Greensboro City Council At-Large Race: Danny Thompson

The Greensboro City Council At Large race has six contenders, three of whom will be elected.  Voters get to choose a maximum of three candidates.

I have studied the field with some level of detail.  Of the six contenders, five have responded to my questionnaire.  (The questionnaire responses are found in the "category" found in the upper right hand corner of this blog page.)  I have read most of the press reports and the blogs.  And I attended the at-large forum last week.

Three candidates have been endorsed by the Simkins PAC: Robbie Perkins, Nancy Vaughan and Marikay Abuzuaiter.  Perkins and Sandra Anderson Groat have historically fit the "Melderec" profile.

The conventional wisdom is that Robbie Perkins is likely to be re-elected, and that Nancy Vaughan is also likely to be among the top three vote-getters.  That theoretically leaves a field of four candidates vying for the remaining slot.  Abuzuaiter will have a potentially large base of unthinking support through her Simkins endorsement.  Groat has all the advantages of an incumbent, with high name recognition.  Danny Thompson showed some strength during the primary; and Gary Nixon has impressed some observers.  

What is the best approach for the conservative voter to take?

I would argue that it is not necessary to vote for three candidates.  When I go to the polls, I am only going to vote for Danny Thompson in this particular race.  He is the only verifiable conservative among the entire bunch.

If conservative voters cast a ballot for Abuzuaiter, Groat or Nixon, they run the risk that they will contribute toward one of these candidates' vote totals exceeding that of Thompson.  Abuzuaiter is running leftward this year, and Groat is center-left.  It is tricky to pin down Nixon's ideological persuasion, because he has not responded to a couple of key questionnaires; but based on what we do know, it is difficult to label him as conservative.

Perkins is a liberal Republican, and has been inextricably linked to the Simkins PAC for a number of years.  Nancy Vaughan is a moderate with some good positions, but her Simkins endorsement is a deal-breaker for me.

There was not a single candidate in the field with whom I agreed on the vast majority of questionnaire responses. 

However, at the candidate's forum, Danny Thompson's conservative sensibilities shone through.  He is a moderate conservative-- not "far right" by any means.  He demonstrated himself to be a good communicator.  He has some policy ideas that are creative for Greensboro-- a city that has heretofore tended to require that candidates follow a certain mold. 

Zero-based budgeting?  Egads!

Conservative voters who want to see a conservative at-large candidate elected should strongly consider voting only for Danny Thompson; and refrain from making two other choices.

Comments

[Cyndy Hayworth]

Joe:

I will be voting for two candidates for the at large race. You can rest assured that one of them will be Danny Thompson! Danny is one of the strongest candidates I have seen in any city council race in Greensboro. He is a common-sense candidate and he is thinking long-term solutions to some of the problems. Whew...isn't that refreshing? More importantly, he is NOT thinking about himself, he has no ego and he owes no favors. If citizens don't vote for Danny, and problems go unsolved, then they have only to blame themselves! Does this sound to good to be true? Well, let's vote for Danny and let him prove how smart we were to do so!

[Joe Guarino]

Thanks, Cyndy, and I agree. While it may be difficult to find a candidate with whom one agrees on every issue, Danny Thompson seems to be different than what we have seen in the past-- in a very positive way.

I think it is important for people to understand that they do not have to vote for three candidates. If they do so, they might be undermining the ability of someone like Danny to win. And truth be told, there are probably not three candidates worthy of a vote in this particular race-- at least from a conservative's perspective.

[Roger Greene]

The newly annexed areas around the Cardinal hold the key to this election. If they turn out they can make a huge difference. He's from there and I hope he has the connections and rapport to get that turnout.

[Joe Guarino]

I hope so also, Roger. He appears to have at least some level of support in other areas as well.

[Russ Jones]

Joe:

I've known Danny Thompson for a decade. Not only is he fiscally conservative, he is a small business owner and understands the challenges facing small business in Greensboro. It is common knowledge that small business is the engin that drives our economy, and I fear liberals do not trust BUSINESS today!

Danny is also one of the best organizers and communicators I know. What better combination of experience and skill to have in our local government?!

Russ Jones

[Joe Guarino]

Thanks, Russ, for those comments.

One of the things I have noticed during this campaign is that a number of candidates running for city council might talk about being "business-friendly", with marginal credibility; but only a couple credibly talk about creating an environment in which jobs are more likely to be created. Danny Thompson is one of them.

[Kay Allred]

I've known Danny for a long time also through Rotary. His ability to lead and his integrity are unsurpassed!

Kay Allred

[Joe Guarino]

Thanks, Kay. Mr. Thompson certainly seems to have a web of acquaintances locally who support him.