Political consultant Bill Burckley, who has just seen a copy the Simkins PAC's sample ballot, says the committee has made the following primary endorsements:
• Ken Lewis for US Senate;
• No preference for NC Senate 28;
• Alma Adams for NC House 58;
• Earl Jones for NC House 60;
• Phil Wadsworth for Sheriff in the Democratic primary;
• Linda Shaw for Guilford County Commission District 3 in the Republican primary;
• Jane Gray for NC Court of Appeals (Calabria seat);
• Rick Elmore for NC Court of Appeals (Elmore seat); and
• Nancy Routh for Guilford County School Board at large.
In NC Senate District 28, sitting representative Katie Dorsett's sudden withdrawal and anointing of Gladys Robinson has divided the black political establishment. Burckley told me that when he learned of the substitution at the end of filing in February, he immediately called Earl Jones, one of his clients, and advised him to call Bruce Davis, a High Point member of the Guilford County Commission, to tell him that neither he nor the PAC had anything to do with the scheme.
Davis ran unsuccessfully for the NC Senate District 28 seat two years ago, and has expressed anger at Dorsett's about-face. He is collecting signatures to get on the ballot in November as an independent candidate. Burckley said he was worried that Davis would blame Jones for what happened and endorse Jones' opponent, Marcus Brandon.
Two of the PAC's endorsements are no surprise: Adams and Jones are both members of the PAC, and are receiving its backing.
UPDATE: I've been wondering whether the rival Guilford County Community PAC, whose membership includes several black community leaders including pastor and local NAACP president the Rev. Cardes Brown, would make endorsements in this primary. I've received an answer: Millicent Lee, the PAC's treasurer, says they will not.
Showing posts with label Simkins PAC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Simkins PAC. Show all posts
Joe Williams, the Simkins PAC and the White Street Landfill
One of the signatories on a sign-in sheet for "proposals to design, finance and permit the development and operation of a long-term solid waste management infrastructure system" for the city of Greensboro is local attorney Joseph A. Williams.
Williams was submitting a proposal on behalf of Waste Industries, a private company that would like to reopen the White Street Landfill.
Williams at one time was a voting member of the Simkins PAC, a group of black leaders that interviews candidates for office, votes by secret ballot on which candidates to endorse and then mails its recommendations to black voters. When I wrote about the PAC last August, Chairman Steve Bowden would not tell me the names of the voting members, so I am not certain whether Williams remains involved or not.
Candidates for office were asked to state their position on the possible reopening of the White Street Landfill last fall, and after the election, Bowden told me "the main issue for [the black community] is there's going to be an effort to open a dump back up in our section of town."
A description on the website for the law firm headed by the attorney Joseph A. Williams who has been involved with the Simkins PAC characterizes it as a champion of environmental justice: "They defeated some of the world's largest corporations deterring them from building environmentally degrading landfills in our communities."
The city has received nine different proposals, including options ranging from reopening the White Street Landfill using alternative technologies to opening a facility to handle the city's waste in a different part of town. Waste Industries' proposal not only calls for reopening White Street as a traditional landfill, but calls for significantly expanding it.
I quote at length from the proposal, because I think it's worth considering how explicit this is:
“To ensure that waste can be delivered to meet the proposed 1,500 tons per day, Waste Industries can divert some or all of its was from the Durham Transfer Station 600 to 800 tons per day, and direct haul solid waste it collects from other service locations in the in the Triad which amounts to approximately 500 tons per day. Not to mention future disposal contracts that can be secured for county-owned transfer stations in Stokes, Yadkin and Alleghany counties that total approximately 155 tons per day. To ensure the required volume is available, in the event of exportation by other companies, Waste Industries would request the city of Greensboro’s approval to expand its service area….
