Posted on 08/26/2005 6:12:47 AM PDT by jern
By MICHAEL BIESECKER, Staff Writer
DURHAM -- Durham mayoral candidate Jackie Wagstaff donned bright orange Chuck Taylor shoes and large gold earrings Thursday to announce her Hip-Hop Agenda for City Hall. Wagstaff said she would use "gangsta" culture and rap music to appeal to disaffected youth, luring them away from crime with the offer of free studio time to record songs. T-shirt giveaways would serve as another enticement.
If elected, she would hold monthly meetings with her Hip-Hop Cabinet, streetwise teens with insights on how to improve the Bull City.
"You can always take something bad and find something positive," said Wagstaff, 46, who recently adopted the nickname J-Dub. "Gangsta to me is an organizational structure -- not organized crime, but organized good."
The term "gangsta" does not always bring to mind positive connotations. It has been used by rappers in songs glorifying gunplay, drug use and the subjugation of women. But the word also has evolved to describe urban attire, a style of music and other things that have nothing to do with gangs. It can even serve as a generic compliment or put-down, depending on the context.
Wagstaff said she will use her contacts, including active gang members, to help register 5,000 voters ages 18 to 21 to support her in the Oct. 11 city primary. She seemed unconcerned that the deadline for registering new voters is two weeks away.
"We're going to beat the streets to get voters," she said. "We're going to go into the public housing communities. I'm not scared to go anywhere."
Wagstaff called media outlets to the sidewalk in front of the Durham Public Schools downtown administration building to outline her campaign platform. She was flanked by a handful of supporters dubbed the "J-Unit." Several held signs critical of school Superintendent Ann Denlinger. Another equated the Durham schools to the county jail.
Wagstaff, a former City Council member who has served the past three years on the school board, often has been criticized as a divisive figure in the city's racially charged politics.
She survived a 2002 effort to remove her from office after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts for doctoring check requests from the nonprofit North East Central Durham Reinvestment Inc., a city-financed social services organization she ran. She also has been evicted several times for nonpayment of rent.
Her campaign openly refers to her "run-ins with the law" and embraces the tag that she is "too gangsta for government." She bills herself as the only candidate with the street credibility to solve the city's problems with gang violence and school dropouts.
"I'm not saying I'm a gangsta candidate, but that's what these kids relate to," Wagstaff said. "I don't condone doing wrong; I want to make that clear. ... But I understand why they're out there on the street, making their way any way they can."
Wagstaff is challenging Mayor Bill Bell, who won in 2003 with more than 85 percent of the vote. Candidates Jonathan Alston and Vincent Brown also are in the primary. The top two finishers will face off on the November ballot.
Wagstaff has painted Bell as ignoring the plight of the city's poor neighborhoods while spending tax money to assist millionaires with such downtown projects as the American Tobacco complex.
When told of Wagstaff's comments Thursday, Bell rattled off several city initiatives aimed at serving inner-city youths and promoting their participation in government. He pointed out that Wagstaff's son, now a college student, spent two summers working in the mayor's job program.
"I don't have a monopoly on trying to solve the city's gang problem," Bell said. "I'm open to new ideas and people trying different things. If Jackie is successful with this approach, then more power to her."
Wagstaff said the existing city programs aren't working for many teens who most need the help. She said she sees the potential in all children, even those now living a life of crime.
"If they're out there selling drugs, then they already have some business skills," Wagstaff said. "They understand budgets. They understand profit margins. We need to help them turn these business skills to the positive."
you won't believe this one
It's all fun and games til someone busts a cap in her ass.
Trivia: "Bust a cap" or "pop a cap" is a term that originated in the mid 1800's.
Certainly not the Durham I am from, or my Mother's.
And you can't make it up either.
"The term "gangsta" does not always bring to mind positive connotations. It has been used by rappers in songs glorifying gunplay, drug use and the subjugation of women. But the word also has evolved to describe urban attire, a style of music and other things that have nothing to do with gangs."
Yea. sure.
Sounds like now would be a good time to move from Durham.
Oh man, I think I'm going to puke. This "gangsta" culture is another thing that the MSM is pushing onto the American public. I can hardly stand to watch TV or listen to the radio anymore. These bunch of lowlifes that we have to hear about are the dregs of society. Why can't we hear about anything positive?
Must be a dem. The article doesn't say.
[["If they're out there selling drugs, then they already have some business skills," Wagstaff said. "They understand budgets. They understand profit margins.]]
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. There is not one bit of shame here.
If I were mayor of "wonderful & scenic" Durham, NC, I would have a "Hip-Hop Gangsta Agenda" too. Mine would involve teaching these street thugs marksmanship and the PROPER way to fire a handgun (not the cool looking, but inherently ineffective, Gangsta sideways hold), so that they might actually hit and kill each other, rather than accidentally killing innocent (well, MANY of them are probably guilty of SOMETHING!) bystanders.
DumbA$$.
Memo to citizens of Durham: Take a look up north to the city of Detroit, and if you like what you see, elect this fool to the Mayor's office.
Squeeze the sphere below for more enlightenment.
Sure I do.
I would expect nothing less from Wagstaff, who is a rabble-rousing dimwit.
There is no positive connotation to being a 'gangsta'. This woman simply has to be a Democrat...
I'm glad my grandfather had the sense to get out of there years ago.
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