The City Council delayed action last night on granting economic incentives to Sherwin Williams for an expansion that is supposed to bring 35 jobs to Greensboro at $1,457 per job in combined City/County participation.   

Assistant City Manager Ben Brown is organizing a little get togther with all affected parties to hash out some concerns, as well he should.  A quote from the N&R article this morning from Sherwin Williams neighbor Elizabeth Mulligan suggests that the company might have to clean up their act a little before receiving public monies... "It's as if someone is spraying a can of Krylon up your nose... The kids may not get cancer tomorrow, but who knows what's going to happen down the road."

I anticipate some furious back-pedaling in the level of support for incentives to SW.  We need jobs, but neighborhoods should not fear that they will have to give the ultimate sacrifice in order for us to secure them.

If the City would adopt a set of guidelines similar to what I have proposed, companies that come asking for taxpayer funded blackma ...err ... incentives would know the rules before they put their hands out.

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A strange thing happened yesterday.

I received a call that the Chair of the Guilford County Republican Party, Marcus Kindley, was to hold a news conference regarding the City Council race on the courthouse steps at 11:00a.  Being the curious type and a registered Republican, I drove down there and arrived at 11:15.

I walked up to where Kindley was just beginning the news conference.  Next to him were Council candidates Diane Davis, Bob Skenes and at-large candidates Jeff Nimmer and Jason Arispe.  (All of them looked quite dapper, by the way, as compared to me in my jeans and t-shirt work clothes)

Kindley had some comments about lack of leadership, hockey team management and other troublesome Greensboro issues and presented the four in attendance as the vehicle for change.  Each candidate had the opportunity to make their own brief remarks about how they were going to whip things in to shape.  He explained that mayorial candidate Bruce Bradshaw Ashley wanted to attend but had a prior committment.

After their remarks, Kindley came back to the podium and ask for questions at which point I raised my hand and asked, "As a Republican running for City Council, why was I not invited to participate in this news conference?"  Kindley responded that it was, "because you have indicated that did not want the help of the Republican Party."  When I asked where he heard this, he replied, "you said it in an interview with the News & Record."  I thanked him for taking my question.  (FYI, the N&R candidate interview was over a month ago, it has yet to be published)

Further FYI: The interview with the N&R included a question about the fact that Kindley had indicated that the Republican Party was going to endorse candidates in the upcoming City Council elections.  There were four of us in attendance at this interview: Arispe (R), Rahenkamp (U), Vaughn (D) and myself (R).  The other three answered the question before it was my turn and, as I recall it, all three explained that they thought that there was no place for partisan politics on City Council.  My answer was, "I am registered as a Republican, and if the party offered their endorsement, I would probably decline because I too believe that party politics has no place on the Council."

When I spoke to Kindley after the event I explained to him my recollection that every candidate in the interview said pretty much the same thing - including their apparent at-large pick, Arispe - he was nonplussed.  Kindley and other Republican higher-ups invited me to become more involved with the Guilford County Republican Party.  I thanked them for the invitation but explained that I have many other priorities to attend to.

I am apparently not Republican enough to be a Guilford County Republican.  Based on this experience - I want to keep it that way.  Since it is obvious that their decisions were made soley on hearsay, I question the sincerity and quality of the leadership.  The Republican Party has a stereotypical reputation for being an exclusive good-ole-boys club - Kindley is perpetuating that reputation.

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