Why has the N&O made such an issue, with stories and columns, about Reyn Bowman’s “retention incentive” of $275,000 when they don’t blink an eye at the millions in government waste going down the rat hole that is Rolling Hills?
Bowman, as CEO of the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, shoveled manure for Durham for 20 years, combating regional bias, pushing for Durham’s rightful place as a non-hyphenated town all its own, extolled the virtues of a downtown that could be (which is finally seeing progress), and he did it all with grace, charm and good humor.
His retirement bonus, if you will, amounts to a little more than $13,000 a year in what he and the DCVB say was an agreed-upon-in-advance deferred compensation. Bowman’s retention incentive is small potatoes compared to the millions that are wasted routinely by Durham’s elected officials, city and county. Where are the reporters, columnists and raised editorial eyebrows when real waste and boondoggles need to be examined?
I say Bowman deserves every penny of his golden parachute, and I wish him a fun time on his Harley.
