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Showing posts with label Cyndy Hayworth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cyndy Hayworth. Show all posts
Downtown Greensboro Incorporated Names Cyndy Hayworth as Director of Operations
Campaign website exaggerates discussion of restaurant tax
UPDATE: Marikay Abuzuaiter, an at-large candidate for Greensboro City Council who has been targeted by the No Restaurant Tax campaign, told me on primary election night at the Old County Courthouse that she discovered a No Restaurant Tax sign in front of Mahi's Seafood Restaurant, which she owns. It turns out that Marty Kotis, the developer and property manager behind the campaign, is her landlord. ORIGINAL POST: Visitors to the No Restaurant Tax website will find a list of Greensboro City Council candidates color coded to indicate which ones are “good for restaurants” or alternately, “want[s] to tax restaurants” or “undecided.”
The website announces, “We are committed to protecting the restaurant industry and its patrons by fighting the proposed discriminatory Prepared Foods Tax / Restaurant Tax. This latest assault on your wallet comes from an attempt by certain Greensboro City Council Candidates to find money for a wish list of projects too expensive to be funded from the taxes they already collect.”
Hold the presses: A prepared foods tax/restaurant tax has been proposed for the city of Greensboro? City council candidates have proposed it? For anyone who has spent much time at city council meetings and work sessions or at candidate forums, this news may come as a surprise.
At the top of a sample ballot posted on the website, mayoral candidate Robbie Perkins is coded red. Candidates Bill Knight, Chris Phillips and Tom Phillips are coded green. Candidate Bradford Cone is not listed. Marty Kotis, a Greensboro developer who identifies himself as a supporter of the No Restaurant Tax campaign, declined to reveal the source of information relied upon to make the determinations, but several candidates confirmed that they answered a question on the Triad Real Estate and Building Industries Coalition’s questionnaire.
Kotis is a member of the NC Restaurant and Lodging Association. His company develops and manages a number of properties across Greensboro that lease to restaurants. Kotis is backing Knight's mayoral reelection bid.
The question reads, “Would you support a 1 cent prepared foods tax for economic development/quality of life initiatives?”
Many of the candidates recommended by the No Restaurant Tax website, including Knight for mayor; Danny Thompson and Chris Lawyer in the at-large race; Mary Rakestraw in District 4; and Trudy Wade in District 5 are self-identified conservatives. But others favored by the group are in the opposing camp, by virtue of their opposition to reopening the White Street Landfill, including Yvonne Johnson and Wayne Abraham in the at-large race. Conservative Jean Austin Brown, an at-large candidate, is listed as being in favor of the restaurant tax.
Perkins called the campaign a “made-up issue” and accused those behind it of attempting to “mislead the voting public.”
“I think I wrote on my questionnaire that this is something that could be considered if you were going to create a coliseum authority,” Perkins told YES! Weekly. “The only way not to have taxpayers subsidize the coliseum is to create an authority and put in an alternative revenue stream.”
The No Restaurant Tax Facebook page links to a January 2010 article by Fox 8 TV indicating that Perkins proposed an authority to oversee the coliseum. But Perkins has not advocated the creation of a coliseum authority since that time. Last month, he addressed Conservatives for Guilford County and defended the current arrangement in which the coliseum is subsidized by the city of Greensboro’s general fund.
“I look at the billion dollars of tourism business in Guilford County as a huge community asset,” Perkins said. “And the centerpiece of that business is the Greensboro Coliseum. So the million and a half dollars that we are giving the coliseum out of the general fund each year is a small part of the many millions that we bring in through that facility to the benefit of our citizens. I contend that the tourism business, the hotel business and the restaurant business would not be close to the same in our city without the coliseum driving that business.”
Today, Perkins said, “Is it on the table? No. Should it be on the table? Unless we decided to move forward with some kind of authority for the coliseum, there’s no reason for it to be on the table.”
Abuzuaiter, who owns Mahi’s Seafood Restaurant, checked off the box on the questionnaire for “yes.” And on a follow-up question asking, “Would you require a referendum?” Abuzuaiter also checked off “yes.” The questionnaire requires either a yes or no answer, and does not allow candidates to indicate they might consider the idea. The questionnaire provides only a small box for candidates to explain their position.
