Tatum's entry in Southeast Ward race sets up Democratic primary

Bill Tatum

James Taylor Jr., who is completing his first term on Winston-Salem City Council as representative of the Southeast Ward, with have a contested primary on Sept. 10 with the entry of fellow Democrat Bill Tatum in the race today.

A retired city code enforcement inspector and former president of the Winston-Salem Branch NAACP, Tatum said he decided to file because he wants to get back into politics. He said he doesn't want to take anything away from Taylor, but he has some ideas about policy initiatives to help the Southeast Ward.

In a brief phone interview, the candidate presented a rounded platform that addresses city employment practices, taxes, incentives, economic development and public safety.

He wants to revisit city employment policies so that workers in all departments receive the same salary enhancements as police and firefighters when they further their education.

And considering the property tax revaluation, Tatum said he opposes increasing the tax rate. (Whether or not the city council raised taxes in the recent budget is a matter of honest debate: Because the revaluation affected every property differently, some property owners will pay more taxes and some will pay less, but the majority will see their bills reduced.)

"Also, I would look at the incentives that we have for corporations such as Caterpillar and Herbalife to make sure that if the incentives are there that people in the Southeast Ward as well as the city get a fair shot at the jobs instead of the corporations bringing in their own people," Tatum said.

The candidate said he wants to ensure that the city supports businesses in the Southeast Ward, along with major corporations that draw employees from a regional base.

"We don't have as many eating establishments that would employ people as we should," Tatum said. "We need to support their growth and not kill the businesses that are here. I want to try to talk to those companies about how we can develop their opportunity in the Southeast Ward."

As it relates to public safety, Tatum said he wants to work with police Chief Barry Rountree to develop "a better strategy to monitor this community in the Southeast Ward" and "continue to reduce house break-ins."

Finally, Tatum endorsed an idea already implemented by Taylor: Holding frequent community meetings.

"We need to communicate effectively with the citizens in the Southeast Ward to have meetings and have a dialogue in that process," he said.

Winston-Salem council moves toward sale of coliseum and stadium in racially divided vote

City Manager Lee Garrity and former Alderman Virginia K. Newell

Voting along racial lines, a narrow majority of Winston-Salem City Council directed staff to move forward with the sales of Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum and Bowman Gray Stadium today.

The proposed sale of the two city facilities to separate universities yokes together two transactions that tap into an undercurrent of racial division, while satisfying and antagonizing a complicated mix of constituencies — on one hand offloading the coliseum to Wake Forest University in a deal that could downgrade the name of an honored black native son, and on the other handing off the stadium to Winston-Salem State University and discomforting predominantly white car-racing fans who patronize the facility.

Councilwoman Wanda Merschel, who represents the Northwest Ward, made the motion during a committee of the whole meeting today to bring the proposed sale to council for consideration at its next meeting on May 20. Councilwoman Molly Leight, who represents the South Ward, seconded the motion. Council members Robert Clark and Dan Besse, who respectively represent the West and Southwest Wards, also supported the measure.

Mayor Pro Tem Vivian Burke and Councilman Derwin Montgomery, respectively representing the Northeast and East Wards, abstained, while Southeast Ward Councilman James Taylor Jr. voted in opposition. North Ward Councilwoman Denise D. Adams was not present for the vote.

"Most of the pain of selling the coliseum has to do with potentially losing the name Lawrence Joel," Leight acknowledged. 

Joel was an African-American Army medic and Winston-Salem native who won the Congressional Medal Honor during the Vietnam war for saving the lives of at least 13 American soldiers during a firefight with Viet Cong forces in Bien Hoa province in 1965. Joel was recognized for crawling across the battlefield with a plasma bag under enemy firefight, self-medicating himself after getting shot twice during a 24-hour firefight.  

The meeting was attended by former Alderman Virginia K. Newell, who made the motion in 1986 to name the coliseum after Joel, and Martha Wood, a former mayor who also played a role in honoring the Army medic.

"The black community looks at it as something good that we have given the city," Newell told City Manager Lee Garrity in the hallway outside a committee room in City Hall after the vote. "Make them keep the name."

Garrity responded, "They want the naming rights."

Wood urged council members to reconsider their decision in an e-mail today.

"If the city council is willing to forfeit this community war memorial and sell the right to change the name of Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, then you have an obligation to the citizens to present simultaneously a plan that will preserve with dignity, honor and in perpetuity a significant memorial to our veterans and Lawrence Joel, who earned the country's highest military honor.

"As we embark on our centennial celebration," Wood added, "it's appropriate to reconsider with care and diligence where and how the current proposals lead us."

As part of any potential sale of the coliseum, Wake Forest University has agreed to retain the name "Lawrence Joel veterans memorial" in the main lobby and two outside plazas that flank the entrance, and to maintain information about Joel on the facility's website. Otherwise, the university would receive all other naming rights for the facility.

As part of the vote today, council has directed staff to look into whether the university would agree to retain Joel's name on the electronic marquee sign on University Parkway.

Wake Forest University Athletics Director Ron Wellman told YES! Weekly last week that the only way the university can make the deal work is through the sale of naming rights to a corporate sponsor considering that the facility loses money and needs significant capital improvements such as a new HVAC system.

The city has appraised the coliseum at $33.1 million. After deducting $8 million for operating savings, $14.3 million for capital needs avoidance, $1 million for events and lease commitments, and $1.8 million for deed restrictions, the city is offering the facility for a purchase price of $8 million. That's roughly the amount that the city needs to pay off the debt on the building.

