Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2016 16:02:36 -0400
From: virginia penley
Subject: RE: Election and BOC
Based on the nice videos that Gene and others have posted it is obvious that Mr. Holland is a nice looking, genuine young man who cares for his county. Of course you could say the same about Mike Dasher, too.
My questions regarding Peyton Holland as a candidate go beyond platitudes.
When he talks about taking Our Chatham Back whose Chatham does he believe it belongs and who is he taking Chatham Back from?
Although this may be unintended this language sounds suspiciously natavist.
I think all of the voters deserve clarity on this plank of his platform.
And when Peyton talks about leadership, what does he mean?
Obviously an elected official cannot feasibly communicate with ALL of the citizens of this county as his literature and speeches imply so at what point would he be comfortable making a decision or a vote? He implies that the county does not listen to its citizens nor take in enough public input when the reality could not be further from the truth.
Furthermore, if the public feedback he receives is contrary to good public policy what action would he take?
For example, if a majority of the citizens believed that it was ok to pollute our water supply, that the world was flat or the United States never landed on the moon what would he do? Lead or react?
The impetus for his campaign seems to be twofold: One- the Democratic Party had a contested primary, the incumbent lost, and the GOP failed to file its commissioner candidate for District 2 and Two-the democratic majority of the BOC voted to zone the unzoned parts of the county, which is exactly what they ran on doing as a slate when they won in 2014.
This is democracy in action.
The citizens spoke.
So given that the energy for his campaign essentially came from residual sour grapes from a democratic primary defeat combined with angst over the implementation of a public policy that the board majority campaigned on and won it seems downright reasonable that Mr. Holland tells the voters where he stands on issues and where he may stand on the important issues facing our county and region today and in the future.
Virginia Penley
Vice Chair
Mann’s Chapel