Alert reader Patrick describes last night's Council debate on protest petitions as "a sorry spectacle" and asks about the "confused, inarticulate and intimidated majority" of the Council, "Had they not thought about this before they got there?"

The choice presented last night was between no protest petitions and a petition law that many view as over-strong. As Dr. Wharton has said, given the power of the developers, an over-strong petition is better than no petition.

What a shame the council ducked this issue for so long.

If some compromise version of the petition law is viable, they could have made that the focus of their preparation in past months, and worked with the community to make that the goal, and passed it last night. Greensboro might have had its own version of the protest petition, one that met the concerns raised by the Council and the needs of the people.

Instead, the Council dithered in the face of rising popular interest (which Robbie Perkins anticipated almost a year ago), and set themselves up for exactly what they got: the likely restoration of the law as it exists across the state, with some crumbs tossed in to appease their consciences and the real estate industry.

Comments

[keith]

it has been on the radar screen for a very long time, colin kelly and I spoke at the speakers from the floor on June 17, 2008 on protest petitions.

[keith]

ed, how did you like the lead editorial?

fillingintheblanks