"We are not going to be profitable with this coliseum," Wellman told council members tonight. "We view this as an investment in our growth. It is an investment in our basketball program."

In contrast, Winston-Salem State University has agreed to a restrictive covenant requiring the name Bowman Gray to be retained at the stadium. Gray, who was white, was the former president and chairman of RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. 

Unlike the coliseum, the stadium breaks even. The city appraised the stadium at $9.9 million. After deducting $2.5 million for capital needs avoidance, $1.7 million for environmental factors, $750,000 for event and lease commitments and $750,000 for deed restrictions, the city is offering the facility to the university for $4.3 million.

Council members leaning towards the sales offered different rationales for unloading the properties.

"The original question is, why are we considering selling the coliseum?" Besse said. "The truth is that we're looking at it because it's eating up $400,000 of taxpayers' money every year."

Clark said, in contrast, that if he ultimately votes for the sale of the coliseum and the stadium, it will not be because of money.

"Should we be in the coliseum business?" he asked. "Should we be in the stadium business? My gut feeling is that it's not our core business. The university is not going to earn a profit off of this, but it benefits them because it helps create the total college experience for their students. They can make the improvements without us having to go to the taxpayers. Wake Forest University has to go tap their alumni for the new HVAC."

Merschel said she is eager to see both Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem enhance their respective brands through televised sporting events at the coliseum.

Taylor drew the strongest line, stating that the coliseum should retain Joel's name if the city sells it. But Wellman gave no indication that the university was willing to budge on that point.

When asked after the vote what level of commitment he would need from Wake Forest University to the Lawrence Joel name, including marquee sign placement and reference during televised sporting events, Taylor didn't hesitate.

"All of it," he said.

Winston-Salem council votes 4-3 to cut fire inspector positions

IAFF Local 682 President David Pollard reacts to a decision by Winston-Salem City Council to cut fire inspector positions.

Winston-Salem City Council took a machete to the budget on Monday, chopping out three fire inspector positions in a split decision as part of review of a set of recommendations by a citizen committee to find cost savings through either spending cuts or fee increases.

Supporting the elimination of three fire inspector positions were Mayor Pro Tem Vivian Burke, who chairs the public safety committee, Councilwoman Wanda Merschel, Councilwoman Molly Leight and Councilman Robert Clark. Mayor Allen Joines does not vote unless there is a tie. Councilwoman Denise D. Adams was not present for the vote.

"I want to make clear to the public that we will not be jeopardizing safety," Burke said before making the motion to cut the positions. She added that she was relying on the expertise of the city manager's office to make that judgement. The cuts will save the city an estimated $135,000.

Councilman Dan Besse, Councilman James Taylor Jr. and Councilman Derwin Montgomery opposed the cuts.

Besse said there was legitimate difference of opinion between the city manager's office and fire department on whether the cuts would have a negative impact, adding, "I am going to err on the side of public safety."

Taylor said he trusts the people who fight fires to know their business the best. More than 20 Winston-Salem firefighters represented by the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 682 witnessed the vote.

The organizational efficiency document prepared by the city manager and the budget office states that the city's inspection schedule exceeds state requirements, and that by bringing the city's schedule in line with state standards five suppression personnel could take on the workload currently performed by the three full-time inspectors. Deputy City Manager Derwick Paige said the suppression personnel would have to each spend an additional hour and 30 minutes per day performing fire inspections to make up for the loss of manpower.

Local 682 President David Pollard took issue with Paige's reasoning after the vote.

"The point that was brought out as far as being able to cut those inspectors and put the load on the other inspectors is, those three inspectors, that's all they do," Pollard said. "They do nothing but fire inspections. The other employees in that office, they have a lot of other responsibilities that they do with fire investigations in the city, with a lot of their training, with a lot of the teaching opportunities that they do. So there's a lot more responsibilities there. They cannot focus on all these additional fire inspections as well as these three inspectors can."

The organizational efficiency document warns that the "recommendation could lead to an increase in the number of preventable fires resulting in property damage, injuries and death."

Fire Chief Antony Farmer said because of the department's current staffing levels, Winston-Salem has an enviable track record of protecting commercial buildings.

"When the firefighters go in to do an inspection it's an opportunity for them to see the business," Farmer said after the vote was taken. "It's like a pre-fire survey to see how things are positioned and to talk to the owner about a plan. I suspect that we will find that the other cities around the state have a few more fires in commercial areas. When we added them back in 2007, these inspectors had a 100 percent re-inspection rate, meaning that they re-inspected every single building where they found a violation."

After voting to cut positions for the three inspectors the council decided by consensus to send a related recommendation to adopt state inspection standards back to the public safety committee for further review. Clark signaled some confusion with the move, remarking that when he voted to eliminate the three positions it was with the understanding that the state's more relaxed schedule would make the workload manageable for the remaining inspectors.

The vote to eliminate fire inspectors was by far the most contentious item on the slate of recommendations considered by council, which amounted to a total savings of $1.5 million.

Council members unanimously voted to have the fire department respond only to life-threatening EMS calls, saving $145,000 and to increase parking fines from $10 to $15, raising $70,000 in additional revenue.

