Young Democrats celebrate election wins across North Carolina

It's hard to say what the big takeaway might be from municipal elections across the state yesterday. The larger part of the outcome was surely determined by local issues.

In Greensboro's nonpartisan election, Nancy Vaughan easily ousted one-term mayor Robbie Perkins thanks to higher turnout on the west side of the city and voters' preference for a more deliberative approach to transformative undertakings such as the proposed downtown performing arts center.

In Winston-Salem's partisan election, voters ratified efforts to sustain fragile downtown development under the Democratic majority by reelecting incumbents by wide margins, including Mayor Allen Joines, whose Republican challenger was considered an embarrassment to his party. Durham voters also reelected a veteran Democrat, Bill Bell, as mayor.

In the state's largest city, Charlotte — whose mayoral stock has produced both Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and Democratic US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx — voters chose Democrat Patrick Cannon for the top slot on council. In Fayetteville, Republican Nat Robertson eked out a narrow victory to become the city's next mayor.

If there's one storyline, it would be that it was a good night for Young Democrats of North Carolina, a party organization whose members are under the age of 36.

The organization is celebrating the election of Andy Ball as the next mayor of Boone, with second billing for Jamal Fox's upset win over Jim Kee for the District 2 city council seat in Greensboro. A Young Democrats press release states that "Jim Kee used deplorable tactics to try and push Jamal Fox" out of the race.

Perhaps more remarkable, Montravius King, a university student whose residency was challenged by a local Republican board of elections member, won election to the Elizabeth City City Council, along with fellow Young Democrat Darius Horton.

The press release also noted that Winston-Salem voters returned Derwin Montgomery and James Taylor to city council. Other Young Democrats who celebrated victories last night include Zeb Smathers in Canton, Chris Rey in Spring Lake, Calvin J. Harris Jr. in Oxford, Kady Ann Davy in Fayetteville, Ryan Stone in Black Mountain, and Jennifer Pena and Quint David in Boone.

Jamal Fox, Andy Ball and Zeb Smathers have all previously served as officers of Young Democrats.

"Republican efforts to disenfranchise young voters in Boone, Elizabeth City and across North Carolina backfired," Young Democrats President Sam Spencer said in a prepared statement. "Instead, Republicans have conceded millennial voters in this and future elections while inspiring a wave of Young Democrats to take office."

Fox holds press conference, Kee contradicts himself

 

District 2 city council candidate Jamal Fox held a press conference yesterday to rally his supporters and emphasize that he will push forward despite recent developments related to his campaign.

NC A&T University suspended Fox, a political science professor, with pay on Tuesday for violating the UNC system's political activity policy. Fox opened the press conference by saying that his lawyer would need to answer any questions regarding his relationship with A&T.

Greensboro City Councilman Jim Kee — Fox's opponent — said multiple sources told him that one of Fox's students made a comment on Oct. 18 about receiving an "A" for voting. Kee reported what he heard to the board of elections, later raising the concern with university officials after hearing from someone that a similar comment was made to Fox by a student on Oct. 21. In the meeting, Kee said administrators told him Fox's candidacy itself presented a conflict with A&T's rules.

Read more about what happened and the context in our full article here.

Fox said at the press conference that he would not let recent events derail his campaign or the political aspirations of his community. He made a vague reference to the fact that he has made mistakes like everyone has, but focused on the message that he is standing up for what he believes in.

"I refuse to be bullied or silenced for doing what is best for our community," he said. Though he avoided mentioning his opponent, who Fox previously blamed for recent events, he responded to press questions about Kee.

"I blame my opponent for running a smear campaign," Fox said, adding that he was "disappointed" by Kee's tactics and "surprised" by his suspension from A&T.

Lewis Beveridge, a community activist who acted as a press liaison during the meeting, said the legal process will sort out Fox's employment and that he is confident Fox upheld the spirit and the letter of the law.

Fox stood in front of supporters, including former District 2 Councilwoman Goldie Wells, Renaissance Community Cooperative President Leo Steward and other community activists.

Councilman Kee released a statement later that evening reiterating that he "never accused anyone of committing any crime" and that he learned that Fox broke A&T's political activity policy when he met with university administrators.

Yet Kee's press release contradicted statements he made in an interview with YES! Weekly on Monday. Kee said in the interview that he didn't contact A&T until Oct. 21 after hearing that students made comments to Fox about grades-for-voting on Oct. 18 and again on the 21. Kee said he didn't contact university officials until after the second incident.

In his press release, Kee only makes reference to one incident and states that he contacted A&T on Oct. 18. The release says Kee met with university officials on the morning of Oct. 21.

Fox initially announced that his press conference would be held at the Renaissance Shopping Center but moved to a nearby church parking lot when the city informed him the shopping center is city property and not a space for a public forum. Fox's campaign said in an e-mail that Kee complained to the city, but later sent out a correction that it was due to an unnamed council member.

City Attorney Mujeeb Shah-Khan declined to comment if a council member contacted his office, only saying that a citizen of Greensboro reached out with concerns. Shah-Khan emphasized that he was already aware of the planned press conference and that it potentially conflicted with city rules, including one that requires a permit for public addresses on city property or the street. Kee couldn't immediately be reached for comment about whether he played a role in the situation.

NC Young Democrats denounce Councilman Jim Kee

BREAKING: The executive board of the Young Democrats of North Carolina issued the following statement in a press release this afternoon.

“We condemn Councilman Jim Kee's tactics in his Greensboro City Council race against Jamal Fox. Attempting to discredit someone based on their age is a tactic we strongly oppose, and Kee's desperate tactics are a disservice to the people of Greensboro. Fox’s students have made it clear Kee's attacks are untrue. 

 No candidate should allow their campaign to become more important than setting an example of integrity in public service. Individual board and executive committee members of the Guilford County Democratic Party have publicly endorsed Fox since Kee’s original allegations were reported because Democrats stand behind the right of all registered voters to exercise their right to vote and stand as candidates for public office if they so choose - regardless of their age.”

