As promised in a press release yesterday associated with the Spirit of the Sit-In Movement Initiative, a "sit-in rally" occurred today at 3 p.m. at Melvin Municipal Office Building in Greensboro.
Greensboro police report that six people were arrested today that at about 4 p.m., six people walked to a main entrance of the building and stood in the doorway for several minutes blocking others from entering the building. Police officers reportedly asked them to leave, and when they refused they were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
Those arrested include the Rev. Nelson Johnson of the Beloved Community Center and pastor of Faith Community Church; the Rev. Cardes Brown, pastor of New Light Missionary Baptist Church and president of the Greensboro NAACP; the Rev. Gregory Headen, pastor of Genesis Baptist Church, the Rev. Randall Keeney, pastor of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church; Joseph Frierson Jr., a community organizer with the Beloved Community Center; and Robert Lee Newkirk.
This comes on the heels of a civil disobedience action in which five young people were arrested last night after sitting at the dais during the intermission of a Greensboro City Council meeting and vocalizing criticism of the police department.
The implied parallels with the Feb. 1, 1960 action memorialized with the International Civil Rights Center should be apparent.
The battle with Reynolds American over media access begins
This afternoon, I contacted Maura Payne, a spokesperson for Reynolds American (RAI), regarding my application for a media credential to Friday's RAI's annual shareholders meeting in Winston-Salem on Friday. Payne informed me that the application deadline for media credentials had passed.
When I asked Payne if the company had issued a press release to media outlets, and informed her that no such media advisory was posted on RAI website, she said the company had sent out the press release via PR Newswire, an internet-based information service for journalists.
I went to the PR Newswire website and opened an account. When I performed a search for RAI's press release, I found the media advisory was posted on April 28, and the application was April 30 — 48 hours later.
Here is the text of the e-mail I sent to Payne, Jane Seccom and David Howard — all Reynolds spokespersons — this afternoon:
Dear Jane,
I spoke with Maura Payne earlier today regarding media credentials for the May 7 RAI shareholders meeting. She informed me the deadline for media registration had passed and directed me to the PR Newswire website to find RAI's media advisory on the subject.
I see the media advisory wasn't issued until April 28, and the deadline was 48 hours later.
I have several questions:
1. Has RAI ever imposed this type of deadline on media credential requests in the past? If so, does it typically give journalists 48 hours notice?
2. Is PR Newswire the only place that RAI posts its press releases? Why doesn't RAI publish media advisories on its website?
3. Will RAI employ off-duty Winston-Salem police officers as security personnel for the May 7 shareholders meeting?
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Keith T. Barber
Staff Writer
YES! Weekly
Office - 336.316.1231
Cell - 336.837.5539
keith@yesweekly.com
When I asked Payne if the company had issued a press release to media outlets, and informed her that no such media advisory was posted on RAI website, she said the company had sent out the press release via PR Newswire, an internet-based information service for journalists.
I went to the PR Newswire website and opened an account. When I performed a search for RAI's press release, I found the media advisory was posted on April 28, and the application was April 30 — 48 hours later.
Here is the text of the e-mail I sent to Payne, Jane Seccom and David Howard — all Reynolds spokespersons — this afternoon:
Dear Jane,
I spoke with Maura Payne earlier today regarding media credentials for the May 7 RAI shareholders meeting. She informed me the deadline for media registration had passed and directed me to the PR Newswire website to find RAI's media advisory on the subject.
I see the media advisory wasn't issued until April 28, and the deadline was 48 hours later.
I have several questions:
1. Has RAI ever imposed this type of deadline on media credential requests in the past? If so, does it typically give journalists 48 hours notice?
2. Is PR Newswire the only place that RAI posts its press releases? Why doesn't RAI publish media advisories on its website?
3. Will RAI employ off-duty Winston-Salem police officers as security personnel for the May 7 shareholders meeting?
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Keith T. Barber
Staff Writer
YES! Weekly
Office - 336.316.1231
Cell - 336.837.5539
keith@yesweekly.com
A survivor is a defector
Former "Survivor" star, High Point native and future YES! Weekly writer Austin Carty confirms after the fact the reason why he left the Republican Party.
Thanks for the nod, Austin.
Thanks for the nod, Austin.
Skip Alston and the quote of the night
I love the scene on election night at the Old Guilford County Courthouse when the results start rolling in. You got government junkies prowling the halls, candidates doing the gladhand with eyes flashing towards the scrolling numbers on the big-screen, media types with cameras, notebooks, laptops, microphones crawling all over the place.
I managed to wrangle a moment with Guilford County Commission Chair Skip Alston, who sat sharply dressed in the front row of chairs though his name was not on the ballot this time around.
I asked him, as the precincts started reporting, if he wanted to make any prognostications.Then I asked him a question the answer to which I already knew:
"Who are you here to support"
Without bating an eye he said, "Linda Shaw."
I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear him enunciate why he, a Democrat, would endorse Shaw, a Republican.
"I would like to see more Democrats win," he told me, "but I want to see the best person win, and sometimes [that person] is not a Democrat."
Okay. It was my first time interviewing Skip face to face, and I immediately became fond of his affinity for the cryptic quote.
"Linda's been a good commissioner," he went on. "She serves her constituents well and she has been trying to work with Democrats and Republicans on the board for the best interests of the community."
Something layfolks should know: It's tough to get a substantive quote from a really good politician on election night. Mostly what you get is the same type of rah-rah, teamwork, we-all-came-together mumbo of the same stripe as the bon mots professional athletes drop after the big game.
But I was undeterred. I asked Alston the nature of his alliance with Shaw, considering there has been some friction between the two in the past.
"I don't have any permanent friends," he told me. "I don't have any permanent enemies. I have permanent issues."