“My reasoning was the North Carolina sales tax was reduced by one penny on July 1,” Abuzuaiter said. “If we could take that one cent and put it back on for economic development and quality-of-life initiatives in Greensboro, which we so desperately need, I would certainly put it on a referendum before the people.”
Considering that the candidates on the other side of the issue are deemed “good for restaurants” — implying that those who support a restaurant tax in some fashion are not — Abuzuaiter and Hayworth said they view the website as misleading.
“I know that if we can create jobs and improve quality of life, my business will get better,” Abuzuaiter said. “We were paying 1 cent for how many years? That was on a dollar. I will gladly give up one penny if it gives us a chance to create jobs.”
Abuzuaiter said a typical bill at her restaurant is $40. That means that a 1-cent tax would translate into an additional cost to customers of 40 cents per meal.
In District 1, challenger Donnell “DJ” Hardy is highlighted in green while incumbent Dianne Bellamy-Small is coded red.
The campaign’s Facebook page links to a blog post by War Memorial Commission member Tony Wilkins, also dating back to January 2010. Wilkins reports that Coliseum Director Matt Brown presented a chart of organizations that would benefit from $9 million raised from levying a 1 percent prepared food tax in Guilford County during a meeting of the commission.
Wilkins wrote, “As I was shaking my head no, a current council member sitting behind me asked, ‘Why don’t we do 2 cent?” In a comment on the No Restaurant Tax Facebook page, Wilkins identified Bellamy-Small as the council member who made the remark.
Kotis said even though the idea has not been discussed by city council in open meetings or work sessions since January 2010, if the council decided to pursue it after the election it wouldn’t be the first time an issue was discussed behind the scenes before council took action on it.
“What we’re doing is getting the public discussing it now and getting the topic discussed with their council member or with their candidates for council,” he said. “If people don’t agree with it, they should give candidates a call and say, ‘I don’t agree with that.’”
Northeast Greensboro council incumbent challenges the challengers
Presbyterian Church of the Cross candidate forum, a set on Flickr.
Kee posed a question to C. Bradley Hunt II, the youngest of three candidates seeking the District 2 seat on council, and his toughest critic.
“What are you currently doing to bring economic development to District 2?” asked Kee, who is a real estate developer by profession.
“Let’s be honest here,” Hunt responded. “I know that you are in business and that you are a business person. That is what you were supposed to bring to council. However, that is not my thing. Once I get on council it will be quite easy for me with my leadership skills, with my zeal, with my enthusiasm, with my fresh approach and fresh perspective to do anything that needs to be done.”
Kee then made a preemptive strike, drawing out the policy issue in which he differs most dramatically with Hunt.
“I happen to think we have an excellent police department,” he said. “Crime has steadily gone down…. What is your position on the Greensboro Police Department?”
Hunt responded, “I believe that the Greensboro Police Department cannot continue to investigate itself. We need a citizens review board with subpoena power. We have to get citizens involved in the Greensboro Police Department or we will still see corruption; we will still see mistreatment, harassment and discrimination.”
Next, Hunt received a set-up question from his mother, Yvonne Hunt Perry: “Why should I vote for you as a student? Some people may say you’re inexperienced. Persuade me that you are the candidate for District 2.”
“Let’s bring it right here to Greensboro, North Carolina,” her son replied. “Feb. 1, 1960. You had four freshman at NC A&T. The Greensboro sit-in movement changed the nation. As a 24-year-old within the same city, I know that together with the university and the community we can change the city.”
Kee took advantage of the opening, referencing Hunt’s role in a civil disobedience action with the Spirit of the Sit-In Movement in which Hunt and others took seats on city council during a break in a May 2010 meeting. Hunt had taken the mayor’s seat and banged the gavel, signaling for the student activists to begin a discussion of issues such as alleged police corruption and the landfill, which they believed were being neglected at the time. Later, Hunt and others were voluntarily arrested.
“What was your purpose and accomplishment?” Kee asked.
“On that day, I took a stand – something that is needed at times,” Hunt said. “Maybe you can understand that, councilman. Sometimes you just have to take a stand.”
In his introductory remarks, Hunt suggested that Kee has not taken a strong enough stance against reopening the White Street Landfill.
