I hadn't seen it at the time but today I found Greensboro economic development leaders defend their record in yesterday's News & Record.
George hit the nail squarely on the head.
On January 9, boss Roy Carroll publishes:
"In my opinion, Mr. Lynch’s performance has been subpar for years. If the Partnership is not prepared to address Mr. Lynch’s performance, the city and county elected officials should step in and redirect the way in which we conduct our community’s search for businesses to bring jobs to our area.
In general discussions in the community, I’m finding fewer and fewer elected officials, industrial developers and general leaders in the business community that believe Mr. Lynch’s performance is satisfactory.
If the leaders of the city and county really want to address job creation in our community, they should demand better than status quo from the person charged with that task. These leaders should seek someone that will be effective at leading our job creation efforts by identifying and bringing new companies into our community. A nationwide search for a real “rainmaker” to lead our business recruitment needs to begin today."
I think you now know why Roy Carroll bought a newspaper and why myself and many others are actively boycotting Roy's advertisers.
And two weeks later Zack is in the boardroom at the Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey and Leonard law firm, bowing to his master Roy:
"Matheny, the most vocal critic, laid out a detailed plan of achievements and aspirations for the city that included everything from better welcome signs on Greensboro’s highways to building at least three megasites for industry.
He suggested that economic developers need to be more proactive."
And this:
"Critics, including Mayor Nancy Vaughan, Matheny and even Roy Carroll, the publisher of the Rhino Times weekly newspaper, have asked for more proof that the Alliance and private economic developers are getting the job done."
The pot calling the kettle black.
As my ongoing series, Incentives In Greensboro has proved to date, none of them have a clue as to what they're doing and now that the heat is on they're all standing around pointing fingers at one another.
Matheny is responsible for several of the most corrupt incentive packages ever passed by the City of Greensboro and have we forgotten that it was a failed Greensboro incentive deal that paid for the construction of the very townhouse that Roy Carroll lives in today high atop the half empty Center Point building?
Seriously, Matheny and Carroll telling people they don't know how to handle incentives? And the fact that Mayor Nancy Baracat Vaughan would be a part of Zack's dog and pony show tells you where her loyalties lie.
As for Zack's Presentation... That was the link. It's the same old song and dance, gifts and grants to real estate developers, a downtown performing arts center, minimum wage jobs inside the poorest parts of the city, the Florida Street Extension for Roy and megasites 20 miles away from where the working class lives-- the very same crap Robbie Perkins tried to pitch, the very same development stratigies that have failed Greensboro for the last 50 years. Oh, and now he wants us to be like Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Frankly, I think the entire bunch of them needs to be run out of town on a rail after a good old fashioned tar and feathering.
But sadly, these days economic criminals even escape jail sentences, much less angry mobs. Voting in a new mayor changed nothing, we have no recourse but to wait for all to crumble and salvage what little remains.
Please continue reading Incentives In Greensboro Part 20
