Analysis and outlook

Greensboro: More of the same

Despite a high number of people running for office, voters in the Gate City decided to stay the course in most of the races (so much for early voting turning into a political earthquake). The exceptions were Tammi Thurm leading Tony Wilkins in District 5 and Mike Barber only leading Michelle Kennedy by 12 votes for the final at-large seat.

Perhaps, the backlash to Democracy Greensboro took on a life of its own after the group held a candidate forum on September 16. Maybe, as another blogger suggested, most of the residents on both sides of the political spectrum have given up hope. If money does make the world go the round, all newcomers but Thurm, Kennedy, and Dave Wils found out the hard way that if you don't have the funds, the media will ignore you--even if you have a clear message or are deemed to be the most qualified.

Eventually, though, the people of Greensboro will have to live with their choices should the elite backed council members continue to make the city unlivable for the have nots.

High Point: Move ahead with the project

The people deemed by the founder of Sunrise Books to be the "High Point Enterprise Naysayers Club" had a very long night on the 10th as their favorite candidate (Cynthia Davis) advanced to the second round in third place after topping the at-large field in 2014 and Catalyst Project skeptic Jim Davis was eliminated from the mayoral race. It's clear that voters weren't in line the conservatives' line of thinking.

That said, it would be very wise that the Catalyst Project is actually handled the right way because if it isn't, I have a sneaking feeling that either Davis or both will lead a hard right backlash in 2019 with a throw the baby out with the bathwater attitude that would ensure that downtown is lost to the furniture industry forever.

Why I'm anti-experience

As you may notice, I steadfastly refuse to support anyone who is currently in office in Greensboro and former seat holders in both cities. The reason is simple. The following people--Nancy Vaughan, Yvonne Johnson, Chris Whitley--have been in and out of office since the '90s and things got worse under the watch of all three as well as various mayors in both cities. For Greensboro, it's been about making downtown more presentable for rich, white elites who show contempt for minorities. Here in High Point, the northern part of the city sprawled throughout the '90s and '00s while downtown became barren outside of the furniture market and the older southern and eastern parts deteriorated. 

I hold Goldie Wells and Dianne Bellamy-Small culpable because they didn't do enough to stop the creeping poverty while they were in office in the second half of the aughts.

The remaining seven members of the Greensboro City Council also bear responsibility for supporting the STPAC white elephant while residents in East Greensboro continue to fall behind.