Tom Kirby-Smith: Greensboro’s GOP issues

Your Feb. 10 editorial “The voting mess” might have also mentioned the legislature’s meddling with the Asheville water supply and the Charlotte airport. But it was good to read your comment regarding “the absurd redrawing of district lines for the Greensboro City Council.”

In Greensboro’s last city election, we enjoyed the distinction of seeing a solid victory for a black candidate, Justin Outling, in a district that has the reputation of choosing only white conservatives. Outling’s election raised black representation on the council to where it almost exactly reflects the composition of the electorate.

The most striking absurdity of the Republicans’ assault on Greensboro is their argument that the inclusion of some at-large council members is intrinsically unfair. Asheville’s city council is elected entirely at-large; Wilmington’s is not only at-large, but all the members live in the same precinct. Other cities have various numbers of at-large members.

Yet only Greensboro was singled out for hostile treatment. Why did this happen? The explanation is too complicated to include here but has to do with personal grudges, small-town enmities, a misguided effort to assure more Republican representation on the Greensboro council and a hatred of a supposed “liberal” city polity.

This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Tom Kirby-Smith: Greensboro’s GOP issues."