I remember Joe Wilson as a stand up dude. One who wasn't afraid to speak the truth, to do the right thing even if Greensboro's elites didn't like it. Like back when Yvonne Johnson, Milton Kern and I were all 3 running for mayor back in 2007 and Johnson and Kern along with the bought and paid for News & Record and other local media outlets were denying Greensboro's gang problems and trying to portray me as crazy, it was Joe Wilson who boldly stepped up to risk his own personal safety to expose an illegal toll operation being operated by a street gang on a pedestrian bridge crossing US 29 North in Greensboro.
Today I learned of the death of Joe Wilson Jr just last Thursday. Joe's death is a loss for Greensboro's working class. Joe did some real estate and development work but Joe was no fan of Greensboro's established elite nor was he in the habit of screwing people to make his living. As a matter of fact, Joe could tell you any number of stories of how Greensboro's connected developers and city employees had screwed him for their own personal gain.
In one example Joe spoke of, years ago, when Downtown Greensboro was at rock bottom, Joe found a downtown building at a rock bottom price, dirt cheap and decided to buy the building and restore it.
Upon hearing the news, a well placed, high up Greensboro city official asked Joe to come see him. He explained to Joe the building was going to need very costly and mandatory asbestos abatement and that the City of Greensboro building inspections department would never allow the building to be put back into use until the asbestos was removed in accordance with Federal Regulations-- a process, that according to the city official, would probably take months, possibly years.
Joe did the smart thing, he backed out of the deal. Then amazingly, just a couple of months or so later the very building Joe had considered buying was being rented to multiple tenants at rents high enough that one tenant alone was enough to pay the monthly loan payment. Joe picked up his telephone and called the number on the front of the building. The man who answered the telephone was none other than the city official who scared Joe away from buying the building.
Joe Wilson is gone now but that man remains. I don't remember his name but I do remember Joe telling me he now works for one of Greensboro's big "non profits." And you can bet if I were to learn his name I'd publish it for Joe.
I've no doubt I'll be accused of cooking this story up as well but looking back I've been right a lot more than I was ever wrong. E-mail me at recyclebill@gmail.com if you know who Joe was talking about.
