A total of 47 people felt strongly enough that they should be appointed to the City Council that they filled out applications.
Mayor Nancy Vaughan said that several of the applicants were disqualified for not meeting the minimum requirement of being a registered voter in Greensboro.
The City Council discussed requiring applicants to have voted in previous City Council elections, which would have eliminated a number of applicants, but decided against additional requirements. However, that did not prevent councilmembers from considering voting records when making their decision.
Many of the 20 applicants who spoke virtually at the Tuesday, Sept. 14 City Council meeting spoke about how much they loved Greensboro and their desire to make Greensboro better, but many applicants had no history of serving the city by being members of any of the 24 Greensboro boards and commissions appointed by the City Council.
At nearly every regular meeting, the City Council appoints members to some of the boards and commissions. There are always openings. Some of the boards and commissions, like the Board of Adjustment, have a lot of authority. A decision made by the Board of Adjustment can be appealed in Superior Court, but the City Council doesn’t have the authority to overrule a decision.
Some of the others, like the Parks and Recreation Commission, may get more press but actually aren’t as powerful.
But from the ABC Board and Airport Authority to the War Memorial Coliseum Commission and the Planning and Zoning Commission the city has a board or commission for just about any interest.
After the council had heard from all the applicants, several councilmembers commented that they hoped some of those who expressed great love for and interest in Greensboro would be willing to serve on a board or commission.
And for those who hope to one day be appointed to the City Council, judging from the applicant selected – Hugh Holston – serving on boards and commissions increases your odds of being chosen. Holston is currently serving as chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission and is a former chair of the Board of Adjustment.
I suggest that the best way to serve Greensboro would be to boot the City Council.
The conservative voters have to show up at the polls, or it ain’t gonna happen.
Agreed with Miller! Boot them ALL out!
AND have councilwoman Johnson payback to the citizens of Greensboro the $900k that was GIVEN to her “ Cure for Violence “ group, with interest. Use that money for raises for city employees, hire more police and fire department employees.
Agree with Glenn the cure violence program doesn’t seem to be working but how would we know since there is no way to measure the good or bad it’s been almost 2 years and not a word or report yet from ms. johnson. It’s time to get the money back