Candidate’s political ads challenged
GREENSBORO — A series of campaign ads has two Greensboro city councilmen arguing over whether voters are getting the truth.
At issue: television ads in which at-large Councilman Danny Thompson claims that in his first term he:
• Added 40 officers to the police force.
• Implemented a downtown curfew.
• Funded the Greensboro Children’s Museum.
• Provided a pay raise to city employees for the first time in four years.
Councilman Zack Matheny said he’s offended by the ads, which give sole credit to Thompson for things for which he was merely a single vote in a majority council decision.
Thompson played no part in facilitating some of the actions, Matheny said, and some he was actively against.
“When you see these ads it’s like Danny Thompson needs a Superman cape,” Matheny said. “He just takes credit for everything. And if you’ve been watching the council for the last two years, you know he didn’t get these things done.”
Thompson did not return calls for comment on the ads.
Matheny points to the downtown curfew, on which Matheny took the lead. Thompson didn’t attend any of the community meetings on the issue, Matheny said, and let Matheny take the political heat for it.
“Zack was driving that one,” Councilman Jim Kee said. “And he did take some shots for it. Danny wasn’t really a big part of that, other than he voted for it in the end.”
Thompson also publicly opposed a pay raise for city employees, Matheny said, and now wants credit for later voting for it as part of the larger budget.
Thompson argued against City Manager Rashad Young’s plan to raise pay rates, which would have provided raises for 155 employees. Thompson later voted for the annual budget, which provided merit raises for employees. At the time, he said he didn’t want midyear raises after cutting services.
“He never supported the pay raise as an issue,” Kee said.
Kee said candidates shouldn’t take personal credit for things adopted by the full council and should stick to saying they supported an issue.
Councilman Robbie Perkins said Thompson doesn’t have an issue on which to legitimately hang his hat in the campaign.
“The only thing Thompson really took a lead on was concentrating on a perceived porn problem at the library,” Perkins said.
“If no one calls him on the carpet for saying he did these things, then he can get away with it,” Perkins said.
“But if he’s being called on it, people should know whether they’re getting the wool pulled over their eyes.”
Councilwoman Mary Rakestraw blames the political season for the spat.
“Everyone’s on edge,” she said. “I think they should have lunch and work it out. Somewhere outside so they don’t break anything.”
Contact Joe Killian at 373-7023 or joe.killian@news-record.com
Accompanying Photos
Photo Caption: Zack Matheny (left) Danny Thompson
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