I’ve been critical of Greensboro City Council member Danny Thompson in the past for not upholding conservative principles during his time on the council. But Thompson earned my respect last night after watching him make city staff squirm during discussion of yet another useless federal program.
At issue was a contract for Greensboro-based ad agency Bouvier Kelly to the tune of some $200,000 to perform “marketing and communication services” for the federal Better Buildings program, which is funded through a $5 million Department of Energy grant.
Thompson —along with fellow council members Trudy Wade and Mary Rakestraw —- asked hard questions about the contract and the program in general. Thompson hammered home the fact that while several ad agencies responded to the RFP for “marketing and communications services,” not a single commercial bank had responded to the RFP for lending services, and only two credit unions —-one of which was the city’s credit union —had responded. Thompson was simply making the point that perhaps the city was “putting the cart before the horse” by a having marketing contract in place before financing was secured.
During the discussion, the camera remained focused on city sustainability director Dan Curry, who was making the presentation. Maybe it’s me, but Curry appeared very irritated that a council member would question city staff’s access to so-called “free” federal money.
Thompson made a motion to table the issue, and it passed with a 7-2 vote, with Robbie Perkins and Dianne Bellamy-Small voting ‘no.’
As satisfied as I am with Thompson’s motion, I still have one suggestion —- next time, don’t move to table. Move to spike.
