayworth
In district #4 is teresa jobe and her new web site here http://www.teresajobe.com who will be challenging Mike Barber unless he goes for Mayor.
Posted by: keith | March 24, 2009 at 11:37 PM
Also in district #4 is Joel Landau
Posted by: keith | March 24, 2009 at 11:39 PM
Thanks keith. Oh yeah, I forgot about Max Benbassat for at-large, but I keep thinking that the campaign is just a joke or something. I've seen the promos; no substance and I don't think he really has a clue.
Posted by: brandonB | March 25, 2009 at 06:02 AM