Bowser Runs, Again

With all that drama that comes with the upcoming presidential election, it is easy to forget that residents in Durham County are facing an important local election. The past few years have been drama free due to the leadership on both the School Board and County Commission. The potential is there for a shift back to the crazy days that made Durham the brunt of jokes across the state.

Gone are the days of vicious attacks at school board meetings. The race card hasn’t been played since a few key members were ousted during the last election and replaced with sound minded, consensus builders. The Board of County Commission has been spared of the shoot em up politics of old. The elected officials in Durham County have functioned well of late. This election could move us back to those bad ole days.

Steve Schewel is stepping down as a member of the school board. All seems safe so far with the school board. The same can’t be said of the County Commission. A critic of consensus has risen from the ashes to run again. The last we heard of Joe Bowser he was being chided by the national leadership of the NAACP for inappropriately using his role to endorse a candidate for office.

Joe Bowser is a man with vision. There is no doubting his insight and passion for the poor. He has been a champion for those often left out of the discussion related to human service delivery. The problem with Bowser isn’t his ability to process issues, but his inability to hear criticism and to move forward in a way that best serves the community.

I understand this first hand. Close to two years ago, I wrote a piece in the Independent Weekly that questioned Browser’s judgment. What I did in that instance was no different than what I have done with others in leadership. My role, as a social commentator, is to delve into the political lives of those we elect to office. No one is safe. This is the reason I stray away from endorsing a candidate or an agenda.

I attacked Bowser for what appeared to be a conflict of interest. I questioned his misuse of power as the local head of the NAACP, and how he twisted the arm of the staff of county government while serving on the County Commission. Everything I wrote was documented. Of course, there is always room for discussion, and any good politician will use criticism as a door for understanding rather than a reason for discord.

I received two vicious letters. One was an attack from Bowser, and the other came from his wife. In these letters I was warned never to contact him again. I was told not to approach him in public. I was questioned for my leadership as a pastor, and condemned for being a womanizing, false prophet. He resorted to an attack of me using rumor as the basis for his assault.

His response was sent to others. This followed my attempt to explain the nature of my work. It didn’t matter. I was told that I was wrong, as a black man, for questioning the leadership of another black man. This assail reminded me of the conversation I had with Curtis Gatewood back in the day when Durham was searching for a new Superintendent. The school board was close to promoting Ted Drain, the interim superintendent, to the position. I wrote a column in the Herald-Sun after Gatewood called Drain an “uncle Tom”. We met at Dillards the following week. I was told it is never appropriate to criticize black leadership.

I was startled by that claim. “So, it is okay for you to do it, but not for anyone to do it to you.” Some leaders assume a free pass. I got the same reaction from Lavonia Allison after writing a column that attacked her for being a slumlord. It was shortly after she took the reigns of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People. The Housing Committee of the Durham Committee had worked tirelessly to construct a plan to enforce housing codes. Allison’s first order of business was to dismantle the agenda of her predecessor, Ken Spaaulding. She ended conversations with the Friends of Durham to create a “Memorandum of Understanding “ involving race. Then she ended the work of the housing committee. I wasn’t shocked. She’s a slumlord.

Allison came to my office with her pastor, Leonzo Lynch, who had his share of front-page clippings for being a slumlord. I was asked to recant. I was told that I had an obligation not to attack black leadership. It disturbed me that a slumlord brought a slumlord to my office to address an article about slumlords.

Bowser’s attack of me speaks to his leadership style. Implied is the presupposition that he stands above criticism, and, if it comes, the impression that the problem is with the person who bears the news. If I’m wrong, I will recant my claims. If you prove me wrong, I will say so with a spirit of humility, but if I’m told I’m not worth the space that occupies your shadow, there is nothing left for me to do.

If this is how he operates as a member of the County Commission, I grieve for all who walked on eggshells while serving with him.