There was some interesting commentary over the weekend from two of Greensboro’s prominent bloggers.
Cone’s N&R column drew a fair amount of reaction from other bloggers. Playing mental gymnastics with an issue as only he can, Cone comes up with this bit of insight into the David Wray affair:
It may be that Wray, the nonracist, handled things the way he did because he was sensitive to accusations of racism, and thus stretched his justifications of investigations into black officers who were not in fact targeted on the basis of their skin color. That would not excuse any failure to be straight with his bosses in city government if it happened, but it might indicate something about the poisoned atmosphere in which he operated……
I’m not offering up absolution for David Wray; if he misled his boss as alleged, that is a serious problem. And I’m not certain of the exact role race and fear of racial politics played in the whole mess. But I do know the fear is real, and it needs to be lifted if Greensboro and Guilford County are going to move forward.
Guarino basically thought the same thing I did when I read that last sentence: If the chief of police had a profound fear of racial politics, for God’s sake, then it is indeed a true indictment of Greensboro’s leadership and we do indeed have serious problem. It also makes you wonder about the culture in which current Police Chief Tim Bellamy is working, considering the fact that he was hand-chosen by the current leadership.
Meanwhile, Wharton ——I’m not kidding —- says Project Homestead wasn’t all that bad. He cites numbers provided by city HCD head Andy Scott stating “the city will eventually get back its $16 million investment and more” before concluding:
Maybe you remember what happened a while back with the United Way, and more recently with the Smithsonian Institution. When people are in constantly in control of a lot of other people’s money, it’s hard for them not to take some of it.
You can draw your own moral from this story. My view is that Project Homestead did a tremendous amount of good for the city, building better houses for low-income homeowners than the market would have provided, bringing a lot of economically marginalized people into the financial mainstream, strengthening the fabric of many neighborhoods, and just giving thousands of people decent places to live.
In a worst-case scenario – say Project Homestead squandered $500,000 of city money – we paid a 3% toll to human sin and folly. More than we’d like to pay, for sure, but hardly more than one would expect in this world.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the fact that it’s hard not to take other people’s money does not make it right. That’s why people go to jail when they’re caught doing it. I have considerable respect for Professor Wharton, and I’m very surprised by that rationalization. Taking it a step further, that logic certainly applies to government. As long they’re already in charge of other people’s money, it’s hard for them not to keep taking more. That doesn’t make that right, either.
The good part is all not is lost. A little research into Project Homestead reveals some interesting information which Greensboro residents can put to good use in November:
In 1999, less than a week after the city’s former audit director told Project Homestead director Michael King that she intended to audit the nonprofit, some City Council members asked the city manager to investigate the audit director on allegations of harassing and discriminating against Homestead…..
Council members acknowledge they were sensitive to his accusations. Robbie Perkins said he and other council members “bent over backward” to avoid appearing biased against King and Homestead.
Records show that Perkins and three other council members — Yvonne Johnson, Claudette Burroughs-White and Don Vaughan — went so far as to call on City Manager Ed Kitchen to investigate then-city audit director Jacky Dowd and another employee. King had complained to the council members that Dowd and the other employee, whom city officials declined to identify, harassed and discriminated against Homestead.
The names in bold are on the ballot next month. If you’re concerned about Greensboro’s fear of racial politics, it certainly helps to know who’s promoting that fear, right?
