It turns out that spending a lifetime working to keep a community safe may help you win county commissioner races.
That proved to be the case, at least, for former Guilford County Emergency Services Director Alan Perdue, who now serves as the Guilford County Board of Commissioners District 2 representative – and who’ll continue to get to do so after the results of the Tuesday, Nov. 8 election.
Perdue, a Republican, did very well among District 2 voters. He collected 61 percent of the vote in his run against Democratic challenger Paul Meinhart, who received 39 percent.
Perdue currently serves as one of three Republicans on the Board of Commissioners and he often brings a unique perspective to the discussions – one that’s appreciated by county staff. Perdue worked in the Emergency Services Department for much of his life before being named the director of that department and keeping that job until he retired. When proposed motions are discussed by the Board of Commissioners, Perdue frequently provides a lot of insight as to how each move will affect the county’s employees or county departments.
When all the votes were counted in the 24 District 2 precincts, Perdue had 14,201 votes to Meinhart’s 9,204.
Since the Republican Perdue is in the minority on the Democratic-majority Board of Commissioners that’s been spending an astonishing amount of taxpayer money over the last two years, there’s not much he can do to mitigate the board’s spending. However, Perdue – who now travels the country training others on safety practices and related matters – is known for making practical, commonsense changes and additions to board proposals. His suggestions are usually appreciated by Democrats and Republicans on the board alike, and they’re frequently incorporated into county plans.
In recent years and recent months, Perdue has been increasingly vocal about his concerns regarding school safety, and this may have helped him in this year’s election. Given the large number of fights in Guilford County Schools this year, and the fear of school shooters, county residents can expect this to continue to be one of Perdue’s priorities once he’s sworn in for another four years in early December.