“That conversation is a nonstarter, as far as I’m concerned,” Hunt said. “I don’t believe that should have ever come up, and I believe we need the right leadership, someone that’s willing to stand and say, ‘No, this is wrong.’”
Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Vaughan, who is seeking reelection as an at-large candidate, took umbrage at Hunt’s remarks and came to her fellow council member’s defense.
“When you were 10 years old, Mr. Kee was coming before the city council relentlessly to close that landfill,” said Vaughan, who was serving on council at the time. “I don’t think there was a greater advocate for closing the landfill and organizing the concerned citizens of the northeast. I think that when it comes the landfill the community really owes him a large debt for the work that he did 10 years ago and the work that he continues to do.”
Hunt responded, “As a councilman, I did not see that. I appreciate the work that was done 10 years ago, but right now in 2011 and 2010, I believe that the councilman was the last person to sign on against the landfill, and followed public opinion.”
Kee also challenged his other challenger, Dan Fischer, who sought to exploit the same perceived weakness. Kee asked Fischer what he would have done differently had he been the one in the District 2 seat over the past two years.
“Even though I want a win-win situation, if I have to I will get down and dirty,” said Fischer, who served as a Navy corpsman for 20 years. "I will put my foot down. I will work with anybody to get the answers I want. Working with the Marines, I found ways to go through them, over, under, around, and to blast a hole in it. I am willing to do most anything to see what is right for a community, happen.”
In addition to the three District 2 candidates, a parade of at-large contenders stood before the audience. Melvin DuBose, a facilitator, said at the end of the program that any candidate who was in favor of reopening the landfill or who wasn’t talking about economic development should forget about receiving residents’ votes.
Marikay Abuzuaiter, who has made two previous attempts to win election at large and who has previously enjoyed strong support from east Greensboro, gave a passionate testimony to her stance on the landfill.
“Opening the landfill is the worst thing this city could have ever considered doing,” she said. “I took a stand very, very early on this because I had been on a landfill research committee about two years ago. And what I found out what a landfill can do to the environment, to the people – if anyone ever tells you a landfill does not leak, that is untrue.
“I had somebody tell me in a private meeting: ‘Well, you’re getting tagged on the [human relations] commission as ‘the landfill lady,’” Abuzuaiter recounted. “And I said, ‘Okay.’ ‘And you’re also being toxic.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ And this person said, ‘What do you want your legacy to be: The landfill lady or toxic? What’s it going to be?' I said, ‘No, I want my legacy to be I do what is right.”
Cyndy Hayworth, a well-funded at-large candidate who was recently elected chair of the zoning commission, also told voters she is opposed to reopening the landfill.
“This community trusted the decision that the council made several years ago,” Hayworth said. “And through that trust they built a community around the decision not to accept household waste. They built a new library. They built new things. They built up a community. And it’s just not right to come back and say, ‘Now, we’re going to reopen it.’ So my decision – and it might be a moot point at this point – would be to not reopen the landfill and to look at the alternatives that we have. One would be to renegotiate a contract. They’ve already said that they could do what they’re doing for less money and save the taxpayers money. We need to get to the table with Rockingham and Randolph and Caswell counties and start looking at a regional solution to this problem.”
Jo Isler, who serves as Abuzuaiter’s campaign manager and who lives in District 2, challenged Hayworth on her association with Danny Thompson, an at-large Councilman who was elected two years ago after telling voters he was opposed to reopening the landfill. Thompson is seeking reelection, but did not attend the candidate forum.
“Two years ago you endorsed Danny Thompson in the newspaper,” Isler said. “Do you regret that, because he seems to be the force behind reopening the landfill?”
“I did write a letter of support to Danny – a letter to the editor,” Hayworth said. “I think that you could agree with me that when you have a candidate that has no voting record, who has nothing to look at except what their platform is, and when you hear a good platform, and you think, ‘Well, that’s a great candidate,’ and you vote for them and they get in office and then you’re very disappointed. I think every person here could agree that we’ve seen candidates that we voted for and we did not agree with them once they got in office. I would not have voted on issues the same as Danny would.”
Isler also challenged at-large candidate Jean Austin Brown on her stance on the landfill.
“I’ve not been privy to some of these conversations about opening the landfill,” Brown said. “So I’ll need to know more information. I think I won’t be voting on that because it’s already a done deal, from what I understand. At this point I honestly can’t say what I would do. I’ve talked to people on both sides. It’s not that I’m wishy-washy, but I’m listening to both sides of it.”