A proposal to tighten up the city's backyard garbage collection program by requiring a doctor's note from residents who wish to take advantage of the special service was sent back to the public works committee. The recommendation had previously advanced from public works to the committee of the whole on a split 1-1 vote, with Clark in favor and Besse opposed.

The change would save the city an estimated $114,000.

Besse repeated an argument that there is no evidence that the program is being abused, and said the other cities in the state, which require doctor's notes, are likely denying service to people with disabilities because they're unable to obtain the required documentation.

Montgomery and Leight said they have some concerns about how the program is currently being managed.

"I do believe there are individuals in some places, and even individuals that I have spoken with who said they simply submitted a form because they could," Montgomery said.

Leight added, "I have had citizens tell me that 'my neighbor has backyard pickup, so I just put my trash in their bin.' So, yes, there is definitely abuse. I see nothing undignified in asking your doctor for a — people do it with parking tags. So I agree that it could probably be looked at a little more closely."

Merschel expressed caution about pursuing changes.

"I do remember this is one of the concessions that the current council made, so I guess I'd like to see a little more notification perhaps," she said. "'We're looking at it. We're studying it.' Kind of an 'Oh by the way, this might come up in six months' or something. Because I do understand there is a lot of conversation on behalf of our seniors. And we're just kind of trying to ease into that."

Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum and Bowman Gray Stadium for sale

In a day full of momentous developments for Winston-Salem, City Manager Lee Garrity announced that the city has received a formal offer from Wake Forest University to buy Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, while Winston-Salem State University has made a tentative offer to purchase Bowman Gray Stadium, pending approval from the NC General Assembly.  

The council asked Mayor Joines to schedule a committee of the whole meeting as soon as possible so that members can review the terms of the proposed sales. City leaders say the sale of the facilities could potentially save the city $30 million.

Council heard from members of the public who were both in favor and opposed to the sale of the two city facilities on Monday afternoon. Public comments sometimes took on a racial tone, particularly relating to the potential demotion of Lawrence Joel, a black Medal of Honor recipient who fought in the Korean and Vietnam wars, and worries that the survival of stock-car racing would be imperiled under the ownership of historically black university.

The coliseum has been appraised at $33.1 million. The city estimates a savings of $8 million in operating losses over the next 20 years while avoiding the need to invest $14.3 million in capital improvements. Subtracting an additional $1 million for event and lease commitments and $1.8 million for deed restrictions, the city is considering selling the facility to Wake Forest University for $8 million.

The city has negotiated with the university to retain the wording "Lawrence Joel veterans memorial" in the lobby and plaza in addition to the website. Wake Forest would receive all other naming rights.

"In order to mitigate the operating loss, they are proposing they would sell the main name of the coliseum but retain the name in the lobby and plaza," Garrity said.

Some council members acknowledged that money trumps the city's commitment to honor its veterans.

"It is about the money in a lot of ways," Joines said. "If we were to turn our backs on $30 million, we would not be upholding our fiduciary responsibilities to the citizens."

Merschel suggested the city can find other ways to honor veterans.

"Brick and mortar is not a living monument to anyone," she said. "The way we treat each other with respect is a living, breathing monument."

Merschel went on to say that she was "astonished" that a citizen had said that only people of color could feel reverence for Joel's name. The council woman added that she believes Winston-Salem has made significant progress in race relations over the years.

"The people I consider colleagues and friends here," Merschel said, "I believe we're past bricks and mortar."

Former mayor Martha Wood noted that the city has recently realized $800,000 by switching over to rolling carts for its recycling program, and suggested that surely it could close a $400,000 annual operating deficit through similar management improvements.

"Surely our city can find a way to plug such a hole without selling the soul of our city," she said.

Garrity responded that, unfortunately, the cost savings from the recycling program can only be achieved once. He challenged the notion that the coliseum's operating deficit could be closed through better management.

"We can bring in more events," he said, "but I assure you we'll lose more money."

The former mayor's husband, Frank Wood, said that whatever council members' intentions, if the name Lawrence Joel (a black man) is removed and the name Bowman Gray (a white man) is retained, the city will have reached "a racist result."

Councilman Clark protested, "To play the race card at this point I thought was most offensive."

A handful of white citizens spoke warmly of attending races over the years at Bowman Gray Stadium, citing it as a facility built with working-class taxpayers' money where friendships were forged and affordable entertainment could be enjoyed.

Winston-Salem State University has agreed to honor an existing leasing agreement with Winston-Salem Speedway Inc. so that racing can continue. The name Bowman Gray will also remain. But Charles Phillips, a High Point resident, expressed skepticism that the university would capably manage the stadium as a racing facility.

"Money's not everything," said Tim Bowman, a former Winston-Salem resident who now lives in Clemmons. "The dignity of the people in this town is a little more important than money. We pay your paychecks and we put you in office. Next time we vote, we'll remember this."

Clark said he might consider the two potential sales separately, adding, "As far as Bowman Gray, if the racing folks are not happy, I'm not happy."

Some citizens asked whether council members who have formal relationships with either university should be excused from voting on the potential sales of the facilities. Mayor Pro Tem Burke acknowledged that she holds a seat on Winston-Salem State University's board of trustees. City Attorney Angela Carmon said there was no conflict of interest for any council member, including Burke, to vote on either transaction.

"I have not even participated with the trustee board when the matter comes up," Burke said.





 

Besse and Clark clash over backyard garbage service

Last night, we reported on Winston-Salem Sanitation Director Johnnie Taylor's presentation to the public works committee of city council on operational concerns raised by employees.

