Guarino

What to Do About the Tom Pollard/ Nancy Vaughan Decision: The Way Forward

Ed Cone reported today that Interim City Attorney Tom Pollard has further considered the matter, and has reaffirmed his decision to allow Mayor Pro Dem Nancy Vaughan to vote on the contract to reopen the landfill to residential waste.  This, of course, means that the matter is probably killed for now.

Pollard-- an outsider-- has single-handedly decided the landfill issue on behalf of more than 200,000 Greensboro residents.   This allows Vaughan to play the role of Joan of Arc, heroically mounting her white horse to slay those evil conservatives who dare discuss reopening the landfill.

In the city of Greensboro, sometimes council members get to vote when they have a conflict of interest, and sometimes they don't.  That's just the way it is.  Ask Robbie and Nancy.  The process to determine whether council members have a conflict of interest is an absolute joke.

Vaughan, who lives in Irving Park, postures in a manner akin to the classical limousine liberal.  She thinks nothing of spending tens of millions on an unnecessary project like the aquatic center; and then perhaps tens of millions more than needed to dispose of our solid waste.  She bows before the city of Greensboro's deeply ingrained, institutional expectation of political correctness and identity politics.  She saw an opportunity to deliver a victory to the old-guard, Melderec con Simkins gang, and she took it.

The question is what should be the way forward for council conservatives.

The fact is that Nancy Vaughan and Robbie Perkins have handed local conservatives an issue for the fall election with their political victory on the landfill.  This has the potential to take some of the steam out of the east Greensboro juggernaut that has been mounting in preparation for the fall election; and also has the potential to focus intently the attention of local fiscal conservatives.  I think city council conservatives should fold their cards, and stop the landfill process acknowledging they do not have the votes.  The question is whether they are savvy enough politically to know how to capitalize on what has happened during the fall election season.

In some respects, pursuing the reopening the landfill to residential waste has been like trying to drive a square peg into a round hole.  At every twist and turn, there were obstacles and sources of resistance.  But the bottom line is that conservatives do not have a reliable majority on the Greensboro City Council-- and they never have.  That is an inescapable fact.

There might be some temptation to try to throw the contract to Waste Industries.  Of course, both Nancy's husband-- Senator Don Vaughan-- and Simkins PAC principal Joe Williams, a local attorney, work on behalf of Waste Industries.  That could potentially be a good route to take; but it would require an affirmative vote by Zack Matheny.  Like Robbie Perkins and Nancy Vaughan, Matheny has been a Simkins endorsee in the past.

Ever since former Mayor Yvonne Johnson reopened this discussion two years ago, it has seemed likely that critical players in east Greensboro would have to get paid handsomely in order for anything to happen regarding the White Street Landfill.  That apparently did not happen to a sufficient extent with respect to the Gate City Waste Services contract.

Lion of Liberalism Helped Lead Wartime Battleship Worship Service

Approximately seventy years ago, a wartime summit took place on a battleship that included President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.  It turns out that, when Sunday arrived, the two planned and participated in a worship service aboard the ship.  Thousands of British and American sailors participated.  It was a distinctively Christian service.

Robert Morrison reported at NRO online:

The president and the prime minister led their ships’ companies in a church parade. The sailors shared hymnals. The prime minister selected the hymns — Roosevelt’s favorites, and ones that Winston judged would be known by most of his battle-hardened English ratings. “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” and “Onward, Christian Soldiers” were the familiar tunes voiced by 4,000 male voices, their sound reverberating from the forbidding gray mountains that ringed this sheltered bay.

The Royal Navy chaplain read from the book of Joshua. “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee, saith the Lord. Be strong and of good courage.” Roosevelt choked back tears, so moved was he by the scene played out for him. Churchill wept openly.

Consider the manner in which our society has become post-Christian; and the manner in which liberals tend to insist on a rigid, extraconstitutional degree of separation between church and state.  It is extraordinary that a veritable lion of liberalism like Roosevelt-- who is an object of veneration in certain circles-- would have led and participated in such a service in an official capacity.

They sung one of the great hymns of the Christian tradition:

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne
Still may we dwell secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.

Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,

Return, ye sons of men:

All nations rose from earth at first,

And turn to earth again.

A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,

With all their lives and cares,

Are carried downwards by the flood,

And lost in following years.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

Like flowery fields the nations stand

Pleased with the morning light;

The flowers beneath the mower’s hand

Lie withering ere ‘tis night.