“The regional approach is the best hedge against the loss of solid waste volumes vital to the successful and revenue-generating capabilities of the White Street Landfill. In the proposal, Waste Industries offers a regional approach that consists of managing all solid waste generated in Guilford County and waste that is collected by Waste Industries within a 90-mile service radius of the White Street Landfill limited to North Carolina…. It’s important to note that with our redesign of the White Street Landfill servicing a 90-mile radius and delivering a total of 430,000 tons per year, the landfill life is estimated at 22 years just for the south side of the landfill property. Much more capacity remains in the future northern expansion area. The 90-mile service radius will dramatically increase operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness and the financial and economic development benefits to the community and the city as a whole. In addition to internalizing its own waste to ensure the success of the White Street Landfill, Waste Industries will actively and aggressively market the White Street Landfill to out-of-county private collection companies and local governments that control their collection programs and may own transfer stations. The key is staying competitive in the region to attract waste from outside of Guilford County.”
Does attorney Joseph A. Williams have a conflict of interest? I've put in my calls.
Williams was submitting a proposal on behalf of Waste Industries, a private company that would like to reopen the White Street Landfill.
Williams at one time was a voting member of the Simkins PAC, a group of black leaders that interviews candidates for office, votes by secret ballot on which candidates to endorse and then mails its recommendations to black voters. When I wrote about the PAC last August, Chairman Steve Bowden would not tell me the names of the voting members, so I am not certain whether Williams remains involved or not.
Candidates for office were asked to state their position on the possible reopening of the White Street Landfill last fall, and after the election, Bowden told me "the main issue for [the black community] is there's going to be an effort to open a dump back up in our section of town."
A description on the website for the law firm headed by the attorney Joseph A. Williams who has been involved with the Simkins PAC characterizes it as a champion of environmental justice: "They defeated some of the world's largest corporations deterring them from building environmentally degrading landfills in our communities."
The city has received nine different proposals, including options ranging from reopening the White Street Landfill using alternative technologies to opening a facility to handle the city's waste in a different part of town. Waste Industries' proposal not only calls for reopening White Street as a traditional landfill, but calls for significantly expanding it.
I quote at length from the proposal, because I think it's worth considering how explicit this is:
“To ensure that waste can be delivered to meet the proposed 1,500 tons per day, Waste Industries can divert some or all of its was from the Durham Transfer Station 600 to 800 tons per day, and direct haul solid waste it collects from other service locations in the in the Triad which amounts to approximately 500 tons per day. Not to mention future disposal contracts that can be secured for county-owned transfer stations in Stokes, Yadkin and Alleghany counties that total approximately 155 tons per day. To ensure the required volume is available, in the event of exportation by other companies, Waste Industries would request the city of Greensboro’s approval to expand its service area….
“The regional approach is the best hedge against the loss of solid waste volumes vital to the successful and revenue-generating capabilities of the White Street Landfill. In the proposal, Waste Industries offers a regional approach that consists of managing all solid waste generated in Guilford County and waste that is collected by Waste Industries within a 90-mile service radius of the White Street Landfill limited to North Carolina…. It’s important to note that with our redesign of the White Street Landfill servicing a 90-mile radius and delivering a total of 430,000 tons per year, the landfill life is estimated at 22 years just for the south side of the landfill property. Much more capacity remains in the future northern expansion area. The 90-mile service radius will dramatically increase operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness and the financial and economic development benefits to the community and the city as a whole. In addition to internalizing its own waste to ensure the success of the White Street Landfill, Waste Industries will actively and aggressively market the White Street Landfill to out-of-county private collection companies and local governments that control their collection programs and may own transfer stations. The key is staying competitive in the region to attract waste from outside of Guilford County.”
Does attorney Joseph A. Williams have a conflict of interest? I've put in my calls.
Simkins PAC endorsements
Not sure if anyone has written about this, so I'll confirm that John Hammer's reporting about the Simkins PAC's endorsements is accurate.
The PAC endorses Yvonne Johnson for mayor; Robbie Perkins, Marikay Abuzuaiter and Nancy Vaughan for at-large; Luther T. Falls Jr. for District 1; Jim Kee for District 2; Zack Matheny for District 3; Joel Landau for District 4; and Trudy Wade for District 5. It recommends approval of the Natural Science Center bond.
