We begin with Marlene Sanford of the "non profit" Greensboro Builder's Association who lists her website as Trebic.org. Click on any photo to enlarge.
What is TREBIC, you ask? TREBIC stands for the Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition. Now take a look at the TREBIC membership page. Be sure to note that the taxpayer supported Greensboro Chamber of Commerce is proudly listed near the top. Of course I got a screen grab.
But wait, it gets better. A lot better.
According to the NC Secretary of State, Marlene Sanford is a lobbyist for the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, aka The Greensboro Partnership, aka Action Greensboro.
The Chamber of Commerce is supposed to represent all business interest in Greensboro, not just the real estate industry, but apparently that's not the case as Marlene Sanford whose resume currently listed on the TREBIC website, shows her as acting President of TREBIC 1999 to present.
Will there not be times when the business interests of the real estate industry and other local businesses are at odds with one another? Surely to pay the same lobbyist to represent both is a conflict of interest.
And for those of you who still think Greensboro is run by Liberals, I give you the City of Greensboro lobbyist, Jillian D. Totman of McGuire Woods Consulting, former political director for the North Carolina Republican Party, and national email director for the 2012 Mitt Romney presidential campaign.
These people are neither liberal, conservative, Democrat, nor Republican. They are political mercenaries who will do anything for a buck. And they are Greensboro's shadow government working behind the scenes to manipulate State and local governments to do their bidding even... make that, especially when their bidding is not in the best interest of the working classes and Greensboro's other local businesses.
And how do I know Ms Totman is Greensboro's lobbyist? Back to the NC Secretary of State website.
Update: For those of you who cannot understand the conflict, I give you Greensboro history:
From the City of Greensboro:
"This lively community began to wind down in the late 1950s and 1960s when, under the guise of "urban renewal," thousands of people and more than 80 businesses (many minority-owned) were displaced. Most of those businesses never reestablished." http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/index.aspx?page=1749
Now I realize the disease and incinerator were located there but as the article states:
"...more than 80 businesses (many minority-owned) were displaced. Most of those businesses never reestablished."
One cannot deny that some sort of conflict existed be it racial, business, etc... And the current arrangement of having both TREBIC and the Chamber of Commerce represented by the same lobbyist makes Greensboro all the more open to such conflicts in the future.
80 business fell victim to the developers of the day.... That's a conflict. A conflict we are set to repeat.