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our God while life shall last,
And our eternal home.

 

Marriage Protection Amendment

The state legislature will reconvene on September 12.  It is expected that the Marriage Protection Amendment will be a high priority item.  Republican leaders have begun speaking about this particular effort.

We need this state constitutional amendment.  Why?  Because the judiciary cannot be entrusted with this particular aspect of law.  Some might feel that the North Carolina courts lie beyond the reach of judicial activism, but recent events have proved otherwise.

Conservative Christians need to gear up their activity on this issue, and let their state legislators know they want this amendment placed on the ballot. Parties and interest groups that want the gay political agenda enacted in North Carolina have already been heavily mobilized on this issue. 

North Carolina is the only southern state that does not have a Marriage Protection Amendment.  It is conceivable that some conservative Democrats will support the amendment.  But it is equally conceivable that the knees of some moderate-to-liberal Republicans will go wobbly.

The North Carolina Family Policy Council has produced a heavily referenced Issue Brief that provides information on this issue in detail.

Why Is the American Economy Not Creating Jobs?

Unemployment Among the Young in North Carolina

When I traveled to Italy four years ago, I remember hearing from locals about the severity of unemployment affecting young adults.  I was told that the unemployment rate nationwide was 25% for those younger than, I think, age 25; and the rate was even worse in southern Italy.  I remember thinking about how our American economic system was superior to the democratic socialism that prevailed in Europe.

However, Civitas yesterday had a post that illustrates how things have changed here since then.

Here are the nationwide figures:

The total unemployment rate for the age group (16-24) is 18.1%, a 1% improvement from last year’s numbers, but still over 4% higher than in 2008. The data is particularly rough for young minorities, with a fifth of Hispanic and a shocking 31% of African-American youth unemployed.

And here is the data for the state of North Carolina:

The 2010 census found that 16-19 year olds in North Carolina had an unemployment rate of 27%, while 18.4% 20-24 year olds were unemployed.

With the step-wise adoption of democratic socialism in the United States and North Carolina, especially during recent years, we are now becoming quite competitive with Europe with respect to unemployment among the young.  Of course, this is absolutely terrible for young people, and terrible for family formation. 

But I suppose we ought to congratulate ourselves.  We have arrived in a Brave New World that had been constructed over a period of nearly a century.

Why The City Should Not Run the Landfill

It has been a major talking point among the local left that conservative city council members should consider the costs associated with having the city run the landfill.  It is a point that is disingenuously made-- because those making it are in opposition to reopening the landfill to residential waste.  These parties are merely trying to make the conservative council members look bad, and drag the process out further.

Allen Johnson suggested today that conservative council members' insistence that private industry can do the job more efficiently could be insulting to city staff.  A number of his commenters seemed to disagree.  And Tony Wilkins later posted this YouTube featuring Jim Kee who emphasized how badly the city had run the landfill years ago.  That is apparently the reason we are now fighting this battle:

What is Skip Doing?

Is Skip Alston inappropriately using county taxpayers' money to fight his partisan redistricting battle?

Commenter Dogwood at the N&R site indicated he had a meeting at the DOJ, perhaps on Friday.  If so, local Republicans might have a problem.  All Skip needs is access for the DOJ to mess with the plan passed by the state legislature.

Update: Via Piedmont Publius, the HPE had reported Skip's trip to Washington.

Robbie Perkins Watch: Manipulation

Yes!Weekly:

Perkins protested before the vote: “No one can look at the process that we have been through over the past 18 months regarding this landfill situation and say that it has been anything but a disaster. Every single piece had an element of manipulation that was designed to go to a defined outcome.”

It would be interesting to hear which aspects of the landfill situation Perkins believes have had an "element of manipulation".  Some who are familiar with Perkins' political past might regard his making accusations of manipulation as fairly shameless.

One example is the manner in which he conducted himself at the council briefing last week.  Political game-playing, to the max.

The "Regional Solution" for Greensboro's Solid Waste Disposal

We have heard various parties make the case that, instead of reopening the White Street Landfill, we should be discussing a long-term, regional solution.  Some parties want to throw kinks into the process, or they want to delay until after the election-- but of course, they are banking on the premise this will kill the effort completely.

Yes, we should ultimately be discussing a long-term solution-- but after the council is through discussing the White Street Landfill.

And yes, the long-term solution could be a regional one.  But we ought not be relying upon Randolph County for this purpose.  That will necessarily require that we pay more, and that another county will profit off our trash.

