Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston is kind of a bizarro Donald Trump: He’s at the other end of the political spectrum but, like Trump, he always gets his way and his fellow Democrats on the Board of Commissioners (almost) never vote against him on anything.
So, Alston – the most powerful political leader in Guilford County – doesn’t need any more power, but he just got a bump in that category anyway. He has been selected to serve as the vice chairman of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission, and that means it’s almost certain he’ll become that commission’s chairman again next year – a role he held nearly two decades ago.
Apparently-Board-of-Commissioners-Chairman-for-Life Alston is currently serving his ninth term as chairman of the county board – more than anyone else in Guilford County history. There’s a very good chance he’ll still have that job in 2026 so he may be chair of both boards simultaneously next year.
Alston, a licensed real estate broker since 1982 and the founder of The Alston Realty Group, previously served on the NC Real Estate Commission from 2003 to 2009. He was appointed back then by the Speaker of the House, and during that earlier stint, he was elected chairman in both 2007 and 2008.
He was reappointed to the Commission in late 2024 by former NC Governor Roy Cooper, and now, in no time, he’s back in a leadership role.
“I was especially honored to be chosen this time because it was an entirely new group of people,” Alston told the Rhino Times.
He said it means a lot to be selected for a leadership position by colleagues who didn’t serve with him during his first time around.
The NC Real Estate Commission is the state’s licensing and regulatory body for real estate brokers. It oversees education requirements and testing, issues and renews licenses, handles disciplinary cases and sets the rules that govern professional real estate conduct across North Carolina. The commission also investigates complaints, protects consumers from fraud and abuse and it plays a central role in maintaining the integrity of the state’s real estate market.
Alston said that, after decades in the real estate field, he felt a call to serve again in a leadership capacity.
“I’ve been in this business for 43 years,” Alston said, adding that it was a major part of his life and that he had enjoyed serving as vice chair and chair of the real estate commission previously.
The commission is made up of nine members, including both industry professionals and members of the public. Members are appointed by the governor, the House Speaker, and the President Pro Tem of the Senate. The commission typically elects its officers – including the vice chair and chair – on an annual basis.
Alston said he doesn’t expect his new duties to conflict with his many other obligations.
“I’ve got the time,” he said, when asked how he plans to balance it all.
He said that even though chairing the Guilford County Board of Commissioners is a demanding job, and even though he remains active in his real estate business and other ventures, he’s happy to make the time to serve.
A Durham native and graduate of North Carolina Central University, Alston has served on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners for over 27 years.
He’s also a Diamond-Life Member of the NAACP and a former president of the North Carolina NAACP.
Alston also spends a lot of his time helping run the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, which he co-founded.
Please do not compare Skip with Trump. Horrible! Trump hurts people.
Lol, Skip helps Skip. Duh!
Skip also hurts people with his waste of Guilford county money for his little pet projects.
BS, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Alston has been in my pocket for years.
Cheryl, The Don sure hurt the Iranians who constantly chant, DEATH TO AMERICA! President Trump sure put the hurt on Irans ambitions for nuclear weapons! Just FYI… unlike the ho ho hey hey from the purple haired snowflakes ❄️ here in our streets, those Muslim Extremist are speaking from the depths of their soul. As for your hero Skip Alston, he hasn’t helped me… nor does he speak of making positive changes for me. I for one would like to know… what has Skip done to create positive change here in the many years of public “service’? Sounds like ol creepy Uncle Joe Biden… 50 years of public disservice.
Poor Cheryl. You just don’t understand PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP. PRESIDENT TRUMP is saving America and lowering taxes. PRESIDENT TRUMP is helping to pay down the national debt using income from tariffs. EVERY SINGLE DEMOCRAT VOTED AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP’S BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL WHICH KEEPS TAXES LOW. If the democrats had been successful in stopping this bill, EVERY SINGLE TAXPAYER WOULD HAVE SEEN A 67% TAX HIKE! Apparently you must have a ton of money to be able to afford a 67% INCREASE IN YOUR TAXES. If you do, good for you. Maybe you own a business. Good for you. HOWEVER as President (Barry) Barack Hussian Obama once said…’You didn’t build that on your own.’ So don’t pat yourself on your back for the success everyone else helped you achieve.
