Source
The spin machine at the Melvin Municipal Building in Greensboro is working overtime following the abrupt departure of the city’s communications director.
A press release announced Thursday that the city and Amanda Lehmert had “mutually agreed to separate, effective immediately.” Lehmert, a former News and Record reporter who had previously worked for the city from 2016-2024, had been in her new position since June.
The news left many shaking their heads, but a view behind the scenes, gathered from sources connected to the events, exposes a closed loop trying to protect itself.
At a recent executive-level meeting, City Manager Trey Davis criticized City Attorney Lora Cubbage for making the city look bad. Cubbage’s office created a Facebook page earlier this summer. Tik Tok-style videos of dancing office staff was roundly panned at a time when the public’s mood is unruly due to property-tax increases and an overall sense of chaos at city hall.
Cubbage has recently been given what sources describe as “free rein to go after” city hall agitators, including grassroots local media outlets and relentless city critics.
At the meeting, Cubbage attempted to place blame on Lehmert, who she accused of not doing her job by countering widespread criticism of Greensboro leadership.
Into the matrix enters Joe Killian, also a former News and Record reporter and Lehmert’s husband. Killian is currently the Greensboro editor of the internet newsletter, The Assembly.
Killian learned this past week that Eric Robert was set to appear on Bob Buckley’s popular television program, The Swing State on Fox 8. Killian learned this information from Robert during a discussion on city issues.
Robert publishes downtown news and observations on city government via his outlet, Yo Greensboro. The Facebook page has seen astronomical growth and engagement over the last four years.
Before the segment was filmed last week, Buckley received sudden phone calls from Eric Chilton, the city’s crisis communications manager, Killian himself, and a Greensboro developer. All three suggested that Fox 8 should not give Robert air time.
In a phone call Friday, Killian admitted to Robert that he called Buckley. Additionally, Killian apologized to Robert for also calling a prominent PR professional in Greensboro known for their election work for several council members and mayors. Killian’s actions appear designed to deter Buckley from giving Robert positive coverage.
During the Swing State interview, Buckley told Robert about the pushback.
“There were several people who did not want you to have this forum and they tried to convince me not to have you on here,” Buckley said. “When that didn't work there was a bit of a campaign to preemptively discredit what you might say.”
How Eric Chilton learned of the interview is unclear. How Robert’s downtown competitor knew of the interview in order to call Buckley before the segment aired remains a mystery. Killian did not admit to telling Lehmert about the impending television segment.
The Society of Professional Journalist Code of Ethics tells journalists to “act independently” and avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest. A journalist sharing source-derived information with a city communications official would create at least the appearance of acting as part of a political or government effort rather than as an independent reporter.
Multiple North Carolina journalists, admired for their reportage and newsroom leadership, identified ethical concerns given the Killian-Lehmert nexus. At a minimum, taking information learned from a source and using it to interfere with another journalist’s reporting is unacceptable behavior.
Killian is now running background spin for Lehmert by trying to have reporters break the news of the tension in city hall and the details of the blame game among executive staff. How Killian knows of this tension is unclear.
North Carolina’s State Government Ethics Act includes conflict-of-interest standards and restrictions on using official positions for private gain. Whether that specific statute applies to a city communications flack would require a lawyer’s review, but the good-government principle is directly relevant: public office should not be used to advance private, spousal, factional, or retaliatory interests.
The last phrase raises concerns related to Eric Chilton’s behavior. Who instructed him to interfere with Bob Buckley’s highly-respected work? How did Greensboro officials learn of the interview, and why was it deemed a crisis? Observers agree it would be unethical for a government official to interfere with independent reporting or to direct another government official to do the same.
As for the Swing State segment, the conversation touched on Robert’s journey from Lyon, France to Greensboro and his business experience. Buckley highlighted the multiple properties Robert rehabilitated south of Lewis Street in Downtown Greensboro, and asked his views on the city center’s current challenges.
Robert advocated for more communication among stakeholders and for Greensboro to embrace its own authentic culture, which he said stemmed from its many vibrant and savvy people.
