Chris Wilson, a ‘Fixture’ of Greensboro’s Government, Retires

At Chris Wilson’s last city council meeting last Tuesday, Mayor Nancy Vaughan lauded his 33-year tenure in Greensboro. 

“One thing that we hear a lot is that Chris is a problem solver,” Vaughan said. “If you want to see something get done, you can call Chris and he starts from the position of yes.”

As deputy city manager for the last three years, Wilson also handled interim city manager duties for much of 2024 before handing the reins over to current city manager Trey Davis. Wilson was previously entrusted with the job as interim from June 2021 to February 2022. Before shifting to one of the top seats in local government, Wilson was an assistant city manager and worked in the parks and recreation department.

“We’re all going to miss Chris, and he’s not going very far, he’s not leaving Greensboro, and so we know that we will always have a friend, ” said Vaughan.

In his free time, Wilson likes to take photos. “I like to take pictures from unique angles and things that maybe people wouldn’t normally stop and take the time to appreciate,” Wilson told The Thread. “Sometimes we get going so fast, and my time in the parks department really taught me to appreciate this because I got to see so many absolutely stunning and amazing things. I don’t think we take the time to stop and look.”

Wilson leaves the city at the end of the month. He spoke to The Thread about how Greensboro has evolved and how it has left its mark on him. 

This interview has been edited for clarity. 

After so many decades with the city, how has Greensboro changed for the better?

Over the years, I’ve seen government shift from a place of almost telling people what they think is best for them or coming at it from an approach of “here’s what should happen with the city.” And I think at least here in Greensboro, I think we’ve gotten much better at hearing and listening first before we make a suggestion.

That’s something I learned early on in my career. If you’re going to serve a community, you’ve got to hear what they want and you’ve got to understand where they’re coming from and what they deal with. Obviously, the tools and all the things that we have available are so different these days, and we approach things differently because the world has changed.

And how has it changed for the worse?

I love Greensboro because it’s this microcosm of a really eclectic set of cultures where we can enjoy each other and find common spaces and themes and things that we feel passionate about, but we’re not immune to what’s going on nationally and to what’s going on in the world. What I’ve noticed is, over the years, depending on what your belief and view is, I think sometimes people get attached to issues. Instead of having a disagreement or a difference of opinion and trying to find common ground, they start from a place that’s very visceral and very polarizing.

For public servants, it’s really hard to be in a space like that because your whole goal is to try and help that other person or support them, and it’s just a little harder these days. I hope people will continue to try—no matter what’s said to them or how someone treats them—to find common ground, to help each other, and maybe show a little kindness so that the other person will think twice about being negative.

When I first started, it really didn’t matter what your affiliation was or where you stood in terms of your philosophy. It was a lot easier to have a disagreement or a difference of opinion because you had the ability to sit down and discuss it and start from—and this was always my thing—“Let’s start with what the goal is, and if we can agree on what the goal is, then we can differ on how to get there and we can talk through that and maybe find a compromise.” Now it’s really challenging, because I think people make assumptions one way or the other based on their views, and it’s hard to even get to that table and have a discussion.

How have your years with the city molded you into the person you are today?

Honestly, it’s probably one of the healthiest and unhealthiest relationships I’ve ever had. I love Greensboro; I grew up in Asheboro, and my family lived here when I was in high school. I’m from a smaller community, a great community, but our lived experience was very different. When I got to Greensboro, I was just so enamored with all the awesome things there were to do here, and many of them were free, and everybody was so kind to me.

It really didn’t matter what our differences were; Greensboro accepted us. It was such a welcoming environment. I felt at home from the minute I got here, and along the way, people were so kind to me and so helpful. One of the cool things about working in the community—I’ve literally worked in just about every neighborhood in every community in Greensboro—I always made a friend. I always met somebody who had just wonderful wisdom, a different perspective, and someone who was always willing to share with me, so it helped me better understand how to help other people.

I think along the way, the thing that I loved the most was everyone sort of adopted me so that I would better understand where they were, what they might be dealing with, and it made me a better public servant because I had a different perspective than maybe I had before.

What’s your driving force to be the kind of person you are, and do this work?

Basically, from childhood on, I had a set of learned experiences. Many of us have experiences that shape who we are and how we push forward, but I was really challenged by the notion that access wasn’t the same for everyone, not everybody had the same opportunity, not everybody had the same circumstances, and that’s what drove me to help…Early on, I learned that if I want to help, I have to understand that when somebody’s asking for assistance or they’re asking for an opportunity, there’s a reason for that.

So if I come into it with a desire to help, and I come into it with an understanding that you’re coming to me for a reason and that reason is very important to you and my job is to help you, then I’m absolutely gonna start with, “How can we get to what you need and how can I help you do that?” There’s all sorts of things that can be barriers and challenges, but if we start from a place of, “I want to help you and I really would love to help you be successful in whatever you’re trying to do, then not only are we gonna find common ground and we’re gonna find a path forward, but we’re gonna have a good time doing it.”

You’ve had the interim city manager job twice during your career. Did you want the job as permanent city manager?

Absolutely not. I did not want that job, and I say that with all the love in the world. I have a wonderful relationship with our council, and I have no doubt it would’ve been great. That job has a very different focus than what I do. The job I have right now allows me to really get in the mix of things whether it’s economic development or community development. I have the opportunity to work closely on projects with staff and community members, and the job of city manager is a little different than that. It’s a very important role and a very distinguished role. But I never saw it as something that was a fit for me.

I was the parks and recreation director and I had the absolute best gig in the world, and I loved every part of it. I loved that job, and I came here because of multiple conversations with multiple leaders. … That’s what drove me here, but that’s also what tied me to the role of assistant city manager because I never wanted to lose that particular connection. 

What are you going to do with all your newly-acquired free time?

I’m going to take about 30 days off, and then I am going to work somewhere else, so I’m not going to have much free time. I don’t want anybody to think I’m going to go crawl in a hole or anything. I’ve got way too much energy for that. Lord knows if I had too much time on my hands, I’d probably get into trouble and come up with some crazy idea. I’m going to go take some more pictures. I’d like to capture either sun up or sun down, and I never seem to quite have the right time and my good camera with me. I might take a quick trip here or there. Maybe catch up on some stuff around the house. I love to hike, so I’ll probably be outside.

Gale is a Report for America Corps member. Before joining The Assembly, she spent two years covering local government and community issues in Greensboro and Winston-Salem for Triad City Beat. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from North Carolina State University.

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