Four members of Greenville City announced were sworn back in for another four-year term this week. And by coincidence or strategy, all four — John DeWorken, Dorothy Dowe, Ken Gibson and Mayor Knox White — are all big advocates of affordable housing. In fact, all four were at our annual meeting last week.
So, it should come as no surprise that affordable housing came up, and it was brought up by White, who was taking part in his last swearing in as mayor of the city of Greenville. Mayor White said during the campaign this was going to be eighth and final term, a post that he was first sworn into on December 11, 1995.
Anyway,White reflected when he first became mayor, the city was facing a major problem of substandard housing, let alone affordable. Nodding to his long-time council colleague Lillian Brock Flemming, the only person with more tenure on council than the mayor, he talked about how hundreds of houses were below living standards, and that was considered somewhat acceptable.
He then talked about how the City has made great strides on affordable housing in the past few, but added there was much more work to do. He then ended by quoting the City’s Poet Laureate, Glenis Redmond, “May we never lose the dream in our eye.”
That can be said for affordable housing too. May we never lose the dream of providing safer and affordable housing.
