No Lap Dog: Ballpark-review panel needs to have some teeth

By: Scott Sexton | Winston-Salem Journal
Published: July 09, 2009

If the recent rancor over the city's $15.7 million bailout of the downtown baseball stadium is an indication, the decision by the Winston-Salem City Council to create a citizens review committee to play watchdog is -- on paper at least -- a good idea.

That said, the path to creating such a committee is still fraught with roadblocks, real and imagined. Primary among the roadblocks is the fact that the applications to serve on the committee are to be routed through Mayor Allen Joines, the project's booster-in-chief.

Choose your comparison -- the fox guarding the henhouse, making the arsonist the fire chief, etc. -- but they're all appropriate. An already skeptical populace jumped on the Joines-as-gatekeeper caveat despite city officials' protestations that he wouldn't have the final say.

"The issue @ hand is if a hand-picked committee makes sense," wrote one online pundit on JournalNow. "We already have a city council that, for better or worse, decided to build the stadium. A committee with no oversight or decision-making authority is just a sham. So much so that if the cheerleader Joines selects who he wants on the sham committee."

Distrust, disbelief and disrespect before the first applications even landed. What's a governing body to do if it seriously wants to restore public confidence?

General guidelines

Set aside the notion that Joines is going to cede any say on who's going to sit on the committee. The ballpark is the mayor's baby. He wants to see it through and is not about to let somebody else choose its sitter.

You might disagree with his methods or believe he has an obvious conflict of interest serving as both mayor and president of an organization (the Winston-Salem Alliance) allied with business and developers, but keep this in mind: Joines works for what he believes in, and is essentially a trustworthy elected official.

He might chafe when criticized or tap dance around thorny issues, but he won't lie when asked direct or difficult questions. With that in mind, here are a few small suggestions that would lend credibility to the committee.

□ Re-read the campaign-finance reports on file at the Forsyth County Board of Elections. Eliminate any applications from people who've contributed to political campaigns for Joines or any other candidates for City Council.

□ Check the names of applicants against the long list of names of Joines' supporters that ran in the paper Monday. Eliminate those people as well.

□ Find people who might actually know something about construction, contracts or accounting. The more expertise, the better.

□ Eliminate anybody (or their relatives) who have had a conflict with the developers -- subcontractors who were stiffed after working on the ballpark, for example.

A few good names

Here are the sorts of people we need on the committee to avoid the appearance of packing the room with puppets and yes-men and -women.

First, we need skeptics. State Rep. Dale Folwell, R-Winston-Salem, with a background in forensic accounting, is one. Vernon Robinson, a former council member, might be combative, but his record indicates that he is not afraid to disagree.

Second, we need experts. David Shannon, a local builder and developer on big projects such as the Winston Tower and the Piedmont Triad Research Park, is honest, knows how to read a blueprint and can spot instantly questionable construction expenses.

Then there's Mike Robinson, a lawyer whose Winston-Salem firm has much experience with complicated construction, contracts and business litigation. Since the new deal was announced last month, Robinson has asked smart questions since the beginning.

Those folks are probably too busy to serve, but the presence of any one of them -- or people just like them -- would go a long way toward legitimizing the committee's work even before it starts.

■ Scott Sexton can be reached at 727-7481 or at ssexton@wsjournal.com.