Damn this guy's good, I thought.
Later, I witnessed Alston really giving it to News & Record Editorial Page Editor Allen Johnson over this column. As he laid into Johnson, Alston used no uncertain terms.
Here's the pic I got of the interaction:
Alston gave me my best quote of the night, though I'm pretty sure Johnson got some better ones during this exchange.
I managed to wrangle a moment with Guilford County Commission Chair Skip Alston, who sat sharply dressed in the front row of chairs though his name was not on the ballot this time around.
I asked him, as the precincts started reporting, if he wanted to make any prognostications.Then I asked him a question the answer to which I already knew:
"Who are you here to support"
Without bating an eye he said, "Linda Shaw."
I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear him enunciate why he, a Democrat, would endorse Shaw, a Republican.
"I would like to see more Democrats win," he told me, "but I want to see the best person win, and sometimes [that person] is not a Democrat."
Okay. It was my first time interviewing Skip face to face, and I immediately became fond of his affinity for the cryptic quote.
"Linda's been a good commissioner," he went on. "She serves her constituents well and she has been trying to work with Democrats and Republicans on the board for the best interests of the community."
Something layfolks should know: It's tough to get a substantive quote from a really good politician on election night. Mostly what you get is the same type of rah-rah, teamwork, we-all-came-together mumbo of the same stripe as the bon mots professional athletes drop after the big game.
But I was undeterred. I asked Alston the nature of his alliance with Shaw, considering there has been some friction between the two in the past.
"I don't have any permanent friends," he told me. "I don't have any permanent enemies. I have permanent issues."
Damn this guy's good, I thought.
Later, I witnessed Alston really giving it to News & Record Editorial Page Editor Allen Johnson over this column. As he laid into Johnson, Alston used no uncertain terms.
Here's the pic I got of the interaction:
Alston gave me my best quote of the night, though I'm pretty sure Johnson got some better ones during this exchange.
Wind in NC Republicans' sails
Voter turnout in Guilford County can't be good news for Democrats hoping to take the US Senate seat currently held by Republican Richard Burr in November. The number of Republican ballots in the unofficial count exceeded the Democratic tally, 18,772 to 17,929 — that in a county where Democrats outnumber Republicans roughly 5 to 3.
Elections Director George Gilbert cautions against reading too much portent towards November from the primary, noting that Republicans had more reason to show up at the polls yesterday with 30 races on the ballot. Democrats, in comparison, had only nine.
But surely a competitive US Senate primary should give Democrats ample reason to show up. If they're not sufficiently enthusiastic now, how motivated will they be to show up in November to evict Burr from the US Senate?
Conventional wisdom has it that that the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee is looking for a clear and compelling leader before they commit money to the race. The June 22 runoff contest between front-runner Elaine Marshall and Cal Cunningham works against that. And while Marshall captured a sizeable led over Cunningham in statewide ballot, Democrats in Guilford — the state's third most populous county — were more divided, with 29.6 percent favoring Marshall and 29.1 favoring Cunningham.
Chris Kromm, executive director at the Institute for Southern Studies in Durham — and my old boss — sees reasons for trouble for Democrats as a whole, describing Democratic voters as "divided and demoralized":
Elections Director George Gilbert cautions against reading too much portent towards November from the primary, noting that Republicans had more reason to show up at the polls yesterday with 30 races on the ballot. Democrats, in comparison, had only nine.
But surely a competitive US Senate primary should give Democrats ample reason to show up. If they're not sufficiently enthusiastic now, how motivated will they be to show up in November to evict Burr from the US Senate?
Conventional wisdom has it that that the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee is looking for a clear and compelling leader before they commit money to the race. The June 22 runoff contest between front-runner Elaine Marshall and Cal Cunningham works against that. And while Marshall captured a sizeable led over Cunningham in statewide ballot, Democrats in Guilford — the state's third most populous county — were more divided, with 29.6 percent favoring Marshall and 29.1 favoring Cunningham.
Chris Kromm, executive director at the Institute for Southern Studies in Durham — and my old boss — sees reasons for trouble for Democrats as a whole, describing Democratic voters as "divided and demoralized":
Incumbent Reps. Larry Kissell (D-8th) and Heath Shuler (D-11th), who both voted against the Democrats' signature health reform bill in March, were both rattled by surprisingly vibrant challenge campaigns from the party's left. Even though the incumbents pulled through, their opponents revealed deep divisions in the Democratic base that could translate into problems this November.
Brandon poised for upset in NC House District 60
Marcus Brandon defeated incumbent Earl Jones in the Democratic primary for NC House District 60. (photos by Quentin L. Richardson)With all but one precinct reporting, Marcus Brandon looks to be poised for a landmark upset against incumbent Earl Jones in the Democratic primary for NC House District 60, which covers south Greensboro, central High Point and parts of rural Guilford County.
Gladys Robinson is likewise poised for a big win in the Democratic primary for the open NC Senate District 28 seat, with all but two precincts reporting.
In a surprise, Phil Wadsworth leads balloting in the Democratic primary for Guilford County sheriff, followed by CB Goins, Harlon Costner and James L. Zimmerman.
Jon Hardister has won the Republican primary in NC House District 57 by a landslide of 72.2 percent against Wendell Sawyer, setting up a November contest with Democratic incumbent Pricey Harrison.
UPDATE: Gladys Robinson wins. Marcus Brandon wins. Phil Wadsworth and CB Goins head into a run-off, with 32.5 and 23.7 percent of the vote respectively.
Trudy Wade wins the Republican primary in NC Senate District 28, with 64.7 percent of the vote.
John Faircloth beats out three opponents to win the Republican primary in NC House District 61, avoiding a runoff with 42.6 percent of the vote.
