GREENSBORO, NC -- Jim Kee, incumbent candidate for Greensboro City Council district 2, has added his profile to GreensboroCouncilCandidates.com.
Kee, 55, works as a developer and property manager and is
registered as Democratic. He says his three top issues are economic development, public safety and infrastructure.
In
answer to what he has done, specifically, to increase transparency in
city government, he says, "I continue to keep the citizens informed regarding proposed investments
such as the performing arts center and the Florida street extension. I
encourage citizen participation on all items."
Wednesday, August 07, 2013
Tuesday, August 06, 2013
Why would they do that?
GREENSBORO, NC -- Buried by mayoral candidate George Hartzman's disregard for clarity (a terrible habit for a potential elected representative) is this good question: Why did quotations from Hartzman on a matter before city council make it into the printed News & Record, but not into the online version where there is infinite space?
I've asked editor Jeff "Grits" Gauger to comment, but I haven't heard back from him yet.
I've asked editor Jeff "Grits" Gauger to comment, but I haven't heard back from him yet.
George Hartzman adds profile to GreensboroCouncilCandidates.com
GREENSBORO, NC -- George Hartzman, candidate for mayor of Greensboro, has added his profile to GreensboroCouncilCandidates.com.
Hartzman, 46, works as an ethics continuing education and financial advisor and is registered as unaffiliated, He says his three top issues are cronyism and campaign contributions, bus stop benches and Downtown Greensboro Incorporated.
In answer to what he will do specifically, to increase transparency in city government, he says, "Institute a 48 hour reporting rule for donations larger than $200. Move the filing due dates closer to the elections, and post election filing to within a month of the vote."
Hartzman, 46, works as an ethics continuing education and financial advisor and is registered as unaffiliated, He says his three top issues are cronyism and campaign contributions, bus stop benches and Downtown Greensboro Incorporated.
In answer to what he will do specifically, to increase transparency in city government, he says, "Institute a 48 hour reporting rule for donations larger than $200. Move the filing due dates closer to the elections, and post election filing to within a month of the vote."
Well, duh!
GREENSBORO, NC -- At last night's city council meeting, during the public comment portion of the meeting, council took a little side trip prompted by a misunderstanding of their own rules. The rules currently state that each speaker from the floor will have up to 3 minutes to speak and that the total of all speakers will be 30 minutes. That's 30 minutes for the speakers from the floor -- not for speakers from the dais.
For Mayor Robbie Perkins, though, if one speaker speaks for 3 minutes and the council talks about the speaker's topic for 27 minutes, he counts that as having reached the 30 minutes total for speakers from the floor even though there has been only 3 minutes of speaking from the floor. That's not what the rules say.
Nonetheless, in discussing whether or not to continue beyond the 30 minutes for speakers—that they had not yet reached—the mayor complained last night that many of the same people keep coming back meeting after meeting to talk about the same issues.
Well, duh! That's because this council is really bad at fixing things. They sit on their hands or accept nonsensical dissembling answers from the city's top staff and fail to actually change anything.
The mayor should worry less about blaming passionate people for their tenacity and more about addressing the reasons they keep coming back: because we have a do-nothing council.
Duh!
For Mayor Robbie Perkins, though, if one speaker speaks for 3 minutes and the council talks about the speaker's topic for 27 minutes, he counts that as having reached the 30 minutes total for speakers from the floor even though there has been only 3 minutes of speaking from the floor. That's not what the rules say.
Nonetheless, in discussing whether or not to continue beyond the 30 minutes for speakers—that they had not yet reached—the mayor complained last night that many of the same people keep coming back meeting after meeting to talk about the same issues.
Well, duh! That's because this council is really bad at fixing things. They sit on their hands or accept nonsensical dissembling answers from the city's top staff and fail to actually change anything.
The mayor should worry less about blaming passionate people for their tenacity and more about addressing the reasons they keep coming back: because we have a do-nothing council.
Duh!
Wendell Roth adds profile to GreensboroCouncilCandidates.com
Roth, 47, works as an entrepreneur and consultant and is registered as Republican. He says his three top issues are jobs, fiscal responsibility and term limits.
In answer to what he will do specifically, to increase transparency in city government, he says, "We need to conduct the public's business in front of the public. In addition, we need to simplify the city's accounting methods and require transparency for city funded initiatives and entities."
