The word that I'll use is cautious because I didn't see that coming. The City Council will shift from progressives being shut out to progressives only being at a 4-5 disadvantage. Irving Allen rallied to claim the third and final at-large seat from Richard Beard. Crystal Black retires Sharon Hightower after 12 years in District 1. CC Crawford won the vacant District 2 seat comfortably. April Parker bested Zack Matheny in District 3 after 11th hour allegations against the challenger backfired.
Meanwhile, the temporary fill-in to permanent councilmember streak is no more as Jamila Pinder slipped from fourth to fifth. Perhaps, this ends that charade moving forward.
The partisan shift could be bad news for anybody who truly runs outside of the two-party duopoly--especially if they challenge the Greensboro power structure from the left as socialists.
In closing, I can say that the National Guard question right before the primary officially did a couple of things:
- It marked the fifth time in less than a decade that the public paid attention to the election--primary turnout was in the teens while turnout exceeded 20 percent yesterday. It was all due to yet another national issue that became localized.
- The candidates that replied abstain to the moderator's question eventually lost. Ex-mayor Robbie Perkins went from a seven-point gap in Round One to a shellacking in Round Two. Richard Beard was in prime position to win the final at-large seat but ended up choking it away to Irving Allen, who was all the way in fifth place. Carla Franklin fell 52 votes short of advancing to the general election and actually lost a vote during the recount against Dianne Bellamy-Small. Nicky Smith never stood a chance in District 4.