Yvonne Johnson, who served one term as mayor before being defeated by Bill Knight in her 2009 reelection bid, is running at large this year. She lives in northeast Greensboro and holds a longstanding record in support of keeping the landfill closed.
“I also feel very strongly that we do not need to reopen the White Street Landfill to municipal solid waste,” she said. “I think it will hurt us economically. Northeast Greensboro is one of the areas of Greensboro that has the greatest potential for growth in this city. We’ve built up the rest. We have our water system in the north. And years ago we put in the infrastructure because we knew it was northeast Greensboro that had the potential.”
Marlando Demonte Pridgen, a political newcomer who is also seeking an at-large seat, told the gathering that he will take a fresh and innovative approach to economic development.
Kee, the incumbent in District 2, told Pridgen: “A lot of your ideas are already being implemented."
Vaughan came to the event with momentum from a court decision earlier in the day to uphold her right to vote on a proposed contract to reopen the landfill. She has said she will vote the contract down, and her participation effectively blocks a slim majority from reopening the landfill.
Vaughan, who has not traditionally enjoyed deep support in east Greensboro, received a round of applause when she announced the decision. She cited her participation in a 2001 vote to close the landfill, and appealed for unity.
“When the landfill came before us it was really seen as a people issue,” Vaughan said. “It wasn’t a dollars-and-cents issue. It was a people issue and what was going to be best for the community. And that was a unanimous vote to close the landfill. Do you know: We did not get one call from anybody saying, ‘How could you do that? You are not being good stewards of our tax dollars.' I think that was a different time then. I think people really valued neighborhoods and valued what was going on in other people’s lives.”
Vaughan also atoned for her role in approving a map considered by many to be a scheme to gerrymander the city to the conservative majority’s advantage.
“We had an issue with redistricting,” she said. “We passed a map. It was a bad map. I agree with that. There was a public outcry. And I was not ashamed to say, ‘We made a mistake.’ And within 36 hours I said, ‘We need to revisit this.’ And we came up with a much better plan. I listen to my constituents. When you say we’ve done something wrong, I don’t cover my ears, and say, ‘Well, that’s the way it is.’ If you think we’ve done something wrong, you’ve got an advocate in me. I listen to you, and I think I’ve proved that by my actions.
“You know, we are really at a crossroads right now as a city," Vaughan continued. "We can dig our heels in and we can keep our extreme left and our extreme right. You know, if we want to be successful we have to come together and we have to be willing to make broad steps. And sometimes broad steps cost money. But you know, we have to consider everything because if we keep just doing business as usual we’re going to stagnate.”
Campaign season underway in Greensboro municipal elections
Interactive Resource Center candidate forum, a set on Flickr.
Candidates for Greensboro City Council have been making the rounds to meet groups that make endorsements and lining up financial backing.
Now, the campaign is in full swing. District 4 candidate Nancy Hoffmann met voters at M'Coul's pub tonight. Candidates courting the east Greensboro vote such as mayoral hopeful Robbie Perkins are expected to appear at Presbyterian Church of the Cross on Phillips Avenue on Friday evening. On the same night, at-large candidate Wayne Abraham will be holding a fundraiser at Mack and Mack on South Elm Street, while fellow at-large candidate Yvonne Johnson will be holding a reception at House of Jazz on North Edgeworth Street.
District 2 candidate Jim Kee holds his campaign kickoff at the Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship on Saturday, while other candidates will be showing up at neighborhood festivals.
In one of the first public campaign events, the Interactive Resource Center held a lunchtime candidate forum on Tuesday. Candidates or their representatives sat at designated tables and shared lunch with homeless clients at the homeless day center. Afterwards, they stood up and make brief statements, and then answered questions.
The only incumbent who showed up was Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Vaughan, but she left without making remarks after she learned she was being served a lawsuit by a company that has been preselected to operate the White Street Landfill to try to prevent her from voting on the matter.
Candidates that participated in the candidate forum included at-large contenders Yvonne Johnson, Marikay Abuzuaiter, Cyndy Hayworth, Wayne Abraham and Jean Brown; District 4 candidate Nancy Hoffmann; and District 5 candidate Jorge Cornell.