Read more about the entire situation in tomorrow's issue of YES! Weekly.

Greensboro City Council filings: Trouble!

Among the 11th-hour filings for the Greensboro City Council race, some surprises surface.

The marquee story is in the at-large race, where among the usual gang — incumbents Yvonne Johnson and Marikay Abuzuaiter; old hands like Mike Barber, Jean Brown and Chris Lawyer; and "Who Dat?" candidates like Marlando Pridgen and Joseph Landis — are a couple of familiar names. My old friend Ben Holder, AKA the Troublemaker, has thrown his hat into the ring. I hear he's getting an "S" tattooed on his chest to get properly fired up for the race. And young activist/journalist/scenester Katei Cranford has decided to get into the game, too. Just one of the fascinating things about her is that she's the niece of Billy "Crash" Craddock. 

There are no surprises in districts 1 and 2. In D-1, incumbents Dianne Bellamy-Small has jazz singer and activist Tigress McDaniel and city insider Sharon Hightower looking to take the throne. In D-2 no one has challenged Jamal Fox's move for Jim Kee's seat.In District 3, Zack Matheny will defend his seat against Corey Pisher and Wendell Roth. John Underwood has joined the fray between D-4 incumbent Nancy Hoffmann and former mayor Bill Knight.

And in District 5, Tony Wilkins, who was appointed to his seat after Sen. Trudy Wade took statewide office, faces shapeshifter Sal Leone and another  new name, my old friend Alex Seymour.

I worked with Alex at Bert's Seafood Grille years ago, and we remain friends. He's become active in city government on a grassroots level, and is a fixture (or, at least, he was) in the beard and bluegrass scenes.

Consider this a disclosure. Of course, I've known Wilkins (and most of the other people running) for years, as well.

Taxes and spending: Where Greensboro City Council candidates stand

Assuming a new city council reaches an agreement on what to do about solid waste early in the next term, the budget is likely to be the major challenge in the next two years. Revenues are likely to be lower than hoped for because of the depressed housing market, while services and infrastructure remain in demand. Mayoral challenger Robbie Perkins would like to move forward with the Downtown Greenway. At-large challenger Wayne Abraham wants to repair city roads. District 3 challenger Jay Ovittore wants to hire additional police officers.

No surprise that the four conservative incumbents on council, including Mayor Bill Knight, have pledged to not raise taxes or water rates, as documented in a video clip produced by Conservatives for Guilford County. At-large incumbent Danny Thompson and at-large challenger Chris Lawyer also took the pledge. Mayoral challenger Robbie Perkins has left his options open when asked the question.

“It’s a qualified maybe answer,” said Perkins when asked during a candidate forum hosted by the Greater Greensboro Republican Women’s Club on Oct. 25 if he would vote to raise taxes. Asked if he would raise water rates and if he would cut spending, he responded, “It depends.”

Abraham may be the only challenger that has campaigned against cutting taxes, calling the council vote in 2010 to cut property taxes by a quarter of cent, “a jobs-killing tax cut.” He argues that the reduction had an insignificant impact on taxpayers, but stripped the city budget with the result that council cut funding to the Greensboro Partnership, which works to recruit new businesses to the city.

Only one candidate has expressed active interest in raising taxes.

“I don’t believe we can move Greensboro forward if we keep our taxes the way they are,” District 2 challenger C. Bradley Hunt II told an audience at the downtown public library for a forum hosted by the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress on Oct. 24. “I am a citizen and I believe that everyone wants to keep taxes low. It makes us all comfortable. But in order for us to spur economic development, in order for us to improve our infrastructure and to improve our services we must look for new ways to generate income for the city. So I believe we have to look at new ways that we may increase our tax rate so we can provide services for our citizens. So I think that in order to improve our services and infrastructure, in order to increase our police department, fire services, and also to give small business owners and minority business owners a chance to compete, we must look at ways to raise taxes.”

Incumbent Jim Kee was happy to take the opposing side on the issue.

“Certainly I would not advocate raising taxes,” he said. “Matter of fact, I voted to lower taxes. In this type of economy, citizens could not afford any increase in taxes. The way we can expand the revenue in Greensboro is to bring more businesses, to create more small businesses right here in our city. And that’s exactly what I have been doing.”

Kee, a developer, said he worked with Kotis Properties to open the H&F cafeteria at the corner of Church Street and Pisgah Church Road, creating 60 jobs. He said he has also worked with Kotis Properties to open Pace Medical at the intersection of East Cone Boulevard and Summit Avenue, which employs 30 people.

“That’s the way we keep taxes low and keep services great in Greensboro,” Kee said.

Zack Matheny, a registered Republican seeking reelection to the District 3 seat, told the audience at the Greater Greensboro Republican Women’s Club Forum that he would not vote to raise taxes. One day earlier he gave a somewhat more qualified answer to the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress.

“I don’t know, quite honestly, what’s going to happen with taxes,” he said. “My goal would be to not increase taxes. I’ve said that and we’ve been able to accomplish that by not increasing and actually have a very small, slight decrease for the city. One of our major issues is going to be real estate valuations in the next couple years.”

Historically, home values have appreciated over all, with the result that local governments can cut the tax rate and maintain neutral revenue. Real estate is revalued every eight years, and Guilford County is due for a revaluation next year. If, as expected, property values have depreciated overall because of the foreclosure and housing crisis, then local governments will have to choose between increasing the rate to maintain neutral revenue or cutting spending to compensate for reduced revenue at the current rate.

After the candidate forum Matheny said in an interview that his ultimate objective is to keep the tax bill flat, whatever that requires.

Jay Ovittore, who is challenging Matheny for the District 3 seat, stressed spending needs.

“I don’t want to make promises that I can’t keep, so I don’t want to say that I’m not going to vote to raise taxes, if necessary,” he said. “We need 200 more police officers on our police force. We need more fire people. We need our roads taken care of. We need to upgrade the Osborne water treatment plan so we can handle a capacity that’s almost near full at this point and continue to bring clean water to our communities. So that money’s going to come from somewhere. We can either get creative and do something about the landfill: Keep it closed, make it a regional solution, maybe own a regional solution, maybe cut off some of that as a portfolio, do some waste to energy. And if we spend the money on waste to energy now, that waste to energy is going to make us back millions more. And if I can keep your tax rate flat, I’ll do that. But I simply don’t know until I have the numbers in front of me.”