The PAC only provides reasons for the three African-American candidates that received its endorsement.
For Yvonne Johnson, the mailing reasons: "Our mayor has made us proud, improved this city and will continue this effort."
In endorsing Falls over incumbent Dianne Bellamy-Small in District 1, the PAC would appear to be testing its clout. "He is the change that District 1 needs," the mailing reads. "He will fight for the people of this district to increase police presence, to stop crime, focus on economic improvements and respond to the wishes of the district."
Jim Kee "has worked in [District 2] for years on community issues and will do the same on the council."
The mailing also includes quite a bit of historical background to establish its credentials for vetting the candidates on behalf of black voters:
"We are your George C. Simkins Jr. Memorial Political Action Committee, formally known as the 'Citizens Committee.' The 'Citizens Committee' jwas founded in the early 1960s to 'give 'our' community a voice.' Dr. George Evans, Mr. Vance Chavis, Rev. Otis Hairston, Atty. Henry Frye and Dr. George Simkins were among its founders. For more than 40 years the 'Citizens Committee' has worked for equal rights and justice in our community.
"We were there to force the issue when you needed voter registration, when you needed access to hospitals, public libraries, tennis courts, golf courses, swimming pools, public schools and restaurants.
"We were there when you needed a district system to assure African-American representation in city government, and we are still here in 2009 researching the candidates so that you can know which candidates have your best interest at heart.
"It is urgent that we vote to protect our community and advance the causes of justice and fairness. These persons are highly likely to conduct government business on an equal basis for all citizens of Guilford County."
The PAC endorses Yvonne Johnson for mayor; Robbie Perkins, Marikay Abuzuaiter and Nancy Vaughan for at-large; Luther T. Falls Jr. for District 1; Jim Kee for District 2; Zack Matheny for District 3; Joel Landau for District 4; and Trudy Wade for District 5. It recommends approval of the Natural Science Center bond.
The PAC only provides reasons for the three African-American candidates that received its endorsement.
For Yvonne Johnson, the mailing reasons: "Our mayor has made us proud, improved this city and will continue this effort."
In endorsing Falls over incumbent Dianne Bellamy-Small in District 1, the PAC would appear to be testing its clout. "He is the change that District 1 needs," the mailing reads. "He will fight for the people of this district to increase police presence, to stop crime, focus on economic improvements and respond to the wishes of the district."
Jim Kee "has worked in [District 2] for years on community issues and will do the same on the council."
The mailing also includes quite a bit of historical background to establish its credentials for vetting the candidates on behalf of black voters:
"We are your George C. Simkins Jr. Memorial Political Action Committee, formally known as the 'Citizens Committee.' The 'Citizens Committee' jwas founded in the early 1960s to 'give 'our' community a voice.' Dr. George Evans, Mr. Vance Chavis, Rev. Otis Hairston, Atty. Henry Frye and Dr. George Simkins were among its founders. For more than 40 years the 'Citizens Committee' has worked for equal rights and justice in our community.
"We were there to force the issue when you needed voter registration, when you needed access to hospitals, public libraries, tennis courts, golf courses, swimming pools, public schools and restaurants.
"We were there when you needed a district system to assure African-American representation in city government, and we are still here in 2009 researching the candidates so that you can know which candidates have your best interest at heart.
"It is urgent that we vote to protect our community and advance the causes of justice and fairness. These persons are highly likely to conduct government business on an equal basis for all citizens of Guilford County."
Endorsements from a counterweight to the Simkins PAC
The Guilford County Community PAC, a new political action committee that has filed a statement of organization with the county board of elections, presents itself as an alternative to the Simkins PAC.
The Guilford County Community PAC was founded by the Rev. Cardes Brown, pastor at New Light Missionary Baptist Church, president of the Greensboro NAACP and a recent defector from the Simkins PAC.