Cornell embraced Abraham as candidates and clients were lining up to be served a meal.
"We need you," Cornell told Abraham, who served on the complaint review committee of the Greensboro Human Relations Commission when Cornell and other members of the Latin Kings filed complaints against the Greensboro Police Department.
Marikay Abuzuaiter: "You do not need to own a home for me to listen to you. If you are at the homeless shelter, I will listen to you. Yes, we need more homeless shelters. We need more jobs."
Wayne Abraham: "We need to create a buy-local campaign. We need to adopt a sustainability plan and restore funding for critical infrastructure."
Yvonne Johnson: "If you think the biggest need in the city of Greensboro is jobs, then I am your candidate."
Jean Brown: "I want to balance the budget. I want to stop excessive spending. Some of the laws are not necessary. I want to change some of these laws that are taking away our rights, like saying you can't park in your front yard. I've got a paved driveway, but not everybody is so fortunate."
Cyndy Hayworth said she has no hidden agendas; reported that she has recently been elected chair of the zoning commission and much of council's business involves land-use decisions; expressed the view that the city should be run like a business; and concluded, "at the end of the day, it's about you."
Nancy Hoffmann: “I’m running because I love the city. I’ve lived here by choice for 14 years. I want it to continue to be a very good city with a good quality of life for all of our citizens, and I feel that I have some background and experience that I could bring that could be helpful to create a new city council that could work together effectively.”
Jorge Cornell: "It's important that we take the money from these nice neighborhoods, nice districts, and take it back for the neighborhoods that need it....
"They call me the quote-unquote gang leader. I'm not a gang leader. I'm just a brother that's striving to improve my community."
Cornell told the audience that he is setting up a temporary labor agency, Community United Staffing, to put ex-felons to work. One client challenged him on whether the agency will be able to provide sustained employment.
"There's no guarantees," Cornell responded.
Candidates learned that Greensboro does not have an adequate number of beds to accommodate all the people who are homeless on any given night.
"My concern is the lack of beds for both men and women in Greensboro, but especially for women at different shelters," said James Reaves, a volunteer. "Every day, we send people from Greensboro to High Point, to Winston, as far away as Charlotte because we can't find a place for them. We are often asked, 'Why are you sending homeless to us? Why aren't you taking care of them yourself?"
A number of candidates responded.
"I did not know the discrepancy was so great in beds," Johnson said. "We have a lot of abandoned houses.... And if we were to give a tax break to those who own the houses, maybe we can use those for emergency shelter. I don't have all the answers. But I'm willing to sit down and try to find a solution."
Abraham concurred: "I agree we are going to have to work with the nonprofits in this city and pull them together.... I will certainly be willing to work on that kind of issue with you."
Hoffmann said, "It's not like we can do anything tomorrow, but you're looking at the candidate you can vote for in October and November that came to listen to you."
Candidate profile: Cyndy Hayworth
Cyndy Hayworth is a bottom-line kind of person. Hayworth, a candidate for Greensboro City Council, objects to what she calls the posturing and personal agendas of current city council members for one simple reason: It stands in the way of Greensboro moving forward.
Hayworth cited the current controversy over the proposed reopening of the White Street landfill as an example of how politics often trumps public service on the current council.
“The White Street Landfill is very complex and it evolves every day; there’s information coming out every day,” Hayworth said.
It would be a mistake for the city to sign a 15-year contract with a vendor, Hayworth said, because of emerging technologies in waste management. Hayworth questioned the cost savings to the city of reopening White Street versus continuing to have the city’s trash shipped to Montgomery County.
“I’ve had an hour and a half conversation with [City Manager] Rashad Young; I’ve had conversations with council members that say it’s from $6 million to $8 million [in savings] and asked, ‘Where did you get your numbers?’”
Hayworth said. “The red flags are for those numbers to be viable, this, this and this has to happen. It’s kind of like writing a computer program — it’s an if/then statement. It’s the ifs and the thens I have a problem with because I still can’t find any definitive numbers that say, ‘We can take your waste and dispose of it for $6 a ton, period.’”
During its Aug. 16 meeting, the Greensboro City Council selected Gate City Waste Services, which was incorporated five months ago, to operate the White Street Landfill. The council approved the measure by a vote of 4-3.