To briefly recap, Taylor said he would request four new fully automated trucks to replace vehicles that are not equipped with air conditioning. Councilman Dan Besse offered a noncommittal response to the request in an interview, and said he was has not seen evidence that operating trucks without air conditioning poses a health and safety risk to workers, notwithstanding anecdotal accounts by employees to council.

Taylor also acknowledged a correlation between backyard trash collection, which requires employees to pull carts over ground, and injuries. He said that as the city has transitioned from universal backyard pickup to curbside pickup with some exemptions, the number of injuries has decreased. 

The committee, which is comprised of Besse, Robert Clark and Derwin Montgomery (Denise D. Adams was out for an illness, and Montgomery left midway through the meeting), separately considered a recommendation by the Citizens Organizational Efficiency Review Committee to require a doctor's note as a condition for residents to receive backyard garbage pickup. About 3.5 percent of Winston-Salem households are exempt from curbside pickup, compared to roughly 1 percent in other cities across the state, including Greensboro. The city estimates that the more stringent approach would reduce utilization of the special service and save the city $114,000.

Clark, who chairs the public works committee and who represents the affluent West Ward as the sole Republican on city council, took the position that the city needs to tighten up the program.

"Everybody else requires a physician's statement," he said. "I don't know why we don't. I think when you abuse a privilege you lose it. And we are abusing this privilege."

Besse, a Democrat who represents the Southwest Ward, has already staked out the opposing position.

"I think that's an assertion without evidence to back it up," he said last night. "The citizens committee's numbers are based on the estimate that our rate is three and a half times the other cities. They are making the assumption that we'd go down to about 758 people. So they're making the assumption that about 2,000 citizens are lying to us. I don't see any evidence to back that up. I think it's more likely to be a matter of difficulties in getting a doctor's note. People do legitimately have problems getting the cart to the curb. 

"If we anticipate we're going to get anything like $114,000 in savings," Besse continued, "we are assuming that approximately 2,000 households are either lying to us when they say they don't have anybody living there who's able to get the garbage to and from the curb without problems or there's a significant drop-off because there's too much difficulty getting the doctor's note."

Besse added that the other cities make it too difficult for disabled residents to get exemptions from curbside service.

Councilman James Taylor Jr., a Democrat who represents the Southeast Ward, said he agrees with Besse.

"I think this is a situation where we have to assume that everybody's innocent until proven guilty," he said. "I think the people who signed up are truthful. And you have to take into consideration those who disproportionately may not have access to healthcare. That could put an undue burden on certain seniors and families."

Taylor is not a member of the public works committee, but he pledged to vote against it if it advances to full council for consideration.

Clark advocated shaming people who are abusing the system by publishing their names.

"My mother is 85 years old and she rolls her cart to the curb," he said. "Why are we three and a half times higher than the other cities? Give me the names. Print 'em."

Budget and Evaluation Director Ben Rowe told committee members that the cost savings from reforming the backyard collection program would allow the department to eliminate one crew, comprised of a driver and two laborers.

Besse and Clark agreed that a recommended minimum parking fine hike from $10 to $25 was too draconian, but that $15 was reasonable. Among North Carolina cities, Charlotte is alone in charging $25 for parking violations, while Durham charges $10, Greensboro charges $15 and Raleigh charges $20.

"I think 25 across the board is big city," Besse said. "We're medium-large.... That size of a jump cuts across our push to make our center city more shopper friendly."

The committee approved recommendations to increase fees for cemetery plots by 10 percent — translating into a rise from $700 to $770 — advancing them for consideration by the full council. Proposals to increase fees on trash collection from Dumpsters and standard curbside service, and eliminate brush collection failed to gain traction.

Sanitation director says he'll request new trucks with AC

Winston-Salem Sanitation Director Johnnie Taylor told a city panel on Tuesday evening that his department will be requesting four new automated rear-loader garbage trucks to replace vehicles in the fleet that lack air conditioning.

The remaining 21 vehicles have working air conditioning systems.

The wife of sanitation driver Donald Gore told city council that her husband collapsed on the floor on several occasions upon returning home on hot days after driving a route in a truck without air conditioning. Angelia Byrd, a driver who was fired last June, told YES! Weekly she passed out on the side of a road on the verge of a heatstroke and had to be treated by a doctor. And Curtis McLaurin, a driver, said laborers have experienced heatstroke in the past. The complaints are detailed in a YES! Weekly cover story that also explored allegations of managerial misconduct and sexual harassment, along with tensions between employees and residential customers related to backyard trash collection.

Assistant City Manager Greg Turner told YES! Weekly last month that the it costs from $200,000 to $250,000 to replace the trucks.

Councilman Dan Besse responded cautiously to Taylor's report after the meeting, saying that he didn't know whether the request would be included in the city's upcoming 2013-2014 budget. Besse also noted that Taylor did not mention health and safety concerns as reasons for replacing the trucks. The three council members who heard the presentation during the public works committee meeting -- including Robert Clark, who chairs the committee, along with Besse and James Taylor Jr. -- did not question the sanitation director on that count.

"He didn't go into any detail of the degree of health and safety concerns," Besse said. "Certainly it would be relevant to council considerations as to whether we have drivers experiencing difficulties in the non-air conditioned vehicles. The reason it's relevant to know whether it gets included in the city manager's budget is that level of inquiry may be superfluous. We may not need to know whether there's a serious concern if it's addressed in the budget.

