Yet Another Silly Season | Eastern North Carolina Now

    We have not finished the last silly season, the Trump election. But we are beginning the silly season of electing the chairman of the Board of Beaufort County Commissioners.

    This is a very important event to all citizens of Beaufort County, because of the unacceptable behaviors of recent chairmen. Election of the chairman should not be a big deal. After all, the Chairman is only empowered to conduct the meeting. If that were how it worked it would be a dull thud and there would be difficulty in convincing commissioners to be Chairman. Not so in Beaufort County. Because of the weak board, the lack of strong character in those who have been elected during the past six years, along with power building within the county management (the hired help), the Chairman's seat has become a plum. These chairmen have elevated themselves to a Kingly level. To put it another way, not everyone knows what is going on, and certainly not equally. Only a privileged few share the inner sanctum.

    So, whomever is chairman is a concern to the conservative commissioners. The problem is that among those who have served and may be elected again there is not one with the personal strength of character to insist that all board members be treated equally by the management and to refrain from making decisions in the back room..

    These are the same commissioners who, claim to be Republicans, but form alliances with the two Democrats to share power. During the past few years, with five sitting Republican commissioners and two Democrats, how does a Democrat always wind up being the Vice Chairman. The answer is power sharing. Liberal and always Republican commissioners who only recently changed their registration from Democrat to Republican cut deals with the two Democrats. Two Republicans vote with two Democrats for one of the Republicans to be Chairman while one of the Democrats is Vice Chairman, The Beaufort County Republican Party apparently does not care and has raised no objection.

    This year, Republicans elected to the board called for a publicly announced caucus of Republican Commissioners to present to the entire board nominees for Chairman and Vice Chairman. The caucus met on Thursday, November 12 at 6:30 PM and decided by majority vote to present Stan Deatherage for Chairman and Randy Walker for Vice Chairman to the entire Board at the next meeting to be held on Monday December 7 at 5:30 PM.

    Deatherage has never been chairman. His election will present an opportunity to return to equal treatment of all commissioners and open meetings without the back room deals that have cost the taxpayers millions of dollars. Boards with weak leadership skills allow for lax managements at all levels. Recent evidence of this is Sheriff Coleman's recent power grab. (Dividing "surplus" money among his employees and then demanding more money for new unbudgeted employees, and unilaterally shutting down School Security).

    This is the kind of shenanigans that go on in the Beaufort County Swamp by the Deep Staters locally. It will continue unless and until the People put a stop to it.