Greensboro Mayoral Candidates Address Oversight Issues Amid City Attorney Controversy
In a recent forum, Greensboro’s mayoral race took an intriguing turn as the two candidates tackled questions about government oversight, highlighting contrasting views on how to manage city affairs. Both Democratic City Council Member and current Mayor Pro Tem Marikay Abuzuaiter and former Republican mayor Robbie Perkins agreed on various issues but showcased distinct approaches to handling oversight.
Abuzuaiter and Perkins found common ground on maintaining stable taxes, expanding housing availability, and ensuring due process for those facing immigration enforcement. However, the conversation shifted when the recent scandal involving the city attorney’s office was brought up.
This controversy erupted after it was discovered that former City Attorney Chuck Watts engaged in private legal work during official city hours, leading to the resignation or dismissal of four office members. Mayor Nancy Vaughan pointed out that while Council members were aware of Watts’ side activities, they were not fully informed about their extent. The city now faces a wrongful termination lawsuit tied to these dismissals.
When asked about lessons from this incident, Abuzuaiter stressed the importance of precise language in employment contracts, particularly those drafted by city attorneys for their own department. “So we need to be very, very careful because it can just be one word in there … you got to be really careful about how things are stated in that contract,” she stated, adding that the issue initially seemed minor but proved otherwise.
In response to the scandal, the new City Attorney, Lora Cubbage, has a contract explicitly forbidding her from engaging in private work. Meanwhile, Perkins proposed hiring an independent party to review employment contracts to mitigate conflict of interest. He also emphasized the necessity for the council to more closely supervise city manager and attorney roles. “We ought to know what is in those contracts, dead cold,” said Perkins. “And then we ought to be supervising those two employees on a quarterly basis to make sure that their goals are in line with the collective goals of the City Council.”
Perkins, who served 16 years on the Council, including two as mayor before losing the 2013 election to Nancy Vaughan, and Abuzuaiter, a Council member since 2011, are scheduled to debate again before the upcoming election on November 4.