Incumbent John Blust wins the Republican primary in NC House District 62 by a landslide with 72.0 percent of the vote, over challenger Michael Garrett.
Bill Bencini wins the Republican primary for Guilford County Commission District 2 by 74.0 percent.
Incumbent Linda Shaw wins the Republican primary for Guilford County Commission District 3 against two challengers with 55.2 percent of the vote.
Incumbent BJ Barnes gets the most convincing win of the night in the Republican primary for Guilford County sheriff with 90.1 percent.
Nancy R. Routh leads balloting in the Guilford County School Board at large race, and will face second-place finisher Lisa Ingle Clapp in November.
Challenger Ed Price leads balloting in the Guilford County School Board District 2 race, with 55 percent of the vote, followed by incumbent Garth Hebert, with 27.3 percent of the vote. The two candidates will advance to the general election in November.
Gladys Robinson (left) is the hand-picked successor of sitting state senator Katie Dorsett in District 28.
Arrests taking place at Greensboro city hall
Five protesters are arrested at Melvin Municipal Office Building in Greensboro during a city council meeting. (photos by Quentin L. Richardson)YES! Weekly correspondent Quentin Richardson reports that protesters chanting "the sit-in movement is still alive" are getting arrested at Melvin Municipal Office Building in downtown Greensboro.
UPDATE: From Editor Brian Clarey: One person has been arrested.
UPDATE 2: A press released received earlier today from the Rev. Nelson Johnson states, "There is a group of young people in Greensboro, NC that have identified themselves as the Spirit of the Sit-In Movement Initiative....
"This group has made three presentations to the city council of Greensboro during the speakers from the floor segment of the agenda. Tonight the SSIMI will make another presentation to the city council of Greensboro and continue to make an address some of the deep issues race and social justice [sic]."
As noted in the press release, the group's purpose is "to build a network of movements committed to connecting, mobilizing and building a collective voice with marginalized members of our community by helping them claim their power and by moving their struggles to the forefront of the community."
UPDATE 3: Fahiym Hanna, who witnessed the disturbance, says that five people were arrested. During the speakers from the floor segment of the meeting, Hanna said members of the Spirit of the Sit-In Movement Initiative spoke to council. Members of the group have been coming regularly to council meetings and speaking about issues of concern to them, such as their desire for a police review board, the discrimination lawsuit filed by black police officers and what they perceive as aggressive behavior by the Greensboro Police Department gang squad.
During the intermission at tonight's meeting, about 10 people associated with the Spirit of the Sit-In Movement Initiative went up and took seats on the dais where members of council sit, Hanna said, and began to discuss the items on their agenda.
The protesters were moved out of council chambers, Hanna said, and down to the mezzanine on the plaza level. At that point, five of them linked arms, sat down on the floor and refused to budge for about half an hour.
Hanna said he did not know what the charges were. Those arrested were Carlyle Phillips, Cherrell Brown, Wesley Morris and Jonathan Johnson and a fifth person whose name is not known at this time.
UPDATE 4: A correction to the names of the five who were arrested: Cherrell Brown, Jonathan Johnson, Carlyle Phillips, Clarence Hunt and Wesley Morris.
UPDATE 4: A press release issued by community organizer Joseph Frierson and two other activists reports a minor difference from Hanna's account. The press release states that Brown was arrested at the council members seats, while the other four were arrested downstairs.
According to the press release, the group has appealed to NC Attorney General Roy Cooper "to intervene in what it called an entangled web of criminality and double standards," and has made several demands to city council, including
• "That the gang unit, charged with being lawless and out of control, be suspended and a Citizens Review Commission be established to determine the gang unit's fate;
• "That a Citizens Review Commission be established to investigate all of the [sic] constitute what the young group has called a subculture of corruption and double standards in the police department; and
• "That current police chief [sic] is ordered to respond to 97 questions submitted by a group of clergy [the Pulpit Forum]. These questions point toward serious ethical and criminal violations within the department."
The press release states that a "sit-in rally" will take place tomorrow at 3 p.m. in front of the Melvin Municipal Office Building.
UPDATE 5: An press release from the Greensboro Police Department states that the five protesters were charged with second-degree trespass. After being processed, they were released by the magistrate on a written promise to appear in court.
Five protesters, led by Cherrell Brown, emerge from the Guilford County Jail after being released on promise to appear in court.
Early election returns
Early voting numbers show Elaine Marshall with a clear lead in the Democratic primary for US Senate, with 38.7 percent of the vote, followed by Cal Cunningham, with 23.1 percent and Ken Lewis with 18.8 percent.
If the current pattern holds, Marshall could wind up with the most votes, but be forced into a runoff with either Cunningham or Lewis. Candidates need at least 40 percent to earn a clear win and avoid a runoff.
UPDATE:
On the Republican side, Richard Burr clearly leads his three challengers with 81.9 percent of the vote.
Republican incumbents defending house seats are also faring well. District 6 representative Howard Coble has 76.7 percent of the vote, while his nearest challenger Billy Yow has 11.7 percent.
Likewise, District 5 representative Virginia Foxx has 78.8 percent. Barring a dramatic reversal, Coble and Foxx will not have to worry about runoffs.
UPDATE:
Tea Party activist Bill Randall leads balloting in the District 13 race, with 36.4 percent, although still shy of the magic 40 percent mark. His nearest opponent is Raleigh Metro Magazine publisher Bernie Reeves, with 23.2 percent.
If the current pattern holds, Marshall could wind up with the most votes, but be forced into a runoff with either Cunningham or Lewis. Candidates need at least 40 percent to earn a clear win and avoid a runoff.