The city’s deliberations on the White Street Landfill issue reflect an approach that is based on short-term solutions, Hayworth. She suggested bringing waste management vendors, residents, researchers from local colleges and universities as well as elected officials to the table to find a solution that could solve the city’s waste management needs for the next 50 to 100 years.
“We did the same thing with the Randleman dam,” Hayworth said. “We could foresee a water shortage problem, although it took us many more years than we thought it would. We partnered with five municipalities and did the Randleman dam and our water problem is solved for the next 50 to 75 years.”
Hayworth also said the divisiveness over the White Street Landfill issue is palpable both on the council and among Greensboro’s citizens.
“I want to save the taxpayers as much money as I can and you have to ask, is it worth the money you would be paying in lawsuits?” Hayworth said. “Is it worth the climate of the city? If you don’t have a welcoming community, how can you attract new businesses? If you don’t have new businesses, how can you attract jobs? It all plays in together.”
Economic development and job creation are the top two planks in Hayworth’s campaign platform. In light of the contentious nature of the council, Hayworth said she would work to build unity and encourage her fellow council members to take Greensboro in a positive direction.
“It’s a privilege to serve the citizens,” Hayworth said. “As city council, I think we have to work in harmony with the local economic development committees because we should have a unified effort to grow Greensboro’s economy.”
Hayworth, the vice chair of the Greensboro Zoning Commission, said the city council can’t create jobs but it can make Greensboro a more business-friendly environment. Hayworth said she would encourage collaboration with other municipalities in the Piedmont Triad to market the region and make it more attractive for corporate investment. The “education corridor,” which includes the colleges and universities in Alamance, Guilford and Forsyth counties, is an asset that should be utilized on the same scale as Research Triangle Park, Hayworth said.
“The times of putting your head in the sand and saying, ‘Let’s just work for Greensboro,’ are over,” Hayworth said. “We’re going to have to blur the lines and work with other municipalities.”
The education corridor initiative “could be huge,” Hayworth added.
“We could compete nationally [with larger cities] if we could tap into that asset we have right here,” she said.
Abuzuaiter, Landau, Hayworth, Jobe in city council race
Joel Landau confirms that he plans to run in District 4. Mike Barber says he currently plans to run for reelection in District 4, but doesn't rule out a bid for mayor. Teresa Jobe confirms that she plans to run for council, but hasn't decided whether to run at large or for the District 4 seat. Cyndy Hayworth plans to challenge Zack Matheny in District 3. Marikay Abuzuaiter plans to run for an at-large seat. Julie Lapham is considering running at-large.
Full story here:
Sandra Anderson Groat, Greensboro’s mayor pro tem, observed that many of her colleagues seem to be running for reelection, even though filing doesn’t take place until July 3 and the municipal primary won’t happen for another nine months.
Preoccupied with settling affairs for her failed homebuilding business, Groat said jockeying for November was far from her highest priority.
“If I don’t feel like I can make a difference, I don’t need to be up there,” she said. “It’s the second year of the term. I’m supposed to be doing the job I was elected to do, not running for reelection.”
As Groat expresses circumspection, other council members are openly declaring their campaign plans and a host of insurgents convinced that something has gone significantly wrong with city council stand poised to enter the fray. Some of the loudest complaints are lobbed at the council’s fractious conduct and its perceived deference to real-estate and development interests.
“I know my phone rings off the hook because I was Yvonne’s campaign manager, with people saying, ‘What on earth is going on with city council? They’re like a bunch of kitty cats playing in the sandbox,’” said Julie Lapham, a health researcher who managed Yvonne Johnson’s successful 2007 bid for mayor.
She sat in a Jan. 21 city council meeting, shaking her head at a decision to table a rezoning request for a self-storage facility. Her disgust only rose when the council deliberated at length over a decision to restore the protest petition to Greensboro.
“Why on earth do we have to wait thirty years for this?” she asked. “This should be a no-brainer.”
Lapham said she is considering a run for one of the council’s three at-large seats. Lapham currently serves on the Greensboro Commission on the Status of Women.
One person with definite plans to vie for one of the three at-large seats is Marikay Abuzuaiter, who was edged out in the 2007 general election by Mary Rakestraw by 623 votes.
“What I would like to see on council is more professional demeanor,” she said.
