Charlotte politician seeking 12th District seat visits Winston-Salem

NC Rep. Rodney Moore meets with Democratic leaders in Winston-Salem.

A state lawmaker from Charlotte with his eyes on the 12th Congressional District seat currently held by US Rep. Mel Watt made a foray into Winston-Salem to make his case to a small group of Democratic leaders yesterday.

NC Rep. Rodney Moore was introduced by NC Rep. Ed Hanes Jr., a Forsyth County lawmaker, during the informal question-and-answer session at Mayor Allen Joines' campaign office.

The district, which snakes along the Interstate 85 corridor from Charlotte to parts of Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem in the north, has been represented by Watt of Charlotte since 1993. Hanes told Moore that any Charlotte candidate who wants support from northern-tier voters will have to persuade them that he will provide equitable representation.

"I don't know how true it is, but I've heard there's been some perceived communication gap between different government entities," Moore said. "And so I just want to tell you that I'm going to be very open and accessible."

Watt's nomination by President Obama to head the Federal Housing Finance Administration has prompted a slew of Democratic politicians to put themselves in contention for the seat, which will be decided by a special election. In addition to Moore, NC Sen. Malcolm Graham (D-Mecklenburg) and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools attorney George Battle, along with two Guilford County state lawmakers, Alma Adams and Marcus Brandon.

Brandon made a converse move by campaigning in Charlotte over the July 4 holiday.

Graham topped a recent Public Policy Polling poll with support from 31 percent of likely voters, followed by Adams, with 22 percent. NC Rep. Beverly Earle of Charlotte carried 8 percent, while Brandon garnered 5 percent. Moore polled near the bottom, drawing 3 percent, along with former Mecklenburg County Commission chair Harold Cogdell.

The small group that gathered to hear from Moore included Winston-Salem Councilman Derwin Montgomery, Forsyth County Senior Democrats President Jim Shaw and the Rev. John Mendez.

Moore said depending on when Watt is confirmed the special election to determine his replacement could wind up being folded into the general election in November. The candidate said he would take a bipartisan approach to governing if elected to represent the 12th Congressional District, which leans heavily Democratic.

"I see that Washington, for the most part, right now it's just not functioning properly," Moore said. "It's a whole lot of soundbites, whether you're a Republican and you get on Fox News and you expound the party philosophy, the conservative philosophy; most of the time if you're a Democrat you're on MSNBC and you're expounding the Democratic philosophy, the liberal philosophy. I don't believe you can govern that way. You have to be able to talk to one another and get things done, even if you don't agree with each other."

Moore said, if elected, he would emphasize education, advocate for veteran services, use his relationship with US Secretary of Transportation of Anthony Foxx (who is the former mayor of Charlotte) to bring highway and bridge funding to the district and promote energy independence.

City council hears report on discontent in sanitation department

Council members pose for a photo to commemorate the city's centennial.

Winston-Salem City Council met in closed session for about 50 minutes on Monday night to hear a report from top administrators on the findings from an investigation into allegations of misconduct in the sanitation department.

"We do take these issues very seriously, and that's why we have asked for this investigation," Mayor Allen Joines said after council adjourned in public following the closed session. The mayor added that he was limiting his statement to avoid preempting a formal statement to be drafted by City Manager Lee Garrity and City Attorney Angela Carmon on behalf of the city council and released in the coming weeks.

Former and current sanitation employees have raised several issues of concern about the department, including allegations of sexual harassment, unsafe working conditions and disrespectful treatment by citizens who are customers of the department's public services. Most troubling perhaps is an allegation by a sanitation laborer captured on an audio recording that a supervisor forged his signature on a statement.

The supervisor, Darrell Moody, can also be heard on a recording obtained by YES! Weekly, pressuring the laborer, Victor Bethea, to change his statement and threatening to write his own statement in substitution. Both incidents took place during an administrative investigation that ultimately led to the dismissal of a driver named Angelia Byrd who was involved with a confrontation with a resident over whether the resident should be receiving special backyard trash pickup.

The allegations were detailed in an investigative report published by YES! Weekly earlier this month. Garrity, Assistant City Manager Greg Turner and Sanitation Director Johnnie Taylor, along with Carmon, met in closed session with council to answer members' questions.

Joines said the city will have to strike a balance in its statement between providing adequate detail to maintain public confidence and protecting the privacy rights of employees.

"It's a very difficult position that the city is in," he said. "We have to be careful in how that's worded to protect the rights of employees, but we do want to reassure the public that the department is being managed appropriately." 

Addressing council during the public speakers portion of the meeting before council went into closed session, Byrd reminded council members that she had come before them last month with allegations of sexual harassment, forgery and wrongful termination. She asked Joines and the other council members what came of the investigation and whether anything had been done about it.

Joines responded that council would be unable to publicly address many of the allegations because of restrictions on the release of personnel information.

