Alston apologizes for recall remark
GREENSBORO — Melvin “Skip” Alston offered a public apology to three City Council members Thursday.
The council members, including Mayor Bill Knight, said the chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners had told them a recall election could be in the works if the City Council reconsidered a vote to back federal financing for a downtown luxury hotel.
Alston is a broker on the $54 million Ole Asheboro Hotel project proposed to be built with federal stimulus bonds.
Alston said he didn’t intend to threaten or intimidate anyone.
“I apologized for any misunderstanding they might have had for the conversation we had as far as the recall,” Alston said. “It was never my intention to do anything like that.”
Alston said he apologized to Knight, Councilwoman Nancy Vaughan and Councilman Danny Thompson personally, and they accepted his apology.
Alston said he mentioned a recall election to the mayor as one of a number of possible results of anger in the black community about opposition to the hotel project, which would be 51 percent black-owned.
“I was just sharing with him what I’d heard and didn’t mean for it to sound like a threat or to intimidate him,” Alston said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have shared everything. I was trying to be as open with him as possible, but I shouldn’t have gone into details.”
Alston said he makes his living as a broker and feels he can’t represent clients effectively if he can’t speak to council members without worries of a conflict of interest.
“That really handicaps me as a developer,” Alston said. “I purchase land. I build houses. I have businesses. And I represent clients who do those things.
“Any other broker who was not an elected official could go to members of the City Council and plead their case, represent their clients to the fullest, and no one would say anything.”
Other elected officials shouldn’t worry about whether they’re dealing with Alston the chairman of the county commissioners or Alston the representative of the Greensboro’s black community when he’s doing business, he said. They should regard him as Alston the businessman.
Thompson called Alston’s apology “gracious,” but said elected officials have to be careful about crossing ethical lines.
He’d like to see the City Council consider adopting rules similar to those in San Bernardino, Calif., which won’t consider any recovery bond projects that have a link to an elected official.
“Before you run or campaign, I think you have to search your soul and recognize that I’ve got to put business on the sideline while I’m serving,” Thompson said. “For me, I would not bring up business issues at all while I am being a public servant.”
Alston said he’ll try harder in the future to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
“If I had it to do all over again, I would probably work more behind the scenes rather than being up front,” Alston said. “Because of my perceived influence, if I’m up front with someone the way I would be if I was not an elected official, then that’s looked at as me trying to use my position to influence people.”
Knight said Alston offered a sincere apology, which the mayor accepted. Knight said he doesn’t hold a grudge — except on the golf course.
“Now, we need to look forward,” Knight said, referring to the opening of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum. “We’ve got a big weekend coming out. It deserves all its importance, dignity and no distractions.”
Vaughan said this discussion about politics and race might be timely because of the museum’s opening.
“I think that museum might serve as a venue for us to have further discussion,” Vaughan said. “I would like to see us have a town hall where this can be aired.”
Contact Joe Killian at 373-7023 or joe.killian@news-record.com
Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com
Accompanying Photos
Photo Caption: Melvin "Skip" Alston
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