A flier obtained from Brown publicizes the new PAC's endorsements for Greensboro City Council and states, "Some of the Simkins PAC Greensboro City Council endorsements raise questions in our minds: What criterion was used to determine their endorsements? What service to the African-American community have they rendered?" The endorsement slate is signed by 12 "outstanding and well known citizens of our community," including Brown, Pulpit Forum President Rev. Gregory Headen, former Mayor Carolyn Allen, Nation of Islam Minister Willie Muhammad, the Rev. Howard Chubbs of Providence Baptist Church, and former Carolina Peacemaker Editor Bill Howard.
The endorsements are as follows:
• Yvonne Johnson for mayor;
• Robbie Perkins and Marikay Abuzuaiter for at-large (While there are three at-large seats on council, the PAC asks that black voters only vote for Perkins and Abuzuaiter to avoid diluting their votes in the final balloting.);
• "Dianne Bellamy-Small or Luther Falls Jr. (your choice)" for District 1;
• "Jim Kee or Nettie Coad (your choice)" for District 2;
• Neither candidate for District 3;
• Joel Landau for District 4; and
• Art Boyett for District 5.
The slate of candidates endorsed by the Guilford County Community PAC differs in some ways from those reported in The Rhinoceros Times to have received the Simkins PAC's nod.
The Simkins PAC is reportedly endorsing Perkins and Abuzuaiter for at-large, along with Nancy Vaughan.
The Simkins PAC is reportedly endorsing challenger Luther Falls Jr. over incumbent Dianne Bellamy-Small in District 1, and Jim Kee over Nettie Coad in the open District 2 race. Both are the only two majority-black districts in the city.
Incumbent Zack Matheny reportedly received the Simkins PAC's endorsement in District 3, and Wade received the nod in District 5. Aside from not endorsing the popular Bellamy-Small in District 1, the Simkins PAC's choice of Wade was perhaps the most controversial because of her role in removing former City Manager Mitchell Johnson.
Simkins PAC? Never heard of it.
My friend, Sharon Hightower with Guilford County Unity Effort, faxed me a copy of the Simkins PAC endorsements. Named after the late African-American dentist Dr. George C. Simkins Jr., the committee is comprised of black elected officials in Greensboro, and its endorsements are intended to influence the vote in the black community.
Hightower wanted me to come take a picture of her tearing the endorsement list up and tossing it in the trash.
I’m beginning to wonder: How much sway does the Simkins PAC’s endorsement list hold in the black community? And is a generational shift taking place in which younger voters are less likely than their parents to follow the lead of the black elected officials who decide which candidates get endorsed? And do the Simkins PAC endorsements swing enough votes to decide any of the contests? A more philosophical question is whether racial bloc voting makes sense in a time when class differences cut across the black community, and ideological differences divide and mutate throughout all racial and ethnic groups?
Out of curiosity, I asked my 32-year-old African-American girlfriend, who votes in a precinct whose registered voters are 85.5 percent black, what she thought about the Simkins PAC. To my surprise, she said she had never heard of it. She checked with her mother, who used to follow the PAC’s endorsements but doesn’t so much anymore, and with her uncle, who doesn’t get the endorsements and would probably throw them away if he did. She also asked her African-American coworkers at Moses Cone hospital, all 23 years old and younger, if they had heard of the Simkins PAC. None had.
For what it’s worth, here’s who the PAC is endorsing this year.
No surprises at the top of the ticket:
“We have a chance to make history by electing the first African American to the presidency of the United States of America. Barack Obama’s superior qualifications have propelled him to the position of standard bearer for the Democratic Party. We must now do our part and vote!”
And not much legwork on the US Senate race, the three congressional races or the two contested county commission races:
“For President Obama to have a successful administration and to begin resolving the problems and heal the wounds of the last eight years, he will need Democratic support on the national as well as local levels. Vote straight Democrat!
