The Case for Matheny - News & Record

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007 3:00 am

A News & Record editorial

If somewhere there's a handbook on getting elected to local office, Zack Matheny has followed it, chapter and verse.

The first-time City Council candidate, who is a financial planner by trade, set his sights on a council seat two years ago.

He touched bases with sitting council members. He even notified the media. But most significantly, he got experienced.

Matheny has served on the Greensboro Zoning Commission for two years, the front line for important decisions that help determine the delicate balance between development and quality of life.

At the same time, Matheny has built an imposing resume of community involvement that belies his relative youth (at 34, he is veritably a baby by council standards): chairman of fundraising for the Greensboro Bicentennial; United Way loaned executive; Greensboro Sports Council member; Greensboro Opera board; UNCG Business Administration Advisory Board; Chrysler Classic executive committee. And so on.

He also has gotten things done. As a member of the young professionals group synerG Matheny also conceived a series of dinner conversations that allowed citizens to rub elbows and break bread with local movers and shakers, including Dennis Glass, then CEO of Jefferson-Pilot; state Sen. Kay Hagan; and former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Henry Frye. Great idea. Great execution.

Part of Matheny's inspiration for a council bid was a News & Record article that noted the average age of local elected officials at the time was 55. His kind of voice on the council holds special value in a city that struggles to retain young people.

But Matheny offers more than a demographic niche. He is knowledgeable and appears to possess a firm grasp of both the limitations and the promise of city government.

He cites among his top priorities "guided growth," "responsible leadership," the growing gang threat and the state of the police department. He rightly pushes for some degree of resolution on the police issue but cautions against dwelling on it to the point of distraction.

Matheny's opponent, Joe Wilson, is a strong candidate in his own right. He speaks directly and forcefully to the issues and is a staunch advocate of managed growth, despite his occupation as a developer. He also shares Matheny's concern about gangs.

Wilson, 45, labels Matheny an insider and paints himself as a fresh voice from outside of the city establishment. But it would be ironic to fault Matheny for building the types of connections and relationships that help make a representative effective.

On the strength of his hard work and his accomplishments, Matheny remains the better choice in District 3.