Chatham liberal John Graybeal overwhelmed by commissioners’ awesome time management skills

Date: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 14:22:38 -0400
From: John Graybeal
Subject: Elect Commissioners Who Will Work Hard for Chatham Citizens

Heather Johnson was obviously entitled to have a little fun since my idea for a letter was leaked to her from a Democratic Party group thought to be secure. She’s actually done us a favor by flagging the security problem.

The letter proposed to raise the question why the Republican Commissioners Bock, Petty and Stewart, all of whom either have full-time occupations or businesses, actually want in addition to be Chatham County Commissioners. That was not an argument that being in business disqualifies one from being a commissioner. Indeed, some strong and progressive commissioners in Chatham have been fully employed in business or otherwise. The question here is what other than such businesses explains the Bock/Petty/Stewart inattention to important matters in Chatham.

The bios on the County website tell us that Stewart is the Web Communications Manager for Bayer CropScience, a company which makes herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. Petty owns a big business, Atlantic Power Solutions, which sells generators for agricultural and other uses to dealers in North and South Carolina and Virginia. That can’t leave him much time. Bock owns and operates at least a chunk of Amante Gourmet Pizza & Taprooms, which has five locations in Durham, Chapel Hill/Durham, Raleigh, Morrisville and Carrboro. A big plateful of time there for Mr. Bock.

One wonders whether these activities explain why these commissioners decided one meeting each month would be better than two; why the consent agenda is loaded up with items that might benefit from discussion, including final decisions on zoning matters; why budget sessions have terminated in a flash rather than go on for three or four sessions as planned; and why the Board has spent no time inquiring what the implications of Chatham Park would be for the County budget.

The solution is at hand: we can vote on November 4 for three strong Democratic candidates for the Board of County Commissioners who will do the hard work and put in the long hours required to benefit Chatham citizens: Karen Howard, Jim Crawford and Diana Hales.