Monday, August 05, 2013
Jean Brown adds profile to GreensboroCouncilCandidates.com
GREENSBORO, NC -- Jean Brown, candidate for Greensboro City Council at-large, has added her profile to GreensboroCouncilCandidates.com.
Brown, 73, is retired and is registered as Republican. She says her three top issues are unnecessary spending, foolish regulations and the arts center.
In answer to what she will do specifically, to increase transparency in city government, she says, "Meet more directly with citizens at town meetings and listen to the advice and complaints of the people we represent "
Brown, 73, is retired and is registered as Republican. She says her three top issues are unnecessary spending, foolish regulations and the arts center.
In answer to what she will do specifically, to increase transparency in city government, she says, "Meet more directly with citizens at town meetings and listen to the advice and complaints of the people we represent "
News & Record misses mark on reportedly fake council representaive emails
GREENSBORO, NC -- The News & Record misrepresented a key portion of the emails sent by someone Greensboro City Council person Zack Matheny says was impersonating him. It reported:
More importantly, though, the supposed person with the supposed criminal record was represented, in the emails, but not in the N&R story, as one of Matheny's colleagues on City Council. This is how it read in the email:
"The emails questioned the complexes’ policy on renting to people with criminal records and related the story of a 29-year-old man who was denied an apartment based on his record."The email I obtained did not purport the age of the person supposedly denied access to rental housing, instead, it said that the person made "$29k per year." [The News & Record confirms the error and says they are correcting the story.]
More importantly, though, the supposed person with the supposed criminal record was represented, in the emails, but not in the N&R story, as one of Matheny's colleagues on City Council. This is how it read in the email:
"I was talking to one of my colleagues on the council and he was educating me that your complex would not accept him because he has a criminal background."That matters because it reveals possible political motives: to sow suspicion of Matheny with his colleges or to besmirch another sitting council person, possibly both.
Zack Matheny adds profile to GreensboroCouncilCandidates.com
Matheny is 40, works as as an entrepreneur and is registered as Republican. He says his three top issues are economic development, public safety and fiscal responsibility.
In answer to what he has done, specifically, to increase transparency in city government, he says, "Over my years on council I have gotten closed meetings taped so at sometime they can be released for public and I have argued for meetings to be open to all. I am accessible and open with all topics. "
Yvonne Johnson adds profile to GreensboroCouncilCandidates.com
GREENSBORO, NC -- Yvonne Johnson, incumbent candidate for Greensboro City Council at-large, has added her profile to GreensboroCouncilCandidates.com.
Johnson is 70, works as a non-profit executive director and is registered as Democratic. She says her three top issues are jobs & economic development, quality of life and improving public transportation.
In answer to what she has done, specifically, to increase transparency in city government, she says, "I have always tried to provide vital information when asked. Unless there is a personnel issue, I answer questions and share information. "
Johnson is 70, works as a non-profit executive director and is registered as Democratic. She says her three top issues are jobs & economic development, quality of life and improving public transportation.
In answer to what she has done, specifically, to increase transparency in city government, she says, "I have always tried to provide vital information when asked. Unless there is a personnel issue, I answer questions and share information. "
Friday, August 02, 2013
Changing diapers
GREENSBORO, NC -- Ben Holder, candidate for city council at-large, and I were discussing the situation regarding the Greensboro City Manager's boneheaded decision to unequally and unfairly put the records requests and questions asked by non-incumbent city council candidates on a special webpage—publicity and scrutiny from which incumbent candidates are exempted, as the Manager has explicitly said—and of her request of city staff to notify her office whenever a candidate asks for information.
Ben and I were both bothered by the fact that, while we each have some important matters of public interest, health and safety we want to discuss during the public speakers' portion of the next City Council meeting, we find ourselves compelled to address this most recent mess instead -- again. (For me, the last detour was to address Mayor Robbie Perkins' refusal to stand up for Greensboro against WGHP's and WFMY's sensationalized fabrications of "hundreds of teens fighting" in downtown Greensboro.)
It's hard to move forward, to get any momentum, when you are constantly having to pit to fix a flat tire. It's like we have drivers who keep intentionally running over debris or, to use a golf analogy, we are constantly having to help our team captain find her ball in the woods.
Ben put it best: We have to keep changing diapers. Everything else has to wait when there is a poopie mess.
That's the Greensboro we have now. Mendacious, small and too often distracted by avoidable messes.
