The N&R’s Doug Clark analyzes the Greensboro City Council’s 6-3 vote against a resolution made by council member and mayoral candidate Nancy Vaughan supporting the protest petition, which the General Assembly has in its sights:
“I think they’re going to do what they’re going to do,” Mayor Robbie Perkins said of the legislature, stating he would vote against Vaughan’s motion.
By passing a resolution, he added, the council would “appear to be criticizing the legislature. I’m not sure politically that’s where we want to be.”
..Only Tony Wilkins and Marikay Abuzuaiter joined Vaughan in voting for the resolution. The others, in effect, have decided to abandon protest petitions to their fate.
By doing so, they pulled the rug out from under every House member who represents Greensboro. Pricey Harrison, Alma Adams, John Blust, Marcus Brandon and Jon Hardister all voted last week in favor of Harrison’s amendment to delete the repeal of protest petitions. Their effort failed, but at least they stood up to support a law that the council itself and the people of Greensboro said only four years ago that they wanted.
Now the Greensboro City Council has told them, “Never mind. We don’t care.”
The council also gives the green light to Sen. Trudy Wade to vote for repeal.
Weird, but it’s almost the mirror image of the argument that fellow mayoral candidate George Hartzman made during last night’s meeting when speaking against the city’s new housing code. Hartzman argued that it was disingenuous for the council to pass a new ordinance when –at worst — some members actively help the legislature kill RUCO and —and best –did nothing to keep the legislature from killing RUCO.
Nobody believes Perkins— who filed to run for reelection the same week as his scheduled alimony and child support hearing, wants a protest petition. But such a masterful politician can do better than being afraid to criticize this legislature, who’s making sport of pissing people off.