Instead, we should be discussing other possible locations in Greensboro or Guilford County.  We should take care of our own trash-- not export it to other counties.  Then, Greensboro residents can capitalize on any cost economies, or on any "profit" made off Greensboro trash-- because they are also Guilford County taxpayers.

Yes, a suitable site would have to be identified.  But it seems if they can do it in Randolph, we should be able to do it here as well.

Addendum: Abner Doon tears apart a N&R editorial on the topic.

Addendum #2: Tony points out that the second RFP issued by the city council expressly sought a long-term solution.   

Perry/ Giuliani?

An interesting article at NRO a couple of weeks ago highlighted the friendship between Texas Governor Rick Perry and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.  It raises the possibility of a Perry/ Giuliani ticket.

Such a ticket would provide regional balance, and perhaps place within more plausible grasp for Rick Perry certain states in the New York region.  It would also place in the vice presidency someone ready to be president from day one.

Of course, the political left and their soulmates in the media have already begun trying to tear Perry down-- even though the ink is barely dry on his campaign literature.

How Do We Get the Aquatic Center to Serve the Poor?

Last week, I made a couple of proposals regarding the new Greensboro Aquatic Center. 

It had become evident that the pricing structure for the center effectively excludes the poor.  In addition, there has been a longstanding need in this community for facilities where the homeless can shower and attend to their personal hygiene needs.  I therefore proposed that the Greensboro Aquatic Center change its fee schedule, and bring its prices down dramatically, so that it is affordable for nearly everyone in the city.  In addition, I proposed that the center set aside one hour every day for the homeless to visit and use its shower and locker room facilities to take care of their personal hygiene. 

I was very pleased that Michele Forrest, a local homeless advocate and blogger, endorsed this proposal.  She indicated that quite a number of homeless individuals set up camp not terribly far from the aquatic center location.

The facilities and staff are already in place, and there would be minimal cost associated with opening up the facilities to the homeless at no charge.  Consider the description of the facilities on the aquatic center website:

Men’s and women’s locker rooms are provided with private shower accommodations and ample toilet facilities.  Designated master’s locker areas and youth locker rooms are also provided.  In addition, a family changing room is located adjacent to the training pool.

It all sounds very nice.

This is the big grand-opening weekend.  There has been a nearly month-long PR blitz that has attempted to get people excited about the aquatic center.  But the fact remains that city staff, led by Rashad Young and Matt Brown, are effectively excluding the poor and the homeless.

Recall that Rashad Young was chosen to be city manager when Yvonne Johnson was mayor.  And of course, management decisions by city staff have been lifted up in certain quarters as a paragon of what we should be doing as a city.

I think it would be appropriate first to ask what the appropriate next steps are to get Rashad Young and Matt Brown to adopt these proposals.  I welcome comments toward that end.

But in addition, I would like to see other major media voices in town get behind these proposals: the News and Record editorial page led by Allen Johnson; Yes!Weekly; Ed Cone, who has the preeminent progressive blog in town; and the Rhinoceros Times.  There is simply no legitimate justification for city staff to bar the homeless from using the facilities at the aquatic center; and for them to price the facility so that the truly poor cannot use it.

This is a public facility; and it should be available for the use of the least fortunate among us.  Let's brainstorm some ideas as to how we can convince city staff to do this.  In addition, I hope other media voices will join in this effort. 

Conflicted Nancy: Limousine Liberal?

The News and Record reports this morning the position taken by Gate City Waste Services on the prospect of Mayor Pro Dem Nancy Vaughan voting on the awarding of the landfill contract:

Gate City attorney Steven Levitas made an argument against Vaughan participating, writing a letter to Pollard, dated Aug. 24, that the city’s conflict of interest policy “prohibits council members from voting on the selection, award, or administration of contracts in which they have a direct or indirect financial interest, real or apparent.” 

This is a critical point about Vaughan's attempted reentry into the process.  It is not sufficient for an ethical public official to avoid a real conflict of interest.  It is also mandatory for the ethical public official to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.  This has been a problem for folks like Robbie Perkins and Skip Alston in the past; and now Nancy Vaughan joins their ranks.

She, of course, initially tried to make it appear that she was a conscientious, neutral observer seeking out the facts when she told Ed Cone that she did not know how she would vote.  But it became apparent within a period of 24 hours precisely how she would vote.

She continues to make righteous pronouncements from the comfort and security of her Irving Park home regarding how we should do public policy in the city of Greensboro.

