At the Tuesday, May 18 City Council meeting, Mayor Nancy Vaughan participated virtually and Mayor Pro Tem Yvonne Johnson chaired the meeting.
Johnson – who was mayor from 2007 to 2009 and has been mayor pro tem on and off since the 1990s – has her own distinct style of running meetings.
Johnson began the meeting by saying, “The mayor is on Zoom. She has a little stomach problem which is why she is not here.” That statement resulted in a lot of laughter from her fellow councilmembers and the few staff members in the audience and pretty much set the tone for the meeting.
Johnson also started the meeting by asking Councilmember Michelle Kennedy to lead the council in the Pledge of Allegiance. Kennedy refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance, although she does stand. So Kennedy declined and Councilmember Justin Outling led the pledge.
This meetings was hybrid, which means some but not necessarily all councilmembers are in the chamber and the public participates by Zoom. At this meeting Vaughan and Councilmember Marikay Abuzuaiter participated virtually. But because it was a hybrid meeting, all the votes taken by the council were supposed to be roll call votes, which are tedious and take a lot of time. Johnson, who likes to keep meetings moving along, decided that they could vote by a show of hands on some items and a voice vote on others.
Johnson also throws a lot of the formality of meetings out the window. When calling for votes Johnson usually called for a vote from “Mayor Vaughan” followed by “Abuzuaiter,” not “Councilwoman Abuzuaiter” or “Ms. Abuzuaiter” or even “Marikay Abuzuaiter” but simply “Abuzuaiter.” For one vote Johnson called all the councilmembers by their first names except for Mayor Nancy Vaughan who had to be distinguished from Councilmember Nancy Hoffmann.
Johnson, who as noted likes to keep the meeting moving along, also held votes on items 24 and 25 before holding the public hearing, which confused everyone for a while. City Manager David Parrish finally stepped in and straightened things out. The public hearing was held after the vote.
The City Council also voted to continue an item on setting the date for the Nov. 2, 2021 City Council election and then heard the two speakers who had signed up to speak on the item.
On a routine item where the amount was $2,551,355.68, Johnson said, “Can we just round that to 70 cents?” City staff evidently didn’t agree and Johnson said, “Some people have no sense of humor. If you can’t laugh you’ll be in bad shape.”
It’s time for Ms Johnson to go she has been there to long it’s time for her to retire we need people with new ideas and not the same old junk.
Oh Johnny, youre such a folksy little writer. No wonder youve done soo many great things in your life. You and Bledsoe should write a book together called To Peas in a Pod!!
Does looking down your nose at someone else count as doing “great things”? BTW, I believe the number 2 is spelled “two”. Let John stick to writing since he at least uses spell check.
I am literally super-surprised. Ms. (baby-visual-aid prop) Kennedy refuses to honor the Country that gives her the freedom not to do so. So to whom or what does your allegiance lie? Why are you in government?
Kennedy shouldn’t even be allowed a place to sit in the same room. She’s a Communist and unfit to lead a group of turds to the toilet bowl.
Maybe she can follow the out…..
If you cannot say the Pledge of Allegiance, you should not hold public office PERIOD.
If you still think the pledge of allegiance includes the phrase “under God”, you should also be disqualified from public office.
Great point!
It amazes me that the same God our founding fathers worshipped still lets some of you agnostic/atheist libtards breathe and walk the earth (it’s still round by the way.) If it weren’t One Nation Under God, you idiots would have burned it all down long ago! Therein is an exhibit of God’s own mercy, which many of us humans just don’t share at the same level. If you accept the oath of public office you should be required to respect all that goes with it.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty & justice for all.
Auribus Teneo Lupem
God, explicitly, does not go with the oath of public office. Not your God, not a pantheon of them, not a singularity from a six-fi book.
What you wrote IS NOT the pledge of allegiance to the United States. Thus, you seem to be bending the knee to something or someone else.
Nice rant though. Got the name calling, expressed your beliefs as somehow the “right” ones, and kicked it off with some archaic Latin phrase popularized by an emperor. Well done.
You cannot use Religion as proof. It is faith-based, not fact based.
Why?
Just agreeing with old Anal Beads Nelson. Awaiting his reply to your question.
plenty to laugh at.
Voting before public hearing? Lack of parliamentary procedure? Voting procedures with no standards? What a shame and sham of a local government we have. Complicity from staff is sad and egregious.
Will someone please explain to me why Michelle Kennedy refuses to recite the pledge?
She’s a California girl. Don’t you wish they all could be? The Beach Boys cannot be held accountable for this mess.
Hopefully these clowns will be departing soon
Bon chance
When the City Council gives me $900.000.00 I’ll be cracking jokes about other people too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When is violence going to be cured? Seems the “Cure the Violence” program is NOT working. There was crime in one of her areas this week. Is all of the money already gone?
We are up to 20 homicides. Going to be a great “little Chicago” summer.
I have a wonderful sense of humor but I’m not laughing and Greensboro is in bad shape. Am I the only one who thinks these people are a joke?
Its time for Councilman Kennedy to go if she cannot say the Pledge of Allegiance!
There was a time in this great country that being a communist would get someone an active prison sentence and before that you would have been tarred . feathered and then ridden out of town on a rail maybe it’s time to turn back the clock
Being a Communist is similar to being a Facist, or a National Socialist. Under our constitution, all opinions are protected. They have to be, otherwise our own opinions would not be tolerated either.
We have plenty of these in government now. If the LEFT gets their agenda through Congress, what is left of our freedoms will quickly vanish. One party rule.
All the Republicans have left in the Senate is stone-walling and filibuster. On a 50-50 split, they could lose two of their 50 votes to defectors. Expecting to peel off a Democrat vote or two, would have been likely, but probably not will happen as the vote is being taken.
President Trump is responsible for the loss of the Senate, especially in Georgia.
Yesterday, I witnessed a protest by 100 or so young people against Israel, and for the Palestinians. This had to be organized by the LEFT; they were playing to black bystanders. These protesters appeared to have to clue of what is really going on in Palestine, or why.
An embarrassing moment with lack of respect to those who fight to give this ignorant, uneducated, anti-police, ( yes I can go in and on) thing. Wish I had her in Iraq.
Kennedy is truly an embarrassment to our city, county, state, country and those who fight to give her the right to refuse.
Johnson- what did you do with the tax payers money that Vaughan and the rest of the questionable council gave you without accountability?
Elections cannot come quick enough! I plan to be in every district supporting the other candidates no matter who they are.
Reason- they cannot be any worse!
Sounds like Nancy got the last Beef Burger……!