Protests's traffic jam doesn't move mayor.

• Author: Martin, Edward
• Position: Tar Heel Tattler - Pat McCrory - Brief Article

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory allows that black contractors went too far when they blocked Tryon Street downtown with tractor-trailer trucks to pressure the City Council into adopting a program to help them land more public jobs. But what really goes too far, the mayor says, is the program itself.

It would require city bureaucrats to judge whether companies discriminate in their private-sector dealings. If they determine a contractor has, he would be barred from city contracts at least three years. The ordinance, which in September faced its final hurdle -- state legislation allowing Charlotte to disregard low-bidders in awarding contracts -- follows a failed attempt by the city to steer more work to minorities. Last fall, the city attorney concluded its Minority- and Women-Owned Business Development Program wouldn't stand up to a court challenge (Tar Heel Tattler, April 2002). The city pledged to replace it by 2003.

That's the new plan, as controversial as the old one. The contractors who blocked Tryon had complained that the city was moving too slowly. The new program would...