A Primary is in the Offing | Eastern North Carolina Now

    I have a primary for Beaufort County Commissioner. I did not want a primary, but I welcome one nonetheless. On the negative side, a primary diverts some of my attention from my personal business. That, obviously, will not be avoided, because there are now 5 aspiring politicians running for the three Republican nominations vying for the three open commissioner seats in the November 2nd, General Election.

    On the other hand, a primary in early May offers me an opportunity to campaign, and, in what ever means offered, meet the public and gauge the overall sentiment and see how it fits it my political agenda - if at all. That's right, I do listen to the people, but I have always done so, and I have not forgotten that voice from 16 years ago when I started in this business back, about this same time, in 1994.

    At that time, after the first two years of the Bill Clinton administration, there was an outcry from the public for a more conservative bent in governing, culminating with the "Contract with America," which foisted the Republicans into a majority in the U.S. House, and near parity in the U.S. Senate. In that election, I became the second Republican elected to the seat of county commissioner in Beaufort County since Reconstruction, which ended in 1877.

    In those early days, I spoke in the voice of a young politician that knew he was a conservative, but struggled to find the planking of a platform to launch my true voice that now spills so effortlessly from my lips, and does so anger the local liberals that see the world as it could be: Utopian in structure, totalitarian in government, and therefore, everyone knowing their place. My place in those early days was Conservative, Junior Grade. As I became more knowledgeable, more practiced in the political wars of governing, I became more conservative, and, consequently, more resolute in that avocation as that advocate.

    And now as I seek the nomination for the right to seek my 5th term as a county commissioner, I will campaign and I will hear the people's voice. I expect I will hear a more conservative voice than I have heard in the most recent eight years. If that is the case, then I will speak with the voice of a growing number of the county's citizens. I like speaking with the people's voice, rather than that of just my own, and those folks like me, who are more consistent in their political nature.

    And there in lies the fallacy of always doing what the people expect you to do. The people tend to change their mind a bit, and often, if they are not unwavering in their principals, are easily misled - by the media, and even more sadly, by their more persuasive friends. I have weathered these political storms by becoming even more strident in my political opinions, existing in a political cocoon woven by my rather resolute governing principals. Understanding that a politician cannot always be popular, I would rather suffer defeat at the ballot box, in this Democratic Republic, than lose my political soul to the exigent will of the mob.

    Inexorably, here is my plea: I wish to continue as your representative, but only if it is your will. If it is the collective will of the conservative people of our county, I will continue as your undeterred advocate. I hope that will be the case, but I am always resigned to the immutable fact that there is the possibility that I may not win that approval with voters in any given election.

    If the May election is a success for true conservatism it will be because the true conservatives found favor with someone they can believe in. I pray that I will be that man, but it is up to you. This is your duty in elective process. Please be there for us in May. Please be there so I can continue as your consistent conservative voice.

    This article is provided courtesy of Stan Deatherage.