And here are the rest of the individual endorsements:
NC Supreme Court justice: Suzanne Reynolds
NC Court of Appeals judges: John C. Martin, Jim Wynn, Kristin Ruth, Cheri Beasley, Linda Stephens and Bob Hunter
District Court judge, District 18: Sherry Fowler Alloway, Susan Bray, Tabatha Holliday, Angela Foster, Michelle Fletcher, Robbie Hassell, Patrice Hinnant, Pete Hunter, Betty Brown, Polly Sizemore, Joseph Turner and Teresa Vincent
Guilford County School Board, at large: “Both candidates are well qualified. You may vote for either one.” [YES! Weekly notes both candidates in this county-wide race are African American; Sandra Alexander lives in Greensboro, while Michael McKinney lives in High Point.]
Guilford County School Board, District 1: J. Carlvena Foster [YES! Weekly notes that this is an uncontested race.]
Guilford County School Board, District 3: Darlene Garrett [YES! Weekly notes that only 9.1 percent of registered voters in this district are African American.]
Guilford County School Board, District 5: Paul Daniels [YES! Weekly notes that this is an uncontested race.]
Guilford County School Board, District 7: Kris Cooke [YES! Weekly notes that this is an uncontested race.]
Guilford County School Board, District 9: Amos Quick III [YES! Weekly notes that this is an uncontested race.]
Soil & water district supervisor: Herb Hendrickson
Guilford County 1/4-cent sales tax: “Vote against”
Greensboro transportation bonds:: “Yes”
Greensboro War Memorial Auditorium bonds:: “Yes”
Greensboro parks and recreation bonds: “Yes.”
Greensboro housing bonds: “Yes.”
Hightower wanted me to come take a picture of her tearing the endorsement list up and tossing it in the trash.
I’m beginning to wonder: How much sway does the Simkins PAC’s endorsement list hold in the black community? And is a generational shift taking place in which younger voters are less likely than their parents to follow the lead of the black elected officials who decide which candidates get endorsed? And do the Simkins PAC endorsements swing enough votes to decide any of the contests? A more philosophical question is whether racial bloc voting makes sense in a time when class differences cut across the black community, and ideological differences divide and mutate throughout all racial and ethnic groups?
Out of curiosity, I asked my 32-year-old African-American girlfriend, who votes in a precinct whose registered voters are 85.5 percent black, what she thought about the Simkins PAC. To my surprise, she said she had never heard of it. She checked with her mother, who used to follow the PAC’s endorsements but doesn’t so much anymore, and with her uncle, who doesn’t get the endorsements and would probably throw them away if he did. She also asked her African-American coworkers at Moses Cone hospital, all 23 years old and younger, if they had heard of the Simkins PAC. None had.
For what it’s worth, here’s who the PAC is endorsing this year.
No surprises at the top of the ticket:
“We have a chance to make history by electing the first African American to the presidency of the United States of America. Barack Obama’s superior qualifications have propelled him to the position of standard bearer for the Democratic Party. We must now do our part and vote!”
And not much legwork on the US Senate race, the three congressional races or the two contested county commission races:
“For President Obama to have a successful administration and to begin resolving the problems and heal the wounds of the last eight years, he will need Democratic support on the national as well as local levels. Vote straight Democrat!
And here are the rest of the individual endorsements:
NC Supreme Court justice: Suzanne Reynolds
NC Court of Appeals judges: John C. Martin, Jim Wynn, Kristin Ruth, Cheri Beasley, Linda Stephens and Bob Hunter
District Court judge, District 18: Sherry Fowler Alloway, Susan Bray, Tabatha Holliday, Angela Foster, Michelle Fletcher, Robbie Hassell, Patrice Hinnant, Pete Hunter, Betty Brown, Polly Sizemore, Joseph Turner and Teresa Vincent
Guilford County School Board, at large: “Both candidates are well qualified. You may vote for either one.” [YES! Weekly notes both candidates in this county-wide race are African American; Sandra Alexander lives in Greensboro, while Michael McKinney lives in High Point.]