UPDATE:
On the Republican side, Richard Burr clearly leads his three challengers with 81.9 percent of the vote.
Republican incumbents defending house seats are also faring well. District 6 representative Howard Coble has 76.7 percent of the vote, while his nearest challenger Billy Yow has 11.7 percent.
Likewise, District 5 representative Virginia Foxx has 78.8 percent. Barring a dramatic reversal, Coble and Foxx will not have to worry about runoffs.
UPDATE:
Tea Party activist Bill Randall leads balloting in the District 13 race, with 36.4 percent, although still shy of the magic 40 percent mark. His nearest opponent is Raleigh Metro Magazine publisher Bernie Reeves, with 23.2 percent.
Low turnout in Greensboro and Winston-Salem
Several precincts that I have visited in Greensboro are reporting low turnout compared to last fall's municipal elections. Keith Barber reports much the same in Winston-Salem.
I found a pair of Billy Yow volunteers working the polls Irving Park Elementary and Sternberger Elementary, two active precincts in the 6th Congressional District in Greensboro. Based on that anecdote, it would seem that the Yow campaign has an organizing advantage over its four rivals.
NC House District 60 candidate Marcus Brandon and Guilford County Sheriff candidate CB Goins were talking to voters outside Vandalia Presbyterian Church in Greensboro. Brandon, who is challenging incumbent Earl Jones, started the day in High Point, which is also part of the district. He told me that 176 people participated in early voting in High Point.
"I accounted for 141 myself personally," he said.
The Brandon campaign held a series of cookouts in High Point, and transported voters to the board of elections to vote.
If turnout ends up being as dismal as expected, that margin might be enough to put him over.
The polls remain open in Forsyth and Guilford counties until 7:30. If you haven't voted yet, you still have time to do your part. To find out where your polling place is located, check your voting card or visit the respective websites of the Forsyth and Guilford boards of election.
I found a pair of Billy Yow volunteers working the polls Irving Park Elementary and Sternberger Elementary, two active precincts in the 6th Congressional District in Greensboro. Based on that anecdote, it would seem that the Yow campaign has an organizing advantage over its four rivals.
NC House District 60 candidate Marcus Brandon and Guilford County Sheriff candidate CB Goins were talking to voters outside Vandalia Presbyterian Church in Greensboro. Brandon, who is challenging incumbent Earl Jones, started the day in High Point, which is also part of the district. He told me that 176 people participated in early voting in High Point.
"I accounted for 141 myself personally," he said.
The Brandon campaign held a series of cookouts in High Point, and transported voters to the board of elections to vote.
If turnout ends up being as dismal as expected, that margin might be enough to put him over.
The polls remain open in Forsyth and Guilford counties until 7:30. If you haven't voted yet, you still have time to do your part. To find out where your polling place is located, check your voting card or visit the respective websites of the Forsyth and Guilford boards of election.
Forsyth school board candidates claim CHANGE supports 'forced busing'
A palm card for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education candidate Jeannie Metcalf circulating outside the RJ Reynolds High School polling location this afternoon stated that the Winston-Salem chapter of Communities Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment, or CHANGE, supports "forced busing" as a replacement for the current school choice plan.
"The CHANGE organization got our election changed to nonpartisan in order to replace our parental choice assignment plan with forced busing," the card reads. "If we lose 2 conservative incumbents in this election, forced busing will be back."
The card is signed, "Your conservative school board candidate for 16 years — Jeannie Metcalf."
On April 24, incumbent school board member AL "Buddy" Collins sent out a message on the social networking website Facebook that stated the following: "CHANGE is a community organization whose undeclared mission is to defeat the incumbent school board and replace incumbent school board members with members who advocate forced busing to achieve some predetermined ratio of poor students with non poor students."
Collins goes on to say that voters who believe in parental choice in school assignment should vote for him and Metcalf as well as incumbents Donny Lambeth, Jane Goins, Marilyn Parker, Jill Tackabery and Vic Johnson.
"If any three of these members are replaced with individuals supported by CHANGE then a return to forced busing school assignment plan inevitable," the message states.
Last year, CHANGE scored a monumental legislative victory when the NC General Assembly passed House Bill 833, which made Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education elections nonpartisan. Last month, CHANGE, a community organizing group composed of 54 local church congregations, released the results of its survey of school board incumbents and challengers regarding three initiatives dealing with comprehensive family engagement, ending the general practice of out-of-school suspension, and finding an alternative to the current student assignment or “school choice” plan.
According to the survey, Metcalf said she did not support the group's initiative to end the general practice of out-of-school suspension except in cases meeting strict safety criteria, nor did she support CHANGE's proposal to explore alternatives to the current student assignment plan to increase diversity and improve student achievement.Collins' answer to the out-of-school suspension question was deemed "unclear," and he said "no" to exploring alternatives to the student assignment plan.
Neither Collins nor Metcalf returned calls for this story.
"The CHANGE organization got our election changed to nonpartisan in order to replace our parental choice assignment plan with forced busing," the card reads. "If we lose 2 conservative incumbents in this election, forced busing will be back."
The card is signed, "Your conservative school board candidate for 16 years — Jeannie Metcalf."
On April 24, incumbent school board member AL "Buddy" Collins sent out a message on the social networking website Facebook that stated the following: "CHANGE is a community organization whose undeclared mission is to defeat the incumbent school board and replace incumbent school board members with members who advocate forced busing to achieve some predetermined ratio of poor students with non poor students."
Collins goes on to say that voters who believe in parental choice in school assignment should vote for him and Metcalf as well as incumbents Donny Lambeth, Jane Goins, Marilyn Parker, Jill Tackabery and Vic Johnson.