A June 6 2024 Rhino Times article states “Democratic-Led Board has increased County Budget $200 Million in Four Years.” That does NOT INCLUDE the $100+ million COVID dollars Guilford received. Ole skippy and the democrat controlled County Commissioners raised their salaries by 50% a few years ago. The democrat controlled County board is now trying to raise sales tax for-what is it-the 8th time! Ole skippy once said that people from outside Guilford County would pay most of the taxes because they come here to shop. I guess ole skippy thinks there are no grocery, home improvement, clothing or shopping centers in other counties. That shows a true ignorance of where people shop. Not to mention that a sales tax will hurt people with middle and low incomes far more than it will hurt higher income people. PEOPLE HAVE REJECTED THIS DEMOCRAT SPONSORED TAX HIKE EVERY TIME THEY TRY IT. In 2024 during the property reassessment, I told ole skippy Guilford had the HIGHEST PERCENTAGE TAX HICK IN THE ENTIRE US. Ole skippy quickly quickly pointed out that it was the SECOND HIGHEST IN THE COUNTRY. I guess he is tired of being number 2.
Then we have the $1.7 BILLION in school bonds that ole skippy and the democrat controlled school board lied about to trick voters into approving the bonds. Even a democrat Wake County judge said the county and school board illegally colluded in their efforts to get voter approved. But, as the democrat judge said, their efforts tricked more than 60% of voters to approve the bonds so he let it stand. REPUBLICAN ALAN BRANSON spent his own money trying to prevent taxpayers from being on the hook for over $3 BILLION dollars taxpayers must pay to repay the bonds. Once approved, bonds must be spent within 10 years and repaid within 20 years of when the money is spent. So-o-o, a baby BORN TODAY, will be 30+years old with a family of their own and will STILL BE PAYING for the bonds. Not exactly a good ‘generational gift’ to your children and grandchildren.
DEMOCRATS ARE EXPERTS IN TAXING AND SPENDING. REPUBLICANS ARE EXPERTS IN KNOWING HOW TO LIVE WITHIN THEIR MEANS. You know, a budget. To democrats, the word budget is a 4 letter word.
VOTE REPUBLICANS FOR EVERY OFFICE IN EVERY ELECTION. THIS IS ONLY WAY TO KEEP YOU, YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN FROM ENDING UP IN THE POOR HOUSE.
You have been conned and are a fool. Trump lowered HIS taxes but only kept your taxes level and then is piling tariffs (ie spending tax) on you. Trump relies on his MAGA people ignorance so he can fleece them. Just like his is destroying rural health care with is Big Hateful Bill that will strip Medicaid from the most vulnerable people. He lies when it says it will only impact fraud. he has put of so many new barriers that even that that can access will find it too difficult to access (same trick conservatives do with voting access).
Best example, you complain about Guilford County debt, but Trump claims we have a great economy under his leadership yet is increasing deficit spending when we are fast approaching unsustainable debt load on our economy. Trump doesn’t care about you. He takes your ignorance for granted and you are rewarding his hate filled agenda with praise like a good little sheep.
Trump is good at cutting (since he isn’t actually capable of building anything):
Cutting research that once made us great and a world leader in innovation….
Cutting support for higher education that once made us envy of students world wide…
Cutting off America from supporting global people in need that once defined our greatness…
Cutting off educational support for the most vulnerable kids in our country…
Cutting off medical care access for the most vulnerable people in our country…
Cutting off diversity that once made us great…
Cutting off from Global trade leadership that once made us Great…
Cutting off support for Global democracy that once made us Great…
Cutting off cutting off long-term foreign alliances that once made us a world leader….
Cutting off support of science that made a world leader….
Cutting off protections for our environment that once made us the most beautiful country in the world….
Making America reGret Again Amazing you didn’t learn from the disaster of his first term.
But you be you
Chris , if being MAGA makes someone a fool, you must be SUPER ULTRA MEGA MAGA !
Chris, thanks for you comment. I knew I could count on ‘you be you’ to respond to facts with ‘feelings’ and no facts. I guess you must have missed that kids in Guilford County are not reading, writing or performing math at grade level. In fact, they are now worse than they were before Covid when teachers across the country refused to go back into the classroom even though kids were statistically less likely to be infected by Covid. Just yesterday, the president of a national school labor union was screaming at a gathering in DC about the importance of protecting teachers. Funny, she failed to mention improving test scores for students. I guess that is a lower priority.
During PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP’S first term, WAGES ROSE FOR EVERYONE, not just the rich. So how is that a failure? Cat got your tongue? The BILL BEAUTIFUL BILL made those tax cuts PERMANENT.
Maybe you don’t read a lot about history, but before there was a federal income tax, the US got most of its money from tariffs. So now that PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP has imposed tariffs, America has collected over $100 BILLION in tariff revenue that is being used to pay down our national debt.
