Democratic Women candidate forum recap

District 2 candidate Dan Fischer, District 3 candidate George Hartzman, and at-large candidates Sandra Anderson Groat and Jorge Cornell (l-r) were among the participants in a forum held by the Democratic Women of Guilford County. (credits: Jordan Green)

The fellowship hall at St. Andrews Episcopal Church had the feel of a middle-school dance full of sweaty and anxious teenagers yesterday evening.

The format allowed for a campaign speech by the mayor, introductory statements from at-large candidates and breakout sessions for district candidates.

Some observations and thoughts:

District 3 incumbent Zack Matheny, a registered Republican, showed up and took a seat beside his unaffiliated opponent, George Hartzman. Only Democrats and unaffiliated candidates had been invited to the partisan event. During introductions, Democratic Women President Michele Smith passed over Matheny. The audience tittered, and eventually she fully acknowledged him.

"I didn't mean to crash," Matheny said. "I thought I was invited last time."

At-large candidate Ryan Shell, who filed a registration change from Republican to Democrat last Friday, also attended. Shell wrote on his campaign blog earlier in the day that he assumed the Democratic Women "knew I wasn't a Democrat" when he accepted their invitation and that "in no way was I attempting to be deceptive."

Notably absent from the forum were several incumbents and otherwise viable candidates who did not avail themselves of the opportunity to crash the party. They included the mayor's opponent, Bill Knight, at-large Councilman Robbie Perkins, at-large challenger Danny Thompson, District 4 candidate Mary Rakestraw and District 5 Councilwoman Trudy Wade.

The partisanship also extended to an emcee celebrating Johnson, by saying, "Let's hear it for our mayor."

Johnson's remarks were fairly predictable for anyone who has ever seen her at a campaign event or heard her speak from the dais at city council meetings.

A snippet: "I am running for office because I have a vision. It's been a vision that I've had for 14 years. It's a vision of unity, not division or separation. A vision of progress, not defeat or stagnation. A vision of economic prosperity that reaches to every district all over our city. My vision includes a government that is inclusive, effective and efficient."

Latin King leader Jorge Cornell took a seat beside Mayor Pro Tem Sandra Anderson Groat. Both are running for at-large seats. Cornell has addressed Groat from the floor of council chambers and complained that she declined to speak about the gang unit's treatment of his group. Previously, the mayor pro tem's response has been that she wanted to let city staff handle Cornell's complaints filed with the human relations department before intervening. Following the at-large portion of the forum, Groat approached Cornell and said, "I just want to tell you that you can call me anytime."

In his introductory statement, Cornell avoided mention of his own complaints against the police department in what seemed to be an intentional effort to present himself as more than a single-issue candidate. He said the city needs to do a better job balancing the needs of the wealthy and poor, stop racial profiling of young people by law enforcement and improve parks in low-income neighborhoods so that people in poor areas don't have to drive across the city to enjoy quality amenities.


At-large candidate Marikay Abuzuaiter intrduces herself while District 2 candidate Jim Kee, District 1 candidate Luther T. Falls, District 3 candidate Jay Ovittore, Democratic Women of Guilford County President Michele Smith and at-large candidate Nancy Vaughan (l-r) listen.

The issue of municipal services to recently annexed areas of the city seems to have touched a nerve with many challengers. Several responded to a question from an audience member on the topic.

"I hate that we went ahead and annexed that area until we had all we needed to serve them," at-large candidate Marikay Abuzuaiter said.

DJ Hardy, who is also running at-large, said, "I called the city and asked for an annexation policy. It was 'all that the state bestows.' I don't agree with that. I think we've been too aggressive in annexation."

Incumbent Groat, who was part of the unanimous vote in 2007 to initiate annexation of a handful of subdivisons near McLeansville, defended the city's pattern of expansion.

"We need to remember on this annexation process that the developer signed an agreement to be annexed," she said. "There needs to be a disclaimer to the residents that their properties are subject to annexation."

Later, in the District 2 breakout session, candidate Nettie Coad sounded a theme similar to those of Abuzuaiter and Hardy. Responding to a question from a resident of the district's outlying suburbs along US Highway 29 about how her neighborhood could get a post office, a McDonalds and other amenities, Coad said, "We made mistakes when we allowed develop without planning, when we allowed development with no thought to providing services."

Other notable moments in the at-large portion:


At-large candidate Nancy Vaughan introduces herself as Ryan Shell, DJ Hardy and Julie Lapham (l-r) — who are also running at-large — listen.

Nancy Vaughan mentioned her ethics challenge, noting that she has posted a notarized statement of economic interest on her campaign website. One other candidate, Ryan Shell, said he would accept the challenge.

Ryan Shell mentioned witnessing the police use a Taser on a subject during his canvassing, talked about his work picking up trash along roadsides, noted that he has learned that you can purchase three bootleg DVDs for $10 on Martin Luther King Drive, and floated an idea to create a mechanism whereby bus riders can enter their home and destination addresses on a web page to plot their bus route to mitigate confusion about transfers and so forth.

I sat in on part of the District 2 session, which included candidates Nettie Coad, Jim Kee and Dan Fischer. Questions included what to do to engage young people who don't pursue a college education, maintaining public safety for elderly residents and equitable services.

Shell, who previously switched his candidacy from District 2 to at-large, said he thinks Southside, where he lives, has been neglected. Candidate Jim Kee's response suggested he was skeptical of Shell's claim.

Overall, I found the discussion in the District 2 forum to be lacking in direction and substance.

I ducked into the District 3 forum, and witnessed the tail-end of a spirited exchange between candidates Zack Matheny and Jay Ovittore. Maybe someone who was there can fill in the details.

While Matheny foisted himself into the forum, others who had reportedly confirmed that they would attend were no-shows. They included Max Benbassat (at-large), Ben Holder (District 1), Daron Sellars (District 1) and Gordon Hester (District 2).

More information about candidates for Greensboro City Council can be found here.