Guilford County Commissioner James Upchurch is relatively new to the Board of Commissioners.
He was just seated last December, however, that newness didn’t prevent him from grabbing a national appointment at a recent conference of county officials.
During the National Association of Counties (NACo) Conference in mid-July, which was held just outside of Washington, DC, Upchurch was chosen to serve on the Community, Economic, and Workforce Development steering committee. That committee is responsible for “all matters pertaining to housing, community and economic development, public works, and workforce development including the creation of affordable housing and housing options for different populations, residential, commercial, and industrial development, and building and housing codes.”
At the Board of Commissioners Thursday, August 19 meeting, Chairman Skip Alston praised Commissioners Kay Cashion, Carolyn Coleman and Carlvena Foster – along with Upchurch – for recent appointments and awards at the state and national levels.
Cashion is extremely active outside of her local responsibilities – for years, she’s served in key positions at the state and federal level among county officials. Currently, she serves as vice chair of NACo’s Arts and Culture Commission as well as vice chair of the Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee.
Coleman was recently honored by black commissioners across the state for her contributions to society.
Carlvena Foster currently serves as the 2021 president of the Women of NACo.
Upchurch, in his new role, joins seven other county leaders from across the state to represent North Carolina on the committee.
Upchurch said he was very honored to serve on the committee and he said he’s looking forward to bringing new ideas in Guilford County and providing input on the national committee.
He called this an opportunity to focus on key issues that influence the economy “both locally and on a national level.”
Sorry, but I trust this fella about as far as the courthouse steps. I’ve watched his videos on his web page and seen enough to know where his priorities lie. If your looking for a socialist, this is as close as it gets without using the word on your resume. Rather than focusing on “jobs” for “the community” why not focus on getting people off their asses and going to work. More money isn’t the problem, it’s laziness enabled by socialist policies. There are signs in front of almost every business ‘help wanted’ but when you’re paying people to sit at home, and guarantee that they won’t be evicted, they have no motivation to go to work. Nearly doubling the minimum wage is a slap in the face to the rest of us who have worked hard for what we earn. Our entire system is flawed. Politicians are supposed to work for the taxpayers, but most nowadays are put in by voters who don’t even pay taxes and they get the attention.
So you are still a believer in Regan’s welfare Queen myth? You thinking people enjoy being poor? That is what you would have to believe if you think the help wanted signs offering minimum wage (you try to live off minimum wage) are in anyway a way out of poverty. The number of people with full time jobs receiving snap benefits it too damn high. The real welfare queen are the large corporations that pay below living wages because the government subsidizes those wages with welfare benefits. They are the true socialists.
I believed that welfare queen lie too. But the economics of low wage jobs continuing to fall behind GDP growth (if they grow at all given that minimum wages haven’t changed in decades) shows that the true beneficiary of US socialist programs are Big Business. No one Likes being Poor! Less than 20% of people receiving SNAP benefits are able bodied unemployed people of working age.
COVID unemployement benefits gave people the break from their slave wage jobs the opportunity to figure out that they CAN do better. Many are changing careers (leaving the crazy lifestyle issues that come with Restaurant jobs for example) or taking time to obtain greater valued job skills.
That is how capitalism should work. You don’t pay a fair wage…no one works for you. Not Complicated.
SNAP, WIC, and all those other “wonderful” programs are heavily abused. Just look at all the fancy cars, fancy clothes & $300 hairdo’s going in & out of the parking lot at Social Services & Public Health everyday. Every drug dealer in the county jail has a steady stream of EBT cards coming in as payment for pennies on the dollar. Then if he isn’t using them, he’s selling them for a fraction of face value. It’s all a big scam. Abolish all of it and let mankind do their part to take care of the poor & the elderly. Those that abuse the system get cut off quickly, leaving more for legitimate claims. The government has proven they obviously cannot handle that without making a mess. If a place doesn’t pay enough to suit you, by all means go someplace else, but don’t expect the rest of us to pay you to sit on your ass. If you socialists don’t slow down don’t act surprised when your Big Mac costs $12 a la carte & gas is $6/gal.
JUST SAYING must be bitter because someone didn’t change his diaper this morning. Poor baby, no one is giving him any attention.
Then I suggest strongly that you file to run for office. Mr. Upchurch did. And he got elected.
Oh, and by the way…the committee that he and six other North Carolinians got appointed to? That’s what it’s all about. Finding and recommending solutions to (as you put it) “getting people off their asses and going to work.”
Maybe you should take your own advice by being more constructive, than being obstructive. Unfortunately, not everyone like you can look good in diapers.
Sorry Ed I agree with Just Saying I don’t think you’ve changed your depends today Must be a good look for you.
Chris you sound like a 1990s snowflake I used to work with people who would say if they paid me more I’d do more sorry flake that’s not the way the world works get a job or two a skill or education take pride in your self and don’t put yourself in a position to have ask anyone for anything
A pretty man can always go places if he is willing to be really involved with the right people. Ain’t he pretty.
If I just saw that picture, out of context, I would think “TV preacher” or “used-car salesman”, but then again, most politicians have that appearance.
I guess we now know why – even if he may have felt it was too stringent or not great policy – he did not vote against Skip’s mask tomfoolery