As for diversity and supporting people from around the world, how much money do you think American taxpayers should pay and give to ILLEGAL ALIENS (the official and legal terminology) in the form of free food, housing, education, medical care and spending money. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is now going to take tax money from taxpayers of LA and give it to ILLEGAL ALIENS. When (Barry) Barack Hussein Obama was running for office, he promised citizens of Detroit that he would make sure they got free cell phone. I remember when Detroit citizens then complained they had not received the phones after voting for Barry.
The BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL includes $25 BILLION for rural hospitals and clinics. In a recent newspaper article about a rural clinic that is closing, the hospital said they were closing because they were not profitable and the BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL had nothing to do with their closing. You would know that if you expanded your list of media outlets. Dodge identified tens of thousands of people. 120 years and older who are currently on social security rolls. Based on media reports, I am guessing that some of those people are no longer living. So why are they still on social security rolls? Is that waste, fraud and abuse? If not, what would you call it?
As for the climate, RIGHT NOW, TODAY, the US is emitting LESS EMISSIONS THAT IT DID IN THE 1990’s. India and China remain the world’s worse polluters and China was most recently identified as a ‘developing country’ even though they open a new coal powered electricity plant almost every week. Electricity from solar panels using precious minerals from China are more expensive than electrical generating plants using natural gas or coal. And of course nuclear energy is the cheapest energy. PRESIDENT TRUMP wants to use a ‘ALL OF THE ABOVE’ approach to energy. The last time I checked, we had a 330+ year supply of coal, an abundance of natural gas and gas/diesel powered engines are at least 50% cleaner than engines of just 20 years ago. Electric powered vehicles should have a place in our transportation system. But ole Sleepy joe spent about $5BILLION for electric charging locations but was only able to build about 8 of them. Is that waste, fraud or abuse? Just asking. But hey, you be you. It is always good to read your opinion filled with no facts just ‘feelings’.
Everything I said was factual. But certainly, I am emotional about conservatives taking a wrecking ball to all things that have made America great while doubling down on our worst attributes.
– Conservatives always ignore how Trump’s handling of Covid impacted our economy when they claim he ran a great economy that he inherited from Obama (who saw far more wage growth than Trump did) I am sure you will claim there was nothing Trump could have done to better handle covid but funny how conservative blame any outcomes from disasters when Democratic leaders are in office but then turn around and claim that ‘there was nothing we could do” when they are in office. Just look at Trump’s reaction to Texas flooding versus NC flooding. Hypocrites.
– If you believe that the US can successfully replace income taxes today with tariffs in a global economy, you are a fool and maybe you need to read up on the basics of economics. Trump as gone TACO on all his big tariff moves which is the only reason we he hasn’t tanked our economy yet. Maybe you should study history and see that during the US’s best economic growth he had sustainably higher taxes than we do today and very little national debt weighing down our annual budget.
– Of course a hospital closing today would have nothing to do with the Bill Debt Bill. The real damage is to come from the millions of rural people who will lose their Medicaid coverage….over 800 billion removed from Medicaid is 800 billion removed from hospital systems. Especially preventive care for rural Americans. Small rural hospitals can not afford that much loss of insurance review yet will still have to provide emergency care to those in medical crisis due to lack of preventative care. But yeah, Trump gave peanuts to the elephant in the room called ‘US Faily healthcare’
– Every study shows that immigrants end up adding far more to our economy than they cost. I am all for boarder security, but I am also against police state type enforcement that using bigotry to illegally detain documented immigrants and especially US Nationalized citizens. US Farm bankruptcies are already spiking over prior year levels thanks to tariffs and anti-immigrant policies of the Trump administration.
– The US should be leading the fight to transition away from carbon emissions. Yes we have made improvements thanks to Liberal leaders who support science. Trump has claimed climate science a hoax and even claimed he was going to bring back increased coal Minning (he lied of course). China and Europe will profit from the continued investment in renewable energy while the US will be dependent on foreign governments for support if we don’t invest in research…. which trump canceled across the board.
Trump only wants more use of carbon sources for energy. Drill baby drill so don’t claim he has any plan other than continuing the norm which is leading to dramatic and accelerating change in our climate that will make the world a very different place for my grandchildren.
Stop with the lie about spending billions for 8 power stations. You clearly don’t fact check the lies conservatives tell you. http://www.politifact.com is a good source for tracking the lies and actual truth. 1 that the full about of funds was not allocated before canceled that 10s of thousands of stations had been put in place as a result of the funds allocated to state transportation departments. But don’t let facts get in the way or your ignorance.