Instead of an inspiring effort to involve the community at-large in raising funds for a downtown performing arts center, we had to pull over to fix the flat caused by the Mayor, the News & Record and others who said there was already $20 million raised for the project when that wasn't true.
"Bring her in here, boys, we got a tire down."
Instead of reaching the green in two with a chance for birdie, City Attorney Mujeeb Shah-Khan shanked one hard into the woods with his lawsuit attempting to stop the publication of Yes!Weekly newspaper. Access to public records, already woefully bad, ground to a halt, money was spent and the cause and extent of the reasons for the suit remain, to this day, unclear.
"Keep looking, ya'll, it's got to be around here somewhere."
Now, instead of heading into election season with everybody on a level playing field, The City Manager has inappropriately inserted herself into the process, tainting what should be sacrosanct fairness and creating another unnecessary diversion.
"Just a minute, kids, the little one has made a mess."
But here's the thing: Mistakes happen. People make bad decisions on occasion. Heck, I've had my share, no doubt. It's how one responds that matters and that's where Greensboro stumbles—a lot.
Why did we not see:
But, no. Instead, the very people who are supposed to be our "leaders"—people paid good money to do a good job—double down on their mistakes or ignore them and allow them to stand, uncorrected, to Greensboro's detriment. Their colleagues and bosses on City Council are no better. What, other than spite or ill intent, causes the kind of intransigence we see repeatedly in response to errors from our civic leaders? I'm at a loss.
Ben and I were both bothered by the fact that, while we each have some important matters of public interest, health and safety we want to discuss during the public speakers' portion of the next City Council meeting, we find ourselves compelled to address this most recent mess instead -- again. (For me, the last detour was to address Mayor Robbie Perkins' refusal to stand up for Greensboro against WGHP's and WFMY's sensationalized fabrications of "hundreds of teens fighting" in downtown Greensboro.)
It's hard to move forward, to get any momentum, when you are constantly having to pit to fix a flat tire. It's like we have drivers who keep intentionally running over debris or, to use a golf analogy, we are constantly having to help our team captain find her ball in the woods.
Ben put it best: We have to keep changing diapers. Everything else has to wait when there is a poopie mess.
That's the Greensboro we have now. Mendacious, small and too often distracted by avoidable messes.
Instead of an inspiring effort to involve the community at-large in raising funds for a downtown performing arts center, we had to pull over to fix the flat caused by the Mayor, the News & Record and others who said there was already $20 million raised for the project when that wasn't true.
"Bring her in here, boys, we got a tire down."
Instead of reaching the green in two with a chance for birdie, City Attorney Mujeeb Shah-Khan shanked one hard into the woods with his lawsuit attempting to stop the publication of Yes!Weekly newspaper. Access to public records, already woefully bad, ground to a halt, money was spent and the cause and extent of the reasons for the suit remain, to this day, unclear.
"Keep looking, ya'll, it's got to be around here somewhere."
Now, instead of heading into election season with everybody on a level playing field, The City Manager has inappropriately inserted herself into the process, tainting what should be sacrosanct fairness and creating another unnecessary diversion.
"Just a minute, kids, the little one has made a mess."
But here's the thing: Mistakes happen. People make bad decisions on occasion. Heck, I've had my share, no doubt. It's how one responds that matters and that's where Greensboro stumbles—a lot.
Why did we not see:
- The mayor come forward and say, "I was wrong to tell the people at the East Greensboro Summit that $20 million in private contributions had been procured for a downtown performing arts center. That' wasn't true. We are a long way from that, actually, so let's all pull together and start raising some money."
- The City Attorney tell City Council and the public, "Our attempt to silence Yes!Weekly newspaper was against Supreme Court precedent prohibiting prior restraint and we erred in trying to stop their publication," instead of buffaloing City Council and the public about what they did and why, as he did. (Holder still wants a clear public explanation of what transpired that led the City to think it needed to take such extreme action. I do too.)
- The mayor step up and say, "WFMY and WGHP should not have exaggerated what happened downtown. If they think I said there were up to five hundred teens fighting, they misunderstood. There were a few fights, involving a few people over a period of many hours that sent some crowds running at times."
-
The City Manager say, "I didn't think it through. It's unfair to use city resources to put some candidates under public scrutiny and not others. We'll stop."
But, no. Instead, the very people who are supposed to be our "leaders"—people paid good money to do a good job—double down on their mistakes or ignore them and allow them to stand, uncorrected, to Greensboro's detriment. Their colleagues and bosses on City Council are no better. What, other than spite or ill intent, causes the kind of intransigence we see repeatedly in response to errors from our civic leaders? I'm at a loss.
