Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2016 14:21:11 -0500
From: John Graybeal
Subject: Mike Cross: A Part-Time Democrat?
In his latest effort, Larry Hicks tried to persuade us that Mike Cross from Chatham’s District 2 has had a fine voting record as County Commissioner. But the unfortunate truth is that after the Republican majority was elected to the County Board in 2010, Mike C. sided only about one-half the time with Democrat Sally Kost when she voted against bad Republican moves.. In the other votes, Mike C. voted with the Republicans thereby producing 4 – 1 votes with Sally Kost dissenting alone.
The unfortunate Cross votes are highlighted by what may be the biggest one when he voted last November 16 with Republican Walter Petty against proceeding with County-wide zoning. They were on the losing side of a 3 – 2 Board vote.
This seems to be the pattern of Mike C. votes. The Commissioner elections this year will determine whether the strong Democratic board elected in 2014 will continue to receive half support from Mike C. or full support with the re-election of Karen Howard in District 1 and the election of Mike Dasher in District 2.
Larry Hicks points to seven votes in 2014 and 2015 where he says Mike C. voted with the Democrats. But Mike C. doesn’t gain many Democratic credentials from those votes since Republican Walter Petty also voted with the Democrats in all but two of them (in a third one Petty was absent).
A scorecard of Board votes from December 2010 to December 2011 shows the stalwart Democrat, Sally Kost, voted 27 times against moves of the Republican majority. In those 27 votes, Mike C. voted with Sally K. 15 times or 56% of the time, but he voted with the Republican majority 12 times producing 4 -1 votes 44%, or almost one-half of the time. These votes make Mike Cross a part-time Democrat.
Many Board votes produced 4 – 1 outcomes leaving Democrat Sally Kost the lone dissenter, when Mike Cross voted with the Republicans to ——
— Favor action by the Sheriff in assisting in the enforcement of federal immigration law;
— Remove the Environmental Review Board from the major subdivision planning process;
— Eliminate the requirement for certain Environmental Impact Assessments;
–Remove the LEED certification requirement for new County buildings, including the new jail;
— Approve a 2011-12 austerity budget that cut library hours, eliminated the book mobile, adversely affected environmental staff and eliminated certain meals for seniors.
— Eliminate the Council on Aging’s food program that provided basic nutrition for 24 Chatham residents (June 2011);
— Kill Chatham County’s affordable housing program (a series of votes July – November 2012;
— Prevent arts programs, including the Chatham Arts Council, from receiving County funds (December 2013);
— Authorize the Planning Board to do a simple update of the existing land use plan rather than hire a consultant to do a first rate plan (December 2013)(which has now happened);
— Approve a budget that delayed construction of a new high school, refused to provide $34,000 to the Arts Incubator and refused a raise for non-teaching school staff (June 2012).
In short, the voting record for Mike Cross shows he is only a part-time Democrat. But the voters this year can elect Mike Dasher for District 2, who is committed to working full-time with his fellow Democratic Commissioners.