Hammer on Knight Mayoral Candidacy, Simkins Split, DOJ Investigation

There were several quite interesting revelations that appeared in an article by John Hammer today. 

First, he revealed that Bill Knight plans to run for mayor:

Bill Knight let it leak out that he is going to run for mayor, but there is as yet no announcement or confirmation...

 

Knight, who ran for City Council at large in 2007, is expected to announce soon that he is running for mayor this year. Mayor Johnson has said that she is definitely running, so that is at least two in that race.

Knight is a retired accountant who got involved in politics to a large degree because he saw the injustice in how former Police Chief David Wray and his command staff were treated by former City Manager Mitch Johnson and former City Attorney Linda Miles.

Knight has come to the council to speak several times about budget matters and the city staff always dismisses his findings and suggestions. The staff should be terrified of having someone on the City Council who can read and understand a balance sheet. For years the staff has gotten away with pretending that fiscal matters are just too complicated to explain to the council. City Councilmember Trudy Wade has brought about some change, but Knight would be able to cause more. The city, under manager Mitch Johnson, always had enough money for projects Mitch Johnson wanted to do, but couldn't find a penny for some council initiatives. Right now the city has money hidden all over the place. Knight would find it, and the staff doesn't want that.

And Hammer also revealed what seemed to be a split in the Simkins PAC:

(A)ll is not smooth sailing with the PAC these days. At the City Council meeting on April 21, Councilmember Trudy Wade nominated Gwen Alston for a seat on the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. Gwen Alston is the wife of Guilford County Board of Commissioners Chairman Skip Alston, who is also treasurer of the Simkins PAC.

Skip Alston came to the April 21 meeting with attorney Steve Bowden, chairman of the Simkins PAC, to line up votes for Gwen Alston over Lee McAllister, who is a white male and was nominated by Councilmember Dianne Bellamy-Small.

Councilmembers Sandra Anderson Groat and Wells were both expected to vote for Gwen Alston, but did not, despite the visit from Alston and Bowden. McAllister won on a 6-to-3 vote, with Councilmembers Robbie Perkins, Mike Barber, Zack Matheny, Bellamy-Small, Groat and Wells voting for McAllister, and Councilmembers Mary Rakestraw and Wade, and Mayor Yvonne Johnson voting against McAllister, and in effect for Gwen Alston.

And regarding the DOJ investigation:

On a related note, the US Department of Justice has asked to interview a number of those with knowledge about the 40 Greensboro police officers who have filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint against the city and also filed a lawsuit against the city, Wray, former Deputy Chief Randall Brady, Detective Scott Sanders and City Councilmember Trudy Wade.

But there is another Justice Department probe in the works. This one is reportedly investigating the assertion that the percentage of minority recruits in the Police Department and the Fire Department do not equal the percentage of minorities in the community.

Several councilmembers said they thought quotas were not considered an acceptable method of improving diversity in the 21st century, but it appears the Justice Department has different ideas. Since Greensboro currently has a black police chief and has had a black police chief for all but three of the last 22 years it is hard to figure who is discriminating against the young black men who are qualified and want to be police officers.

Are we to believe that Chief Tim Bellamy, who has been chief since 2006, is discriminating against his own race? Was it Robert White, who was chief from 1998 to 2002? Or was it Sylvester Daughtry from 1987 to 1998? They can't possibly be blaming the current recruiting practices on Wray, who is white and was police chief from 2002 to January 2006.

This new inquest doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, but it is the federal government.

 

Comments

[keith]

Skip Alston and Cronyism at it's best. There needs to be a total overhaul of appointments to these boards and commissions as ryan shell has talked about in one of his issues and I talked about here,

http://triadwatch.blogspot.com/2009/04/ryan-shell-love-fest-for-greensboro.html

[Joe Guarino]

I was a bit concerned about this also, Keith. And I remain concerned when Republicans team up with Skip.

But I could not help but wonder whether there may have been cronyism, in some way, on both sides of this particular disagreement.

[keith]

Who is Lee McAllister who Dianne Bellamy Small nominated. Well he happens to be the President and CEO of Weaver Investment Companies, it looks like the circle jerk of friends is alive and well on this pick for the airport authority board. Now they have 3 of 5 members as TREBIC CARTEL members who are on the airport authority board in McAllister, Isaacson and Showfety.

[Joe Guarino]

Ah, that 'splains some things. Thanks for the info, Keith.