Guilford County School Board, District 1: J. Carlvena Foster [YES! Weekly notes that this is an uncontested race.]
Guilford County School Board, District 3: Darlene Garrett [YES! Weekly notes that only 9.1 percent of registered voters in this district are African American.]
Guilford County School Board, District 5: Paul Daniels [YES! Weekly notes that this is an uncontested race.]
Guilford County School Board, District 7: Kris Cooke [YES! Weekly notes that this is an uncontested race.]
Guilford County School Board, District 9: Amos Quick III [YES! Weekly notes that this is an uncontested race.]
Soil & water district supervisor: Herb Hendrickson
Guilford County 1/4-cent sales tax: “Vote against”
Greensboro transportation bonds:: “Yes”
Greensboro War Memorial Auditorium bonds:: “Yes”
Greensboro parks and recreation bonds: “Yes.”
Greensboro housing bonds: “Yes.”
Simkins PAC endorses Bellamy-Small and Wade
YES! Weekly has obtained the Simkins PAC's endorsements for Greensboro City Council. They were sent by e-mail by a staff member on behalf of lawyer Steve Bowden, who currently chairs the PAC.
That the political action committee named for the late dentist Dr. George C. Simkins Jr., which exercises significant influence over the votes of many in Greensboro’s black community, would endorse Yvonne Johnson for mayor is no surprise.
Here’s their stated reason: “We have the opportunity to elect the first African-American mayor of the city of Greensboro. Yvonne has served the community as an avid spokeswoman for 14 years, 12 were as mayor pro-tem.”
The two surprises are District 1 incumbent Dianne Bellamy-Small and District 5 challenger Trudy Wade.
Bellamy-Small famously ran afoul of Simkins PAC member and NC Rep. Earl Jones in 2005 when she voted to remove the NC A&T University homecoming vendors from Lindsay Street. The political action committee gave its endorsement to Luther Falls Jr. in that election.
When I interviewed Jones in March for a cover story about Bellamy-Small, he suggested it was unlikely that Bellamy-Small would get the PAC’s nod this time around. We had talked about the many controversies that had beset Bellamy-Small since her 2005 reelection.
Here’s what he told me then:
“You can speculate. All I can tell you is we did not endorse her in the last election. None of the issues that you were talking about had come up. You draw your own conclusions.”
Here’s the official reason given for the endorsement:
“Dianne continues to work to empower District 1 in economic development, addressing crime and violence and strengthening neighborhoods.”
Wade is also a curious pick. She’s promised stronger oversight of City Manager Mitchell Johnson if elected to city council — which is understood by many of her white supporters as code for punishing the manager because he held former police Chief David Wray accountable for reported problems related to black officers being harassed and tripped up by their white colleagues, as well as reports of black officers being subjected to more stringent disciplinary measures than their white counterparts.
Incumbent Sandy Carmany, in contrast, has backed Johnson’s handling of the Wray affair. On the other hand, Carmany has probably estranged some black Greensboro residents by voting to oppose the truth and reconciliation process.
Here’s the official reason for Wade’s endorsement:
“Trudy is a proven quality. She spoke out when the NAACP was attacked by a commissioner and she is willing to work for all of Greensboro.”
Chairman Steve Bowden declined to explain how the PAC settled on Bellamy-Small and Wade.
“Each member of the PAC has one vote and those folks had the majority,” he told me by phone today. “I won’t get into the deliberations. None of the candidates gave us the exact answers we’d like hear, but we just thought Trudy Wade and Dianne Bellamy-Small were the better candidates.”
Bowden would not discuss who or how many persons comprise the voting membership of the PAC with me. It’s widely known that the PAC is made up of the black leadership of Greensboro. I’ve previously reported that NC Rep. Alma Adams, the Rev. Cardes Brown are members. I think I know who some of the other members are, but I don’t have the reporting to confirm it. If readers want to fill in the blanks, feel free to do so on this blog.
