Recall that the Greensboro City Council during a work session voted to require that non-profits funded by the city furnish salary information for top employees. Tony Wilkins did a great job advancing that issue; but it elicited much gnashing of teeth on the part of Mayor Vaughan and Councilman Zack Matheny. The vote was 4-3. This was the episode that revealed much about Matheny's character and temperament.
Of course, the Melderec crowd was very quick to try to disavow the vote even though City Attorney Terry Wood said it was legitimate. We used to be told that we must heed the input of city staff; but this was obviously an exception to that rule when they acted as if Wood was a non-entity.
Then, during the city council meeting this week, Mike Barber advanced a motion that had the effect of invalidating the previous vote. Barber argued they had a "combustible situation"-- apparently because he had heard from various folks who did not want the salaries released. It sounded very dramatic.
The council voted 8-1 to squash Wilkins' attempt to achieve transparency on behalf of taxpayers.
The old Melderec con Simkins alliance congealed. It was the same old machine politics.
We later learned that Barber receives a salary from a non-profit in the region. It also turns out that the city of Greensboro funds a number of groups including Downtown Greensboro, Inc.; the Greensboro Partnership; the Greensboro Sports Commission; and the East Market Street Development Corp.
It appears to me that the council is trying to protect its cronies in organizations such as these.
Recall that our local chamber of commerce was co-opted by the local elites affiliated with the foundations, and merged with Action Greensboro and the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance to form the Greensboro Partnership. And the combined organization has been ground zero for liberal, big spending advocacy since then. Our local political culture always had sported a smug, prideful demeanor that suggested they had patented the formula to achieve local municipal success.
But then this week, Dan Lynch retired from his position at the Greensboro Partnership. There had been some pressure from the council recently because of dissatisfaction with Greensboro's lackluster job growth.
Roy Carroll thinks we need a "rainmaker" to replace him. Maybe he's right. But given our high tax/spending environment relative to much of the rest of the southeastern United States, our corrupt machine politics, and the penchant of our local population for democratic socialism, I can't see why any company in its right mind would want to locate here.
In any event, thanks to our enlightened city council, there will be no transparency on the matter of top non-profit salaries. They acted to protect their own.
Over the last several months, Mike Barber has unfortunately positioned himself as the Great Apologist for Big Government. Remember how they told us that electing Barber at large, and Vaughan for mayor, would bring us a vast improvement over Robbie Perkins and the previous council. It seems to me there has not been much change.
Meanwhile, full blown arrogance and elitist self-appoint political stupidity is on full display over at Con'e blog on this subject.
As usual, the Echo Chamber master of ceremonies and his Peanut Gallery provide the usual wrong-headed hilarity we've come to expect from that place for many years now.
Posted by: Bob Grenier | 04/07/2014 at 02:54 PM