Sen. Bill Cook instrumental in getting the people's voice heard on the jail | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

    Sen. Bill Cook's office today (8-20-14) released a copy of a letter he sent to the Local Government Commission last Friday (8-15-14) You can read the letter by clicking here.

    It should be noted that the letter was sent to the LGC before the commissioners traveled to Raleigh Monday to meet with the LGC staff. Sources tell us it was pretty obvious the LGC and/or its staff had already determined that they would not entertain an application for bond financing before the meeting began. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that Sen. Cook's letter made a significant difference.

    Cook and Michael Speciale have been very vocal about their position that the people should be allowed to vote on borrowing tens of millions of dollars. They met with the Board of Commissioners months ago and told them that in no uncertain terms.

    Harold Smith, the chair of the citizens' Stop The Jail Committee said: " On behalf of the Committee and I think most of the citizens of Beaufort County we appreciate Sen. Cook and Rep. Speciale's efforts to ensure that the people have an effective voice in this issue. They have stood firm in conveying to the Board of Commissioners the necessity for submitting this issue to the people for a vote. When the one-vote majority of the Commission did not listen we think it very appropriate for our representatives to express their position to the LGC. We appreciate it and commend them for doing so. We trust they will now work to get the General Statutes changed to prevent this from ever happening again in our state. We continue to hope the Board will stop spending money on this venture until the people have elected a new board."