The sitting mayor announced plans to seek reelection at a press conference on Jan. 13. Three days later, District 4 District 4 Councilman Mike Barber led his own press conference, feeding speculation that he would challenge Johnson for the seat.
Reached by phone on Jan. 23, Barber said he is currently running for reelection in District 4, but had not ruled out a run for mayor.
“Since I live in my wife’s dictatorship, she will decide sometime in March,” he said. “I’m honored and humbled that people have shown interest in my candidacy. Years down the line, I will be proud to tell my children that people considered me worthy of the office.”
One sitting council member has announced her retirement. District 2 Councilwoman Goldie Wells said she will not seek reelection in November. So far one person — Ray Trapp, interim executive director of the Triad Apartment Association — has announced plans to run for the seat. Trapp was in the audience on Jan. 21 when Wells led the charge on a vote that saw council request the restoration of the protest petition. Trapp did not speak on the issue. Instead, Triad Real Estate and Building Industries Coalition President Marlene Sanford spoke on the apartment association’s behalf, arguing in favor of maintaining the city’s exclusion from the protest petition.
District 3 Councilman Zack Matheny, a one-term representative, has said he plans to run for reelection. Cyndy Hayworth, who ran in 2007, told YES! Weekly she plans to challenge Matheny for his seat this year.
Hayworth is the president of Junior Achievement of Central North Carolina, and serves on the Greensboro Zoning Commission. Matheny and Hayworth served together on the commission until Matheny was elected to city council. Hayworth has developed a reputation for taking a tougher line against developers than her rival.
Teresa Jobe, a self-described “stay-at-home mom” who serves on the Greensboro Commission on the Status of Women with Lapham, confirmed recently that she plans to run for council, but said she had not decided whether to run at large or in District 4.
Jobe applauded Barber’s press conference, but said, “I don’t think that because of where they are and how long they’ve been on council, they’re able to come up with fresh ideas, and we need more youth and more ordinary people on the council.
In a Dec. 8 post on her Teresa Talks blog, Jobe took a critical stand against the council’s decision in favor of rezoning land for Kotis Properties at the intersection of Spring Garden Street and Holden Road, allowing the developer to put in a Dunkin Donuts store. Although Barber cast the lone vote against the rezoning, Jobe faulted him for not effectively advocating for his constituents interests.
“Mike Barber did not address the council in opposition to the zone change,” she wrote. “He did not go to bat for the people in his district. Mr. Barber’s vote was merely a political move, designed as a half-hearted pitch to his constituents.”
The protest petition represents another arena in which Jobe suggested the sitting council is motivated more by political calculation than principle.
“The ones who are against it know that if they didn’t vote for the protest petition, they would get voted out of office next time,” she said. “I think that was purely political — especially Robbie Perkins.”
The District 4 contest is shaping up as a crowded field.
Joel Landau, co-chair of the Greensboro Sustainability Commission and a progressive standard-bearer in municipal politics, confirmed Sunday that he plans to seek the District 4 seat. Landau was eliminated in the primary in 2007, but redistricting the following year moved him from District 5 to District 4. He said he enjoys a strong base of support and good name recognition in the district, and would offer voters a meaningful alternative from Barber.
“I’m more working with people and working together to find solutions, where he throws stuff out there on his own and let’s everybody deal with it,” Landau said. “Also, I’m more attuned to neighborhood groups and their concerns. Mike’s more aligned with the developers.”
Full story here:
Sandra Anderson Groat, Greensboro’s mayor pro tem, observed that many of her colleagues seem to be running for reelection, even though filing doesn’t take place until July 3 and the municipal primary won’t happen for another nine months.
Preoccupied with settling affairs for her failed homebuilding business, Groat said jockeying for November was far from her highest priority.
“If I don’t feel like I can make a difference, I don’t need to be up there,” she said. “It’s the second year of the term. I’m supposed to be doing the job I was elected to do, not running for reelection.”
As Groat expresses circumspection, other council members are openly declaring their campaign plans and a host of insurgents convinced that something has gone significantly wrong with city council stand poised to enter the fray. Some of the loudest complaints are lobbed at the council’s fractious conduct and its perceived deference to real-estate and development interests.
