The NC Democratic Party announces a "blue crew" training tomorrow morning at the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant Fellowship Hall led by Jeff Mallare, regional director of the state party and formerly a staffer on the Obama campaign. The focus of the training is described as "grassroots organiz[ing] and effective tips on real, meaningful impact in your communities."
Conservative activist Joe Guarino has expressed objections [1, 2] about the church providing space for the party for past events.
Guarino's criticisms don't seem to have gotten much traction. On another level, Democrats across the state appear to understand that they have an uphill battle to turn out their base to counteract the conservative backlash at the polls against President Obama.
Meanwhile, Democratic incumbent Brad Miller's quest for reelection in North Carolina's 13th Congressional District is sure to be aided by the fact that he's been chosen as Greensboro College's commencement speaker on May 9, five days after the primary.
A press release from the college, whose spokesman is Presbyterian Lex Alexander, reports that Miller's speech will be entitled "Making a killing, or making a living."
Showing posts with label Joe Guarino. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Guarino. Show all posts
Candidates dispute incumbent's statement on taxes
The Republican primary contest for the Guilford County Commission District 3 seat, a conservative-leaning district covering the northwest part of the county, has erupted into a war of words over the incumbent's position on raising taxes.
Challenger Samuel Spagnola, a lawyer/blogger, charges that incumbent Linda Shaw said at a recent candidate forum that raising taxes will be necessary. Not so, says Shaw.
Spag’s campaign website prominently features an item under a flashing “breaking news” marquee with the headline, “SHAW: ‘We are going to have to raise taxes.’”
The item reads: “(April 7, 2010) — Last night at a forum sponsored by the Northern Guilford Conservative Republicans, incumbent County Commissioner Linda Shaw admitted that the county would have to raise taxes to pay for the looming $1 billion dollar debt.”
Shaw contacted me by e-mail last night disputing Spagnola's charge: “For the record I have never, ever said raising taxes will be necessary. Those words have never come out of my mouth. With the economy the way it is I will not (just like last year and nine years before that) support a tax increase.”
I've put in a call to Spagnola at his law office, and plan to ask him to substantiate his statement. Meanwhile, the charge got additional mileage yesterday when Dr. Joseph Guarino, a Greensboro blogger with a reputation for attacking Republican politicians who don't toe a sufficiently conservative line, repeated Spagnola's attack.
Guarino's post is headlined “County Commissioner Linda Shaw: Raising Taxes Will Be Necessary.” It reads: “We learn that County Commissioner Linda Shaw has made the statement that raising county taxes will be necessary. Why? Because of the huge bond debt the county has undertaken.”
Guarino follows up by encouraging readers to spread the word about Spagnola's candidacy, and to contribute money to the campaign.
The comment thread on the post has been turned off, making it impossible for anyone to refute or contradict Spagnola's charge. I reached Guarino at his medical practice, and he declined to comment on the record about why he was not accepting comments.
Guarino endorsed Spagnola early in the race.
Triad Elections '10
UPDATE: I've talked to both candidates, and each gave me the names of people who were at the forum, and can vouch for their respective accounts. BJ Barnes, Marcus Kindley, Theresa Yon and Don Wendelken — I'm looking for you.
"We were talking about the county debt and the bonds and everything," Spagnola told me. "She said, 'Well, we are going to have to raise taxes to pay for it.' I thought it was strange that she would say it, when earlier she had said, 'This is the first year I've been in office where we haven't raised taxes.' We talked about the bonds, and how we were going to have to pay for them, and she said, 'We are going to have to raise taxes.'"
Shaw recalls it differently.
"He interrupted me very rudely," she said, "and said, 'Do you mean that no taxes are going to be raised with all those bonds?' I said, 'Eventually, but I won't be raising them."
As a Republican on a Democratic-majority board, the question of whether county taxes are raised is largely out of Shaw's hands. She told me that she doesn't expect the commission to vote for a tax raise this year, but if Paul Gibson or Kirk Perkins were to wrest the chairmanship away from Alston, that might change in future years.