"If any three of these members are replaced with individuals supported by CHANGE then a return to forced busing school assignment plan inevitable," the message states.
Last year, CHANGE scored a monumental legislative victory when the NC General Assembly passed House Bill 833, which made Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education elections nonpartisan. Last month, CHANGE, a community organizing group composed of 54 local church congregations, released the results of its survey of school board incumbents and challengers regarding three initiatives dealing with comprehensive family engagement, ending the general practice of out-of-school suspension, and finding an alternative to the current student assignment or “school choice” plan.
According to the survey, Metcalf said she did not support the group's initiative to end the general practice of out-of-school suspension except in cases meeting strict safety criteria, nor did she support CHANGE's proposal to explore alternatives to the current student assignment plan to increase diversity and improve student achievement.Collins' answer to the out-of-school suspension question was deemed "unclear," and he said "no" to exploring alternatives to the student assignment plan.
Neither Collins nor Metcalf returned calls for this story.
Carolina Peacemaker editorial on Tea Party challenged
An editorial published in a recent issue of the Carolina Peacemaker contains explosive revelations about an April 15 Tea Party event that the rest of us in the news media appeared to have overlooked.
“If you were brave enough to go over to the plaza, last Thursday, you would have heard words that would turn any decent person’s stomach,” read the piece attributed to the newspaper’s editorial board, comprised of Editor Afrique Kilimanjaro, columnist Bill Howard and copy editor Gabriel Fraire. “Chants of White Power, the N-word, and threats could be heard from the stage and others among the audience. The only thing missing were the white sheets. One person noted, ‘At least I didn’t see any nooses.’”
I was in the midst of the audience working as a reporter for all but the first 5 to 10 minutes. YES! Weekly Art Director Devender Sellars was present for the vast majority of the event taking photographs in a separate area from me. We met up at the end and compared notes. Neither of us recall hearing any chants of “white power” or the N-word. The Tea Party event was the primary scene for my cover story about the movement of the same name. If I had heard such epithets, I don’t mind saying that I would have reported them with relish.
I did hear someone yell, “Kick his ass,” while the police hustled away an anti-Tea Party demonstrator, but I also heard someone else yell, “Let him speak.”
It seems that no one else heard the chants and racial epithets except Peacemaker columnist Bill Howard, not News & Record reporter Dioni Wise, not bloggers Roch Smith Jr., Samuel Spagnola or Joseph Guarino.
Will the Carolina Peacemaker recant its editorial and publish a retraction?
“If you were brave enough to go over to the plaza, last Thursday, you would have heard words that would turn any decent person’s stomach,” read the piece attributed to the newspaper’s editorial board, comprised of Editor Afrique Kilimanjaro, columnist Bill Howard and copy editor Gabriel Fraire. “Chants of White Power, the N-word, and threats could be heard from the stage and others among the audience. The only thing missing were the white sheets. One person noted, ‘At least I didn’t see any nooses.’”
I was in the midst of the audience working as a reporter for all but the first 5 to 10 minutes. YES! Weekly Art Director Devender Sellars was present for the vast majority of the event taking photographs in a separate area from me. We met up at the end and compared notes. Neither of us recall hearing any chants of “white power” or the N-word. The Tea Party event was the primary scene for my cover story about the movement of the same name. If I had heard such epithets, I don’t mind saying that I would have reported them with relish.
I did hear someone yell, “Kick his ass,” while the police hustled away an anti-Tea Party demonstrator, but I also heard someone else yell, “Let him speak.”
It seems that no one else heard the chants and racial epithets except Peacemaker columnist Bill Howard, not News & Record reporter Dioni Wise, not bloggers Roch Smith Jr., Samuel Spagnola or Joseph Guarino.
Will the Carolina Peacemaker recant its editorial and publish a retraction?
Early voting numbers favor Republicans in Guilford
Registered Democrats in Forsyth County who participated in early voting outnumbered their Republican counterparts about two to one, Election Director Rob Coffman says. That's in a county where registered Democrats make up 45.9 percent of the electorate, and Republicans 33.0 percent.
In Guilford County, the trend is running in the opposite direction, with Republicans showing stronger turnout. Of the approximately 5,110 people who participated in early voting, 39.3 percent were Republican. Republicans make up 29.1 percent of the electorate. The percentage of Democrats that participated in early voting is lower than the Democrats' overall share of the electorate.
High levels of interest among Republicans in Guilford County would seem to bode well for Republican candidates in state legislative races in the fall.
Likely Republican nominee Trudy Wade would ordinarily face an uphill battle in NC Senate District 28, whose electorate is 58.6 percent Democratic, but she might have a shot this year going up against either of the Democratic contenders, who lack the kind of widespread name recognition that comes with experience in elected office. If Democrat Bruce Davis garners enough signatures to get on the ballot as an independent, that will peel off a significant number of Democratic votes and potentially spoil it for the Democratic nominee. High turnout among Republicans only helps Wade more.
High turnout among Republicans could also help Republican Tea Party activist Jeff Hyde, who is running in NC Senate District 27, where Democratic registration runs at 52.6 percent. Hyde's challenge is that he is virtually unknown, while one-term incumbent Democrat Don Vaughan has built up a large reservoir of goodwill and name recognition through his decades of service on the Greensboro City Council and his law practice.
A Republican surge also makes races in NC House districts 57 and 59 worth watching. If Jon Hardister wins the Republican primary, he can be expected to run an energetic campaign with ample grassroots support in District 57, whose registration is 51.1 percent Democratic. Democratic incumbent Pricey Harrison is a formidable fundraiser and is at the top of her game policy wise, so she will be tough to beat.
