District 1 candidate Donnell "DJ" Hardy (right) fields questions from reporter Jordan Green on the patio at Cafe Europa. (photo by Daniel McKelvey Jr.)
UPDATE: As predicted, Dianne Bellamy-Small officially switched from the mayor's race to District 1 today (Aug. 10).
ORIGINAL POST: Donnell “DJ” Hardy had been called up for jury duty. As of noon today, he was still waiting to see if he would be summoned to service. He had until 2 p.m. to be back at Guilford County Courthouse. I found him waiting at the patio of Café Europa. Daniel McKelvey Jr., his campaign manager, and Kristen Jeffers, his communications director, joined us.
With three days left before the end of filing, Hardy is currently the sole candidate for the District 1 seat on Greensboro City Council. Prior to the filing period Councilwoman Dianne Bellamy-Small had been coy about whether she would seek reelection in the district. Then, on the first day of filing, she made an official bid for mayor, surprising everyone, including Hardy.
Hardy said two years ago Bellamy-Small suggested he consider running in District 1, but he said it was an off-handed comment, and even as recently as this year he wasn’t sure if he wanted to run in the district. At the time of the comment, Hardy was an at-large candidate. He didn’t clear the primary that year, but his candidacy earned him name recognition and respect from other candidates.
Hardy serves as controller of A&D Environmental in his 9-5 job. Considering recent events, I naturally wanted to hear his thoughts about the downgrading of the US bond rating and its possible implications for the city of Greensboro’s creditworthiness. He told me he has read three articles about the US bond rating that he hoped would clarify the matter for him, but came away even more confused.
The downgrading of the US bond rating creates “a new environment,” Hardy said, adding that local governments’ reliance on federal funding is a cause for concern. He stopped short of saying that the city should put the brakes on new borrowing.
“I consider myself pretty cautious to begin with,” Hardy said, “so I don’t think this will impact my decision making. It will impact the overall cost of the bonds, but for those who voted to support those bonds we have an obligation to issue them.”
The candidate said he sees a pattern of inequality in how the city prioritizes bond projects.
“I’ve seen plans for Ole Asheboro that go back to 1979,” Hardy said. “A large portion of that work has been delayed time and time again…. There should be a more fair way of paying for things that have been popularly supported.”
Finance Director Rick Lusk said by law the state has up to 13 years to spend bond money approved by voters through a referendum. The city has seven years to issue bonds, but can apply for a three-year extension from the NC Local Government Commission. After bonds are issued, the Internal Revenue Service requires the city to spend at least 85 percent of the proceeds within three years. Lusk said the city issued the final portion of its 2000 bond cycle last October.
Voters approved a bond to finance an aquatic center in 2008. Less than three years later, the aquatic center is scheduled to open any day now.
“I’ve never gotten how this truly benefits the community,” Hardy said. “You’ve got an asset that is drawing on city funds and drawing interest, and you’ve got neighborhoods that still need sidewalks, and — I would say — buses that need GPS systems. District 1 residents are tired of it. District 2 is not far behind. They’ve got a special circumstance. They’re in the crosshairs to save money. And yet some areas still don’t have sidewalks.”
Hardy said reopening the White Street Landfill — probably the single most important issue in this election — is unfair to the residents of northeast Greensboro who live in District 2 and also demoralizing to their counterparts in District 1. Both are minority-majority districts that primarily cover the east side of the city.
The candidate said he’s disappointed the current council hasn’t looked into ways to increase recycling as a means of reducing the city’s waste stream. He added that while using alternative technologies to convert waste to energy might not be viable for all of the city’s household waste it makes sense to start with a portion of the trash and gradually expand.
While praising Chief Ken Miller, Hardy said he wants to make the police department more accountable.
“We have to be a little more stringent about who we allow to remain an officer of the law,” he said. “We have standards. If they have a disregard for the law, they shouldn’t remain on the force.”
Hardy said he would be open to the idea of a citizen review board with subpoena power.
“They operate under the assumption that investigations are the backbone of the legal process,” Hardy said. “If they respect investigations as the way they deliver justice, why would they have a problem with them as a means of gathering evidence?”
Having sat through a number of city council meetings and having addressed the body on occasion over the past two years, Hardy is well aware of its fractious nature and the stubborn racial divide in municipal politics that often pits the representatives of districts 1 and 2 against their counterparts in majority-white districts 3, 4 and 5.
“It really gets back to, can people who disagree still hold each other in esteem and respect,” he said. “If they don’t esteem and respect each other, they should still hold the positions of representation in esteem and respect.”
He described turnout in the past two elections — 18.1 percent in 2009 and 20.1 percent in 2007 — as “upsetting,” arguing that such thin participation undermines any claim to a political mandate or meaningful representation.
“There’s not really a comprehensive agenda for the city,” Hardy said. “You’ve got a bunch of people claiming to represent the city. But there’s no way to hold them accountable because there’s no agenda that got them there.”
He downplays the significance of the Connections 2025 Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted by the council in 2003 with citizen input.
“I think there needs to be something that’s a little more grassroots,” he said.
Hardy has participated in a steering committee to bring the Industrial Areas Foundation, a community organizing network established by Saul Alinsky in 1940, to Greensboro. A Winston-Salem affiliate known as CHANGE was founded in 2002. Hardy expressed admiration for the organization’s emphasis on broad-based membership and involving people who are the rank-and-file backbone of churches and other institutions rather than their leadership.
Hardy’s effort to create a more authentic constituent base for his own campaign has resulted in a number of support groups, including Moms for DJ, Students for DJ and Seniors for DJ. Moms for DJ Hardy is chaired by the candidate’s wife, Christina, while Seniors for DJ Hardy is chaired by Nettie Coad, a community leader in the Ole Asheboro neighborhood who ran for city council in District 2 in 2009.
“We need to put aside gamesmanship and begin to address people’s concerns and make sure people’s voice is heard so that results can be obtained,” Hardy said. “Listening goes a long way.”
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