GREENSBORO ENDORSEMENTS:
Yvonne Johnson for Mayor
The Greensboro mayor’s race is the marquee Triad election this year, between a seasoned but soft-spoken public servant who in 2007 built a coalition across the city to become Greensboro’s first African-American mayor, and a retired CPA with bona fide civic creds and an outspoken disposition favoring dramatic change in city government.
At the risk of acting predictable, we endorse Yvonne Johnson for mayor.
We have had our issues with Johnson’s leadership in her first term — when council became fractious over Mitch Johnson and the Greensboro Police Department, she failed to rein in disparate factions and allowed the issue to cloud most every other business the council undertook. And there are times during council meetings when it just doesn’t seem as if she has done the reading beforehand. We hope to see improvement in these areas during her second term.
But Yvonne gets credit for keeping in touch with a wide range of the citizenry, making a lot of public appearances, returning phone calls to journalists and otherwise distributing her attention equitably over Greensboro. We have no reason to believe that will change.
Knight, on the other hand, may be perfectly able to perform the job of mayor. But in the end we just don’t like his politics.
Certainly we construe some of his remarks — particularly when he stated that police Chief Tim Bellamy got his job because he is black — as race-baiting. But above and beyond that, we share a philosophical difference when it comes to the role of real estate developers influencing city policy.
At an Oct. 8 candidate forum, Knight told the audience, “The real-estate community… they’re one of our largest employers, by the way. I want them to be heard.”
Marikay Abizuaiter, Robbie Perkins and Nancy Vaughan for at-large
Of the six candidates vying for three at-large seats, two names jumped out very quickly during the endorsement process.
Robbie Perkins has served on Greensboro City Council for almost 14 years. And he may be the best straight-up politician in the Triad. Perkins always seems to be holding good cards, and he knows just when to play them. He’s forged valuable political alliances amongst key African-American constituents and his fellow real estate industry burghers — and he has recused himself from voting on matters when he acknowledges conflicts of interest. But because council matters center so often on real estate, it is good to have somebody around who knows something about the business. Plus, while we recognize the need for change on council, we recognize the necessity of having an old hand around.
Likewise, we feel the time has come for Marikay Abuzuaiter. Since her failed at-large bid in 2007, Abuzuaiter has immersed herself in the machinations of city business, most notably with the Human Relations Commission. She’s better informed of the issues than she was in 2007, and she seems to have toughened up a bit since then. As a smallbusiness owner, she’s demonstrated managerial and financial proficiency. Plus she’s accessible — and not just to journalists. As the wife of a Palestinian, Abuzuaiter is connected to an oft-overlooked segment of the city.
Our third at-large endorsement goes to former City Council Member Nancy Vaughan. There’s much to like here: She’s tough, smart and connected — we think having a state senator as a husband can only benefit the city, particularly when it comes to the annual legislative package — and she’s demonstrated a willingness to fight against the real estate development machine.
Serious consideration went to Gary Nixon, whose knowledge of civil engineering was a mitigating factor, and to Danny Thompson, who has some interesting ideas about economic development. But in the end Perkins, Abuzuaiter and Vaughan rose above the rest.
Dianne Bellamy-Small for District 1
The voters in the southeast Greensboro neighborhoods that comprise District 1 have a tireless servantleader in Dianne Bellamy-Small. She has demonstrated an unswerving commitment to ensuring that the district receives an equitable share of city services and infrastructure dollars, and her six years of experience on council poise her to become more effective.
Although voter turnout is not high enough to definitively ascertain the will of the people, the councilwoman’s 43 percent share of the primary vote against five challengers and her survival of a recall effort two years ago indicates that she governs with the consent of her constituents. Bellamy-Small’s opponent, Luther T. Falls Jr., seems like a solid enough guy, but hasn’t ever articulated why he would be a preferable alternative. Over the course of her political career, Bellamy-Small has managed to stay independent of both the white political establishment and the black political machine — no small feat.
Finally, Bellamy- Small’s handling of the Warnersville public-art benches dustup demonstrates the quality of her representation. She went out and sat on the benches herself to investigate neighbors’ complaints about prostitution and other derelict behaviors.
While her adversaries tried to exploit the tensions that attend the construction of the Downtown Greenway for their own political advantage, Bellamy-Small took the long view and spoke plain common sense.
Jim Kee for District 2
More so than District 1, the district covering northeast Greensboro suffers from political apathy. Fortunately, voters have two smart, dedicated and ethical candidates from whom to choose: Jim Kee, a developer with strong community ties to the Phillips Avenue area, or Nettie Coad, an indefatigable community organizer from Ole Asheboro. We give the edge to Kee.