Mary Rakestraw, the conservative District 4 incumbent, has consistently pledged that she will not vote to raise taxes.

“With the present economy that we have we’ve got to be good stewards of your money and my money,” she said. “And I pay taxes, too. And this is a situation, y’all, that we cannot go the well but so many times. You have a budget in your own home. And you have to look at how you spend your money. And when you don’t have enough money, what do you do?... And, you know, I bet you even if you go home this coming week and you say, ‘What could I cut out that would not hurt my lifestyle, what would it be?’ Surely there is something. And we’re going to have to look at that as we go into the next two years. We have to be smart. We have to be prudent. And again, y’all, I cannot say this enough: We cannot tax ourselves out of this situation that we’re in at the present.”

Like Ovittore, District 4 challenger Nancy Hoffmann emphasized spending needs, prefacing her remarks by saying she is “committed to sound financial stewardship.”

“No one can predict the future,” she said. “So we really have to see what the situation is next year or the following year, but we know that we have possibly deferred some very important maintenance in this city. Those things catch up with you sometime down the road, and when they do the cost may be greater. We bear the cost of training the police staff and the fire staff in this city. And if we lose them a year or two years after we train them, then we have lost the cost of that investment in those people, and they’ve gone to High Point, or to Burlington, or Reidsville for another thousand dollars a year.”

Hoffmann said that a city, like any business, must “drill down” to see what spending items are “not absolutely essential” during difficult economic times, and have an honest conversation with citizens about what services they want to maintain, what they’re willing to give up, and what they’re willing to pay for.

Trudy Wade, the conservative incumbent in District 5, said she would not raise taxes.

“There’s two ways not to raise taxes,” she said. “And no, I wouldn’t raise taxes. Two ways to do that. Either you’re going to have to cut things or you’re going to have to bring in more jobs, more people, and increase your base of people paying in. There’s only two ways to do it. I think we’ve tried as a council to bring more jobs here. And I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that. For 12 of 16 years the unemployment rate’s been going up. This last year it’s started to go down again.”

In fact, data for the Greensboro-High Point metropolitan statistical area posted by the NC Employment Security Commission indicates that the unemployment rate increased in eight of the past 16 years. The rate has been declining over all over the past two years, but has remained at above 10 percent since 2009 after bouncing between 3 percent and 7 percent during the period from 1996 to 2008.

Wade credited the city council’s efforts to keep property taxes and water rates low with what progress has been seen in reducing the unemployment rate. During her remarks the councilwoman linked the tax rate to efforts to reopen the White Street Landfill, which she favors.

“If we were using our own landfill, we could save $8 million a year,” she said. “We won’t talk about the $30- or $40 million we’ve lost over the past four or five years.”

The $8 million figure tossed around by Wade, Thompson and The Rhinoceros Times is at odds with the $3.1 million per year in annual cost savings estimated by the city’s solid waste consultant for the plan to reopen the landfill that was adopted by the conservative faction. The difference can be chalked up to closure costs once the currently permitted portions of the landfill are depleted. Those who cite the $8 million figure argue that closure costs should not be included because the landfill would eventually have to be closed anyway. But under the current arrangement, the permitted portion of the landfill accepts a miniscule amount of screening, allowing it to remain open indefinitely.

Wade blamed a group of citizens who filed suit against the city to prevent the landfill from reopening with scuttling the city’s ability to pursue a regional approach, recycling, waste-to-energy technology, investments in infrastructure and cost savings.

“And we tried to take a regional approach,” she said. “And we tried to take the companies on the cutting edge of waste management and bring them into an RFP, and say, ‘What can you do for this community with technology, with recycling, and do a long-range plan for us.’ This is the first council that really stood back and said, ‘Let’s take a look at that.’ What can we do to cut this $8 million-a-year cost? And, of course, we ended up in a lawsuit, so all that technology, infrastructure, all that additional money we were going to have for the city, of course that won’t be the case now.”

A&T vote inspires fiery city council campaigning

Sal Leone, an at-large candidate for Greensboro City Council, speaks from the well.

About a hundred conservatively dressed, most female students filed into a NC A&T University auditorium to address questions to candidates for Greensboro City Council last night during a forum hosted by the Alpha Mu Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. on Wednesday evening.

At the end of the program Cherrell Brown, chair of the sorority’s political awareness and involvement committee, asked how many of the college students were registered to vote. Virtually every hand went up, prompting applause from council members.

“Myth debunked,” Brown said. “Students are registered to vote.”

The university is located in District 2, and the three candidates for the seat – taking nothing for granted in the run-up to what is traditionally a low-turnout primary – engaged in a spirited debate to try to win the students’ vote. Challenger C. Bradley Hunt II, himself a student at A&T, and incumbent Jim Kee, an alum who serves on the university’s board of visitors, delivered particularly contentious challenges to one another’s character and record of leadership.

Kee discusses his ability to work with conservative council members on matters of common interest such as bringing a grocery store to east Greensboro. Hunt took advantage of the opening to attack.

“There are certain issues in the city that are not worth a compromise,” Hunt said. “When you talk about a landfill that’s going in your backyard, in a backyard where there’s 85 percent African Americans – environmental racism – when you have to deal with the stench and the rodents, the trucks going back and forth in your neighborhoods, we don’t need to compromise on those situations.

“Councilman Kee was willing to negotiate a landfill for economic development,” the challenger continued. “That’s not right. Not in District 2. If you elect me, I’ll give you a voice. I will tell them, ‘No, that’s wrong,’ and I will say it to the top of the Melvin Municipal Building. And let everyone in Greensboro know that it’s wrong. So no, my style of leadership is a fighter, and not a compromiser.”

Kee struck back.

