Ogi,

Thanks for the kind words in your recent column "The Silver Spoon" about the stadium debate. The only other person whom I recall labeling me as "an articulate and thoughtful guy" was my Mom... on my college application... and this was only because she really wanted me out of the house and into a distant dorm room.

Even though you write that this debate "never should have been", sometimes it is interesting to see the good that can come from something as contentious as the stadium fracas. Let me explain my "every cloud has a silver lining" thinking.

The Aycock Neighborhood and the Summit Avenue corridor improvements are now on the City's radar screen for vast improvements. The plan that we created with nationally acclaimed architect Philip Bess (the same guy who redesigned Fenway Park and the surrounding area) is in the pipeline for adoption by City Council. We in Aycock, and many many others, believe that our extraordinary plans are a great thing for Greensboro and would not have been realized without the current stadium controversy. Furthermore, the plans that we created for War Memorial Stadium far exceed the amenities that are proposed for the new stadium: more seating (by 2700), more parking, more concessions, more restrooms, more team facilities and more skyboxes just to name a few. Not only could War Memorial offer more of everything, it could be done for far less than the $20M price tag that the new stadium carries and the finished product would be unique to Greensboro and not another "me too" cookie cutter stadium. I think having this alternative plan is a good thing. I also think that suggesting to Greensboro's philanthropic community that they would be serving the true best interest of Greensboro by forwarding our plan would be a good thing.

As an aside, I would like to suggest that non-profit foundation money is not truly "private" as you suggest. Tax-exempt, charitable foundation dollars carries with it an inherent mandate that it will be used in the best interest of the community. Who better to decide what the best interest is than the electorate? If the involved Foundations truly have Greensboro's best interest at heart, they will agree to abide by what the people actually want done in their community. Why is preserving and improving two important pieces of Greensboro's history (War Memorial and the Burlington Building) less important than making a professional baseball team more profitable? Historic preservation is a wonderful thing!

Because it was perceived that Action Greensboro ran rough shod over the best interests of several downtown neighborhoods in choosing the current site, these same neighborhoods are now communicating very closely with each other. I believe that it will be a freezing day in August before ANY group attempts to radically change the downtown landscape without first attaining the approval of the people who actually inhabit the area. Coordination of neighborhood interests is a good thing.

Lastly, the stadium controversy has caused people to question who is actually leading Greensboro's direction. Action Greensboro commissioned the McKinsey Report that outlined what ails our City and what should be done to fix it. When this report was shared with members of our current City Council they all listened very intently to its implications. I have been told that some on the Council asked at the end of the presentation, "this is great, but who should take the lead to get it done?" Well, duh! Action Greensboro, to their credit, never flinched (much) and took the bull by the horns. However, they ran into problems because they were not elected to do the people's bidding, and many citizens resented a private group directing and implementing public policy. Citizens arriving at the realization that they need ELECTED leaders to define their future is a good thing. Which finally brings me to this.

I am running for City Council At Large. If you and your readers believe that Greensboro has a dearth of true leadership and think we need a fresh ideas and a movement toward sustainable and more responsible development, then I would greatly appreciate your votes and support. According to most indicators, we are doing pretty well overall and everything is NOT gloom and doom as perhaps we have been led to believe. We simply need to come together and agree to move forward TOGETHER, not as factions. I can help get us there with your support.

David Hoggard