Is Greensboro a Model Oligarchy?

In the case of redistricting, the answer is a resounding yes. Real estate interests got what they wanted and Marlene Sanford was their go-to woman.

Sanford is a representative for TREBIC, which is a front for those very influential real estate interests that run the Gate City. The above map is the Moderate Change Option that won out over the Pie-Shaped Map. The problem? The Citizens' Redistricting Committee contained six other people from diverse backgrounds and these other six backed the Pie-Shaped option, which as it turns out, would have resembled the 2001 districts. All five districts would have served downtown and as we all know, the elites who really run Greensboro don't like the idea of the plebs having a say over the city's crown jewel. For those outside of North Carolina, Downtown Greensboro was a ghost town 20 years ago while it was thriving pre-Covid.

The excuses that councilmembers used were completely laughable. They just didn't want to implement the most equitable map. 

What's good is a citizens' committee if those in control are just going to ignore it anyway? At the very least, Dr. Roberto has this blog's support for speaking out against the city's act of democide and for tossing his hat into the at-large race next year.

I have no doubt that other cities in the state would have tried doing the same thing as Greensboro had they thought of it first but none of them would have gone through the motions of pretending to allow citizens' democracy the way the Gate City does. Crony politics with the blessing of the city's political clans won out again.

Imagine that, Tammi Thurm didn't want to run against Nancy Hoffmann. What a shocker (not)! An incumbent vs incumbent/establishment vs establishment race was avoided. The oligarchs get what they want because too many citizens are either asleep or have given up on electoral politics altogether. Looking back at Democracy Greensboro's efforts to upend the ruling elite four years ago, I say that it will take a multi-pronged effort similar to the masses of people who came together during the George Floyd uprisings last year, and it will have to be multiple groups who are sick and tired of business as usual if there's to be a political earthquake in either 2022 or 2025.