"I don't mean to discount anything anybody says in open comment," Besse continued, alluding to statements Donald and Mary Gore addressed to city council in February, "but when you're dealing with significant expenditures you need to ask the question of whether you're dealing with an isolated anecdote that's not well founded or a pattern of problems.

Besse did ask the sanitation director about safety considerations related to backyard collection, a service that the city provides to residents that attest that no one in their household is physically able to roll their cart out to the curb.

Taylor responded by saying that employee injuries have decreased since the city began the transition from universal backyard service to mainly curbside pickup, adding, "Less exposure has definitely benefited the department."

Taylor said, "Most of those injuries that I've reviewed have been slips, trips or falls. Some of those things are the result of maybe holes in the yard. Other things we deal with are dew in the morning a slippery surface."

Taylor said employees have not experienced a significant number of punctures, cuts and other injuries resulting from directly handling garbage bags in the course of performing backyard service.

Clark requested that staff provide detailed information about workers compensation claims due to injuries by sanitation employees.

Besse asked Taylor about the department's policies regulating interactions between employees and members of the public. One of the former employees, Angelia Byrd, was fired after the city manager upheld a finding that she had cursed and threatened a residential customer, and some employees have said backyard service increases the likelihood of conflict with members of the public.

"There are both written and informal [policies]," Taylor said. "The written policy needs to be updated. The informal information is provided in the tailgate meetings, which provides them several options to deal with any problem situations. Number one being, they are authorized to leave the scene. Two being they have the opportunity to contact the supervisor through CityLink. And to answer your question, we are working on updating all written policies to be distributed to employees."

Winston-Salem City Council passes resolution against Citizens United

Councilman James Taylor greets resolution supporters.

Winston-Salem City Council voted 5-2 on Monday night to approve a resolution opposing the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision.

A compromise between Councilman James Taylor Jr., the resolution's sponsor, and Councilman Dan Besse, passed with little discussion following about three months of shuttling to and from committee and wrangling over language and intent. The changes were made to address reservations expressed by Besse and garner his vote for the majority.

"When you start to see federally, on the state level and even locally in other cities that money was being placed over the people, I think this resolution sent a clear signal to everyone in our city that we won't put money over people, that people matter," Taylor said.

In addition to Taylor and Besse, the resolution garnered support from council members Vivian Burke, Denise D. Adams and Derwin Montgomery. Robert Clark and Wanda Merschel voted against the measure. Councilwoman Molly Leight, who had earlier expressed support for the resolution, was absent from the meeting.

With approval of the resolution, Winston-Salem joins Greensboro, Durham, Raleigh, Asheville and Chapel Hill in opposing the controversial Supreme Court ruling, which allowed so-called "super PACs" to spend unlimited cash in media advertising buys to influence elections as long as the expenditures are not coordinated with any candidate. 

The Winston-Salem council's resolution expresses opposition to "the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission regarding constitutional rights for corporations."

The compromise resolution struck language calling on Congress to amend the Constitution to overturn Citizens United, calling instead "for the reversal" of the decision without naming any specific mechanism. But the title of the resolution still includes a reference to a Constitutional amendment.

To appease Besse the resolution also removed language stating, erroneously, that the Citizens United decision "declared corporations to be persons."

The final obtained by Besse removed the language articulating the stance that "only human beings, not corporations, are endowed with constitutional rights protected by the First Amendment," and avers instead that "the rights of corporations and other artificial beings under the First Amendment may be restricted to a greater degree and in a different manner than those of natural persons."

Supporters celebrated approval of the resolution at Foothills Brewing after the council meeting. Kim Porter with Occupy Winston-Salem said the resolution would not have passed without help from several organizations, most notably Democracy North Carolina, whose personnel helped gather more than 1,300 signatures on a petition.

"James Taylor has worked very diligently with residents of the city and different groups involved in this process," Porter said. "Many people told us that a corporate town like Winston-Salem would never pass a resolution against Citizens United. I'm glad we proved them wrong." 

Citizens United resolution moves closer to vote by Winston-Salem council

Tony Ndege of Occupy Winston-Salem urges members of the general government committee to approve a resolution calling on Congress to overturn the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. 

The Winston-Salem City Council will consider a resolution next Monday calling on Congress to amend the US Constitution to establish that "only human beings, not corporations, are endowed with constitutional rights protected by the First Amendment" and that "money is not speech under the First Amendment and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech."


The resolution was approved by a 3-1 vote tonight by the general government committee following an amendment moved by Councilwoman Denise D. Adams to strike a reference to the US Supreme Court declaring "corporations to be persons" in the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, based on an objection by Councilman Dan Besse that the statement was not factually accurate.

Councilman James Taylor Jr., who brought the original resolution to council at the urging of Occupy Winston-Salem, reluctantly agreed to the amendment. The amended resolution passed with support from Taylor, Adams and Councilwoman Molly Leight, while Besse voted against it. 

City Attorney Angela Carmon concurred with Besse's reading of the Citizens United decision.

"I don't believe the decision declared corporations to be persons," she said. "I believe it declared corporations to be entitled to the same First Amendment protections as natural persons."

After the meeting, Besse circulated an alternative resolution stating that the Supreme Court's rulings "that unlimited spending by non-candidates in efforts to influence the outcome of an election cannot be regulated" and that corporations cannot be regulated as a class distinct from natural persons should be overturned.