The PAC distributes its endorsements in predominately black areas of the city. Otherwise it has little visibility. It has no website, [and as it makes no campaign contributions it is not registered with the NC Board of Elections (In fact, the Simkins PAC is registered with the NC Board of Elections; corrected after publication — author)].
For the three at-large council seats, the PAC endorsed Robbie Perkins, Sandra Anderson Groat and Marikay Abuzuaiter. Not much surprise there.
The remaining district race endorsements were also to be expected: Incumbent Goldie Wells for District 2, Zack Matheny for District 3, and no endorsement for District 4, where incumbent Mike Barber is running with hardly a challenge from David Crawford.
That the political action committee named for the late dentist Dr. George C. Simkins Jr., which exercises significant influence over the votes of many in Greensboro’s black community, would endorse Yvonne Johnson for mayor is no surprise.
Here’s their stated reason: “We have the opportunity to elect the first African-American mayor of the city of Greensboro. Yvonne has served the community as an avid spokeswoman for 14 years, 12 were as mayor pro-tem.”
The two surprises are District 1 incumbent Dianne Bellamy-Small and District 5 challenger Trudy Wade.
Bellamy-Small famously ran afoul of Simkins PAC member and NC Rep. Earl Jones in 2005 when she voted to remove the NC A&T University homecoming vendors from Lindsay Street. The political action committee gave its endorsement to Luther Falls Jr. in that election.
When I interviewed Jones in March for a cover story about Bellamy-Small, he suggested it was unlikely that Bellamy-Small would get the PAC’s nod this time around. We had talked about the many controversies that had beset Bellamy-Small since her 2005 reelection.
Here’s what he told me then:
“You can speculate. All I can tell you is we did not endorse her in the last election. None of the issues that you were talking about had come up. You draw your own conclusions.”
Here’s the official reason given for the endorsement:
“Dianne continues to work to empower District 1 in economic development, addressing crime and violence and strengthening neighborhoods.”
Wade is also a curious pick. She’s promised stronger oversight of City Manager Mitchell Johnson if elected to city council — which is understood by many of her white supporters as code for punishing the manager because he held former police Chief David Wray accountable for reported problems related to black officers being harassed and tripped up by their white colleagues, as well as reports of black officers being subjected to more stringent disciplinary measures than their white counterparts.
Incumbent Sandy Carmany, in contrast, has backed Johnson’s handling of the Wray affair. On the other hand, Carmany has probably estranged some black Greensboro residents by voting to oppose the truth and reconciliation process.
Here’s the official reason for Wade’s endorsement:
“Trudy is a proven quality. She spoke out when the NAACP was attacked by a commissioner and she is willing to work for all of Greensboro.”
Chairman Steve Bowden declined to explain how the PAC settled on Bellamy-Small and Wade.
“Each member of the PAC has one vote and those folks had the majority,” he told me by phone today. “I won’t get into the deliberations. None of the candidates gave us the exact answers we’d like hear, but we just thought Trudy Wade and Dianne Bellamy-Small were the better candidates.”
Bowden would not discuss who or how many persons comprise the voting membership of the PAC with me. It’s widely known that the PAC is made up of the black leadership of Greensboro. I’ve previously reported that NC Rep. Alma Adams, the Rev. Cardes Brown are members. I think I know who some of the other members are, but I don’t have the reporting to confirm it. If readers want to fill in the blanks, feel free to do so on this blog.
The PAC distributes its endorsements in predominately black areas of the city. Otherwise it has little visibility. It has no website, [and as it makes no campaign contributions it is not registered with the NC Board of Elections (In fact, the Simkins PAC is registered with the NC Board of Elections; corrected after publication — author)].
For the three at-large council seats, the PAC endorsed Robbie Perkins, Sandra Anderson Groat and Marikay Abuzuaiter. Not much surprise there.
The remaining district race endorsements were also to be expected: Incumbent Goldie Wells for District 2, Zack Matheny for District 3, and no endorsement for District 4, where incumbent Mike Barber is running with hardly a challenge from David Crawford.
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