"No, we're not going to raise taxes this year," she told me. "We're working very hard to streamline government and cut as much fat as we can. Hopefully, we're not going to raise taxes. I can't speak for the future. I can speak for this year. And I made it very clear that we're not going to have a tax increase."
For readers who don't keep up with local Republican politics, this is show-time. There are no Democrats in the District 3 race, so the winner of the primary in three weeks also wins the seat.
UPDATE 2: Sheriff BJ Barnes is backing Shaw in this dispute. He told me in a phone interview: "Linda said that a tax increase may be unavoidable, but she has not and would not vote for one."
UPDATE 3: Don Wendelken, a candidate in the District 3 Republican primary four years ago with Shaw and Spagnola, weighs in behind Spag. From a phone conversation: "Her exact words were that we will have to raise taxes. She said this in the context of the bonds. She said we will have to raise them. I said, 'Whoa.' She did say it; I'm 100 percent certain. As a conservative, I was shocked. She can spin it anyway she wants."
CORRECTION: This post originally stated that Spagnola "charges that incumbent Linda Shaw said at a recent candidate forum that raising taxes will be necessary this year." Spagnola e-mailed me to clarify that he has never said that Shaw said raising taxes will be "necessary this year." I've removed the phrase "this year," which was, indeed, inaccurate.
Challenger Samuel Spagnola, a lawyer/blogger, charges that incumbent Linda Shaw said at a recent candidate forum that raising taxes will be necessary. Not so, says Shaw.
Spag’s campaign website prominently features an item under a flashing “breaking news” marquee with the headline, “SHAW: ‘We are going to have to raise taxes.’”
The item reads: “(April 7, 2010) — Last night at a forum sponsored by the Northern Guilford Conservative Republicans, incumbent County Commissioner Linda Shaw admitted that the county would have to raise taxes to pay for the looming $1 billion dollar debt.”
Shaw contacted me by e-mail last night disputing Spagnola's charge: “For the record I have never, ever said raising taxes will be necessary. Those words have never come out of my mouth. With the economy the way it is I will not (just like last year and nine years before that) support a tax increase.”
I've put in a call to Spagnola at his law office, and plan to ask him to substantiate his statement. Meanwhile, the charge got additional mileage yesterday when Dr. Joseph Guarino, a Greensboro blogger with a reputation for attacking Republican politicians who don't toe a sufficiently conservative line, repeated Spagnola's attack.
Guarino's post is headlined “County Commissioner Linda Shaw: Raising Taxes Will Be Necessary.” It reads: “We learn that County Commissioner Linda Shaw has made the statement that raising county taxes will be necessary. Why? Because of the huge bond debt the county has undertaken.”
Guarino follows up by encouraging readers to spread the word about Spagnola's candidacy, and to contribute money to the campaign.
The comment thread on the post has been turned off, making it impossible for anyone to refute or contradict Spagnola's charge. I reached Guarino at his medical practice, and he declined to comment on the record about why he was not accepting comments.
Guarino endorsed Spagnola early in the race.
Triad Elections '10
UPDATE: I've talked to both candidates, and each gave me the names of people who were at the forum, and can vouch for their respective accounts. BJ Barnes, Marcus Kindley, Theresa Yon and Don Wendelken — I'm looking for you.
"We were talking about the county debt and the bonds and everything," Spagnola told me. "She said, 'Well, we are going to have to raise taxes to pay for it.' I thought it was strange that she would say it, when earlier she had said, 'This is the first year I've been in office where we haven't raised taxes.' We talked about the bonds, and how we were going to have to pay for them, and she said, 'We are going to have to raise taxes.'"
Shaw recalls it differently.
"He interrupted me very rudely," she said, "and said, 'Do you mean that no taxes are going to be raised with all those bonds?' I said, 'Eventually, but I won't be raising them."
