🧵 In Today’s Edition

1. The six outgoing members of the Greensboro City Council said their goodbyes Monday before new members were appointed Tuesday.
2. Greensboro Again Scores 100 on The Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index
3. What We’re Reading

Saying Farewell

A hush filled Greensboro’s City Council chamber Monday evening as Mayor Nancy Vaughan called for a moment of silence—her last as leader of the council.

When the silence ended, she had plenty to say.

Vaughan is one of six members leaving the nine-member council this week. The city’s longest-serving mayor, she announced last year that this, her 12th year, would be her last. Fellow members Goldie Wells and Nancy Hoffman also decided not to run again, while members Sharon Hightower, Zack Matheny, and Jamilla Pinder were defeated in last month’s elections.

“We didn’t always agree,” Vaughan said as she recalled her service on council. “That might be putting it politely. But disagreement is not dysfunction. What matters is that we stayed together at the table, did our work in public, [and] kept our focus where it belongs: On the people of Greensboro.”

“That is democracy,” she said.

Read the full story here.

— Gale Melcher

Thanks for reading The Thread, a 3x week newsletter written by Greensboro editor Joe Killian and reporters Sayaka Matsuoka and Gale Melcher. Reach us with tips or ideas at greensboro@theassemblync.com.

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Greensboro Earns Perfect Score in LGBTQ Municipal Equality Index

For the fifth year in a row, the Human Rights Campaign has ranked Greensboro as one of the most LGBTQ-friendly cities in the nation.

Last week, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) gave the city a 100 percent score in its annual Municipal Equality Index, a measurement of how cities are doing on LGBTQ+-friendly policies and protections. The index rated 506 small, medium, and large cities this year, representing every state in the U.S. Of those, Greensboro was one of 132 to earn a top score of 100—and the only municipality in North Carolina.

“Over the years, the Municipal Equality Index has served as more than a scorecard,” wrote Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, in her introduction to the full report. “It has been a testament to what becomes possible when hope meets action, when belief in human dignity transforms into lived reality.”

“This year’s story is one of both breathtaking progress and unwavering persistence,” Robinson wrote. “A record-breaking 132 cities achieved perfect 100-point scores—more than ever before in the MEI’s history. This remarkable milestone proves what we have always known: that equality is not merely an aspiration but an achievable reality when commitment meets courage. Our cities are showing us the way forward, demonstrating that even as attacks on our community intensify, hope and determination can create sanctuaries of inclusion.”

While more cities achieved a perfect score this year, the national municipal average score decreased for the first time in seven years. That reflects a growing number of places passing laws or ordinances that limit the visibility of transgender people in public life, Robinson wrote.

“This juxtaposition—rising excellence alongside widening gaps—captures the moment we’re living through,” she wrote. “Progress is never linear, and right now, we are witnessing both the best and worst of what’s possible.

Greensboro was the highest-ranking of the ten North Carolina municipalities ranked by the report. The others were Carrboro (93), Cary (72), Chapel Hill (76), Charlotte (80), Fayetteville (50), Raleigh (85), Wilmington (47), and Winston-Salem (96).

Greensboro earned high marks in the report for its non-discrimination ordinances, offering city services to LGBTQ+ residents, and enacting pro-LGBTQ+ policies.

While the city earned a base score of 92, it received additional “flex points” for providing services for queer youth, LGBTQ people experiencing homelessness, and assisting those living with HIV/AIDS.

Individual ratings don’t reflect how comfortable LGBTQ people might be living in a given city, HRC said. Instead, the scores are meant to show policy differences between municipalities and highlight what protections a city could adopt in the future to better include LGBTQ+ residents.

— Joe Killian

What We’re Reading

Exit Interview: Nancy Vaughan sat down with WXII to reflect on her 12 years as Greensboro’s mayor. Her tenure is the longest of any mayor in the city’s history.

On Appeal: Federal attorneys are appealing a judgment of nearly $43 million awarded to Greensboro developer Marty Kotis over former railroad property sold to the city of Greensboro for recreational trail use. The News & Record has more.

A Rebuilding Year: Guilford County Schools broke ground on two new projects this week, rebuilding Sternberger and Allen Jay Elementary schools. The projects, approved in the 2020 school bond, come after an independent facilities study found the buildings to be among those in the worst condition in the district. WFDD has the story.

Joe Killian is The Assembly's Greensboro editor. He joined us from NC Newsline, where he was senior investigative reporter. He spent a decade at The News & Record covering cops and courts, higher education, and government.

Gale is a Report for America corps member and Greensboro-based reporter for The Assembly. She previously covered local government and community issues for Triad City Beat. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from N.C. State University.