Skip Alston's Cure Violence proposal is getting aired for possible funding within Greensboro city and Guilford county government. Recall that this is a Chicago program ostensibly intended to reduce inner city violence.
This is properly a city initiative, because that is where the problem is. But the GOP county commissioners are being put on the spot to fund this proposal; and they are allowing it to be considered, at least for now.
What complicates this picture? Mayor Pro Tem and City Council member Yvonne Johnson directs a local non-profit; and the Cure Violence initiative is being slated for this organization. Moreover, both Johnson and Alston have been affiliated with the Simkins PAC which makes endorsements in local elections.
And Ms. Johnson has participated in meetings with other public officials on this proposal, which is a clear conflict of interest.
John Hammer has a good article at the Rhino Times website that illustrates the absurdity of this situation:
It is curious that while councilmembers and commissioners say there is nothing improper about awarding the contract estimated at $600,000 a year to a nonprofit directed by a councilmember, the discussions on doing it were held at unannounced, secret meetings closed to the public and media...
At the April 1 City Council meeting at Vaughan’s request Johnson gave an update on where they were in planning the program and signing a contract with One Step Further.
Johnson said that she did not seek the contract for One Step Further and added, “I will not accept or receive any financial fiduciary money for this because that to me would be a conflict and I wouldn’t do that.”
Vaughan said, “Obviously any vote we would have, Yvonne would have to abstain from.”
But abstaining would create a problem because councilmembers are required to vote unless they have a direct conflict of interest. If they do have a conflict of interest not only are they not allowed to vote, but they are also supposed to refrain from any discussion of the matter. You often see elected officials leave the dais when they have a conflict of interest, so they won’t even be present for the discussion.
In this case, Johnson has participated in the discussions both as a councilmember and as the executive director of One Step Further. In fact at this council meeting it appeared that she was making no attempt to separate the roles, speaking about meeting with the County Commissioners and in the next breath about the requirements of One Step Further in contract negotiations.
The way the statutes have been interpreted in the past, if it is not a conflict of interest then Johnson will have to vote on awarding the contract to One Step Further and if it is a conflict of interest then she can’t vote but she also isn’t supposed to participate in the negotiations or discussions which she has been doing.
In a nutshell, the local political culture is trying to pull a fast one-- as usual. One day, she behaves as if there is no conflict. The next day, we are to believe there is a conflict that requires her recusing herself from voting.
The big question is how the GOP county commissioners are going to handle this situation. If they approve this funding, they become participants in this corruption.
Yvonne Johnson has been at the government trough since 1982. From 1993 to the present she has been on city council or mayor. During Johnson's stint on our governing board the city has funded her non-profit. She simply abstained and her liberal soul mates oked the grant. Perhaps , just perhaps , Phillips and company will put the brakes on this skulduggery
Posted by: Fred Gregory | 04/14/2019 at 07:46 PM
Fred, I hope they show some integrity, and put a stop to this.
Posted by: Triad Conservative | 04/14/2019 at 09:49 PM