“This young man here is distorting the facts,” he said. “And if you’ve got people that are running for city council that are going to lie to you before they get on council, imagine what they are going to do after they get on city council.”

The incumbent pulled out a June 2001 copy of the News & Record showing him addressing city council on the White Street Landfill.

“I was a community activist fighting to close the landfill,” Kee said. “You know, I was pretty angry then. As a matter of fact, a group that I helped form called Concerned Citizens of Northeast Greensboro is the organization that [got the landfill closed in 2006].”

Kee went on to say that he believed when he got elected and still believes that waste-to-energy technology is a viable alternative to landfilling.

“You call it a compromise,” Kee said. “But let me tell you about waste to energy. Waste to energy is a new technology that [converts trash] to electricity or diesel fuel. And it creates green jobs for Aggies, jobs that pay $50,000 or more. Now, my suggestion was that we form a public-private partnership with a company, the city of Greensboro and North Carolina A&T because A&T can acquire those $30- and $50 million energy grants that President Obama has put out so we can research alternative energy.”

Yvonne Johnson, an at-large candidate, reminded the audience that she had served on the council that made the decision to close the landfill in 2001. Mayoral candidates Robbie Perkins and Tom Phillips, and at-large candidate Nancy Vaughan were also part of that vote. Johnson said the Golden Leaf Foundation, on whose board she serves, gave A&T upwards of a million to research waste-to-energy technology.

“We need to go to waste to energy, but we don’t need to open the landfill to do that,” Johnson said. “We can do that someplace else. We can do it at the transfer station. And so the only thing I am hoping will happen with that landfill one day is that we will have the technology from North Carolina A&T State University to mine that landfill, environmentally safely mine it, and take all that crap out of it.”

Dianne Bellamy-Small, the incumbent in the District 1 race, was in rare form and good spirits. Challenger Donnell “DJ” Hardy, in contrast, took a subdued, low-key approach.

“There’s an African proverb that says, ‘The lion’s story will never be told as long as the hunter is telling it,’” Bellamy-Small said. “My leadership style is one of get it done. You’ve got to have someone on the council who is a grassroots-er, who gets out here in the community and who can very articulately talk about what’s happening. That’s me.”

The incumbent representative used an anecdote about her negotiations with Honda Aircraft Co. to illustrate her commitment to ensuring that people of color and women receive equal access to jobs.

“Every time a new business comes to us and wants an incentive, I ask, particularly when they talk about engineering jobs and that kind of stuff, I say, ‘Have you been over to A&T?’” Bellamy-Small recounted. “They’ll kind of fumble around…. ‘Well-uh-well-uh.’ ‘Have you been over to A&T? We’ve got engineering graduates over there.’ You saw on the paper how HondaJet – we’re waiting on them. When HondaJet came before us, I always ask, ‘How many minorities? How many women? And will you hire ex-offenders?’ The last time, HondaJet said, ‘Yes, we’ll hire them.’ You know how many they hired? Forty out of 550. You do the math. When they came this time, I said, ‘Something’s wrong with this picture.’ They said, ‘We’ll deal with it.’ So they thought behind closed doors they tried to answer my question. I asked in public, and the man said, ‘Oh, we talked about that in private.’ ‘Yeah, and I brought it up in public.’”

One of the students asked candidates how they planned to work with universities to bring jobs to Greensboro.

Robbie Perkins, one of two mayoral candidates who showed up at the forum, leaped form his seat.

“This is one of the great opportunities that we have in our city,” he said. “We’ve got 35,000 college students in our city and we need to keep more of them here, and the only way we’re going to keep them is create jobs. Now, one of the four critical clusters that has been identified by the business community is the nanotech-engineering cluster with the joint venture between A&T and UNCG over on East Lee Street. You’ve got a $21 million building that’s open, and we’ve got a $58.8 million building that should open in the next few weeks. And that’s going to be one of the leading sources of tech jobs in this region.”

Perkins went on to outline his vision for expanding the roadway network to create opportunities for economic growth in the area of the nanoscience campus.

“Now, I don’t think that that’s a big enough area over there to accommodate what I see as a large-growth industry,” Perkins said. “Councilwoman Dianne Bellamy-Small and I have been working for the last several years on the TAC, which is the Transportation Advisory Committee, that basically works on roads in this area. And we think it’s imperative that there’s a new road that’s going to run from that nanotech center north where that stop light hits Lee Street. And if you run it right, you can run it all the way to Penry Road where GTCC has their campus. And if you really want to expand the vision, you expand the vision from a 75-acre park that the university owns and that the nanotech buildings are being built on, you take everything from the east of that road out to our belt loop around the city, and you make that the research park of the future.”

Kee said he supports Perkins’ road proposal, but he would go a step further and extend the road to Cone Boulevard. That has been a politically sensitive initiative, considering that the proposed road would go past the White Street Landfill, and make reopening the landfill more politically palatable by relieving heavy truck traffic from residential neighborhoods. Greensboro voters supported a bond for the project, but the city has yet to issue the debt to finance the Cone Boulevard extension.

Bellamy-Small said she supports the strategy of creating jobs through nanoscience research, but argued the city needs to take a broad-based approach.

“There is no other kind of economic generator in Greensboro at this time that provides the kind of jobs, whether it’s part time,” she said. “I’m over at the coliseum. I was over at the aquatic center today swimming with the little children. We hire A&T students. We hire UNCG students. Yeah, the nanotechnology center is very important, but if you can get a part-time job or a full-time job, or if you can work the ACC, those are the kind of things that do put some money in your pocket.”

Hardy championed a more entrepreneurial approach.

“Portland, Oregon is what I would to model Greensboro after if I have the chance,” he said. “They go and find companies that are two and three big – two and three people in garage – who have a business plan and have something that can work and hire thousands. Out of 20 that they might fund, 15 of them might crash and burn. It’s those five that make it through that will make thousands of jobs.”

