Excuses for a politician-landlord
My column this week:
If I were a certain county commissioner who managed troubled low-income apartments, oh the excuses I could give ...
What complaints? I have signed statements from everyone who complained saying they didn't complain.
It's not my fault the stairways are in bad shape. I'm not the one walking up and down on them every day.
Water problems? Those tenants are too fat to take baths. The water overflows everywhere.
This is low-rent housing. If they want to pay high rent, I'll fix the place up.
I'm doing a great job for the money I'm getting.
The city should give me more money. Or the state, the feds, somebody. How can I be expected to run a business without help from the government?
I've got a lot of overhead, you know. Administrative costs. Payroll. Office expenses. That just doesn't leave much for maintenance.
The newspaper is on a search-and-destroy mission against me. I'm talking to my attorney about a lawsuit.
If you've got a problem, talk to the new president of the state NAACP. I'm sure he has all the answers.
I have devoted my life to helping my people.
Jesus Christ was persecuted, too.
If the toilets back up, the tenants must be flushing them too much.
Jenks Crayton is behind all this.
I'm not worried because this isn't an election year.
This city won't let a black man succeed.
I don't see Billy Yow and Steve Arnold doing anything to provide housing for the poor. Jump on their backs.
What am I supposed to do about the drug addicts? I'm not the police chief.
I'm doing more important things, like starting new businesses with low-interest city loans.
The power structure is trying to crush me.
Roaches? Just step on 'em. Do I have to do everything myself?
The city inspector is irresponsible and reckless.
My structural engineer told me everything is fine.
This isn't any business of the fire department.
Nobody is making anybody live here. They can move to Fisher Park if they don't like it here.
Bad smells? Maybe they should flush the toilets once in a while.
You know, I just work for the board of directors.
This was all concocted to cost me the NAACP election.
The city staff is racist.
A lot of other people are, too.
I am not a slumlord. I went into this business to get rid of the slumlords.
Do you know there's an international civil rights award named for me?
I am still the state's most important African American leader. Ask Earl Jones.
The ceiling falling is not a big deal if you're not standing under it.
The whole place will be as good as new by spring.
Let's just take all the money the sheriff wants to spend on a jail and put it into housing poor people. I'll be happy to help.
Public service is a thankless calling.
Crime? I put a fence around the place.
Sure, there've been a lot of police calls. I called 'em myself. Just testing their response times.
Bill Agapion is a worse landlord, but the newspaper never writes about him because he's white.
I've offered to pay the medical bills for anyone injured at my apartments. ... if it wasn't their fault.
You better talk to my lawyer.
Comments (3)
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Doug,
It's amazing how this character get's elected every time he runs in his district. I'm of the opinion that the majority of his constituents are completely ignorant of the troublesome issues that this guy raises as a result of his in-your-face personality.
I'm not in his district, in fact I'm in Billy Yow's neck of the woods. Billy, in my opinion, stepped out of line when he did the t-shirt thing castigating the NAACP by making a personal thing become public. Many of us in his district let him know in Nov 2004 when he was almost thrown out of office. Our message to Billy was, Grow Up, and represent our district in a matured manner. I believe he got the message.
The people of Skip's district ought to send him a message to put the me aside and be a more principled messenger for all of us in Guilford County.
Posted on November 11, 2005 2:18 PM
Are we harping on Mr. Alston and St. James apartments because he is a commissioner, or is the root to all evil beginning at St. James? In Greensboro there are roach-infested, crime-ridden, drug dealing/using and bad managed/kept apartments all over town. If this media-hype is just an attempt to "get" Mr. Alston, in my opinion, that's very shallow. To me, he is a smart man, black or white, he see's the money and go gets it. He obviuosly has more kahunas than a lot of other men, but that is what separates him from the rest, he gets up goes and get it. The stories would be more effective if every slum-lords name were printed in your stories. Because this appears to be just a personal attack on Mr. Alston and not a true concern of citizens who live in that and other apartments like St. James through-out the city. To achieve your goal, I think you should just write a short article and title it "We hate Skip!" However, to achieve a bigger goal, why not do the story on all the crime-ridden drug infested communities and the landlords, get those areas cleaned up and attempt to eliminate the crime in those areas, offer those good people job opportunities and educational opportunites. Yeah I know, those things already exist, maybe they can start something through social service or the courts to get people to get educated to stay in the aprtments or wherever the properties are, the courts could sentence people to complete job training, rehab or finish school as opposed to locking them up, then of those who flat out refuse to reply to the order lockem up and give them the max that there charge allows. The story is not just St. James it's the entire city.
Posted on November 11, 2005 2:28 PM
Mitchell,
Thanks for your comments. The news staff of this paper has done a lot of reporting about substandard properties owned by other landlords, particularly Bill Agapion.
Yes, someone who holds public office and presents himself as a champion for poor people will find himself under closer scrutiny in regard to what he actually does as opposed to what he says.
Jon, I agree absolutely. Elected officials generally do a better job if there's a risk they won't be re-elected. Letting them return to office unopposed every time is a bad idea all around.
Posted on November 11, 2005 2:33 PM