Tolbert Fails but Doesn't Concede

Today was the final day for Richard Tolbert and the Save Bannister Group to turn in their signatures for saving Bannister Mall. And the grand total of signatures turned in? TWO!!! He didn't turn in any more signatures today, but since he likely had no where close to the number needed it's not surprising.

Still, though, Tolbert and his group are not conceding, and will continue to fight. Tolbert again pimps his plan to have them cut the mall out of the redevelopment, and ask for TIF money to let HIM and his group redevelop the mall. Tolbert says that with an anchor tenant like Walmart, the mall would "thrive." Excuse me, Bannister Mall has room for four anchor stores. A Walmart taking up one floor of one of those anchor stores is not going to help the mall thrive. And putting faith in Tolbert to adequately redevlop the mall is foolhardy. As I've said in the past, one only has to look at Tolbert's track record (which will now be linked any time I say his name) to realize the city should not give him one cent for redevelopment.

As Councilman John Sharp says in the article. "So far he has delayed this project for a month and he turned in two signatures. That is a joke. It makes a mockery of the referendum initiative process." Tolbert has made a complete joke of the process. This plan was nothing more then a delay tactic, and due to the fact that there is no minimum required number of signatures, Tolbert got his time. Now he's trying to hold the project up more.

He says he's for both in the area, when the truth is he's likely just killing time until the Wizards decide to drop out and he can have the only plan left to redevelop the area. Demolition of the mall is supposed in the spring, but as is the case today in our sue happy country, Tolbert says he will sue to stop the building from being torn down.

In other Tolbert news, more and more people around the city are starting to call him out on his false cries of racism, a point I made back in October.