Kee went on the offensive against both of his challengers in the District 2 race on the topic of job creation. Kee criticized opponent Dan Fischer for his reservations about the Greensboro Coliseum’s operating deficit, arguing that the coliseum’s economic impact translates to a 100 to one return on the investment. Kee also ridiculed a statement by Hunt at a previous candidate forum acknowledging acknowledging that, in contrast to Kee, Hunt is not a business person.

“You don’t want a council person who’s not business astute,” Kee said.

Hunt hit back.

“You also don’t want a developer as a council member because this creates a conflict of interest,” he said. “Any time that you put development and business over people, it’s when you’re willing to compromise the White Street Landfill. No, I’m not a developer; I don’t think Councilman Kee is either.

“A&T has been around since 1891 and I haven’t seen too much or any economic development for students,” Hunt added. “If you elect me, one of your own, I will see to it that we get jobs.”

Several candidates responded to a question about how they see council working with college students.

“I just created the first ever internship program, where interns from A&T and Bennett College will intern for the city council, get paid for it, get experience, and have something to put on their resume,” Kee said. “That program just started – wasn’t it October 1st, Robbie? Robbie Perkins and I are funding the program.”

Jim Lewis, an activist with Conservatives for Guilford County had questioned whether the program was appropriate at a city council meeting the previous evening. Discussion about the program revealed that, in fact, the funding is coming out of council members’ travel budgets. District 5 Councilwoman Trudy Wade, part of the council’s conservative coalition, said that she, Mayor Bill Knight, at-large Councilman Danny Thompson, District 3 Councilman Zack Matheny and District 4 Councilwoman Mary Rakestraw, returned their share of the travel budget to the general fund, and that the money was reallocated to purchase reflective vests for community watch volunteers.

Tom Phillips, who is also running for mayor, went on the attack against Perkins, who is considered likely to make it through the primary with incumbent Bill Knight. Knight and two other mayoral candidates, Bradford Cone and Chris Phillips, did not attend the forum.

“I believe it’s going to require leadership coming in from outside the current council, because it’s become so divisive,” Tom Phillips said. “But unless you have a massive change on the council – and historically that has not happened; it may happen this time, but historically it hasn’t – unless we have a massive change, we’re going to have several people on the council who will not work with Robbie. So we’re going to have two more years of bickering.

“I also am retiring December 31st,” Phillips continued. “I can’t have any conflicts of interest on zoning cases, things of that nature. Mr. Perkins, being in the development industry, can’t help but have conflicts of interest, whether they’re real or perceived. Those are two the main differences between myself and my good friend, Robbie.”

After declaring his intention to withdraw from the race earlier in the day, at-large candidate Sal Leone resurfaced at the forum. The candidate went on the attack against conservative incumbents and their political philosophy, holding the floor for almost six minutes.

Leone charged that at-large Councilman Danny Thompson broke a promise to residents of east Greensboro when he said during the 2009 campaign that he was not in favor of reopening the White Street Landfill. The line of attack echoed a spirited statement by another at-large candidate, Marikay Abuzuaiter, a week earlier.

“He said he implemented a curfew, which is anti-conservative,” Thompson said. “But he took credit for it because it looked good. More lies. He’s not here because he can’t defend lies. What’s he going to say to you? He didn’t go to the Interactive Resource Center. Know why? There are poor people there. They don’t care. He’s not here because the conservatives think you won’t vote. That’s what they’re counting on. Bennett College, UNCG, A&T, GTCC – you guys have the power, and they know it.”

Wade, Knight make no apologies for landfill position

C4GC candidates forum, a set on Flickr.

Conservative incumbents Trudy Wade and Bill Knight made their first public appearances in a lively City Council election campaign before a friendly audience at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum during a forum hosted by Conservatives for Guilford County last night.

The host organization asked candidates to address the White Street Landfill, along with the issues of fiscal responsibility and job creation, and the District 5 councilwoman took to the first issue in particular with zeal.

“The problem with the landfill is our trash is costing us millions of dollars,” she said. “There were conservative members of council that decided we needed to look at this issue for the people of Greensboro – all the people of Greensboro. Is there a way we could save money and with that money do things for economic development such as put in infrastructure, do things we really need in this city? Are we getting the best bang for our buck with paying all that money to transport our trash, which is our responsibility, not our responsibility to go stick it in somebody else’s backyard – our responsibility as citizens that we should take care of our own trash.

“So yes, it’s a hot item; it was emotional,” she continued. “But let’s think about it a minute: Four of us – actually five, but one conservative member could no longer vote on the matter and had to recuse himself – took on this challenge: Let’s talk about White Street. Let’s see if there’s something we can do.”

District 3 Councilman Zack Matheny had been recused because of a conflict of interest with Gate City Waste Services, a vendor that was pre-selected to operate the landfill before withdrawing its bid. Matheny has not indicated publicly which way he would have voted on the question of whether to reopen the landfill.

Wade went on to dispute the cost-savings estimated by city staff and an outside consultant for reopening the landfill. Wade contended reopening the landfill would save the city $8 million per year, as opposed to $3.1 million.

“We can play with numbers all we want, but the way you get [the low] number is you add the closure cost in over a period of seven years,” she said. Wade’s math assumes that the city will have to pay closure costs for the White Street Landfill whether it’s reopened or not, but the city has maintained permitting and operational capabilities at the landfill since it stopped accepting municipal solid waste in 2006 and staff has put forth no plans to decommission it.

“It took brave people to bring this issue up,” Wade said, drawing applause. “There’s been people on the council for years. You’ve heard some candidates tonight and city council representatives that said, ‘I’ve been on the council 12 years, 16 years.’ Well, we don’t have a plan for solid waste, and they’ve been there for that amount of time because they didn’t tackle the situation.”

Mayor Bill Knight appeared to be dispirited by a recent reversal that took place when the interim city attorney ruled that Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Vaughan could vote on the landfill, but made no apologies for his handling of the matter.

“We’re faced with trying to find a way to stop the hemorrhaging of millions of dollars each year; that was not the case just five years ago,” Knight said. “We did have a solution at hand, but it’s too late now to turn back the clock on that. I’ve seen nearby communities – Winston-Salem and Raleigh, for instance – with landfills very similar to ours that have gone forward to significant economic development without the problems that we have here or have had in Greensboro. Economically, we are behind on this issue.”