Kee’s credentials come from his leadership in Concerned Citizens of Northeast Greensboro, an organization that can be credited with closing the White Street Landfill to household waste and opening the new McGirt-Horton Library. That affiliation places him in a lineage with the district’s current representative, Goldie Wells, and her predecessor, Claudette Burroughs-White. The risk of a political dynasty shouldn’t be overlooked, but Kee’s experience in business and political organizing makes him the most effective representative of the district’s interests.
Coad deserves an honored place among our civic heroes for her service to Greensboro, but at 73 she could end up serving as a placeholder rather than governing over a long enough arc to reach her full potential as a leader. We look to Kee to do his homework on job creation and economic development and work constructively with the rest of council to find creative solutions to our solid waste challenges.
Zack Matheny for District 3
The District 3 race has developed into a fascinating bout: Challenger George Hartzman mobilizing the discontent of voters at the top of the district, whose neighborhoods lie in the path of the new Urban Loop, against incumbent Zack Matheny, a stalwart advocate for downtown whose political base centers on wealthy Irving Park. Hartzman has agitated for campaign finance reform — a movement that has our sympathy — and he has found a ripe target in Matheny, whose coffers are bulging with checks from developers and lawyers. Hartzman has also characterized the current council’s use of bonds as reckless, but we believe the city needs a modest level of public investment, and Matheny holds a demonstrated record as a fiscal conservative.
If we have one overriding concern, it’s that Greensboro must become one city to realize its potential for greatness. Matheny comes across in his demeanor as a more flexible partner with his colleagues from districts 1 and 2, although he’s certainly had his blowups and episodes of pompousness. Also in his favor, Matheny has demonstrated an ability to balance the competing interests within his own district, getting in up to his elbows in the action downtown, and proving himself Johnny on the spot on residential concerns.
Joel Landau for District 4
Mary Rakestraw has played a singularly destructive role on the current council, promoting a single-minded and distracting campaign to hound Mitchell Johnson out of office as the national economy cratered. She has contributed more than her fair share to the council’s breakdown in civility with her sniping and pettiness. Particularly on matters related to police administration and city staff, she seems to operate from a set of talking points provided by The Rhinoceros Times rather than demonstrate a real understanding of the situation.
This may seem like an endorsement against Rakestraw. Not so.
We would have an easy time endorsing Joel Landau for practically any race in this election. Landau’s support for reining sprawl is a visionary idea that promises to make public transportation more viable, revitalize central corridors and enhance quality of life. His cochairmanship of the Greensboro Sustainability Council with NC A&T University professor Bob Powell is an example of Landau’s ability to work well with people from across the city. The candidate’s work with the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress has kept him closely attuned to the needs of homeowners and neighborhoods. As a grocery store manager, Landau understands the challenges of budgeting and making payroll.
In short, he’s already road tested for public service.
Trudy Wade for District 5
An endorsement in these pages for Trudy Wade would seem to be either completely counterintuitive or wildly inconsistent. As a practical matter, endorsing and casting a vote in this race means choosing one candidate out of two, and prioritizing the various factors in consideration. Let’s just get it out of the way, and acknowledge that Wade was a driving force, along with Rakestraw, in removing Mitchell Johnson.
Wade’s opponent, Art Boyett, has the kind of upbeat attitude that would seem to create a healthy dynamic with the other members of council, but over the course of his campaign he hasn’t fleshed out many definitive policy positions and he doesn’t have a track record of public service with constituents.
The bottom line is this: Neighborhood leaders consistently applaud Wade for acting as a liaison between community watch groups and the police, pushing for maintenance to parks, getting weeds and brush cleared to improve public safety, and otherwise ensuring that District 5 gets its fair share of resources. That’s the first responsibility of a district rep. Like its adjacent neighbor to the east, District 5 in southwest Greensboro ranks near the bottom for capital spending, and strong leadership of the kind that Wade has provided is sorely needed.
YES! Weekly’s relationship with Wade has been strained to the point that the candidate has for the most part refused to engage with us over the course of the campaign. We hope that in her second term Wade will play a more constructive role in citywide affairs and meet her obligations to open communication and transparency. WINSTON-SALEM ENDORSEMENTS:
Peter Sorensen for Northwest Ward
YES! Weekly endorses Republican Peter Sorensen for the Northwest Ward seat on the Winston-Salem City Council. Sorensen, a 40-year-old underwriter for WFDD, gets the nod over Democratic incumbent Wanda Merschel for several reasons. First of all, Sorensen believes the downtown ballpark should’ve been funded privately from day one. Merschel, 59, the chair of the city’s finance committee, approved the initial deal with Winston-Salem Dash owner Billy Prim that called for the city to invest $12 million of taxpayer dollars. Ultimately, Prim came back to the council and asked for $15.7 million in additional financing. The deal has been heavily criticized and rightfully so. Rather than giving economic incentives to multimillionaires and international conglomerates, Sorensen believes the city should invest in small and medium-sized businesses and give young entrepreneurs the encouragement they need. Entrenched incumbency impairs a city’s ability to move forward and Sorensen will offer a more youthful perspective on the pressing issues facing the city.
