Editorial: City’s stunning change
As Bill Knight visited Greensboro polling places Tuesday, “a lot of people said they were voting for me,” he noted as those votes were being tallied during a tense evening at the Old Guilford County Courthouse.
By the time the count was completed, the retired certified public accountant had collected enough votes to unseat first-term Mayor Yvonne Johnson — whose problem was that people were not voting for her.
Turnout was low in parts of the city — Districts 1 and 2 — where Johnson drew her strongest support in an easy victory two years ago. Failing to energize supporters isn’t the way to win re-election. After serving seven terms as an at-large councilwoman and one as mayor, maybe Johnson didn’t believe she was in trouble.
“I knew it was going to be close,” she said moments after conceding to Knight. It was. But a member of her campaign steering committee said no one in the Johnson camp expected defeat.
Knight, though, said change was in the wind.
“Four months ago, no one knew me,” he said. “It’s been all about change. Voters want change.”
Danny Thompson, a first-time candidate elected to an at-large seat along with Nancy Barakat Vaughan and incumbent Robbie Perkins, agreed.
“The people were ready for a new direction,” he said, noting that he, Knight, Vaughan and District 2 Councilman-elect Jim Kee share a common vision of making Greensboro more attractive for investment and job creation. Thompson called it a “mandate.”
That might be too strong a word, especially given the close vote in the mayor’s race — just over 51 percent for Knight. But the newly elected mayor didn’t express concern, saying that after a narrow victory “you go to work and show you’re working for the good of the public.”
One of his first tasks, he said, is to meet Rashad Young, the new city manager — who now will be working for a substantially different City Council than the group that hired him. Knight said he’s heard only good things.
Johnson, meanwhile, was gracious — to a point.
“I was blessed to serve this city (as mayor) for two years,” she said. “I think I did a good job.
“The negative stuff was overpowering,” she added.
She didn’t elaborate, but Knight raised the forced resignation of former police Chief David Wray during the campaign, calling it based on race. Maybe that issue influenced the outcome; maybe voters looked for more business-oriented leadership; or maybe a low turnout eroded Johnson’s support.
Whatever the explanation, the voting is over and a new mayor and City Council will be seated soon. Forming a clear vision for the city is task one.
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