Happy to debate any of your other false claims of success of Trumps plans for the US. YOU clearly don’t seem concerned with facts as you clearly just repeat conservative talking points long ago debunked and proven as lies and misinformation. Remember, the first sign you are in a cult is that they tell you everyone else is lying. ‘Fake News’ is mostly true but Trump doesn’t want you to believe that, so you only believe his lies. You have been conned.
But you be you.
Chris I’m thinking you need to take a big dose of Exlax you are so full of yourself. Try my suggestions, I promise you’ll feel better.
Rebel, you have the right idea.
Poor ole chris has no idea of facts. (Barry) Barack Hussein Obama did not leave PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP with a good economy. But let’s pretend that chris was right…Barry left PRESIDENT TRUMP with a good economy. PRESIDENT TRUMP then made the economy even better and lowered taxes for every taxpayer. Did Barry do that? NO!
democrats call PRESIDENT TRUMP a nazi, hitler, dictator…and then they got nasty. The worst thing Republicans called ole sleep was…ole sleepy and suffering from dementia. dems have a permanent case of TDS. That’s Trump Derangement Syndrome and Tariff Derangement Syndrome. If PRESIDENT TRUMP said the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, dems would say he is a liar and should be impeached because the sun actually rises in the North-East and sets in the South-west. Talk about a case of TDS!
Conservatives and Republicans view a glass of water as being half full while dems view the same glass as half empty. Conservatives and Republicans reject toxic masculinity; the myth of white privilege; boys who think they are girls,entering and using bathroom facilities designed for your mom, wife, sister and daughter; and competing in sports against actual biological females. Conservatives don’t ask for a person’s pronouns because we simply don’t care. We treat all people with respect. We don’t care about a persons ethnicity or race because identifying them by these terms is demeaning, racist and against the law. Conservatives and Republicans tend to view people by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin. This is what Dr. King spoke about. Treat people equally.
dems don’t believe this. For dems, I guess they only want to fly on an airplane unless the pilot and crew is staffed using diversity criteria. I don’t know about you, but I want the best pilot and crew and I don’t care anything about their race or perceived or actual gender..
I guess that chris will never change his mind…which is his right. Sometimes you just can’t change someone who is stubborn and unwilling to see outside THEIR CULT.
Another childish comment from a conservative. Yawn.
Typical conservative denies the truth with no facts of his own to back up his accusation: Obama did leave a strong economy for Trump: reduced unemployment from 10% to 4%, added over 11 million jobs, 75 consecutive months of job growth, increased real GDP by over 16%, inflation at 1.4%, record high average household income, etc.. etc.. etc.. These are facts. Conservative will claim things and offer no basis in facts like Ken here because they can’t. They are sheep repeating the lies of Trump. Nothing more, nothing less.
Trump refers to liberals as ‘evil within’ and threatens to revoke citizenship and ‘lock up’ his opponents. He claims liberals want to destroy American, etc.. I have never heard any prior President of any party use such hateful language more typically heard from dictators and fascist. But you go ahead and worry about what some guy said on the internet.
Conservative have created the lie about DEI as means to rally the bigotry of their base as a means to stoke fear, hate and conflict as a primary motivating force to hold power as they strip the US of all that has made it great.
Notice Ken has no ability to counter any of the items on my list. Just repeating the lies and hate of Trump and his MAGA followers with not a single fact in his rant. I repeat my list and dare Ken to prove any of these incorrect:
Cutting research that once made us great and a world leader in innovation….
Cutting support for higher education that once made us envy of students world wide…
Cutting off America from supporting global people in need that once defined our greatness…
Cutting off educational support for the most vulnerable kids in our country…
Cutting off medical care access for the most vulnerable people in our country…
Cutting off diversity that once made us great…
Cutting off from Global trade leadership that once made us Great…
Cutting off support for Global democracy that once made us Great…
Cutting off cutting off long-term foreign alliances that once made us a world leader….
Cutting off support of science that made a world leader….
Cutting off protections for our environment that once made us the most beautiful country in the world….
Where are YOUR facts Ken? Weird you claim I ignore facts yet you offer none after i have provided several.
Typical hypocritical conservative.
Just curious- how much money has the county given the International Civil Rights Center and Museum this year? If any, I sincerely hope Mr. Alston is not involved in any way with grants or discussion among other county commissioners because it is a clear conflict of interest.
The county gave the museum $200,000 this year as part of a five-year plan to give it $1 million. Alston does not participate in the discussions or the vote at the meetings.
LOL! Nonetheless, Skippy’s minions know they need to take care of Skippy or else.
You’re crazy and a fool
Please explain your comment.
Scott,
Don’t you mean ‘Alston does not OPENLY participate in the discussions or the vote at the meetings’.
Please Scott, we may have been born at night, but not last night.
