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When filing closed for Greensboro City Council seats last month, there were a few big names absent from the list of this year’s candidates. Among them was Eric Robert, the local businessman who publicly announced he would make a second run for mayor after a failed bid to have his businesses removed from downtown’s business improvement district (BID).
Robert argued he hasn’t seen benefits from the district, managed by Downtown Greensboro Incorporated (DGI), and that the extra taxes he pays as part of it aren’t justified. He also said the council conspired to reject his request before even considering it to prevent others from abandoning the district as well.
Robert is a frequent critic of DGI and councilman Zack Matheny, who also acts as its president and CEO. When the State Bureau of Investigation opened a probe into an unnamed city council member last month, Robert hoped what he calls Matheny’s unacknowledged conflicts would finally be addressed, something Robert has spoken out about for years. Matheny, who is now running for re-election to his District 3 council seat, said he welcomes any investigation into those allegations as he has nothing to hide.
Robert is also no fan of Council Member Marikay Abuzuaiter, now running for mayor. Among other criticisms, he points to an e-mail in which Abuzuaiter wrote, before his BID hearing took place, “If he [Robert] is allowed out, then several more will ask to be removed as well. So… the motion should be for the property to remain in the [municipal service district].”
Still, after claiming he would again run for mayor this year after a defeat in the 2022 primary, Robert ultimately decided against it. The Thread recently caught up with him to find out why.
“I was still weighing it up until Friday morning,” Robert said, citing the deadline for filing. “But the truth is that I’ve lost faith in the system, and honestly, in the people who should give a damn but don’t.”
During his failed 2022 campaign, Robert said he found support among those who felt disenfranchised and ignored by city government.
“I really believed I could make a difference,” Robert said. “I believed in the underdog… I believed in the Hollywood ending. And for a moment, I really thought this city might want to save itself.”
Since that race, Robert said, his perspective had changed.
“City Hall is broken and rotten,” Robert said. “Its culture is dishonest, hostile, and allergic to transparency and/or accountability. It’s a closed loop with no love or room for people like me, who speak plainly, sometimes too plainly.”
Robert, who was born in France, said his father used to tell him, “You can never be more royal than the king.” That phrase resonates with him, he said, in relation to city government.
“You can’t expect fairness, decency, or humility from elected officials who do not value those things themselves,” he said. “You can’t fight for the truth, for justice, or for what’s right when the king/queen is corrupt, self-serving, or indifferent…They’ll still rule.”
Though he was conflicted, he said, he ultimately decided to use his energy outside of elected politics.
“I want to work on things that matter, with and for people who care,” Robert said.
Robert said he’s been heartened by seeing some of the candidates who have filed, but this year he didn’t want to be among them.“Greensboro does deserve better,” he said. “But I just don’t think it wants it.”
Joe Killian is The Assembly’s Greensboro editor. He covered cops, courts, government and politics at Greensboro’s daily paper, The News & Record, for a decade. He joined us from NC Newsline in Raleigh, where he was senior investigative reporter.