In Jordan Green's article, Greensboro might be the best equipped to address emerging divisions, he quotes Greensboro Mayor Robbie Perkins:
“If we’re going to break through the barriers that we should, we’re going to do it through everyday life,” Mayor Perkins said."
That's a hard statement to disagree with but instead of doing things that support such a statement our mayor, proposes roads no one wants or needs, funds empty industrial parks 10 miles outside of the City Limits while signing contracts with the County not to annex the properties and continues to push a proposed downtown performing arts center said to cost $60 Million Dollars before cost overruns. And you know there are always cost overruns.
Nothing everyday about the things the Mayor does. Nothing at all.
And therein lies the problem. While Mayor Perkins is quite adept at saying what people want to hear, when it comes to doing... Well try as you might I challenge you to show me anything Mayor Robbie Perkins has done for Greensboro that didn't benefit Robbie Perkins in some way shape or form.
From the same article:
"Councilwoman Hoffmann said she has made an effort to reach out to young people to engage them in city government, and she senses that “they feel totally thwarted.”
Well of course they feel totally thwarted when the only thing the City of Greensboro has ever demonstrated any real interest in doing is becoming a bigger city. Bigger isn't better. How does making a city bigger help our young people? It didn't work when I was a young man and Jim "Bobblehead" Melvin was mayor and it's not working with Robbie "Pave it" Perkins and Nancy Hoffmann at the throne. It's never worked and no matter how long you continue to smash our young people's heads against the walls it still isn't going to work. Have we forgotten Albert Einstein's definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results is insanity.
Three rounds of downtown revitalization in my lifetime and Action Greensboro says Downtown buildings aren't worth fixing? How insane is that?
Size doesn't attract corporations. Amenities don't attract corporations. What attracts corporations is educated work forces and the things that bring you educated work forces are safe neighborhoods, better schools and more entrepreneurs who lay the foundations and build the start-ups the corporations are eventually built upon. Like I've noted before, those giant corporations in Charlotte and Raleigh, they were never attracted there, they were born there. That's why they stay. I hope Downtown thrives but seriously, Downtown is a very small part of Greensboro that needs to finally learn to walk. Then, after a few bruises and scraped knees Downtown might finally learn how to run.
Me, I'm tired of changing Downtown's diapers, 50 years is long enough.
“If we’re going to break through the barriers that we should, we’re going to do it through everyday life,” Mayor Perkins said."
That's a hard statement to disagree with but instead of doing things that support such a statement our mayor, proposes roads no one wants or needs, funds empty industrial parks 10 miles outside of the City Limits while signing contracts with the County not to annex the properties and continues to push a proposed downtown performing arts center said to cost $60 Million Dollars before cost overruns. And you know there are always cost overruns.
Nothing everyday about the things the Mayor does. Nothing at all.
And therein lies the problem. While Mayor Perkins is quite adept at saying what people want to hear, when it comes to doing... Well try as you might I challenge you to show me anything Mayor Robbie Perkins has done for Greensboro that didn't benefit Robbie Perkins in some way shape or form.
From the same article:
"Councilwoman Hoffmann said she has made an effort to reach out to young people to engage them in city government, and she senses that “they feel totally thwarted.”
Well of course they feel totally thwarted when the only thing the City of Greensboro has ever demonstrated any real interest in doing is becoming a bigger city. Bigger isn't better. How does making a city bigger help our young people? It didn't work when I was a young man and Jim "Bobblehead" Melvin was mayor and it's not working with Robbie "Pave it" Perkins and Nancy Hoffmann at the throne. It's never worked and no matter how long you continue to smash our young people's heads against the walls it still isn't going to work. Have we forgotten Albert Einstein's definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results is insanity.
Three rounds of downtown revitalization in my lifetime and Action Greensboro says Downtown buildings aren't worth fixing? How insane is that?
Size doesn't attract corporations. Amenities don't attract corporations. What attracts corporations is educated work forces and the things that bring you educated work forces are safe neighborhoods, better schools and more entrepreneurs who lay the foundations and build the start-ups the corporations are eventually built upon. Like I've noted before, those giant corporations in Charlotte and Raleigh, they were never attracted there, they were born there. That's why they stay. I hope Downtown thrives but seriously, Downtown is a very small part of Greensboro that needs to finally learn to walk. Then, after a few bruises and scraped knees Downtown might finally learn how to run.
Me, I'm tired of changing Downtown's diapers, 50 years is long enough.