The most vulnerable Democrat this year might turn out to be Maggie Jeffus, who faces a fiscal conservative ideologue in Republican opponent Theresa Yon. The Republican candidate is agitating against the federal healthcare bill. As a Republican Party fundraiser, she's in a position to call in a lot of favors. Also, she was recruited to run by Republican NC Rep. John Blust.
Across the state, Democrats and Republicans participated in early voting at rates that closely reflected their respective shares of the electorate, with neither interest in unseating Republican US Sen. Richard Burr on the left or Tea Party excitement on the right doing much to change the balance.
In Guilford County, the trend is running in the opposite direction, with Republicans showing stronger turnout. Of the approximately 5,110 people who participated in early voting, 39.3 percent were Republican. Republicans make up 29.1 percent of the electorate. The percentage of Democrats that participated in early voting is lower than the Democrats' overall share of the electorate.
High levels of interest among Republicans in Guilford County would seem to bode well for Republican candidates in state legislative races in the fall.
Likely Republican nominee Trudy Wade would ordinarily face an uphill battle in NC Senate District 28, whose electorate is 58.6 percent Democratic, but she might have a shot this year going up against either of the Democratic contenders, who lack the kind of widespread name recognition that comes with experience in elected office. If Democrat Bruce Davis garners enough signatures to get on the ballot as an independent, that will peel off a significant number of Democratic votes and potentially spoil it for the Democratic nominee. High turnout among Republicans only helps Wade more.
High turnout among Republicans could also help Republican Tea Party activist Jeff Hyde, who is running in NC Senate District 27, where Democratic registration runs at 52.6 percent. Hyde's challenge is that he is virtually unknown, while one-term incumbent Democrat Don Vaughan has built up a large reservoir of goodwill and name recognition through his decades of service on the Greensboro City Council and his law practice.
A Republican surge also makes races in NC House districts 57 and 59 worth watching. If Jon Hardister wins the Republican primary, he can be expected to run an energetic campaign with ample grassroots support in District 57, whose registration is 51.1 percent Democratic. Democratic incumbent Pricey Harrison is a formidable fundraiser and is at the top of her game policy wise, so she will be tough to beat.
The most vulnerable Democrat this year might turn out to be Maggie Jeffus, who faces a fiscal conservative ideologue in Republican opponent Theresa Yon. The Republican candidate is agitating against the federal healthcare bill. As a Republican Party fundraiser, she's in a position to call in a lot of favors. Also, she was recruited to run by Republican NC Rep. John Blust.
Across the state, Democrats and Republicans participated in early voting at rates that closely reflected their respective shares of the electorate, with neither interest in unseating Republican US Sen. Richard Burr on the left or Tea Party excitement on the right doing much to change the balance.
Preserving Brian Clarey's right to vote
Voters who are not registered with the Democrat, Republican or Libertarian parties are allowed to choose which partisan ballot they prefer in the primary. Apparently, not every election worker is aware of that fact.
YES! Weekly Editor Brian Clarey found that out the hard way when he went to vote at Rankin Elementary in northeast Greensboro this morning. As a result of human error on the part of an election worker, he was unable to cast his vote in important US Senate, congressional, state legislative and sheriff races. As discouraging as the experience was, it also serves as a lesson in how many problems at the polls can be rectified.
Clarey went to his polling place determined to vote Republican this year.
“I had been thinking about it all week,” he said. “There’s a lot more action on the Republican side. That’s why I’m an independent.”
The voter formed signed by Clarey indicates that he asked for the Republican ballot.
“They put the sticker on the paper. I signed my name,” Clarey recounted. “The old guy shuffled off to the machine. Confused, I could tell. Because he kept looking at the machine, at the paper, at the machine, at the paper.
“I said, ‘I’m an independent, so I get to choose,’” Clarey recalled. “He said, ‘Oh, you’re supposed to choose over there.’ He said, ‘Here it is,’ and he pressed the nonpartisan button.”
It appears that Clarey’s vote went awry in the final stage of execution.
“The law and our instructions are clear,” Guilford County Deputy Elections Director Charlie Collicutt said. “They say when an unaffiliated voter come in, you ask them which partisan primary they want to vote in or if they want to vote nonpartisan. That’s the way it’s supposed to happen. We emphasize that in our training and in our handbook.”
And that’s the way it almost went. Collicutt later called the precinct and discovered that the R for “Republican” was circled on Clarey’s voter form.
“On the voting machine you will see Democrat, Republican or unaffiliated,” Collicutt said. “At that final step, that voting machine operator did not do what he was supposed to do. I don’t know whether he wasn’t following the law or had had brain freeze or what.”
Clarey was only able to vote for school board and state court of appeals judges.
“He said, ‘I’m sorry, too late, there’s nothing I can do,’” Clarey said. “I left with a bad taste.”
Actually, Collicutt said, the election worker does have the ability to change the ballot before the voter makes her selections and casts the ballot.
“In my defense, it was early, and I hadn’t had much coffee,” Clarey said.
Now that the electronic ballot has already been cast, Collicutt said he has asked the precinct judge to allow Clarey to come back and fill out a provisional ballot. He’ll be allowed to vote only for partisan races to avoid voting twice for judges and school board members. The provisional ballot will be counted during the board of elections’ canvass next week.
“I’m going to tell them to give him a provisional ballot,” Collicutt said, “and see what the heck is going on out there.”
YES! Weekly Editor Brian Clarey found that out the hard way when he went to vote at Rankin Elementary in northeast Greensboro this morning. As a result of human error on the part of an election worker, he was unable to cast his vote in important US Senate, congressional, state legislative and sheriff races. As discouraging as the experience was, it also serves as a lesson in how many problems at the polls can be rectified.
Clarey went to his polling place determined to vote Republican this year.
