They talk about transportation hubs... for what? Empty trailers?
Of course we all know where Robbie Perkins stood on Fed Ex. If it involves a bulldozer he's all for it and Perkins was behind expansion of Piedmont Triad International Airport then just as he continues to pitch PTI expansion today. But where do the others stand?
Nancy Baracat Vaughan: In 2003 the Business Journal reported:
"Newly appointed members Dr. Earl Barbour, a High Point chiropractor, and Nancy Vaughan, a former Greensboro City Council member, take their seats in May and promise, however slightly, to alter the character of the authority to fit their priorities.
Both say they don't oppose the planned $300 million Federal Express air cargo hub; in fact, Vaughan was among the first elected officials back in 1998 to publicly support the controversial project."
Nancy Baracat Vaughan isn't talking much about Fed Ex these days.
Mike Barber: From the December 4, 2001 Guilford County Commissioners meeting minutes:
"Commissioner (Mike) Barber said the proposed FedEx hub means the direction the county will be taking will be positive. He said the company locating in Guilford County will continue to make the county progressive and not stagnant."
Guess what Mike? The county is stagnant. Last in the State of North Carolina in job creation. I asked Mike about Fed Ex in a Facebook thread last week. Mike isn't talking either.
Yvonne Johnson: From then Greensboro Mayor Yvonne J Johnson's August 27th, 2008 State of the Community speech:
"A long time ago, the City got its nickname the Gate City because of the large number of railway ties that led from Greensboro to all points. Today we are a gateway in many ways. Through our
colleges and universities and research centers, we are the gateway to education. Through
our highways, airport, FedEx Hub, and Honda Jet facility, we are the gateway to
commerce...
...All of these developments are signposts that tell us that Greensboro is continuing its
growth. FedEx is set to begin operations in the Summer of 2009...
...FedEx, Honda Jet and Mack Truck Corp. should stimulate even more interest in our area
so that we may continue to strengthen our local tax base..."
Yvonne really laid it on thick, didn't she? Too bad she was wrong. She was even wrong when she said,
"We have been the Gate City for 200 years."
Greensboro became known as the Gate City sometime after the groundbreaking of the North Carolina Railroad in Greensboro in 1851. Apparently Yvonne has problems with mathematics-- especially when it comes to spending $300 Million Dollars.
It should be noted that Roch Smith jr's 2001 platform when he ran for Mayor of Greensboro, included opposition to the Fed Ex Hub that has now cost Greensboro and Guilford County taxpayers $300 Million Dollars for 1500 jobs that never came.
We live in a city that is currently dead last in North Carolina in new job creation, some of that $300 Million could have gone towards supporting the establishment of new locally owned businesses and expanding existing locally owned businesses instead of putting the entire $300 Million in 1 pathetic pie.
We live in a city that ranks 97 out of 100 and falling in household earnings, people could use a tax break now more than ever!
We live in a city that ranks ranks 100th out of 102 markets in economic vitality-- that $300 Million could have been better spent.
We live in a city that ranks 95th out of the largest 100 cities in terms of citizens' ability towards upward mobility. That means fewer and fewer people have the chance to raise themselves up and we've our leaders to thank.
And it didn't end with Fed Ex. Unfulfilled and speculative airport expansion plans have continued ever since, some built, some not. Heart of the Triad, Aerotropolis, the march continues unabated every day, never living up to the hype draining precious resources from our communities and creating blue collar ghettos to the east and ever expanding airport noise cones in the west over Greensboro's more affluent communities.
We could have sure used some of that $300 Million to go towards solving some of those problems instead of building runways for multinational corporations who never delivered the jobs they promised and never intended to do so in the first place. I don't care if you call yourself a liberal or a conservative, if these politicians aren't corrupt then they simply haven't the common sense and judgement necessary to run a city-- any city. And the proof is in their $300 Million Dollar blunders that all of them are now scared to talk about. Just as they were scared to talk about the truth at the time it was going on.
On August 13th 2007, Ed Cone wrote:
"Planning for the impact of our local FedEx hub -- due to open in 2009 -- is suddenly in vogue.
Some of us tried to have this conversation before the hub was under construction. We got rolled."
Ed was right. We got rolled big time. To the tune of $300 Million Dollars! They knew it was all a lie before it ever started and they did it anyway. Ed Cone has the evidence on the pages of his blog!
It's time to vote the incumbents out of office-- all of them before they break the bank entirely. Please e-mail this post to everyone you know so that they know that Robbie Perkins, Nancy Baracat Vaughan, Mike Barber, Yvonne Johnson and yes, even T. Dianne Bellamy-Small all sold us out with their support for the $300 Million Dollar Fed Ex hub and the 1500 jobs that never came.