City Attorney Angela Carmon told council members that amendments from the floor at next Monday's meeting are permissible. But Montgomery warned that his colleagues should be cautious about entertaining amendments lest the consensus around the resolution unravel and the matter wind up getting sent back to committee. 

"I believe we should send a clear message to the federal judicial branch to let them know that elections should not and will not be bought in this country, in this state and even in this city," Taylor said. "There are hundreds upon hundreds of cities all across the country that stand with us. It isn't just me presenting this. I represent some people who are here today, who I believe are going to speak. This is a grassroots movement. It isn't just us. There are hundreds of cities across the country, and even cities in this state that have approved the resolution calling for an amendment to the Citizens United decision. Those major cities in North Carolina are Greensboro, Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Asheville and Greenville."

Kim Porter of Occupy Winston-Salem said about a thousand Winston-Salem residents have signed a petition supporting the resolution, including NC Sen. Earline Parmon, NC Rep. Ed Hanes Jr., Winston-Salem NAACP President Wayne Patterson and former Councilman Larry Little, and 300 other North Carolinians from outside of the city also signed on.  

"When you give money free speech, you give corporations a much larger megaphone than, say, I could," said Adam Price, a resolution supporter who said he is currently homeless. "I don't have as much money. What does my voice count in a democratic system where my voice should count if I don't have as much free speech as the next guy. If we turn money into a form of free speech, then we now have a higher system of the amount of free speech than each person will be able to attain in their lifetime. I'm not going to be a millionaire -- I'm not going to say that -- but I'm probably not going to be a millionaire. But if money is free speech, then that millionaire has a million more free speeches than I do. One man, one vote, and if you support that -- support that democratic view of one man, one vote, you'll push this. Let's do this. Let's take it from the ground up. City Hall to Supreme Court. Let's do it. Come on, guys."

Besse has long opposed the resolution, arguing to colleagues that it is not an appropriate area for city council to get involved and that denying corporations the rights of personhood could have the unintended consequence of preventing groups of people from coming together to advance their interests.

"I voted against the resolution because I don't like the way it handled the corporate personhood issue and because it fails to address some of the problems in the Citizens United decision," he said after the meeting. "I think that Move to Amend and other groups like them take the wrong tack on the Citizens United case. It addresses a related issue and fails to address the fundamental issues of the Citizens United decision. I expect to discuss the alternative resolution that I drafted for the city council on Monday evening and simply lay out the option. I think for those who want this it's best to tell them: 'If you want to see Citizens United overturned, this is a better call. I told my fellow council members we would bring it to a resolution next Monday night one way or another. Whether I'm on the winning side or not doesn't really matter to me."

Tony Ndege of Occupy Winston-Salem indicated that he was satisfied overall with the committee's handling of the resolution.


"I'm happy that this is moving along," he said. "I am very unhappy that the wording on 'corporate personhood' has been struck, but I'm happy that the language about moving to amend was left in. Whether or not they agree or disagree, the idea that the original intent of the First Amendment, with the Fourteenth Amendment and with the Bill of Rights were for natural persons -- that is the essential argument. And it also boils down to whether or not we choose to stand on the side of corporate power or on the side of people."

Mayor Allen Joines announces reelection campaign

Mayor Allen Joines kicked off his reelection campaign this morning at Medicap Pharmacy on Liberty Street on the east side of Winston-Salem.

"What we're really all about at city government is listening to folks in the community and trying to address problems," Joines said. "And we've done that. Up here on Liberty Street, we've made significant investment in the public infrastructure all along here with sidewalks, new lights, landscaping to create a positive environment for business. We've worked with the Liberty CDC on acquiring land and flipping land and getting buildings redone. I know there's more things that we can do. We just talked about that — that we might need to jazz up our small business loan program a bit."

The campaign event was hosted by Joines' campaign co-chair, Jim Shaw, who is president of the Liberty Community Development Corp. The mayor is making the rounds throughout the city, accompanied by political consultant Mike Horn, today to speak with small groups of business and community leaders. He was scheduled to stop at Chelsee's Coffee Shop & More on Trade Street at 10:15 a.m. and with the Minister's Alliance at a church at 11 a.m. The mayor makes his official reelection announcement at noon today on the steps of City Hall. 

Councilman James Taylor Jr., who represents the Southeast Ward was among about a dozen people present for the campaign event, including Forsyth County Commissioner Walter Marshall, NAACP leader Stephen Hairston, Piedmont Propulsion Systems General Manager Sammy Oakley, publicist Carroll Leggett, former councilman Fred Terry and Brenda Diggs. 

Taylor said he also plans to run for reelection for the Southeast Ward seat. 

"With James' leadership we really developed a very strong RUCA program — Revitalizing Urban Commercial Areas — where we took $2.8 million of the money we got back from Dell," Joines said. "We got all our money back. We used a portion of that to help with areas like Liberty Street and Waughtown, King Plaza over in James' ward, and the Polo-Cherry area. We're working with the business community to make improvements in those areas. We haven't got it all done yet, but we're making good progress." 

The mayor said the has lost 15,000 jobs in manufacturing and construction over the past 12 years, but has replaced them with 17,000 new jobs in advanced manufacturing, information technology and the medical sector. He cited Piedmont Propulsion Systems, where Oakley told him the company employs 45 people at Reynolds Airport. Joines also said the city remains focused on the social goals of reducing childhood obesity and increasing recycling. 