The mayor proposed a study committee to take up the issue in the next term.

The program included two follow-up questions for mayoral candidates. The group did not give the incumbent candidate a free pass, despite their shared conservative philosophy. The moderator asked Knight to address criticism that the council has not demonstrated transparency under his leadership.

“I believe this council has been quite open,” Knight said. “We have a number of discussions. We have long agendas. Everything is discussed openly in open council meeting. We do have closed sessions for certain sensitive matters, but we do not engage in what used to be called small-group meetings.”

Chris Phillips, a self-described conservative candidate who has worked with Conservatives for Guilford County in the past, backed away from a previous position of conditional support for reopening the landfill.

“To keep the peace in Greensboro I would say keep it closed for right now,” he said.

“Saving money, if the White Street Landfill is the best option, I’d say, ‘Let’s do that,’” the candidate added. “But what we need to do also is the city of Greensboro needs to prove to the people in the area that it is the best option – that there is no foul odor…. As an African American, I can say that I have struggled with asthma, I have struggled with bronchitis, so any children that live in that area, we need to make sure that they feel safe, that there are no health hazards.”

The moderator noted that Phillips has gone on record as saying that he’s a regular user of Greensboro mass transit. Contending that city buses are underutilized during non-peak hours, the moderator went on to ask the candidate what changes could be made to make the system more efficient.

“In riding the buses every day, as I do, I understand what Greensboro’s residents who ride the buses go through every day,” Phillips said. “I think that we need to make sure there’s a safety net in place for the transit system so the money is used for that purpose. Another solution, I would say, we could have for the low ridership and the cost of diesel fuel, let’s have fuel-efficient cars, or let’s have shuttle vans that can go to these areas and pick up people. One of the things that I face is that if I miss the bus sometimes I have to catch a cab. And catching a taxi has become more and more expensive. So we need to make sure that there’s an effective bus system in Greensboro to pick up the riders who need those bus routes.”

The 45-year-old candidate noted that he is not married and has no children, adding, “those are some desires that I do have one day.” He told the audience that he graduated from UNCG with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

“I thought that when I graduated the world was going to be my oyster, so to speak,” he said. “I thought: I’m smart, and I’m going to get a job, and I’m going to live happily ever after. And please don’t get me wrong: I thank God for HH Gregg, and I thank God for my job, but there are other gifts, other dreams that I would like to put in place, and I know a lot of other college students who feel the same way that I do.”

The forum presented a test for mayoral candidate Robbie Perkins, a longtime councilman who is favored to win by many political observers. Although he is a registered Republican, Perkins is distrusted by many conservatives because of his alignment with the council’s progressive faction.

Perkins looked extremely composed, betraying only the slightest hint of nervousness as he answered a question about his vote to close the landfill a decade previously.

“The solution to the issue that we looked at in 2003 was similar to what we looked at today,” he said. “Your worst-case scenario, as a public official, is that you have no solution for your garbage. The assumptions made that you could keep White Street open and expand it were problematic then, as they are today. We’ve all heard about the issues involved in section 4 and section 5 of White Street and how that’s going to require rezoning, that’s going to require additional permitting. Those issues were up in the air in 2003 as well. What we were looking at is retaining our unused capacity, using that as a way to negotiate against the haulers, for them to give us a fair price.”

The candidate also answered a question about public subsidies for the Greensboro Coliseum with ease.

“I look at the billion dollars of tourism business in Guilford County as a huge community asset,” he 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 all 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.”

One of the questions posed to mayoral candidate Tom Phillips, a former councilman who is also a registered Republican, related to the candidate’s long experience as a director of the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority, which is responsible for bringing the Randleman Reservoir online to supply the water needs of Greensboro and neighboring municipalities. The moderator asked Phillips if the projected needs for water were inflated and whether citizens could expect a rate cut as a result of the new supply.

Phillips responded that if the city’s projected water needs had been inflated, it was because of the decline of the textile industry – once a major user. If the new water supply lasted for more than 50 years, as projected, Phillips said he doesn’t consider that a problem. He offered no relief on rates.

“You have expenses, and you never know what environmental rules will come along to require us to spend money,” Phillips said. “I really don’t see rates going down from here.”

Bradford Cone, the only Democrat on the mayoral slate, put forward a flat recitation of positions antithetical to conservative agenda. He said the landfill issue should not have been brought up by council and is unnecessarily dividing the city. And he said the city should invest in infrastructure to create jobs, and spend money in the short term to achieve long-term savings.

“I would also reinstate the moment of silence,” he added, “as the prayer, for anyone who’s not Christian would feel they’re less welcome and less a part of the community.”

Mary Rakestraw, a member of the conservative faction who is seeking reelection to her seat as the District 4 representative, pushed back against the notion that the process was rigged to favor Gate City Waste Industries.

“Now, some people have said that the RFPs that were sent out were written specifically for one server,” Rakestraw said, adding that after staff developed the request for proposals, council members made only “four or five minor changes” before the document was posted.

Rakestraw noted that studies about health impact of the landfill have come back inconclusive, and remarked that the landfill was currently “a moot point.”

Only one of two challengers in the District 4 race, Tony Collins, showed up for the forum. Collins said there was a need for new blood, but did not take a stand on either side of the landfill debate.

The three candidates competing to represent District 2, where the landfill is located, waded into hostile territory.

Incumbent Jim Kee geared his remarks somewhat to a conservative perspective on cost savings.

“It’s a bad economic idea because you’re looking at a short-term gain of four and a half years, and once the landfill is filled the profits that we would have earned would have evaporated when we went back to the open market, which we would have to do,” Kee said.

Challenger C. Bradley Hunt II made no apologies for his stance against reopening the landfill.

“We have to come together to understand that the White Street Landfill should not be opened in Greensboro,” he said. “I feel that no amount of savings is worth the quality of life for the residents that live near the landfill. To me, that conversation should not have ever come up, and I will do everything that I can to keep the White Street Landfill closed.”