“I had been thinking about it all week,” he said. “There’s a lot more action on the Republican side. That’s why I’m an independent.”
The voter formed signed by Clarey indicates that he asked for the Republican ballot.
“They put the sticker on the paper. I signed my name,” Clarey recounted. “The old guy shuffled off to the machine. Confused, I could tell. Because he kept looking at the machine, at the paper, at the machine, at the paper.
“I said, ‘I’m an independent, so I get to choose,’” Clarey recalled. “He said, ‘Oh, you’re supposed to choose over there.’ He said, ‘Here it is,’ and he pressed the nonpartisan button.”
It appears that Clarey’s vote went awry in the final stage of execution.
“The law and our instructions are clear,” Guilford County Deputy Elections Director Charlie Collicutt said. “They say when an unaffiliated voter come in, you ask them which partisan primary they want to vote in or if they want to vote nonpartisan. That’s the way it’s supposed to happen. We emphasize that in our training and in our handbook.”
And that’s the way it almost went. Collicutt later called the precinct and discovered that the R for “Republican” was circled on Clarey’s voter form.
“On the voting machine you will see Democrat, Republican or unaffiliated,” Collicutt said. “At that final step, that voting machine operator did not do what he was supposed to do. I don’t know whether he wasn’t following the law or had had brain freeze or what.”
Clarey was only able to vote for school board and state court of appeals judges.
“He said, ‘I’m sorry, too late, there’s nothing I can do,’” Clarey said. “I left with a bad taste.”
Actually, Collicutt said, the election worker does have the ability to change the ballot before the voter makes her selections and casts the ballot.
“In my defense, it was early, and I hadn’t had much coffee,” Clarey said.
Now that the electronic ballot has already been cast, Collicutt said he has asked the precinct judge to allow Clarey to come back and fill out a provisional ballot. He’ll be allowed to vote only for partisan races to avoid voting twice for judges and school board members. The provisional ballot will be counted during the board of elections’ canvass next week.
“I’m going to tell them to give him a provisional ballot,” Collicutt said, “and see what the heck is going on out there.”
Research candidates on the ballot in the Triad
Researching candidates at the last minute to decide how to cast your vote on Tuesday? Visit YES! Weekly's Triad Elections '10 website to learn the candidate's positions on the issues, how they conducted themselves during the campaign, and who we endorsed.
At the top of the ballot are US Senate candidates, while contenders for the NC Court of Appeals bench and school boards in Forsyth and Guilford counties are at the bottom. In between are races for NC Senate, NC House, sheriff and clerk of superior court.
At the top of the ballot are US Senate candidates, while contenders for the NC Court of Appeals bench and school boards in Forsyth and Guilford counties are at the bottom. In between are races for NC Senate, NC House, sheriff and clerk of superior court.
City defends proposed cuts to playgrounds, school crossing guard programs
Greensboro City Manager Rashad Young defended a proposal to eliminate summer park programs and school crossing guard programs during a budget town hall meeting at Greensboro Historical Museum on Monday.
Six of the affected parks are located in District 1 in the city’s southeast quadrant, while four are located in District 5, in the southwest quadrant. Two each are located in districts 2 and 3, and one is located in District 4. District 1 also bears the brunt of cuts to the crossing guard program, with 9 locations there, compared to eight across the four other districts.
Young has asked all departments to make cuts to close a $9.5 million budget gap. The parks and recreation department has been asked to cut $800,000.
Parks and Recreation Director Greg Jackson said the city is considering increasing the number of slots at recreation centers to absorb the children who will no longer be served by city employees on duty at parks during the daytime. The city might offer scholarships or waive fees, he added.
“It’s truly a more structured program, as opposed to a playground where kids can just come and go as they please, so if they come to a rec center, they have to stay there during the whole day from the time their parents drop them off in the morning until they pick them up in the afternoon.”
The city would save $94,000 by eliminating staffing at the playgrounds, Jackson said.
Young said every cent of cuts to the parks and recreation budget will affect children in some way.
“Everything they do is for children,” he said. “We’re cutting $800,000…. If we didn’t cut this, we’d be cutting rec programs in the summer. We’d be cutting athletic programs that kids participate in. We wouldn’t be making neighborhood pool repairs.”
Southeast Greensboro resident Sharon Hightower argued that cutting the summer playground program is likely to exact the severest impact on poor children.
“These are kids that are on free and reduced lunch,” she said. “A lot of them have parents who do work that just work on such a low, limited income that that’s why they fall into the criteria, and now you’re depending on them for transportation.”
The elimination of the school crossing guard program under consideration by the city would save an estimated $339,000.
“My issue and concern is the service business that we are in,” Young said. “We’re not in the education business. We don’t transport young people to school. For just one aspect of transportation – walking – we have assumed responsibility to make sure they have safe passage. But that is not a function, in my view of city government, particularly when we’re trying to deal with a deficit that we’re trying to deal with and focus on our core services.”
Young said that he has spoken with Guilford County Schools Superintendent Mo Green about having the public schools take over responsibility for the program, but the schools are facing a difficult budget situation also.
James Smith, a New Irving Park resident in District 3, challenged the city manager to find a way to maintain the program.
“At the end of the day, the safety of children is our number-one priority,” Smith said. “We might not be in the school business, but we ought to be in the people safety business.”
Young also discussed bond spending for the year. The city is planning to spend $40 million in bonds approved in 2000, 2006, 2008 and 2009 in fiscal year 2010-2011. That is the maximum amount the city can spend without raising taxes or restructuring its debt in a way that would negatively affect its bond rating.
