Initiative, referendum and recall
Welcome back to the N&R Editorial Board. Allen, Ken and I held our meeting to 30 minutes this morning, briefer than usual. Sometimes we carry on for an hour or more. Guess we just didn't have any disagreements today.
We start out by sharing the top stories and editorials in the state's other leading newspapers - Charlotte Observer, News & Observer of Raleigh, Winston-Slaem Journal and the High Point Enterprise. Then on with our own agenda.
Some of it was carried over from yesterday. We decided to bump up the DMV edit from a No. 2 to tomorrow's lead in light of the director's sudden resignation. Ken is recasting that one. For our No. 2 edit tomorrow, we plan to run a commentary on the story about a possible "hit" on Rhino editor John Hammer or author Jerry Bledsoe. I spoke with Jerry yesterday, but he declined to comment on the record. This matter strikes me as very serious and alarming. Allen is pursuing the subject of gangs for our Sunday editorial, and he'll post some further thoughts about that on this blog later today.
I'm going to work on an edit about the powers of initiative, referendum and recall outlined in Greensboro's municipal codes. This is a timely topic because of the upcoming recall election, but otherwise these powers aren't used all that often. I think they're good tools to have in the democratic toolbox, although of course they have to be used responsibly. This editorial will have some shelf life, so you might not see it in print for a while. But I certainly would like to get some feedback. Do you favor these powers for the public? Should they be used more often? Do they help hold elected officials accountable, or can they override the legitimate authority of those officials?
You can read the codes here. Go to Chapter II, Subchapter D, Article 2.