Dan Fischer challenged audience members to who employ people in Greensboro.

“We need to start paying a living wage to everybody who walks through our doors when we’re hiring,” he said.

Jorge Cornell, who is challenging Wade for the District 5 seat, cut a striking contrast amidst the nattily dressed and politically conservative crowd. Cornell’s introduction did not include any mention of his role as leader of the North Carolina Latin Kings, a group considered to be a street gang by the Greensboro Police Department and other law enforcement agencies. All the same, the candidate and audience appeared to be in separate psychic universes.

Cornell gamely pitched himself on a bootstrapping theme, noting that he plans to launch a temporary labor agency.

“I’m proud to say that our doors will be opened in January, and it’s a joint effort with the Beloved Community Center, which has built in a training center,” the candidate said. “Which is going to help a lot of brothers and sisters that are homeless, brothers and sisters that got felonies, those that are considered marginalized in our community. The reason why I think this is important is that these brothers and sisters need to know that they still are community and we need to let them know by giving them that second chance in life because everybody deserves a second chance in life.”

In his closing remarks, Cornell echoed Frederick Douglass, who was quoted in a mass e-mail sent out by Conservatives for Guilford County to publicize the event: “In a composite nation like ours, as before the law, there should be no rich, no poor, no high, no low, no white, no black, but common country, common citizenship, equal rights and a common destiny.”

Cornell said, “We need to get away from this two-class citizenship, okay? We really do. We’re all one people. And I think that’s really important, because the only way we’re going to make change in this community is if we come together as one. As long as we sit here on this side and we have people sit on this side, we’re never going to make change. It’s been like this for awhile. As long as we stay divided, they shall conquer. And when I say that, I’m talking about us conquering ourselves.”

At-large candidate Chris Lawyer, a self-described conservative offered some general comments about fiscal responsibility, but made no mention of the landfill.

Jean Austin Brown, another conservative in the at-large race, exhibited difficulty articulating a position on the landfill, making equivocating statements about public input process and the merits of recycling.

“Nobody has the answer to the landfill,” she said. “I don’t think so. I’ve listened to everything. I’ve read everything I can about the landfill. I don’t think anybody has the answer yet. But I’m open to suggestions. Even when I’m on city council I would not be against town-hall meetings if all possible participants were there to voice their concerns, whether it’s yes or no. But I’m not for listening to just a bunch of folks who are angry and who are not willing to listen and to try to do something about this.”

Austin said, “When you say recycling, it’s probably like putting a Bandaid on cancer.”

Then she added, “I would be all for more recycling.”

Moderators Algenon Cash and Kevin Daniels gave remarks about the connection between conservativism and civil rights, but the real more resonant statements about the setting came from candidates.

“Earlier this week… the letters ‘KKK’ were spray-painted on one of my yard signs,” said Mayor Bill Knight, who graduated from Greensboro High School in 1957, the year before it accepted its first black student. “And what I took this to mean was hate. I can’t interpret it any other way but hate. Being where we are here I find it rather meaningful where we are. And this center symbolizes injustice and struggle.”

Sal Leone, an at-large candidate who drew a boo from the audience when he mentioned he was a Yankees fan, brought an unpopular message on the landfill.

“The future of Greensboro is in the east; we have no place else to go,” he said. “We need economic development. Landfills do not bring a lot of jobs. We need to develop the east. It will bring economic development, jobs, corporations, which bring money, taxes, revenue. It’s what we need.”

Then he drew back to a historical period that Daniels had referenced as the dawn of American civil rights.

“With the city council divided as they are, Abraham Lincoln said it the best: ‘A house divided cannot stand,’” Leone said. “And we all know what happened in 1860. That’s what’s happening here now. We’re in a crisis. We’re in big trouble.”

Candidates take message to east Greensboro voters

UPDATE: Photos courtesy of Quentin L. Richardson

L's Restaurant and Lounge candidate event, a set on Flickr.

ORIGINAL POST:

District 2 candidate Jim Kee addresses voters at L's Restaurant and Lounge, as mayoral candidate Robbie Perkins and at-large candidate Marikay Abuzuaiter converse.

Marikay Abuzuaiter, an at-large candidate for Greensboro City Council, was right at home among the after-work crowd at L’s Restaurant and Lounge on Randleman Road. For four years, her family property management business maintained an office nearby before they had to downsize.

She told the crowd about her two previous attempts to win a seat on city council.

“In 2007, I ran in the at-large race; I lost by 110 votes to Mary Rakestraw,” Abuzuaiter said. “In 2009, I ran in the at-large race. I lost by 300 votes to Danny Thompson. So I’m not going to come in fourth again. I’m going to come in for one of those three at-large seats. Let me explain something to you: I was brand new in 2007, so that was pretty good. 2009 Danny Thompson went to east Greensboro and told 5-, 6-, 700 people that he would never vote to open the landfill. Well, what happened when he got on council? He was the main one wanting to get the landfill open.

“So, I am calling him out. Because if he had not been at east Greensboro and made that promise, I would have been on your city council and we would have never gotten the votes that they wanted to open the landfill.”

Saundra Adams and Gail Foy put together the candidate forum for Abuzuaiter and four other candidates at L’s. Adams is a regular at the restaurant, whose menu boasts, “Food so good you’ll slap your mama,” and thought the $2 fish special on Tuesday nights would provide a good forum for people to get acquainted with the candidates, and that the politics, in turn, might bring some new business to the restaurant.

Foy, who works with the East Market Street Merchants Association, said Dianne Bellamy-Small was invited because she represents District 1, where the restaurant is located, and Jim Kee was invited because he represents District 2, where many of the restaurant’s customers live. Mayoral candidate Robbie Perkins and at-large candidates Abuzuaiter and Yvonne Johnson were invited because they are “well known in the community.”

“In my opinion, the council is not working well right now,” Foy said, while preparing to introduce the candidates. “I believe in sustainable economic development. I believe if the landfill opens, it will impede that.”