Byrd said after the meeting that she expects to meet with Garrity to receive a report on the findings of the city's internal investigation. 

Related to the personnel problems in the sanitation department, employees have raised questions about possibly abuses in the city's curbside garbage pickup program, which allows residents to receive backyard service simply by filing an application that attests that no one in the household is capable of moving trash to the curb. About 5 percent of households in Winston-Salem receive backyard service in Winston-Salem, compared to about 1 percent in other cities across the state. A citizens budget review committee has recommended that the city require residents to obtain a doctor's note to continue to receive backyard service -- a change that would save taxpayers an estimated $114,000.

"I've been a bit concerned about the large number of exemptions," Joines said on Monday. "I've felt for some time that we should maybe take a look at that issue and perhaps adopt a more formal policy and require more detail in the applications."

He added that he expects staff to make a detailed report to the city council's public works committee on the matter in coming months.

Councilman Dan Besse, who represents the Southwest Ward, has said he supports the current policy, arguing that requiring the elderly and people with disabilities to obtain a doctor's note would subject them to indignity and unwarranted inconvenience.

"Thus far a majority of the Winston-Salem council has come down on the side of the elderly, frail and disabled," he said earlier this month. "That's my vote, and I'm sticking to it."

In other news, the council unanimously approved a resolution in support of legislation filed by NC Rep. Ed Hanes Jr. that would allow county commissions to set aside the most recent tax reappraisal. Constituents in predominantly black neighborhoods on the east side of Winston-Salem have sought relief from the recent round of revaluations, which they contend have artificially diminished the value of their properties.

Council also delayed a vote on change orders to Blythe Construction and HDR Engineering for work on stormwater management and new streets at the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter on the eastern flank of downtown.

Councilwoman Wanda Merschel, who represents the Northwest Ward, said she opposed the change orders because of escalating costs due to unforeseen environmental contamination.

"At some point someone's going to have to explain to me what could have been done to avoid $5.2 million in change orders," she said.

Turner, the assistant city manager, said fly ash and fuel oil were discovered that were likely created by a physical plant and incinerator operated by the city. He said state would require the city to clean up the mess one way or another.

"This is our fly ash and our fuel oil poured on top of it," said Councilman Robert Clark, who represents the West Ward, "and we have to clean it up."

Merschel replied, "This one is hard.... This one just looks bad for taxpayers."

Before council could take a vote, Councilman James Taylor Jr., who represents the Southeast Ward, made a motion for no consideration. The parliamentary procedure results in the matter being placed on the agenda for the next meeting in April. After listening to objections from Merschel, along with Mayor Pro Tem Vivian Burke and Councilwoman Denise D. Adams, Taylor said he found himself on the fence and surmised that he might be in a position to cast the swing vote on the contract.

 

Bill filed by Forsyth lawmaker to set aside revaluations

Ed Hanes Jr.

UPDATE: NC Rep. Ed Hanes says Rep. Evelyn Terry, a fellow Democrat, will co-sponsor the bill, and that he's still working on his Republican colleagues.

ORIGINAL POST: NC Rep. Ed Hanes Jr. (D-Forsyth) has filed legislation allowing county commissions to set aside the latest property revaluation. The bill, which was filed today, was drafted in response to a public outcry by homeowners in predominantly black neighborhoods on the the east side of Winston-Salem who are alarmed that depreciation rates from 50 to 70 percent will effectively wipe out their most significant investments.

No other members of the Forsyth County delegation, including fellow Democrat Evelyn Terry or the three Republican members, are cosponsors.

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines has pledged to introduce a resolution in support of the bill at the next city council meeting on March 25.

Meanwhile, the bill faces steep hurdles, being that it was filed by a freshman Democrat in a Republican-controlled state legislature without the support of the county delegation's Republican members. 

And even if the bill passes, there is no guarantee that the Republican-controlled Forsyth County Commission will choose to act on it. Commissioners Walter Marshall and Everette Witherspoon, the two Democrats and representatives of District A who serve on the county commission have urged property owners to lobby their Republican colleagues.

In other legislative news today, Hanes signed on with Rep. Debra Conrad and Rep. Donny Lambeth — both Forsyth County Republicans — to a bill that would allow the city of Winston-Salem to skirt seismic upgrade requirements — essentially building codes ensure that structures are safe in the event of an earthquake — for temporary occupancy of an emergency operations center.

Sen. Pete Brunstetter (R) and Sen. Earline Parmon (D), the two senators from Forsyth County, are cosponsors of the Senate version of the bill.

Pictorial: On the campaign trail

Former US Rep. Bob Etheridge (l-r), NC Sen. Linda Garrou, NC House candidate Ed Hanes Jr. and NC Rep. Earline Parmon greeted the "Gotta Vote" bus in front of Obama campaign office on North Point Boulevard in Winston-Salem today.