 The mayor fielded a question about what the city is doing to provide employment opportunities for young people as construction continues on Piedmont Triad Research Park on the eastern flank of downtown. Joines said he and East Ward Councilman Derwin Montgomery recently met with park President Eric Tomlinson to discuss the matter. 

"How do we get the word out about the types of jobs that are being created so young people can start preparing for them?" the mayor asked rhetorically. "One, we're going to have a town-hall meeting with Eric and talk about some of those things. The other thing is change the website — young people, that's one thing they know how to do — with a section about the different types of jobs that are being created and will be created, and the type of skill sets that will be needed, so young people can see that to create a career path. The other thing we're going to do is have more communication with our school system so they understand the kind of jobs that are being created there, and they can communicate that to the students through their counselors the types of courses that they'll need to take. We acknowledged we haven't done a good enough job."

Winston-Salem council postpones vote on Citizens United resolution

Citizens seeking to curb corporate influence over electoral politics leave Winston-Salem council chambers on Tuesday.

The Winston-Salem City Council decided tonight to direct its general government committee to consider a resolution in support of overturning the Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision, setting up a contest between clashing schools of thoughts on council – one holding that intervening in such a manner is an overreach of local government’s mandate and the other that corporate money poses a threat to representative democracy at all levels.

Members of Occupy Winston-Salem, who have led the effort to get the resolution passed, had hoped for a vote tonight, but one of the council members sympathetic to their cause was unable to get the item placed on the agenda.

Councilman James Taylor Jr., who represents the Southeast Ward, attempted to add the resolution to the agenda through a suspension of the rules. The legislative maneuver needs unanimous support, and Councilwoman Wanda Merschel, who represents the Northwest Ward, said she wanted more time to review the item before taking a vote. Supporters requested the resolution on Dec. 17 and members of Occupy Winston-Salem have been lobbying council on the matter since last summer.

Taylor said after the meeting that whether corporations are people or not is subject to debate, but the danger of vested corporate interests buying seats on city councils is real.

“Now these are people who may not care one way or another about the people, about the government; all they care about is the bottom line,” he said. “And I think anytime you run the risk of putting people there who only care about corporations’ bottom line you are tearing up the social fabric of what our forefathers and what our ancestors have built.”

The proposed resolution will be considered by the general government committee, which is chaired by Southwest Ward Councilman Dan Besse, on Feb. 12. Besse predicted from the dais that the committee will approve the resolution for consideration by the full council. East Ward Councilman Derwin Montgomery told supporters to expect full council to vote on the measure on Feb. 18.

Besse has stated that he opposes a resolution in opposition to Citizens United, but his is only one of four votes on the general government committee, along with Taylor, South Ward Councilwoman Molly Leight and North Ward Councilwoman Denise D. Adams.

“It will be my recommendation to the committee to send forward a resolution back to the council in whatever shape it’s in at the end of our meeting,” Besse said. “The committee may or may not approve that recommendation, but I suspect it may because my colleagues on the committee are those that say they favor the motion.”

Besse has previously that city councils should limit their actions to matters directly relevant to their mandated responsibilities of running city government.



James Taylor Jr.

“This particular resolution is germane to city business,” Taylor said. “There are at least 12 cities in North Carolina who also think it’s germane to city business and who also passed resolutions. The website that we invite our citizens to take a look at, it tells us that the city council is responsible for adopting and providing for all ordinances, rules and regulations as necessary for the general welfare of our city. Regulations are defined as principles that govern our behavior. I would argue that this type of behavior would be corporate behavior, and it deals with our ability to have fair elections and the general welfare of our city.”

Leight echoed Taylor’s sentiments and expressed public disagreement with Besse.

“Something that affects our voting process – yes, it’s a national issue, yes it’s a court issue, but it’s also a Winston-Salem issue,” she said, prompting applause from dozens of resolution supporters in the audience.

Montgomery, who does not serve on the general committee, also indicated he supports the resolution.

Among several concerns, Besse has argued that passing a resolution would have no practical effect, and that a Constitutional amendment eliminating corporate personhood – one of the primary objectives of resolution supporters – could have unintended consequences.

“The concept we are being asked to endorse on behalf of the city of Winston-Salem is a US constitutional amendment to make a broad-ranging change in the legal status of all corporations,” Besse wrote in an e-mail to fellow council members, City Manager Lee Garrity and City Attorney Angela Carmon earlier this month. “That change involves key legal implications that go far beyond the campaign finance issues addressed in the Citizens United case.”

Among other legalistic arguments, Besse cited a January 2012 editorial by Jeff Greenfield arguing that depriving corporations of rights of personhood could potentially hurt people who band together through non-profit corporations to make their voices heard.

Following the meeting, Besse and Carmon huddled with Leight and West Ward Councilman Robert Clark, discussing the legal implications of the resolution.

Afterwards, Leight said she doesn’t necessarily support the resolution in the language proposed by Occupy Winston-Salem.

“The heart of the matter I am in agreement with,” she said. “I think we have to find a way to state it without depriving corporations of their rights. But we don’t want them to be able to buy elections.”

If Leight ends up reversing herself, it would not be the first time she has taken a more cautious position after consulting with Carmon. Leight and Adams expressed support last summer for intervening with the federal courts on behalf of Kalvin Michael Smith, who was convicted of severely beating Jill Marker through a shoddy investigation by the Winston-Salem Police Department. Later, on Carmon’s legal advice, they voted in closed session to take no action.

