scuttlebutt
Democratic hopefuls pick up endorsements
Cal Cunningham, Ken Lewis and Elaine Marshall — three leading Democratic candidates looking to unseat Republican Us sen.
Richard Burr this fall — all secured major endorsements last week. Harvey Gantt endorsed lewis’ candidacy on March 29. Gantt, a former mayor of Charlotte, waged two unsuccessful campaigns against Republican stalwart Jesse Helms in the 1990s. Gantt was the last African American to win the Democratic nomination. If elected, lewis would become the first African American to represent the state in the Us senate. Gantt said the key to unseating an incumbent senator is building a campaign that attracts political and financial support and inspires grassroots activism. lewis has also won the endorsements of a number of national and state political figures, including Us Reps. Mel Watt and GK Butterfield, Durham Mayor Bill Bell, former Durham mayor and NC senator Wib Gulley and former Chapel Hill mayor Kevin Foy.
Marshall, the first woman elected to executive office in North Carolina, announced March 29 that Durham businessman Maceo Sloan and the Durham’s People’s Alliance have endorsed her candidacy. Cal Cunningham, a former judge advocate general in the Us Army Reserves, received the endorsement of retired four-star Army Gen. Wesley Clark on March 29. Clark, a presidential candidate in 2004, stated in a letter that Cunningham is “beyond a doubt the best candidate” to challenge Burr. Clark added that Cunningham’s time in the military would help him bring “a veteran’s unique perspective to policy making in Washington,” according to a press release. — KTB
City begins search for new police chief as protests continue over mayor’s remarkThe city of Greensboro has chosen DHR International of Cincinnati as a search firm to help select the city’s next police chief, following Chief Tim Bellamy’s announcement that he will retire this summer. Representatives of the company will meet with residents, city staff, the city council, the current chief and members of the police department, City Manager Rashad Young said in a recent memo to council members. Young added that “an intense assessment process designed to highlight the strengths and skill sets required to fill this critical position” might include public meetings if finalists are comfortable with that process. last week, the Greensboro NAACP reiterated a call for Mayor Bill Knight to apologize for a remark made during a league of Women Voters candidate forum at Holy Trinity episcopal Church in september in which knight said, “We have a chief today who, in my opinion, is there primarily because of race.” knight had prefaced his remark by saying, “I would like to be sure going forward that as we select new administration into the police department command group that we’re doing it based on ability and qualifications.” Public objections to knight’s remark were raised only after he was sworn in as mayor in December. “some would say that hindsight is 20/20,” said the Rev. Cardes Brown, president of the Greensboro NAACP. “There are many regrets as it relates to things that have happened and that could have happened.” The NAACP and a handful of other groups issued a formal statement, declaring that “the language Mayor knight used is not only divisive and offensive, it misrepresents the truth; and whenever falsehoods are declared they should be recanted and those who have been injured by them should receive an apology.” — JG
Midday passenger service added on rail line between raleigh and charlotte
Amtrak will begin running two additional passenger trains from Raleigh to Charlotte on June 5. The new midday service will include a southbound train and a northbound one. Passengers can already catch morning and evening trains from both Raleigh and Charlotte. starting on June 5, passengers may also embark on the northbound train to Raleigh from High Point at 1:45 p.m., from Greensboro at 2:06 p.m. and from Burlington at 2:27 p.m. The midday train to Charlotte leaves Burlington at 12:58 p.m., Greensboro at 1:23 p.m. and High Point at 1:40 p.m. “As our population continues to grow, we must provide people with travel alternatives,” NC Transportation secretary Gene Conti said in a prepared statement. “Train travel also provides environmental and energy benefits through reduced congestion and improved air quality.” — JG
Burr appears to backtrack on vow to repeal healthcare reform
Us sen. Richard Burr sounded as if he might be equivocating on the central plank of his campaign platform during a radio interview on March 31. last month, Burr told a group of students at Wake Forest University that the foundation of his re-election effort would be the Republican Party’s effort to repeal the healthcare reform bill passed by the Us House of Representatives on March 21. “I think this is a devastating direction for the American healthcare system,” Burr had said during the March 19 event. However, during the radio interview with Chris Fitzsimon of NC Policy Watch, Burr toned down his rhetoric. “It may not be total repeal at the end of the day,” Burr said. “It may be a series of fixes over the course of this bill getting enacted that enable us to possibly change and bend that cost curve down.” last May, Burr and sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) introduced the Patients’ Choice Act in the senate. The bill promises to “give every American the opportunity to choose the health care plan that best meets their individual needs.” However, Burr acknowledged the bill’s provisions left millions of Americans uninsured. Democratic candidate Cal Cunningham’s campaign issued a press release responding to Burr’s “flip-flopping” on the issue. “While Burr continues to play silly political games, North Carolinians need to know where he stands,” the press release states. — KTB
Citizens invited to provide input on white street landfill
Residents and former residents of northeast Greensboro, along with business owners and land developers, are invited to attend a hearing held by the Greensboro Human Relations Commission at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday to voice concerns about the White street landfill. The commission is also accepting written statements about the landfill. City Manager Rashad Young said a second meeting, yet to be scheduled, will include the Guilford County Department of Public Health and the NC Department of Health and Human services. — JG
Greensboro farmers market under investigation
Greensboro City Manager Rashad Young told members of city council in an April 1 memo that “staff has identified improprieties in the handling of vendor receipts at the Farmer’s Curb Market.” Young said in the memo that “the appropriate staff has been placed on unpaid administrative leave until the investigation is complete,” but the person to whom the city manager appears to have been referring is reported to have put in his last day on March 31. Parks and Recreation Director Greg Jackson said on Monday that market manager Larry Smith was placed on administrative leave without pay last until all investigations are complete. The city’s internal audit division is currently conducting an investigation that is being monitored by the Greensboro Police Department. City spokesman Jim Collins said it would be standard procedure for the police to initiate a criminal investigation once the audit is completed if funds are found to be missing. explaining a recommendation by the parks and recreation commission against allowing the market manager to also be a vendor, Commissioner Carl Brower said during a meeting last month: “The manager said he had broken the rules, so to speak, to help another farmer get a space…. That substantiated why there were concerns.”
Vendors found a letter on their tables on March 27 indicating that March 31 would be smith’s last day. “We met with larry and explained to him that he was not going to be able to continue as a vendor and a market manager,” Jackson said. “larry said, ‘That’s fine.’ He wanted to continue as a vendor. We put him on administrative leave before March 31, so we would continue with the investigation and call him in to explain things.” !
