The News and Record reports this morning the passing of Greensboro City Council member Yvonne Johnson at age 82. She had served three decades on the city council, interrupted briefly by a two-year hiatus after losing the mayoral election to Bill Knight 15 years ago.
I suspect that she is going to be treated like royalty during the coming days by the local media/ left complex. But there will be some Republicans– or ex-Republicans like Nancy Vaughan– who will jump eagerly aboard.
Her legacy is not a good one, however.
The mere premise that one person should serve for three decades is problematic. We need term limits for council members; and her career is an illustration.
She was a member of the Simkins PAC– an organization steeped in self-serving racial identity politics for its political members. Its influence enabled her to secure local governmental funding for her non-profit, One Step Further, that she led as executive director.
She was also the “enforcer” of the Simkins PAC on the city council, assuring that policy decisions were in alignment with whatever the PAC members might expect. If fellow council members did not comply, they would risk the PAC endorsement.
She was one of the forces behind the closure of the White Street Landfill at enormous cost to Greensboro taxpayers.
During the period of her leadership, taxes and fees in the city of Greensboro increased substantially. Increasing socialistic programs are being adopted. In addition, the reign of racial identity politics she helped foster assured that public safety would be undermined, and that police would be attacked and stigmatized. The city experienced considerable “white flight” as many escaped to neighboring jurisdictions. Her leadership was disastrous in many respects.
But many within the city will pretend otherwise during the next week or two.
Whoever replaces her on the city council will likely be nearly as bad as she was.
RIP.
Update 12/06: The Rhino Times predictably has a puff piece.
Nice recap of her life and “service ” to Greensboro.
The Latin phrase De mortuis nil nisi bonum dicendum est, “Of the dead nothing but good is to be said.” — abbreviated Nil nisi bonum — is a mortuary aphorism indicating that it is socially inappropriate for the living to speak ill of the dead who cannot defend or justify themselves.
In that case I’l remain silent.
Fred, I expect the next week or so might be insufferable.