Tony Ndege of Occupy Winston-Salem said there’s room for give and take on the final language of the resolution, to an extent.

“Two things we’re not going to compromise on is overturning Citizens United and the movement to amend corporate personhood,” he said.

Dozens of supporters attended the meeting, including Democracy North Carolina organizer and Forsyth County Board of Elections Chairwoman Linda Sutton. Kim Porter of Occupy Winston-Salem said organizers have collected 1,150 signatures in support of the resolution, including 900 from Winston-Salem. Among the signatories are NC Sen. Earline Parmon, Forsyth County Commissioner Everette Witherspoon and the Rev. Willard Bass.




Dan Besse

“It seems to me like there’s this ocean, this wave, this tide of greed that has every potential to destroy our entire civilization – the planetary civilization," Greg Gunter, a Richmond, Va. resident who is visiting his family in Winston-Salem, told council.."Our agriculture system is unsustainable. Because it’s cheap to be unsustainable. A lot of these massive corporations are so blind they don’t realize that climbing the corporate ladder only leads to a hole in the ground.”

A progressive argument against anti-corporate personhood resolutions

Winston-Salem Councilman Dan Besse holds a reputation within the NC Democratic Party as a progressive. He ran for lieutenant governor in 2008 on a platform of public investment and environmental protection, but ended up splitting the urban vote with fellow progressive Democrat Hampton Dellinger in a Democratic primary that promoted the more moderate Walter Dalton to the office.

As a council member, Besse has consistently backed the city's efforts to renovate Union Station near Winston-Salem State University to reintroduce rail service to the Twin City. And Besse was the most vocal advocate on council for investment in a streetcar system to stimulate commercial development and provide a link an attractive transit link from downtown to WSSU and Hanes Mall in 2012, although the majority ultimately decided against a bond referendum considering the precarious state of the budget.

So it's a bit ironic that Besse has found himself at odds with Occupy Winston-Salem, first on the group's right to public assembly and now through his opposition to a resolution by city council calling on the US Congress to amend the Constitution to deny corporations the rights of natural persons. He told me in an e-mail today that he reached out to his fellow council members last week to share some information that he believes they ought to consider before moving forward, and that he's sensitive that his stance puts him "at risk of being misunderstood as anti-progressive."

Besse said he has taken a consistent position that city councils should limit their actions to matters that directly affect their mandated responsibilities. 

"Either we end up taking policy stances on issues on which we're poorly informed, or we have to put a great deal of research and development into topics on which we can effectively do nothing," he told me.

Besse told his fellow council members, City Manager Lee Garrity and City Attorney Angela Carmon that, putting aside whether this is a matter that should be consuming the council's attention, there are reasons for progressives to be cautious about endorsing an amendment to the Constitution to deny corporations the rights of personhood.

"The concept we are being asked to endorse on behalf of the city of Winston-Salem is a US constitutional amendment to make a broad-ranging change in the legal status of all corporations," he said. "That change involves key legal implications that go far beyond the campaign finance issues addressed in the Citizens United case."

As a reference to progressive arguments against a constitutional amendment, Besse provided links to an article by Kent Greenfield in the Huffington Post and one by Garrett Epps in the American Prospect.

Take-away from Greenfield:

Many cases important to progressive ideals were brought by groups, associations and corporations, not by natural persons. The case that saved Roe v. Wade in 1992 was Planned Parenthood v. Casey. NAACP v. Button was a crucial case to the civil rights movement. When Nixon wanted to quash the publication of the Pentagon Papers, it was the New York Times that fought to protect the public's right to know, in New York Times v. United States.  Rumsfeld v. FAIR, a case that challenged the Pentagon on Don't Ask Don't Tell, was brought by a non-profit corporation (which I founded and led), which had as its members other non-natural "persons" (universities, law schools and law school faculties).

Besse also posts a link to an NPR interview with John Witt, a professor of law and history at Yale University, who says this:

I don't think we'd want to end corporate personhood in the sense that ordinary people, including people in the Occupy Wall Street movement, may want to get together and form groups, which should have respect of the legal process. What we might want to do, and this is what the Occupy Wall Street folks have right, is recognize the different characteristic features of large groups invested with powerful amounts of capital in our political process.

The legal doctrine establishing corporate personhood is widely considered to go back to the Supreme Court's decision in Santa Clara County  v. Southern Pacific Railroad in 1886. Witt told NPR's Melissa Block that corporations are considered "metaphysical persons," meaning persons for some purposes but not for others.

"For example, a corporation can be prosecuted for a crime, which is something that usually only persons can be prosecuted for," Witt said. "But on the other hand, corporations get rights. They get rights to contract. They can't marry or run for office, but they can speak."

Besse said he expects his colleague, Councilman James Taylor Jr., to bring a resolution against corporate personhood up for a vote by council on Jan. 21.

"From a practical standpoint, there is also the question of whether a constitutional amendment is the most effective way to pursue change in this arena," Besse told his fellow council members. "My personal view is that it is not, given the rarity and extreme difficulty of success. Personally, I think the only realistic prospect for change in this area will come from new appointments to the Supreme Court who choose to return to a century of prior precedent in the area of campaign finance law — prior court decisions were precipitously overset by the Citizens United decision."