On Wednesday, Greensboro City Council voted 8-1 to sue the state of North Carolina over the council redistricting law. Do you support the council’s action?
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Tell us why in the comments. We’ll print the results in the next Triad City Beat.
For background on this story, read Associate Editor Eric Ginsburg’s recent coverage.
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George Hartzman, registered unaffiliated, 2506 Baytree Drive
If our City wasn’t as crooked as it is, I would defend the status quo, but Greensboro’s big campaign contributors who enjoy the financial benefits of owning Council members are very interested in keeping Greensboro under their control, instead of four small wide open district races which could diminish the influence of our oligarchs.
Put the state’s shameful process on a shelf, and the net positive in the near term should be a less corrupt Council, ridding taxpayers of some who have personally financially benefited from their elected posts without repercussion or transparency by the press.
The process was a disgrace, but the end product deserves a try.
This is the best thing that’s happened for Greensboro’s African American community in decades.
Greensboro will have at least 3 minority districts.
The City had 3 of 9 African American votes before, which was 33%
Now minorities can have at least 3 of 8, which is 37.5%
4 of 8 minority Council votes are likely, which would give Greensboro’s African American community half of the voting seats.
Those citing racism after most realize the actual benefits are most likely those with something to personally lose.
Costly campaigns mean more control for bundling contributors who profit from everyone else’s ignorance enabled by News and Record and Rhino propaganda at taxpayer expense.
It’s better to have eight small districts to knock on doors than a few City wide at large swing votes for sale through the media to the highest bidders like Kotis, Carroll, Koury and Melvin, among others.
The News and Record and Rhino’s coverage of Redistricting instead of the repeal of the Protest Petition kept attention away from where our crony interests who control City Council make money.
As Joe Killian and John Hammer ask the wrong questions, Mayor Vaughan, Hoffmann, Barber, Yvonne and Zack don’t have to worry about publicly disseminated answers, keeping them in power to shovel taxpayer monies to their paying patrons.
Why wasn’t there a referendum for the Performing Arts Center which Roy Carroll and friends are set to profit from?
I’ll take “we shall see” over blatant unreported, non prosecuted corruption by Nancy Vaughan, Zack Matheny, Nancy Hoffmann and Mike Barber any day.
The less power our rulers have to line their own pockets, the better.
Ironically, I do feel that the city should pursue this issue although they are proceeding without a “vote” from their constituents. Hopefully, this barometer, as well as individuals reaching out to their council member is enough to count as an unofficial vote.
I selected yes with major reservations.
If it can happen to Greensboro, then it can also happen here in High Point, not to mention the fact that Wade has already overhauled the school board elections by making them partisan (as of next year) when nobody asked for such an overhaul in the first place.
In addition to handing developers even more power than they already have, these maps could actually benefit the old guard members of east Greensboro like Skip Alston and Earl Jones, not anyone who could represent the black cause with new ideas.
My reservations with Greensboro suing are based on the following:
1. Its (lack of) leadership—ditto with the people running High Point—is responsible for this region being the hungriest in the nation. Gate City Boulevard? Really?
2. The lawsuit backfiring and even more restrictions are placed on Greensboro