The silent campaign
By DHOGGARD | Published: NOVEMBER 4, 2008
"As Greensboro’s voters go to the polls today and decide upon the fate of several bonds,
I thought now would be a safe time to fess up.
The other day, a N&'R reporter called me up to find out what was up with the seemingly non-existent campaign to get the $20 million Parks & Recreation bond passed. I told her that I could only speak for myself, but as a P&R Commissioner I did what I could do for the cause by ...writing a letter to the editor in support of passage and talking it up among my associates.
I was less than forthcoming about everything I knew.
Back in, I think it was, August, shortly after the city council surprisingly allotted a $20M bond for the P&R Department and then took up $12M of it with a proposed “Regional Swim Center“, as P&R Commission chairman, I attended a meeting of the bond’s “stakeholders”.
...Discussions from the swim folks centered around how to make the third time a charm and how fortunate they were to have the facility listed under the umbrella of a Parks & Recreation bond (multi-item P&R bonds always get voter approval… stand alone facility bonds, not so much). They wanted to know how to best promote passage of the $12M swim center, which was up for its third pitch with two strikes against.
After listening for awhile to brains that were storming away,
I finally chimed in and offered how P&R bonds have a nearly 100% voter approval record
because citizens know that the department is judicious in what it asks for
and then provides great results for the money allotted.
“So“, said I, “if you really want this bond to pass… be quiet.
Don’t promote the swim center at all this time around.
If you do, it could doom our entire bond.”
The swim center promoters apparently agreed."
David Hoggard
Hush for money
By DHOGGARD | Published: NOVEMBER 6, 2008
"The strategy of silence I mentioned a couple of days ago
that was implemented to get the P&R bond passed,
despite the presence of the $12M – now we can say it – natatorium,
received some N&R ink this morning.
P&R Director Bonnie Kuester confirmed the simple reasoning for the strategy
when she told reporter Amanda Lehmert
“…in her 40 years with the department,
a parks and recreation bond referendum has never failed.”
.
.
Deception?… hardly.
By DHOGGARD | Published: JANUARY 1, 2009
"Nothing like starting the New Year off with a public call for your resignation.
A woefully misinformed Mr. Steve Parker writes in today’s N&R:
“I find it sad indeed that the people of Greensboro are not asking for the resignations
of those members of the Parks and Recreation Commission
who scammed residents out of $12 million…”
...It was only after the bond’s contents where set by the Council that this Commissioner
– and this Commissioner only
– recommended that the swim center folks lay low lest the issue,
which had failed twice before,
torpedo the funding for some very real needs that the balance of the bond was to provide."
http://edcone.typepad.com/wordup/2012/11/ifyi-2/comments/page/2/#comments
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