WDN's attempt to demonize commissioner unfounded | Eastern North Carolina Now

    There is uproar among people who support the affiliation of Beaufort Regional Health System with University Health System about a quote that Washington Daily News reporter Betty Gray parsed for her Jan. 9 article, "Board barraged by BRHS comments," in which Deatherage said that he does not intend to show political loyalty to those who did not choose him as their candidate. This quote was removed from its context, as the WDN is wont to do; nevertheless, Deatherage stands behind it, and I, as someone who once majored in Political Science at East Carolina University, will attempt to explain why:


    "I have heard from people who do not vote for me. I haven't heard from my constituents. If you didn't vote for me, then you're not going to get far with me," Deatherage was quoted as saying.

    Comments under the Web version of Gray's article indicate that active Daily News readers feel that Deatherage must respond to the opinions of all Beaufort County residents, rather than focusing on those of his constituents.

    "And, Mr. Deatherage---yur legal responsibility and civic duty is to represent ALL the people of Beaufort County---not just the ones who vote for you!" commented someone identified as James, under the aforementioned article.

    The next day, during the public comments section of the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners meeting, in a room overflowing with hyped-up UHS supporters, retired nurse, UHS-supporter and longtime-Deatherage haranguer Kathy Vasquez, with great intonation and self-assuredness, told Deatherage, who made his intention not to favor UHS over the other bidders known before the Nov. 2 election and still received the most votes of all six commissioner candidates, to remove himself from office in light of said comment printed in the WDN.

    "Commissioner Deatherage, when you took your oath of office, you swore to work for the people, and serve the people of Beaufort County. Your public refusal to discuss or talk to anyone who did not vote for you is a violation of your oath of office, and I think you should resign," said Vasquez, followed by an applause from the audience.

Beaufort County Commissioner Stan Deatherage taking the Oath of Office, as his son, Stanhope Deatherage Jr., holds the Bible at the Dec. 6 Beaufort County Board of Commissioners meeting.

    I reported on the Dec. 6-swearing in of the three elected commissioners, and, when I heard Vasquez's statement, I couldn't validate it with my memory of the actual Oath of Office. I didn't remember the Oath of Office--which the commissioners swore to uphold, left hand on the Bible--mentioning how, as commissioner, Stan Deatherage would be required to lend his ear to people who harass him, are rude to him, and tell him that they certainly would never vote for him. And I was right:

I, _________, do solemnly and sincerely swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States; that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the State of North Carolina, and to the constitutional powers and authorities which are or may be established for the government thereof; and that I will endeavor to support, maintain and defend the Constitution of said State, not inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States, to the best of my knowledge and ability, so help me, God.

I, _________, do swear (affirm) that I will well and truly execute the duties of the office of County Commissioner according to the best of my skill and ability, according to the law, so help me, God.

    In fact, the assertion that Deatherage is not fulfilling his fiduciary as an elected representative of Beaufort County, because he seeks to promote the interests of his electorate, rather than the contradictory interests of his non-electorate, is an elitist point of view, which is rather ignorant of the nature of our system of government.

    United States federal, state and municipal governments all run according to the rules of a liberal republic, a system where the U.S. Constitution is the supreme law and citizens elect representatives to government. In a representative democracy, the people indirectly govern themselves by electing people to speak on their behalf. The nature of such a government is that elected officials are accountable to those who vote for them, and they must return to the voters at prescribed intervals to seek their mandate to continue in office. When elections are called, politicians and their supporters attempt to influence policy by competing directly for the votes of constituents in what are called campaigns. During campaigns, different groups of people promote different viewpoints, and voters elect whichever candidate would most likely represent their respective viewpoint.

    Governance is not religion. There is not one definitive, universal right answer, or way. There are at least two definitive sides to every issue: some based more on emotion; and others, on scientifically deduced fact. In politics, all perspectives are valid, as long as they are subordinate to that of our Higher Power. Therefore, when a politician is elected, they are elected to do the right thing by his/her electorate; since it is impossible to determine the right civic response for everyone.

    If I were to have voted for Barack Obama (which I didn't) because of his campaign promise to legislate a government provision of health-care coverage for all U.S. citizens; and, instead, after getting elected, Obama took the side of his political opponents, fighting to maintain privatized healthcare, then I would consider him to have insulted the public trust.

    As it is, I respect Obama for his relatively successful adherence to the expectations of his electorate on health care, as well as many other political issues. Because he held strong against pressures from the other side--insurance companies, Republican big wigs, etc.--Obama, at least in my eyes, has earned a level of credibility most politicians do not enjoy.

    Before the last election for Beaufort County Commissioner, three of the six candidates expressed their intentions to vote in favor of merging BRHS with UHS, if elected. Of those three, voters chose to elect Al Klemm. Of the other three candidates, who preferred to wait until negotiations between the BRHS hospital board and the bidders were over before forming an opinion, voters chose to elect Deatherage and Ed Booth. All three of these men have, so far, kept to their campaign promises. By doing so, they are responding to the will of those who voted for them and should, at least, be respected for that. If UHS-supporters wanted there to be more commissioners on the county board who would vote for UHS, despite the recommendation of the BRHS hospital board, and at all costs, then they should have responded to the campaign promises of the other two pro-UHS commissioner candidates, Jerry Evans and Bertie Arnhols, and voted them in office when they had the chance.