You are right that Skip always counts the votes to make sure he has them even if he does not participate in that portion of the meeting.
That’s called putting the squeeze on the voting commissioners. Skippy is good at that. He does not hesitate to squeeze any group when he needs money or support. Any NAACP member knows the game. Inuendoes that are thinly veiled threats are used to achieve objectives.
Skip doesn’t have to Scott ol’ Skip has these folks in his pocket right between his very worn race card and a not so worn but well used white guilt card… (and a dumbacrat majority) . As for a conflict of interest, you can’t get much more conflicts that controlling property values (tax values) and selling real estate. As for the unprofitable waste of taxpayers money pit, any upstanding and forthright real estate agent would advise the owners of such a losing proposition to SELL! SELL!SELL! But if that same real estate agent we’re making money off the losses of others (the taxpayers of Guilford County) WHY SELL.? The Taxpayers of Guilford County really should think about the consequences of their vote. And I won’t even mention the over 1MILLION DOLLARS Ol’Skip and his coconspirator Earl Jones had already snookered and squandered from the federal taxpayers.
You’re a journalist Scott! A real investigative journalist could , I’n my opinion, could most likely have a very profitable book publication revealing the truth and some real reconciliation… ha ha ha. WRITE THAT BOOK!
Because Skip Away with Your Money Alston has already told everybody what to do and how to vote so that’s why he removes himself. He already had it all planned and in place before the vote took part. That way he doesn’t look guilty. He knows exactly what he’s doing and how to steal the most money to put in his pocket.
Skip-the-Hyp: Why don’t your help everyone in the County by reducing the tax rate? Just for openers?
This is, of course, a Rheturitical question.
I’ve had a chance to see Skip Alston in action. He is very savvy in the ways of politics and enjoys his many rolls. Let’s see if Guilford wants to pay for his plans.
Doesn’t matter what taxpayers in Guilford Co think or want. Old Skippy always gets his way. Term limits would solve this problem!
Another opportunity to bend over. Get ready citizens as there will be no paybacks for you.
NO WE TAXPAYERS DO NOT WANT TO FUND SKIPPY’S PROJECTS!
It’s absolutely disgusting that this guy is on the way to doubling property taxes for all homeowners in Guilford county to fund his big spending plans. It’s even worse that all we can do is sit by and watch while he decides how to reappropriate our money to pay for his high flying projects.
Not that they’re much better, but we desperately need to elect Republicans to the Guilford county board of commissioners. Skippy and his buddies won’t ever stop spending until they run out of our money. The level of harm they cause to law abiding taxpayers is massive.
Supreme Board of Commissioners Chairman for Life
JQP,
The proper title is Supreme Board of COMMISSARS Chairman for Life.
All amateur swamp creatures.
Term limits for ALL political office holders. That is the only way to break the backs of political entrenchment.
Great Job Skippy! All we can hope for in Guilford County is that someone in Washington, DC recognizes your talents and takes you to the Swamp. I spent 1 hour and 10 minutes this morning on hold trying to get through to Guilford County Animal Control. Last time in order to contact Guilford County Animal Control I was on hold for over 40 minutes. Anybody have any idea how long it would take to have a call to our International Civil Rights Museum to be answered?
Great question Jim. But nobody is there!
Of course. Power and money is what all Democrats crave.
Conservatives and libertarians just want to be left alone to live their lives in peace.
Leftists want to control us and rob us.
Skip does a very good job and is an asset to the city of Greensboro.
How does Alston help Greensboro while he is a County Commissioner?
That picture of skip’s face reminds me a a worthless ole hound dog my grandfather had. He was an egg sucking hound,absolutely worthless. The only difference I see is that ole hound sucked eggs, ole skip just keeps on sucking TAXPAYERS dollars like a vacuum cleaner. Keep sucking skip
KARMA is coming for you
Carelessness, complacency, laziness, don’t give a tinkers D__n about who runs our business; call it what you want but that’s why Alston continues to hold his position. Too many people REFUSE to get off their lazy butt and vote. So, if YOU are one of them quit your belly aching.
To the serfs and peasants of the County of Skip Alston, aka Guilford County,
I hear you…I don’t give a tinkers damn what you are wailing about, but I hear you
I AM the Lord and Master of Guilford County. I and I alone dictate what will and will not be in my County of Guilford. My fawners and sycophants among the masses and on the Board Of Commissars are merely ends to a means…MY means.
When will you face the fact that those irksome Conservatives are not going to regain a majority because I have such power and control that as long as I, and my hand selected replacement, occupy this seat of power MY will shall be done.
So quit whining and get back to work…I need and deserve your money.