DD Adams for North Ward
YES! Weekly endorses DD Adams to represent the city’s North Ward. Adams is energetic, intelligent and a true representative of Winston-Salem’s North Ward. Adams will take a performance-based business approach to public service, and will not hesitate to voice her opinion. “Because of the diversity of the North Ward, I represent all of it,” Adams said. “Not only am I a black female but I grew up in the ward. I have a passionate heart but I have a mind for detail.” Adams, 55, has an impressive set of political credentials. She has worked on more than a dozen campaigns at the local, state and national levels. Adams serves on a number of area boards and committees, and first ran for elected office in 1990, when she lost her bid for NC House to Warren P. Odom by a mere 100 votes. John Hopkins, the Republican nominee, lacks Adams’ inclusive vision to improve the lives of all residents of the North Ward. For these reasons and others, YES! Weekly gives the nod to Adams.
Vivian Burke for Northeast Ward
Mayor Pro Tem Vivian Burke is running for a recordsetting ninth term on city council. Burke has represented the Northeast Ward since her election in 1977. YES! Weekly’s editorial staff believes in the power of change, but also acknowledges the value of stability on the council. Therefore, YES Weekly! endorses the candidacy of Vivian Burke. The Rev. Carlton AG Eversley said it best. “People feel like she’s a person who holds the city manager and police department with some accountability,” Eversley, a Northeast Ward resident, said. “I think people in the community feel like if you have a problem in city governance you can call [Burke] and get a response.” Burke’s Republican opponent, Claudia Shivers, has some civic experience and a lot of good ideas, but she simply can’t compete against Burke’s enormity of influence and ability to get things done for her constituents.
Derwin Montgomery for East Ward
Derwin Montgomery accomplished an improbable feat on Sept. 15. Montgomery, a senior at Winston-Salem State University, defeated four-time East Ward incumbent Joycelyn Johnson in the Democratic primary by garnering 57 percent of the vote, compared to her 24 percent. Montgomery’s efforts to get his university classmates to the polls for early voting proved pivotal to his victory. He received a total of 530 votes in the municipal primary, with more than 400 of those ballots being cast by his WSSU classmates during early and one-stop voting. For all these reasons and more, YES! Weekly endorses the candidacy of Derwin Montgomery. He will not face a Republican challenger in the Nov. 3 general election, but there is always the possibility of a write-in campaign.
James Taylor for Southeast Ward
YES! Weekly endorses James Taylor, a Democrat, to represent the city’s Southeast Ward. Taylor, a 28-year-old juvenile justice counselor, finished second to Democratic incumbent Evelyn Terry in the Sept. 15 primary. However, since Terry failed to win 40 percent of the vote, a runoff was held Oct. 6. Taylor easily won, garnering more than 60 percent of the votes. For nearly 18 months, Taylor served on the Silk Plant Forest Citizens Review Committee and after the committee’s final meeting, Taylor had the courage to say that a great injustice had been done to Kalvin Michael Smith, the man convicted of brutally assaulting Jill Marker while robbing the Silk Plant Forest shop in December 1995. Taylor’s Republican opponent, Chuck Woolard, pleaded guilty and was convicted of commonlaw forgery after being charged with 44 counts of felony forgery in Guilford County in 1991. In Forsyth County, Woolard has a 2001 conviction for marijuana possession and series of civil judgments levied against him in connection with his home improvement businesses, C&W Home Improvement and RCW Design Construction, LLC. Need we say more?
Dan Besse for Southwest Ward
YES! Weekly endorses Democratic incumbent Dan Besse for the Southwest Ward seat on the Winston-Salem City Council. Besse, 54, is renowned for his top-notch constituent services, and has a great talent for bringing opposing parties together. The city’s tree ordinance, which passed July 20, is the most recent example of Besse’s diplomatic gifts. Besse’s strong commitment to clean air and clean water is evinced by his record of service to the community he serves. Ted Shipley, Besse’s Republican opponent, lacks the elective and civic experience to be an effective leader on the council. Deregulation and lower taxes are major components of Shipley’s platform. However, deregulation could apply to important environmental protections. Also, Winston-Salem has one of the lowest tax rates of any major city in North Carolina. Besse, a two-term incumbent, had a lot to do with that.