Now, she is saying that the millions of dollars in saved taxpayer money are not sufficient to justify reopening the landfill.  This makes us recall her vote that required us to spend nearly $20 million in taxpayer dollars on the aquatic center.  The meaning of Nancy Vaughan's political career is now crystallizing.  She eagerly doles out taxpayer dollars to various interest groups at the table-- northeast Greensboro, the swim community, the hospitality industry, etc.  And in the process, she makes the local left and the local mainstream media quite happy. 

Indeed, the following video portrays Nancy Vaughan as the prototypical limousine liberal.  This is yet another way that she seems to be emulating Robbie: 

 

We're #37 in Job Growth...

... but hey, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the manner in which our state was governed.  That is, at least, what we are supposed to believe.

Councilwoman Nancy Vaughan To Sue City To Vote on Landfill?

One of the legitimate raps against Mayor Pro Dem Nancy Vaughan is that she has not led on hardly anything during the current city council session.  That is hard to deny. 

But we have also occasionally seen her tendency to make grand pronouncements trying to establish a new "morality" with respect to how council business should be transacted; and setting herself up as the heroine to correct the situation.  She then earns and enjoys plaudits from the usual quarters-- the local daily paper, the Melderec con Simkins crowd, the east Greensboro anti-landfill folks, etc.

In fact, it seems legitimate to raise the question as to whether she might have a Joan of Arc complex.

Meanwhile, she continues to make dubious statements:

“I think the process has been deeply flawed,” she said. “The surrounding neighborhoods were never given a seat at the table.”

This is horribly misleading.  First, any kinks in the process were at least partially attibutable to a failure by the city attorney's office to provide proper guidance prior to the departure of Rita Danish.  Second, east Greensboro citizens were offered a seat at the table.  But they elected instead to adopt a rigid position; and in fact, they sued the city of Greensboro's taxpayers.  A political attempt was made to secure the cooperation of Councilman Jim Kee with the intent to determine what could be done for east Greensboro; but he was under intense pressure to dig in his heels.

In the meantime, Vaughan has been intellectually dishonest.  Here is what she told Ed Cone:

Vaughan says she doesn't know how she'll vote...

But then later, here is what she told Jordan Green:

"There’s been some discussion that I’m trying to throw the vote to Waste Industries," Vaughan adds, "but I think it’ s pretty clear that I don’t want the landfill open at all."

That makes it much more clear how Nancy is going to vote, contrary to what she represented to Ed; doesn't it?   Her statements seem pretty self-contradictory to me.

Of course, if her voting makes it necessary for conservative council members to turn to Waste Industries, that might work out well for her husband and his client.  You see, either way, she might win.  If the landfill proposal is killed, then she is Joan of Arc in the eyes of certain parties.  If she loses, Waste Industries might be the beneficiary.

It is pretty clear that Interim City Attorney Tom Pollard has made a terrible mistake as a result of Nancy Vaughan's inquiry with him.  But now, if he reverses, she is making an implicit threat to sue:

Vaughan says that if interim City Attorney Tom Pollard rescinds his opinion allowing her to vote on the matter, she will consider seeking outside counsel.

But there is a very important question.  If that were to happen, who would serve as her attorney?  Her husband?

Addendum: Sam Hieb has more.

Who Is Michael Roberto?

Last week I had shared with readers a portion of the most recent Greensboro City Council meeting featuring Michael Roberto.

Doubtless, the question arose among readers: Who is this guy?

It turns out that the old Truth and Reconciliation Commission blog (circa 2006) has some information.  Oh, I know, we are all supposed to genuflect at the mere mention of the TRC.

But it turns out he is, in fact, Doctor Roberto:

Dr. Michael Roberto is also an assistant professor in the history department of N.C. A&T State University and a resident of Greensboro for more than 25 years working as a journalist part of that time working with the Carolina Peacemaker and the News & Record. A contemporary world historian, his primary teaching fields also include world history and the history of socialism. He has his B.A. degree from Adelphi University, his Masters from the University of Rhode Island and a Ph.D. from Boston College.

Interestingly, the blog links to a statement that Roberto had made regarding the fateful events of 1979.  Here is the narrative in a nutshell.  Apparently, the Communist Workers Party (CWP) had been trying to organize the horribly exploited employees in the region's textile plants.  Conditions got even worse because of all the new competition these plants faced.  But the evil textile plant owners successfully stymied the CWP's efforts to organize.  Economic conditions at the time were a reflection of decreased American hegemony in the world; and resulted in rising income inequality.  This led to the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan.  The CWP, having been unsuccessful in the textile arena, instead directed its efforts toward the Klan.  And the rest is history-- at least according to Dr. Michael Roberto.

