Greensboro 101

Melvin has remained silent about his experience under Rogers until now, but his new statements make it clear that he and Rogers have a dramatically different take on multiple key matters including whether the administration of former Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes strived to be helpful during the transition, whether the previous administration practiced racially based promotion policies, and whether an initial mass firing and related promotion practices were good for the department.

Because Republicans haven’t invited Democrats to help craft the budget, and transparency was lacking until the appropriations bill was introduced, Democrats can portray the GOP as meeting behind closed doors in the dead of night, McLennan said. A similar argument undermined Republican support among some voters during legislative redistricting fights.

Several Republican and Democratic lawmakers urged their committee members to vote no on the bill. “You will be tracked throughout the city,” Rep. Michael Speciale, R-Craven, said. “It’s not about what the software can do today, it’s about what it can do tomorrow.”