“I know my phone rings off the hook because I was Yvonne’s campaign manager, with people saying, ‘What on earth is going on with city council? They’re like a bunch of kitty cats playing in the sandbox,’” said Julie Lapham, a health researcher who managed Yvonne Johnson’s successful 2007 bid for mayor.
She sat in a Jan. 21 city council meeting, shaking her head at a decision to table a rezoning request for a self-storage facility. Her disgust only rose when the council deliberated at length over a decision to restore the protest petition to Greensboro.
“Why on earth do we have to wait thirty years for this?” she asked. “This should be a no-brainer.”
Lapham said she is considering a run for one of the council’s three at-large seats. Lapham currently serves on the Greensboro Commission on the Status of Women.
One person with definite plans to vie for one of the three at-large seats is Marikay Abuzuaiter, who was edged out in the 2007 general election by Mary Rakestraw by 623 votes.
“What I would like to see on council is more professional demeanor,” she said.
The sitting mayor announced plans to seek reelection at a press conference on Jan. 13. Three days later, District 4 District 4 Councilman Mike Barber led his own press conference, feeding speculation that he would challenge Johnson for the seat.
Reached by phone on Jan. 23, Barber said he is currently running for reelection in District 4, but had not ruled out a run for mayor.
“Since I live in my wife’s dictatorship, she will decide sometime in March,” he said. “I’m honored and humbled that people have shown interest in my candidacy. Years down the line, I will be proud to tell my children that people considered me worthy of the office.”
One sitting council member has announced her retirement. District 2 Councilwoman Goldie Wells said she will not seek reelection in November. So far one person — Ray Trapp, interim executive director of the Triad Apartment Association — has announced plans to run for the seat. Trapp was in the audience on Jan. 21 when Wells led the charge on a vote that saw council request the restoration of the protest petition. Trapp did not speak on the issue. Instead, Triad Real Estate and Building Industries Coalition President Marlene Sanford spoke on the apartment association’s behalf, arguing in favor of maintaining the city’s exclusion from the protest petition.
District 3 Councilman Zack Matheny, a one-term representative, has said he plans to run for reelection. Cyndy Hayworth, who ran in 2007, told YES! Weekly she plans to challenge Matheny for his seat this year.
Hayworth is the president of Junior Achievement of Central North Carolina, and serves on the Greensboro Zoning Commission. Matheny and Hayworth served together on the commission until Matheny was elected to city council. Hayworth has developed a reputation for taking a tougher line against developers than her rival.
Teresa Jobe, a self-described “stay-at-home mom” who serves on the Greensboro Commission on the Status of Women with Lapham, confirmed recently that she plans to run for council, but said she had not decided whether to run at large or in District 4.
Jobe applauded Barber’s press conference, but said, “I don’t think that because of where they are and how long they’ve been on council, they’re able to come up with fresh ideas, and we need more youth and more ordinary people on the council.
In a Dec. 8 post on her Teresa Talks blog, Jobe took a critical stand against the council’s decision in favor of rezoning land for Kotis Properties at the intersection of Spring Garden Street and Holden Road, allowing the developer to put in a Dunkin Donuts store. Although Barber cast the lone vote against the rezoning, Jobe faulted him for not effectively advocating for his constituents interests.
“Mike Barber did not address the council in opposition to the zone change,” she wrote. “He did not go to bat for the people in his district. Mr. Barber’s vote was merely a political move, designed as a half-hearted pitch to his constituents.”
The protest petition represents another arena in which Jobe suggested the sitting council is motivated more by political calculation than principle.
“The ones who are against it know that if they didn’t vote for the protest petition, they would get voted out of office next time,” she said. “I think that was purely political — especially Robbie Perkins.”
The District 4 contest is shaping up as a crowded field.
Joel Landau, co-chair of the Greensboro Sustainability Commission and a progressive standard-bearer in municipal politics, confirmed Sunday that he plans to seek the District 4 seat. Landau was eliminated in the primary in 2007, but redistricting the following year moved him from District 5 to District 4. He said he enjoys a strong base of support and good name recognition in the district, and would offer voters a meaningful alternative from Barber.
“I’m more working with people and working together to find solutions, where he throws stuff out there on his own and let’s everybody deal with it,” Landau said. “Also, I’m more attuned to neighborhood groups and their concerns. Mike’s more aligned with the developers.”
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