All nine incumbents on the Greensboro City Council were reelected in yesterday’s municipal election. Mayor Nancy Vaughan will be Gboro’s first two-time mayor since Keith Holliday after taking 88 percent of the vote.
Meanwhile–in the District 1 rematch—incumbent Sharon Hightower easily defeats Dianne Bellamy-Small—the incumbent Hightower defeated by 12 votes in the 2013 election.
As usual, I’m having trouble following the N&R logic regarding the election. Uncertainty about Sen. Trudy Wade’s bill restructuring the council dictated the lack of formidable challengers, which resulted in the pathetic 4 percent voter turnout for the primary.
But in today’s editorial the N&R says “Tuesday was vindication day” for the City Council:
Coming in the midst of a months-long battle over the shape of the council, the result delivered a clear verdict. “The city is comfortable with the City Council it has, and it has reaffirmed that,” Mayor Nancy Vaughan said.
….If voters wanted the kind of change Wade tried to dictate, they would have ousted the council that vigorously defended the status quo.
This election can be interpreted in two ways. One is as an endorsement of the council’s work record. The second is as a statement of support for the city in its differences with a conservative legislature.
Mind you the turnout was 11 percent—obviously better than the primary but hardly a mandate. Still keeping in mind that Wade’s bill is still working its way through the legal system—opponents best start gearing up for 2017, because whoever is elected then will be in office for four years.
The Rhino’s John Hammer says the “the idea of this crowd being elected for four years is frightening.” I don’t disagree.
