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| Pigs, Poultry & Politics 2009 |
About 300 people attended the "Pigs, Poultry & Politics" reception, hosted by the Triad Real Estate & Building Industries Coalition, or TREBIC, at Castle McCullough in Jamestown. President Marlene Sanford said the turnout was consistent with previous years, with 60 candidates and elected officials attending and the balanced comprised of members of the various industries under TREBIC's umbrella.
The event drew everyone from NC Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger to a candidate for mayor of Thomasville. Emcee Tom Terrell described the TREBIC as "the go-to real estate organization in the Triad," and lauded NC Sen. Don Vaughan, husband of Greensboro City Council at-large candidate Nancy Vaughan, as "a true champion on the Jordan Lake Rules."
4 comments:
Yes, thank you, Sen. Vaughan, for going behind the backs of the electorate to seal a deal between developers and environmentalists by establishing a perpetual property tax, otherwise known as an eco-offset.
This landmark program, existing in no other state, effectively turns moochers into looters.
Jordan can you give more details on what this event is? I don't really understand still.
Eric, glad to get this question. I've written a little bit about TREBIC's influence in Guilford County politics before, and have some reporting that I have not published. The organization has a strong critic in Keith Brown, and you might check out his Triadwatch blog.
TREBIC is basically an umbrella group that represents an array of real-estate related associations, inlcuding the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association and Triad Apartment Association. If you go to TREBIC's website you'll notice that they also represent Duke Energy, Time Warner Cable, several lawfirms and a bank or two -- basically companies that derive their profits from land development, along with Fairway Outdoor Advertising. Not sure what they get out of membership, although they sell quite a bit of advertising to candidates like Sandra Anderson Groat.
TREBIC has only three employees but its influence is impressive. The organization led efforts to weaken the Jordan Lake Rules, which are designed to reduce pollution in Jordan Lake from Haw River, and closely monitors and influences regulations in Greensboro city government that affect homebuilders and others in the industry. For instance, it's written into city ordinance that any changes to the Rental Unit Certificate of Occupancy ordinance TREBIC will be consulted, along with the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress and the Greensboro Housing Coalition.
In a nutshell, here is the role TREBIC plays in local elections. They put out a questionnaire for candidates that helps their member organizations decide which ones to support. The member organizations make their own endorsements; TREBIC does not put out endorsements. TREBIC hosts Pigs, Poultry and Politics, which is the premier annual political event. Every kind of candidate goes, from Robbie Perkins and Zack Matheny, who are closely aligned with real estate interests, to Joel Landau, who favors the notion of reining in sprawl. They all get to speak for about 30 seconds, but nobody really listens to the speeches. The point is to schmooze: face-to-face interaction, shaking hands, small talk. No campaign finance checks are written at these events that I've noticed, but no doubt it's important for the candidates to make an impression on potential donors. And lots of folks who regularly write checks attend: Roy Carroll, Henry Isaacson, Seth Coker and Dwight Stone come to mind.
Great. Just what we need. Thanks for the info Jordan.
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