In the effort of being fair and balanced, I’ll give Yes!Weekly’s Jordan Green credit for doing his homework and concluding that District 4 Greensboro City Council candidate and at-large incumbent Mary Rakestraw is not associated with local whack job E.H. Hennis, has Rakestraw’s opponent Joel Landau recently claimed.
Of course Landau’s claims were a defensive maneuver as the controversy over his association with Signe Waller Foxworth heats up. Landau is extremely defensive about his association with Waller Foxworth, who was involved in the Nov. 3, 1979 Klan-Nazi shootout here in Greensboro. Landau’s claim that Waller Foxworth was not a member of the Communist Workers Party at the exact moment of the shootout is splitting the thinnest of hairs.
But it’s important to look at the big picture here. I agree with Guarino when asks exactly “why someone who has had communist beliefs would find Landau’s candidacy appealing.” Probably because his issues include making “Greensboro more bicycle, pedestrian, and mass transit friendly” and “guiding development to reduce sprawl,” both of which are classic far left bullet points that have no grounds in fiscal reality.
Which isn’t to say that the Klan-Nazi shootout can’t be politically leveraged. Green notes that the 30th anniversary that ugly event is on Election Day, and no doubt there will be media buildup. Expect a big front-pager —-more than likely written by Lorraine Ahearn —-in the N&R’s Sunday edition right before the election. Voters will have that story —along with Landau’s issues —- fresh in their memories as they head to the polls.
The Klan-Nazi shootout has been politicized before, but this time it has the potential to truly affect the make-up of Greensboro’s City Council in a way that —- in my opinion — wouldn’t be good for the city.
Update: Meanwhile, Rakestraw takes heat for supporting Dell incnetives while she was a Guilford County commissioner.