As a Republican on a Democratic-majority board, the question of whether county taxes are raised is largely out of Shaw's hands. She told me that she doesn't expect the commission to vote for a tax raise this year, but if Paul Gibson or Kirk Perkins were to wrest the chairmanship away from Alston, that might change in future years.
"No, we're not going to raise taxes this year," she told me. "We're working very hard to streamline government and cut as much fat as we can. Hopefully, we're not going to raise taxes. I can't speak for the future. I can speak for this year. And I made it very clear that we're not going to have a tax increase."
For readers who don't keep up with local Republican politics, this is show-time. There are no Democrats in the District 3 race, so the winner of the primary in three weeks also wins the seat.
UPDATE 2: Sheriff BJ Barnes is backing Shaw in this dispute. He told me in a phone interview: "Linda said that a tax increase may be unavoidable, but she has not and would not vote for one."
UPDATE 3: Don Wendelken, a candidate in the District 3 Republican primary four years ago with Shaw and Spagnola, weighs in behind Spag. From a phone conversation: "Her exact words were that we will have to raise taxes. She said this in the context of the bonds. She said we will have to raise them. I said, 'Whoa.' She did say it; I'm 100 percent certain. As a conservative, I was shocked. She can spin it anyway she wants."
CORRECTION: This post originally stated that Spagnola "charges that incumbent Linda Shaw said at a recent candidate forum that raising taxes will be necessary this year." Spagnola e-mailed me to clarify that he has never said that Shaw said raising taxes will be "necessary this year." I've removed the phrase "this year," which was, indeed, inaccurate.
Matheny refutes Guarino's account
UPDATE: Matheny asked me to publish this clarification: "Jordan, as a point of clarification, I stated that there is no question that Guarino has never supported me and that the story is untrue. To try and educate him on the facts of the day would be difficult and with my day job, city council and upcoming marriage this weekend, I do not have the time to call him nor do I think it would help."
Without citing any sources, Guarino reports that Greensboro District 3 Councilman Zack Matheny "threatened" Mayor Bill Knight at a retreat this past weekend at the Center for Creative Leadership.
Notwithstanding the hyperbolic headline, Matheny says there is absolutely no truth to the story. I happened to have been present for all but the first hour of the nine-hour marathon session, and I witnessed nothing like what Guarino described. Guarino wasn't there, so his information is second hand. There were obviously many side conversations taking place after the meeting broke up and people were walking to their cars, so I may have missed something.
Matheny told me that he told Knight that he wanted to serve on the War Memorial Commission, and Knight responded that he would have to await his decision. Matheny said he never threatened to muster five votes to overturn Knight's decision, which is allowable under council's parliamentary rules.
"It's not worth my time to call Guarino and try to educate him," Matheny said. "I did call Bill twice, and say, 'I would love to work with you; let's go.'"
As it turned out, the list of council liaison appointments Knight sent out yesteday evening did pair Matheny with the War Memorial Commission.
Without citing any sources, Guarino reports that Greensboro District 3 Councilman Zack Matheny "threatened" Mayor Bill Knight at a retreat this past weekend at the Center for Creative Leadership.
Notwithstanding the hyperbolic headline, Matheny says there is absolutely no truth to the story. I happened to have been present for all but the first hour of the nine-hour marathon session, and I witnessed nothing like what Guarino described. Guarino wasn't there, so his information is second hand. There were obviously many side conversations taking place after the meeting broke up and people were walking to their cars, so I may have missed something.
Matheny told me that he told Knight that he wanted to serve on the War Memorial Commission, and Knight responded that he would have to await his decision. Matheny said he never threatened to muster five votes to overturn Knight's decision, which is allowable under council's parliamentary rules.
"It's not worth my time to call Guarino and try to educate him," Matheny said. "I did call Bill twice, and say, 'I would love to work with you; let's go.'"
As it turned out, the list of council liaison appointments Knight sent out yesteday evening did pair Matheny with the War Memorial Commission.
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