Editorial page editor Allen Johnson says he has nothing against Greensboro City Council member-elect Trudy Wade. In fact, Johnson says, the N&R endorsed Wade when she ran for county commissioner.

Still, one day after the election, Johnson posts:

Newly elected City Council member Trudy Wade cites “incompetence on the part of city government!” in her assessment of city water policy.

In both an editorial today and an earlier news story, the News & Observer of Raleigh cites Greensboro for its forward-thinking water conservation initiatives.

…The story quotes Jim Morris, director of the state Division of Water Sources, saying: “Greensboro has done everything right.”

Johnson doesn’t say Wade exploited the water issue, as least not as explicitly as Yes! Weekly said Wade “skillfully exploited the subtle racism of constituents who want to see City Manager Mitchell Johnson punished.” But it’s not unreasonable to think Johnson believes that, is it? Why even mention Wade, the most polarizing figure in the election due to her “attack ads” against incumbent Sandy Carmany. Why not just post the N&O’s praise for the city’s water policy and leave Wade out of it?

At any rate, we now have to wonder if there was even an issue for Wade to exploit and, if there was, who also was exploiting it. Surely not the media, especially not the paper who did a big feature on light pollution.

In fairness, last week’s story on the Haw River dam made me feel a lot better about the city’s grip on the water situation, especially after it was noted that withdrawals from the Haw to serve Patriot’s Landing weren’t “huge.” But this big front-pager from a couple of weeks ago painted didn’t exactly inspire confidence in the city’s plans under the grim scenario it set.

Exploitation aside, the rap on Wade seems to be that she doesn’t understand the issues. I’ve watched plenty of government meetings and I assure you there are plenty of public officials out there who have trouble grasping a the issues. I personally think Carmany misuderstands the demand for public transportation in the area. And any council member who voted to “join” the Kyoto Accords misunderstands carbon emissions and climate change.

The bottom line is Wade is the new District 5 City Council member. There will be a close eye on her, as there should be.