John Alexander Underwood adds profile to GreensboroCouncilCandidates.com
GREENSBORO, NC -- John Alexander Underwood, candidate for Greensboro City Council district 4, has added his profile to GreensboroCouncilCandidates.com.
Underwood is 30, works in retail and is registered as unaffiliated. He says that his three top issues are jobs, crime and corruption.
In answer to what he would do, specifically, to increase transparency in city government, he says, "Corruption is a disease, and transparency is the cure. We live on hollowed ground, a sacred city where liberty was fought for, paid for in blood on the alter of freedom, transparency is our duty."
Thursday, August 01, 2013
Joseph Landis adds profile to GreensboroCouncilCandidates.com
Landis is 27, works as a flight attendant and is registered as unaffiliated. He says that his three top issues are housing, refocusing development and the coliseum.
In answer to what he would do, specifically, to increase transparency in city government, he says, "Rather than have a long process to request information we need to post everything that is remotely considered public on a site that is easily accessed, thus removing all the roadblocks.
Is Greensboro City Manager in violation of the Hatch Act?
GREENSBORO, NC -- In addition to creating a webpage where challenger council candidates—but not incumbents—have their questions and requests made of the city posted for public scrutiny, Greensboro City Manager Denise Turner-Roth has doubled down and sent a letter to candidates in which she says she has asked staff to:
And where is the City Attorney?
"[N]otify the City Manager's office of all requests made of them by candidates."It is hard to imagine what legitimate purpose the City Manager may have in requesting this notification. In fact, it appears as if she is improperly inserting herself into an election in what may well be a violation of the Hatch Act, a federal law that makes it illegal for a local public employee whose organization receives federal funds to:
"[U]se official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election or nomination for office."Still, no public objection by her bosses, the incumbent city council representatives exempted from the Manager's scrutiny. Are they going to let her get in hot water for the sake of having a campaign advantage? That seems short-sighted and irresponsible.
And where is the City Attorney?
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Official deception: City takes sides in election
GREENSBORO, NC -- This is a screen shot of the title of a City of Greensboro webpage:
"Candidate requests," it says.
That's a lie.
It is an officially sanctioned lie made with the knowledge and without the objection of our current city council.
The fact is, despite its headline, that webpage only shows the requests made by (and information provided in response to) challenging candidates. Incumbent candidates do not have their requests publicized here. Not only is that treatment unfair, the City is lying about what it is doing, clearly in an attempt to obfuscate its unequal treatment.
Despite me having requested to receive the same information for incumbent candidates, the City has provided me nothing.
What could possibly be the point of publicizing the requests and answers for challenger candidates but not incumbent candidates and misrepresenting the action to boot? Well, it's pretty obvious, don't you think?
Accommodating this deceit are our illustrious incumbent city council representatives. Here they are, followed by the names of their challengers.
INCUMBENTS:
Mayor Robbie Perkins
At-large: Marikay Abuzuaiter, Yvonne Johnson and Nancy Vaughan
District 1: T. Dianne Bellamy-Small
District 2: Jim Kee
District 3: Zack Matheny
District 4: Nancy Hoffman
District 5: Tony Carmany
NON-INCUMBENT CHALLENGERS:
Mayor: George Hartzman
At-large: Mike Barber, Jean Brown, Katei Cranford, Ben Holder, Joseph Landis, Chris Lawyer and Marlando Pridgen
District 1: Sharon Hightower and Tigress McDaniel
District 2: Jamal Fox
District 3: Corey Pysher and Wendell Roth
District 4: Bill Knight and John Alexander Underwood
District 5: Sal Leone and Alex Seymor
"Candidate requests," it says.
That's a lie.
It is an officially sanctioned lie made with the knowledge and without the objection of our current city council.
The fact is, despite its headline, that webpage only shows the requests made by (and information provided in response to) challenging candidates. Incumbent candidates do not have their requests publicized here. Not only is that treatment unfair, the City is lying about what it is doing, clearly in an attempt to obfuscate its unequal treatment.
Despite me having requested to receive the same information for incumbent candidates, the City has provided me nothing.
What could possibly be the point of publicizing the requests and answers for challenger candidates but not incumbent candidates and misrepresenting the action to boot? Well, it's pretty obvious, don't you think?
