Roch Smith Jr. on Roy Carroll offering Yvonne Johnson a ride on his airplane while doing business with the City of Greensboro and being a co-defendaent with Greensboro in a lawsuit

"...it was inappropriate for an elected official to accept a free ride on a plane
owned by someone whose business
involves regularly seeking cooperation/approval from the city.

...I wouldn't even accept campaign contributions
(as the mayor and some council members have) from such an individual.

...it's a matter of maintaining proper independence.

What I find significant about the mayor possibly, probably,
knowing that she had been summoned to testify is that,
when asked to comment on the propriety of the free plane trip,
she did not mention this entanglement with Carroll.

If she knew of the suit and didn't mention it to keep it quite, that troubling.

If she knew of the suit and didn't mention it
because she didn't see the ethical problems, that's troubling too.

When the mayor first became aware that the proposed free trip was aboard Carroll's plane,
she should have said, "We have given him favors in the past for which he has ongoing obligations,
he does business with the city that I am in a position to possibly have to adjudicate
and I have been summoned to testify in a suit in which he and the city are defendants.

It would be inappropriate for me to accept any largess from Mr. Carroll."

Roch Smith Jr.