While right now the United States of America is more divided than ever when it comes to the national election, things are actually quite copacetic at the local level between most leaders in Guilford County – regardless of their political party.
Certainly, local elected leaders sometimes disagree on issues, but those discussions are, for the most part at least, very civil. No one is calling another leader’s supporter “garbage” or saying that their political opponent is “retarded.”
Take the Guilford County Board of Commissioners as one example.
That board is led by free-spending Democratic Chairman Skip Alston, who leads a nine-member board that only has two conservative Republican commissioners – Alan Perdue and Pat Tillman.
However, if you walked into the commissioners’ meeting room without knowing anything at all about the commissioners, you would just see a civil conversation about issues in a genuine attempt by the board to figure out what is best for Guilford County residents. It would be hard to determine who was a Republican and who was a Democrat.
Plus, all the county commissioners seem to genuinely like one another.
In the past, some Guilford County commissioners in the minority have sat at the dais and loudly and belligerently attacked those in the majority.
However, that technique usually just meant that those commissioners made themselves completely irrelevant.
He or she might get the joy of complaining fiercely about something – but, in the end, they got virtually nothing that they wanted for their constituents or a county department or for county residents in general.
Tillman and Perdue sometimes come under criticism for voting for the Democrats’ budgets or for going along with an inevitable vote to make Alston chairman again. However, while that can cause them criticism, they often get something they feel the county needs. For instance, they may get some items of theirs in the county’s budget in exchange for their vote to pass that budget. That’s something that wouldn’t happen if they just called fellow commissioners names.
This local harmony – among Democrats and Republicans alike – was evident at a gathering last week in downtown Greensboro before and after a ceremony when Guilford County named a building after Commissioner Kay Cashion. Political leaders – city council members, commissioners, area mayors and many others of both parties – were there from all over central North Carolina, and everyone got along swimmingly.
Former Guilford County Commissioner Hank Henning, a conservative Republican, was, for instance, chatting happily with Greensboro City Councilmember Sharon Hightower, a very left-leaning Democrat. The politics of the two (pictured above) could not be more different, but that clearly didn’t matter at the personal level.
When the Rhino Times asked how well they knew each other, Hightower smiled widely and said they knew each other very well.
“We’ve eaten chicken together,” Hightower exclaimed happily.
The politicians on the national level could learn a thing or two from the local leaders in Guilford County.
Eating chicken together….probably their greatest accomplishment because concern for citizens does not exist, only concern for their tax dollars.
Nice to hear about civil politics again. Hope that comes back in style at the national level when Trump finishes his tantrum after losing the election.
Gosh Scott, I hope the tears in my eyes don’t make my typing illegible; I think the Republicans have realized that they are in a deep azure area of the Piedmont. Like King Canute, they realized that they cannot turn back the tide and have endeavoured not to be swamped.
The entrenched administration has been around so long that I am awaiting the announcement of who the crown prince to succeed King Skippy will be.
I’m sure another crisis will arise to again delay future elections.
Our National Parties seek to divide (and conquer) us with all this hate-filled rhetoric. Many people buy it. What they are really doing is diverting our attention from the issues that really matter, so they can go merrily along consolidating their power & wealth among each other – govt & business. They all want to bankrupt the population so that we will be dependent upon them just to survive. Inflation (free stuff) is the key, the most cruel tax of all.
If you talk, and listen, to people; you will find that most of us can get along just fine. I try to talk to strangers when I am out, just to try to make their day just a little bit better. It works.
An excellent commentary of how esteemed adults who have been elected by their peers can work together on behalf of the entire community without the necessity of vitriolic name-calling and hyper-partisanship that is state of national and state-wide politics.
I can say from watching Hank Henning in work sessions as a county commissioner, that he was a complete and utter jerk to many of the staff. Sharon Hightower is…well, most people already know about her.
A Commissioner does not need to be confrontational or argumentative on the dais to express opinions and cast a vote. The idea of going along to get along is a way to keep others inline. Politicians who believe this are of two camps: Those who are in power (think Democrat Commissioners) and those who want to be liked (think Purdue and Tillman.) A persuasive politician does not have to be abrasive, and casting a vote based on your constituents’ wishes is what a politician is elected to do. Do Purdue and Tillman think that voting for Alston again as Chairman is what their constituents want? I think not; otherwise, they would have voted for a Democrat. Hopefully, the Republican Party can run better candidates than Purdue and Tillman in 2026. As far as District 6, vote for Maritza Gomez. The other candidate was handpicked by Skip Alston. A vote for the other candidate is a vote for Skip Alston.
It could be that the current political makeup of the council doesn’t lead to confrontation as before when there were republican majorities. No need for democrats to hollar and cuss when they are in charge 7 – 2. Should the Republicans ever regain the majority in Guilford ( unlikely) then cumbaya will be out the window and flown away.
Purdue or Tillman, please run against Alston for Chairman. At least make it seem you care about the county. If you desire not to run for Chairman, then at least abstain from voting for Alston.