Accommodating this deceit are our illustrious incumbent city council representatives. Here they are, followed by the names of their challengers.
INCUMBENTS:
Mayor Robbie Perkins
At-large: Marikay Abuzuaiter, Yvonne Johnson and Nancy Vaughan
District 1: T. Dianne Bellamy-Small
District 2: Jim Kee
District 3: Zack Matheny
District 4: Nancy Hoffman
District 5: Tony Carmany
NON-INCUMBENT CHALLENGERS:
Mayor: George Hartzman
At-large: Mike Barber, Jean Brown, Katei Cranford, Ben Holder, Joseph Landis, Chris Lawyer and Marlando Pridgen
District 1: Sharon Hightower and Tigress McDaniel
District 2: Jamal Fox
District 3: Corey Pysher and Wendell Roth
District 4: Bill Knight and John Alexander Underwood
District 5: Sal Leone and Alex Seymor
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Parks & Rec anti-campaigning rules lack force of law
GREENSBORO, NC -- The City of Greensboro confirms that the rules of the Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department against campaigning in parks and parks facilities were never approved by city council and, thus, lack the force of law.
Jamal Fox adds profile to GreensboroCouncilCandidates.com
Jamal, 25, is an adjunct professor and registered as a Democrat. His three top issues are community, economic development and public safety. In answer to what he would do, specifically, to increase transparency in city government, he says, "I will strengthen the communication between the city and community i.e. town halls."
This is Jamal's first run for council.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Creepy
GREENSBORO, NC -- Lex Alexander recently wrote a blog post taking Greensboro Police Chief Ken Miller to task for writing to local blogger Billy Jones asking that Jones remove a paragraph from a blog post.
In return, City Attorney Mujeeb Shah-Khan is now following Lex on Twitter.
In return, City Attorney Mujeeb Shah-Khan is now following Lex on Twitter.
Chis Lawyer adds profile to GreensboroCouncilCandidates.com
Chris, 34, is a physician's assistant and registered as a Republican. His three top issues are budgets, business/jobs and public safety/infrastructure. In answer to what he would do, specifically, to increase transparency in city government, he said, "there must be full disclosure at all times."
This is Chris' second run for council. He ran at-large in 2011, finishing fourth in a race for three seats, just out of the money by 762 votes or 1.5% of the votes cast.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
A.P.B. for missing council candidates
I am trying to find the email addresses of some city council candidates that are undiscoverable by a Google search. If you are one of the following or know how to reach any of the following, please email me at sysop@wirecom.com so that I can help them promote their candidacies.
Looking for:
Jean Brown
Katei Cranford
Joseph Landis
Marlando Pridgen
Sharon Hightower
Tigress McDaneil
Corey Pysher
Wendell Roth
John Alexander Underwood
Looking for:
Jean Brown
Katei Cranford
Joseph Landis
Marlando Pridgen
Sharon Hightower
Tigress McDaneil
Corey Pysher
Wendell Roth
John Alexander Underwood
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Stonewall Correlation: Week goes by without campaigning answer from Greensboro
GREENSBORO, NC - Last Saturday, staff at the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market asked mayoral candidate George Hartzman to stop talking with vendors about his plans for rejuvenating the War Memorial Stadium across the street. They deemed such discussion, because of the topic and Hartzman's status as a candidate, in violation of Parks & Recreation rules.
The city provided a copy of the rules to me within hours of asking. The rules cited a city ordinance that gives the rules legal authority when approved by city council.
I could not find a council meeting where the rules had been approved by city council.
So I asked the City if and when the Parks & Rec rules were approved. That was on Monday. Although the City could get me a copy of the rules within hours, a week was not enough time for them to answer whether council had approved them or not.
When it comes to requesting information from the City of Greensboro, I've developed an analysis that I call the Stonewall Correlation: The longer it takes the city to respond, the more embarrassing the answer.
The city provided a copy of the rules to me within hours of asking. The rules cited a city ordinance that gives the rules legal authority when approved by city council.
I could not find a council meeting where the rules had been approved by city council.
So I asked the City if and when the Parks & Rec rules were approved. That was on Monday. Although the City could get me a copy of the rules within hours, a week was not enough time for them to answer whether council had approved them or not.
When it comes to requesting information from the City of Greensboro, I've developed an analysis that I call the Stonewall Correlation: The longer it takes the city to respond, the more embarrassing the answer.
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