Perkins received a warm welcome.

“We want to try to create the kind of jobs that are going to be a living wage for people because it’s awfully hard to live off of minimum wage,” he said. “You can’t work enough hours in the day to get by off of that. So we’ve got to create the kind of jobs that are going to pay reasonable money so that you can support your families and keep a little bit for retirement. Folks, it’s a hard environment. By pulling together and working together as a team, we can win this game.”

Kee spoke about his efforts, alongside Perkins, to keep the White Street Landfill closed and to bring economic development to east Greensboro.

“We need to interact more with North Carolina A&T to create more jobs,” he said. “You’ve probably heard about the nano-science and engineering building over there. We need to expand upon that park. Robbie and I have talked about that: We need to create a road from Lee Street all the way over to Wendover Avenue and up to Cone Boulevard. It will be like a Holden Road for east Greensboro. The connectivity and mobility of east Greensboro is very, very difficult. We have to have free-flowing access to the major highways and the airport.”

Other candidates were also drawn to the event. Jorge Cornell, leader of the North Carolina Latin Kings and a candidate in District 5, greeted Kee. On the campaign trail, Kee has expressed support for the gang unit and made a point to note that an opponent’s supporters have called for the unit’s disbandment. This evening, Cornell was intent on making it clear there was no ill will between the two, and Kee suggested he concurred, stating that he considers Cornell a businessman rather than a gang leader.

C. Bradley Hunt II, one of Kee’s opponents, showed up at the event and spoke to customers.

The candidates fielded a few questions from the audience. One man, who identified himself as an ex-offender, asked them what they would do open up job opportunities to people whose employment options are hindered by their criminal histories.

“It is a tough, uphill struggle, number one,” Perkins said. “Number two, we’ve got to encourage people to be open-minded, and say, ‘You’ve got to give somebody a second chance. This person’s going to work hard. Take a chance and let them move through.’ That’s something that we’ve got to facilitate…. By the same token, when you get that job, you’ve got to perform as well.”

Kee said, “We may need to look at giving tax breaks to companies that hire ex-offenders.”

Campaign trail: Jim Kee’s kickoff

Jim Kee campaign kickoff, a set on Flickr.

Goldie Wells, the former Greensboro City Council representative for District 2, rose to speak in support of Jim Kee, her successor, at a campaign kickoff this afternoon at the Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship.

“Early on in Jim’s beginning on the council we had quite a few head-knockings because our style is so different,” Wells said. “You know, I’m a fighter. He’s the negotiator. So I said, ‘Jim, you’ve got to get the fight in you.’ So I think he has learned a lot on the council. He’s realized you negotiate some things, and some things you just can’t negotiate. So I think he’s ready to go back and fight.”

Kee, who is seeking reelection after serving a freshman term, concurred with his longtime political mentor, and acknowledged that at one time he had been prepared to throw in the towel in a fight that has preoccupied the city with whether to reopen the White Street Landfill in District 2.

“When we started this battle our internal council told us that there was no way that we were going to be able to stop this landfill,” Kee recounted. “So I was kind of dismayed. I was looking to get back in my negotiating mode, because I didn’t feel like we could stop it. Fortunately, I was proven wrong; they were proven wrong. And I’ll tell you: We are going to win. We are going to keep this landfill closed. I promise you that.”

Today’s event was a subdued affair held in a conference room, compared to the candidate’s kickoff two years ago, which took place in a larger reception hall that was also part of the Revolution Mill complex. Notwithstanding the more modest setting, the incumbent candidate’s event was graced by the presence of two high-profile supporters: retired WMFY TV News broadcaster Sandra Hughes and Sam Funchess, the president of the Nussbaum Center.

Yvonne Johnson, a former mayor who lives in District 2, alluded to prodding that Kee has received from Citizens for Economic and Environmental Justice to take a stronger stand on the landfill. Johnson and Wells persuaded Kee to run two years ago.

“Jim has a whole extended family of folk who have tried to support and guide him over these last two years as he is feeling his way with a very difficult group of people,” Johnson said. "Jim — and I think this is an honorable trait — believes in people and tries to negotiate with people. But I think Jim has found out in the past two years that there may be a few people that you just can’t negotiate with.”

Johnson was one of two at-large candidates who attended Kee’s kickoff. The other was Marikay Abuzuaiter. Following Abuzuaiter’s remarks, Johnson chimed in: “It would help Jim if you elected me and Marikay.”

Reviewing his first term, Kee said he was proud of his first vote — to approve bridge financing for the Greensboro Aquatic Center. He went on to say that he was disappointed about several other hallmarks of the council over the past two years: moving speakers from the floor from the beginning to the end of the meeting, a lengthy debate over whether to filter pornography at the public library, statements by Mayor Bill Knight disparaging former police Chief Tim Bellamy, and an unpopular redistricting plan that was ultimately rescinded.

Kee said economic development was his signature issue when he ran two years ago, and told supporters he would have a significant announcement about redevelopment efforts at the Bessemer Shopping Center in the next couple weeks.

While toughening his stance on the landfill and underscoring an optimistic outlook — a judge ruled yesterday that Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Vaughan can vote on the landfill, and she has indicated she will block a motion to reopen it — Kee also reminded his supporters of his moderate political orientation.

He said he voted with the majority to reduce taxes in his first year, and noted that he has stood behind the Greensboro Police Department in the face of an onslaught of impropriety allegations.

“There are those — candidates that are running against me — that do not support the police department,” Kee said. “I fully support the police department. They’ve asked me to dismantle the gang unit. Now, I personally think that we should have a gang unit. You know, they’re saying that the gang unit is harassing the gangs. I call it ‘monitoring.’”

Northeast Greensboro council incumbent challenges the challengers

Presbyterian Church of the Cross candidate forum, a set on Flickr.

City Councilman Jim Kee took the fight to his two challengers last night at Presbyterian Church of the Cross in northeast Greensboro during an intimate and candid series of exchanges in which candidates nearly outnumbered citizens.

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.”