Seeking to Upset Status Quo, Gate City Demands New Leadership

Welcome to Greensboro, North Carolina’s “political outlier.”

That’s the way John Locke Foundation President John Hood described the Gate City following the November municipal elections. While Hood’s post-election analysis noted that Democrats remained “firmly in control of urban politics in our state,” Greensboro was the “outlier” because voters elected a new mayor and City Council based on a platform of fiscal conservatism. Although Greensboro’s council is officially nonpartisan, registered Republicans now have the majority.

The mayor’s race was particularly surprising. Bill Knight — a retired certified public accountant who had never held political office — defeated incumbent Yvonne Johnson. Before she was elected mayor in 2007, Johnson served many years on the City Council, so she was definitely well-known.

But while Knight’s victory may have surprised many, there also was a sense that Greensboro was ready for serious change. The city has been seemingly embroiled in one political controversy after another, mostly surrounding former City Manager Mitchell Johnson’s handling of issues inside the city’s police force.

In January 2006, Johnson locked then-Police Chief David Wray out of his office after a report by a private investigation company stated that Wray discriminated against black police officers.

Wray eventually would resign, but the controversy simmered for three more years before the council finally voted to fire Mitchell Johnson by a 5-4 vote, with Yvonne Johnson — who had publicly defended the city manager — voting against the motion.

Restoring confidence in the police department was a major campaign issue for Knight. Current Police Chief Tim Bellamy — who was assistant chief under Wray before becoming his permanent replacement — announced in November that he would retire next year, so the force will be under new leadership.
While Knight has been careful not to criticize Bellamy, he also noted that the force has “lost a lot of the leadership structure in the last three or four years.”

“The big thing is we need to have a well-respected police force. That’s one of the reasons why we have city government, is to provide for public safety,” Knight said in a phone interview after the election.

The city also faces a controversy over its White Street municipal landfill. The landfill was closed to household waste a few years ago, and the city now trucks its garbage out of town. The expense prompted council member Mike Barber — who did not seek re-election — to explore reopening the landfill.

Barber’s proposal sparked protest from East Greensboro residents. The city has since issued a request for proposal (RFP) from companies that can provide a waste disposal alternative, such as a biodiversion plant or a gasification plant.

Knight said the council would explore all options, with an eye toward what’s most cost-effective.

“If someone is coming with a coherent plan to address waste disposal that will save the taxpayers a lot of money, then I’m bound to pay attention to it,” Knight said.

Greensboro also faces a staggering debt load. A recent report by the Civitas Institute found that Greensboro taxpayers face $2.5 billion in debt and unfunded obligations. As a result, residents certainly will face a future tax increase, Civitas tax policy analyst Brian Balfour noted in an op-ed in the Greensboro News & Record.

“Taxpayers and workers will bear the brunt of politicians’ short-sighted spending binges with a lower standard of living,” Balfour wrote.

At the same time Greensboro voters elected Knight, however, they also passed a $20 million bond referendum for the city’s natural science center.

Despite his fiscally conservative stance, Knight said he supported the science center bond.

“I did a lot of homework on the issue, and I am convinced there will be an economic impact,” Knight said.

But he added that before the city pursues other bonds for capital projects and infrastructure, “we need to know what the impact is going to be. Bonds are not free money.”

Another major criticism of Yvonne Johnson’s administration was that it did not pay enough attention to the budget process. Knight says that will change under his leadership.

“The city council, in my mind, ignored the budget last year. It’s going to get a really hard look,” Knight said. “We’ve got to do things in a very prudent way and figure out how we’re going to pay for it.”

Knight will not be the only newcomer in Greensboro city government. While several familiar faces will be sitting on the new council — including Mary Rakestraw in District 4, Trudy Wade in District 5, and Robbie Perkins at-large — first-timers Jim Kee, representing District 2, and Danny Thompson, holding another at-large seat, promised to bring fresh perspectives to the council during the campaign.
Knight also praised new City Manager Rashad Young, who took over in October after serving as city manager in Dayton, Ohio, for several years.

“He’s got some good ideas,” Knight said. “He’s the man in charge, and the council will not micromanage city staff.”

Sam A. Hieb is a contributor to Carolina Journal.