I suspect some of those exploited textile plant workers would now be more than happy to have their jobs back.

Interim City Attorney Moves to Squelch Landfill Reopening

There has been a major development in the ongoing landfill story.

Councilwoman Nancy Vaughan has inquired with Interim City Attorney Tom Pollard as to whether she can now vote on the landfill in view of the fact that Waste Industries-- the company her husband represents-- was not selected.  In a letter dated today, Pollard responded and advised Vaughan that she can now vote on the issue.  He stated, "...there is no basis to excuse you from voting on the contract award to Gate City... Since you do not have a financial interest in a contract award to Gate City, these (conflict of interest) provisions do not prohibit you from voting under these circumstances."

This is a major development because two more votes must be taken before the city can proceed; and with Nancy Vaughan voting, the council would deadlock 4-4.

Of course, this would enable Ms. Vaughan to play the role of heroine once again-- just as she did on the aquatic center-- riding her white horse to enjoy the adulation of onlookers.  The local MSM will love her, east Greensboro will love her, the local left will love her-- and she probably knows it.

But there are a couple of problems.  First, conservative council members had previously been told by acting city attorney Tom Carruthers that it would not be permissible for Vaughan to vote after a vendor is preliminarily selected.  Why?  Because she would potentially be akin to a distraught party trying to foil the process and gum up the works in favor of Waste Industries.  Recall that her husband represents Waste Industries. 

After all, the prospect of Nancy Vaughan defeating the selection of Gate City could force the conservative council members to choose Waste Industries to enable the process to go forward-- thereby helping her husband's client.  That would knock Vaughan out of the box once again. 

Is that what Nancy Vaughan is seeking?   Is that what her reentry to the process potentially represents?

With this stunning new development, you cannot just consider Nancy Vaughan.  You also have to consider Senator Don Vaughan and his business interests.  You must consider the Vaughans' marital unit collectively; and decide what motivations she might have if she shoots down Gate City.

Could this be the thought going through Nancy Vaughan's head?  Either my husband gets the money-- or nobody gets the money.

It would be useful to think about all these issues as the media portrays Ms. Vaughan riding her white horse.

UPDATE: Ed has a post quoting Nancy Vaughan in which she tries to make it appear that the statute requires her to vote-- ignoring the fact that one city attorney's interpretation disagrees with the previous city attorney's interpretation; whitewashing her family's possible financial interest in the success of another applicant in the process; and downplaying the likelihood that her introduction into the process will force conservative council members to award the contract to Waste Industries if they still want to save the taxpayers money and reopen the landfill.  Vaughan says she thinks the process needs "further deliberation", but of course this means she would delay likely until after the election when the whole thing would more likely be scuttled.

Police Costs for SuperJam

I recently received the final accounting from the city of Greensboro regarding the police costs associated with the SuperJam event at the Coliseum:

Our Police department reported the total cost which related to the Superjam to be $77,144.87. Off duty totaled $44, 851.88; on duty totaled $32,292.99. 

Welcome to Greensboro, Sir...

I just have a couple of questions about the following interaction at the last Greensboro City Council meeting.

Would this particular councilwoman's line of questioning tend to make it more likely that typical CEO's will want to create jobs in Greensboro?  Or is it more likely to cause them to go running for the hinterlands?

Parking for the Jail

Now, let's see if I have this right:

1. Guilford County plans construction of a new county jail but fails to incorporate plans for parking.  This is a bit reminiscent of what Matt Brown pulled at the Coliseum a while back.

2. The county school system has a large piece of real estate currently used as parking for the Weaver magnet high school and the downtown YMCA.  It arranges what appears to be a sweetheart deal-- a "shared use agreement" for the YMCA to continue to use the lot at virtually no cost when the county expresses interest in buying it from the school system.  This piece of real estate, presumed to be quite valuable, could potentially have served as the site of the parking needed for the new jail.  But the school board, it appears to me, might have been trying to head off the possibility of that happening.

3. Now the county wants to build a parking garage jointly with the city of Greensboro; but the city wisely wants to stay clear of a joint project with the county.  After all, this is the county's problem that it brought upon itself.  And it has been quite difficult dealing with the county during recent times.

It seems this should not be so difficult.  What are these people doing?