"When it came out in Allen Johnson’s Thinking Out Loud blog at the News & Record that Greensboro City council members Nancy Vaughan and Marikay Abuzuiater felt “threatened” by former Guilford County Commission Chair Skip Alston during his group’s bid to take over plans for a community co-op grocery store in District 2, the most surprising thing was that people were surprised at all.
...The vehicle for Altson’s leverage, councilmembers said, was the Simkins PAC, the influential east Greensboro PAC that has ushered the political careers of many black — and white — Greensboro politicians. And with a tough election coming up, it’s not too hard to figure out who felt they needed Alston’s support to win.
...The PAC, over which Alston, a voting member, wields considerable influence, still plays a vital role in choosing candidates that can be counted on to a least give lip service to the perennially underserved precincts in the east.
...it seems that the self-interests of individual members of the PAC get in the way of the larger interests of the African-American community.
While bloc voting can and should remain a tool for African-Americans to gain access to the system, many institutions like the Simkins PAC have lost credibility over the years, due in no small part to actions like to one Vaughan and Abuzuaiter accuse Alston of taking."
Yes Weekly
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