A handful of residents from the Aycock Historic District attended the meeting, and asked Young to expedite streetscaping improvements on Summit Avenue in conjunction with construction of the Downtown Greenway. The proposed bond schedule allocates $1.5 million for construction of the Murrow Boulevard leg of the greenway, but Young said he did not know whether money for Summit Avenue is in the project budget for the coming fiscal year or the next. The 2010-2011 list includes $4 million for street improvements, mainly for Horsepen Creek Road, while the following year includes $7 million for street improvements.
Young said the city is currently planning to eliminate about 60 positions, including about 20 that are currently filled to help close the budget gap.
“Unfortunately, there will be filled positions that will be affected,” Young said. “Those individuals will be either placed in other positions, if we have them, or – what is a likely scenario – be jobless come July 1.”
Six of the affected parks are located in District 1 in the city’s southeast quadrant, while four are located in District 5, in the southwest quadrant. Two each are located in districts 2 and 3, and one is located in District 4. District 1 also bears the brunt of cuts to the crossing guard program, with 9 locations there, compared to eight across the four other districts.
Young has asked all departments to make cuts to close a $9.5 million budget gap. The parks and recreation department has been asked to cut $800,000.
Parks and Recreation Director Greg Jackson said the city is considering increasing the number of slots at recreation centers to absorb the children who will no longer be served by city employees on duty at parks during the daytime. The city might offer scholarships or waive fees, he added.
“It’s truly a more structured program, as opposed to a playground where kids can just come and go as they please, so if they come to a rec center, they have to stay there during the whole day from the time their parents drop them off in the morning until they pick them up in the afternoon.”
The city would save $94,000 by eliminating staffing at the playgrounds, Jackson said.
Young said every cent of cuts to the parks and recreation budget will affect children in some way.
“Everything they do is for children,” he said. “We’re cutting $800,000…. If we didn’t cut this, we’d be cutting rec programs in the summer. We’d be cutting athletic programs that kids participate in. We wouldn’t be making neighborhood pool repairs.”
Southeast Greensboro resident Sharon Hightower argued that cutting the summer playground program is likely to exact the severest impact on poor children.
“These are kids that are on free and reduced lunch,” she said. “A lot of them have parents who do work that just work on such a low, limited income that that’s why they fall into the criteria, and now you’re depending on them for transportation.”
The elimination of the school crossing guard program under consideration by the city would save an estimated $339,000.
“My issue and concern is the service business that we are in,” Young said. “We’re not in the education business. We don’t transport young people to school. For just one aspect of transportation – walking – we have assumed responsibility to make sure they have safe passage. But that is not a function, in my view of city government, particularly when we’re trying to deal with a deficit that we’re trying to deal with and focus on our core services.”
Young said that he has spoken with Guilford County Schools Superintendent Mo Green about having the public schools take over responsibility for the program, but the schools are facing a difficult budget situation also.
James Smith, a New Irving Park resident in District 3, challenged the city manager to find a way to maintain the program.
“At the end of the day, the safety of children is our number-one priority,” Smith said. “We might not be in the school business, but we ought to be in the people safety business.”
Young also discussed bond spending for the year. The city is planning to spend $40 million in bonds approved in 2000, 2006, 2008 and 2009 in fiscal year 2010-2011. That is the maximum amount the city can spend without raising taxes or restructuring its debt in a way that would negatively affect its bond rating.
A handful of residents from the Aycock Historic District attended the meeting, and asked Young to expedite streetscaping improvements on Summit Avenue in conjunction with construction of the Downtown Greenway. The proposed bond schedule allocates $1.5 million for construction of the Murrow Boulevard leg of the greenway, but Young said he did not know whether money for Summit Avenue is in the project budget for the coming fiscal year or the next. The 2010-2011 list includes $4 million for street improvements, mainly for Horsepen Creek Road, while the following year includes $7 million for street improvements.
Young said the city is currently planning to eliminate about 60 positions, including about 20 that are currently filled to help close the budget gap.
“Unfortunately, there will be filled positions that will be affected,” Young said. “Those individuals will be either placed in other positions, if we have them, or – what is a likely scenario – be jobless come July 1.”
Ken Lewis endorsed by historian Tim Tyson
A lot of endorsements have been collected by each of the three leading Democratic candidates for US Senate. Garnering the support of a cultural figure, historian and contemporary observer the likes of Tim Tyson is significant in my book. Most well known for his memoir, Blood Done Sign My Name, the North Carolina native has penned several seminal book recounting our state's history.
Tyson compares Lewis to Barack Obama, the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry North Carolina since Jimmy Carter:
Tyson also describes Lewis in the context of the state's historical struggle over white supremacy:
For the record, YES! Weekly endorsed Elaine Marshall.
Tyson compares Lewis to Barack Obama, the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry North Carolina since Jimmy Carter:
In 2008, we discovered that the old political era was over. The “inevitable” Democratic candidate came to North Carolina with the endorsement of the governor and the support of the party machinery. Barack Obama beat the Anointed One by fifteen points in the primary, then came back and took North Carolina in the general election. He did so by igniting minority voters, young people, and progressives to crack the Republican Party’s “Southern strategy” right here in the land of Jesse Helms. Turns out it was turnout all along.
Tyson also describes Lewis in the context of the state's historical struggle over white supremacy:
I first met Ken Lewis during a classroom discussion about the 1890s 'Fusion coalition' in North Carolina, a visionary interracial political alliance that swept our state legislature, the governor’s race, and both US Senate seats more than a century ago. That coalition never lost at the polls—they were only defeated when the Conservatives resorted to violence, fraud, and racial demagoguery. But as I listened to this brilliant, well-spoken and warm-hearted young North Carolinian talk about our past and our future, I began to think that Ken Lewis might represent a new “fusion coalition” for a new North Carolina.
For the record, YES! Weekly endorsed Elaine Marshall.
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