Comments by Befuddled | Eastern NC Now

I saw on Facebook a reel by Nick Fritz who said that the City Council went into closed session and voted to ask Jonathan Russell, the City manager to resign.
Isnt it interesting that all of the City Council members except two, are Now asking for his resignation here at this time, at the END of their time supporting him through it all... thus giving him a big severance paycheck as a send off! How convenient for him and maybe them!! How much money is it? I wouldnt doubt there is more corruption in this as well.
As manager of the Govt, he ran what I termed a secret cabal, a committee of TOP bureaucrats under his command, who made most decisions AHEAD of it being presented to the Council. This decision making body operated out of the public view. I may be wrong, but I dont think that is legal. If the new council want to know more, I can show them.

Commented: Sunday, November 23rd, 2025 @ 8:12 pm By: Befuddled

JS, I personally know LOCAL people who were burned by Kidwell, and for that reason alone, he needs to go! He claims he cant interfere in
local city action but then goes ahead and INTERFERS in city/county
action. I think he should be reported to the ethics committee in Raleigh.
Speaking of "machines," Kidwell is part of a machine as well, and some of his "machine" are petty little people, not part of the Legislature.

Commented: Friday, November 21st, 2025 @ 9:37 am By: Befuddled

Every City Council member that goes to the City Manager & perhaps THE STAFF, to ask that they explain "issues" to the councilman, has voluntarily turned themselves into a walking, talking puppet for the City Manager.

Here's an idea, if you have an issue with the DOT, write your own email to that Dept and ask for explanations. Get a direct reply from the DOT that is not manipulated or tarnished by THE STAFF.

Be your own person, not a lazy clueless yes man.
You know...sometimes people in high levels of govt LIE.

Commented: Wednesday, November 19th, 2025 @ 3:16 pm By: Befuddled

Speaking of power and character:
If you want to judge a man’s character, give him power.
~Robert G. Ingersoll

Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. ~ Robert G. Ingersoll

But of course there are charming psychotic personalities who know how to hide the fact that they slither on their belly. Think Govt people with influence over small towns.

Commented: Saturday, November 15th, 2025 @ 10:02 am By: Befuddled

I'm sorry JS but Kidwells treatment of the local ppl of his district is a lot more important to me ... because what happens here locally can be a lot more painful and personally painful...than what they do in Raleigh. Kidwell talks out of both sides of his mouth and lies to the local people. He only gets involved locally when it suits him, such as calling for the resignation of a school board member. He plays sneaky insider politics in Beaufort County. The kind of politics that most people here on this site complain about. AND he bends a knee to his rich local donors and powerful influencers.

Kidwell needs to be primaried.

Commented: Thursday, November 13th, 2025 @ 8:47 am By: Befuddled

The problem is that the local GOP Executive committee is loyal to the big dogs in Raleigh and above. NOT to the Local GOP members.

This is because that is where the REWARDS come from, NOT from the powerless WeThePpl of the local description. Everyone is seeking power from the people with the power to give it!! Its heartbreaking.

"Lord Give Me Patience, because if you give me Strength I'm going to need bail money."

Commented: Saturday, November 8th, 2025 @ 11:50 am By: Befuddled

Is everyone here afraid of their shadow?
Mayor candidate Ellen Brabo is suing the Washington City Govt and Mayor Sadler in Federal Court, and yet there is no mention of it here.
It seems to me to be a really Major News Story.

It was reported by WITN last week complete with a copy of the filed lawsuit.
Read it there:
witn.com/2025/10/29/washington-mayoral-candidate-files-lawsuit-against-city-mayor-sadler/
www.witn.com

Commented: Tuesday, November 4th, 2025 @ 12:23 am By: Befuddled

The No Kings movement can be appealing to a wide range of ppl, because it doesnt just apply to the Presidency, but also right here in WashingtonNC, Beaufort and the State, where we too have an
UN-Representative Republic. Even the candidates dont think they are elected to represent us, because if they did, then they would respond to phone calls and emails. When even candidates dont bother to "represent" you, then you know where/who the Kings are.

Both Walker of the Commission and Sadler of the Council both BLAMED the public for high taxes because none of the public showed up to protest an increase. These two are conveniently blind to the fact that we KNOW that the KINGS have quit listening to what we want, a long time ago.

Will the new bunch be any better? Maybe for a few days, until they let the lazy side of their brains take control. Then they become like Kings.

Commented: Monday, October 20th, 2025 @ 11:25 am By: Befuddled

What I want to know is this: Before Keith Kidwell publicly announced that Stacey Davis should resign, did he (as a leader in NC) call her and ask for her side of the story?
Also, I would like to know if Stacey has taken it upon herself to contact Rep Kidwell and tell him her personal side of the story. In the spirit of Charlie Kirk, people should talk to each other.
I have found that far toooooooo many people make far tooooooo many assumptions.
By the way, the link to the Mayoral Forum held at Washington High is at this youtube link: www.youtube.com

Commented: Friday, October 3rd, 2025 @ 10:21 am By: Befuddled

What is a Small City?
Its an incorporated place where people choose to live under an agreed set of rules for the equal good.
What happens when the TOP Managment decides that "The People" are "The Problem?"
Well it becomes a negative attitude over the entire network of employees including the police dept. "The Staff" think the People are the problem. They need to be controlled. The People that make our work difficult must be silenced, using petty powers over them. The People learn not to trust them. Thus we can no longer work together. Then The People learn not to trust anyone because the petty govt power-brokers have unidentified supporters locally, who will report back. The whole sickness spreads. Friends will not protect friends for fear of becoming a target themselves. Its the start of a Cabal.

Commented: Monday, September 22nd, 2025 @ 7:25 pm By: Befuddled

No one was invisible to Charlie Kirk.
And, the people Loved him for it!
One would think that people in Govt would take a clue from that!

Commented: Sunday, September 21st, 2025 @ 1:21 pm By: Befuddled

Washington is the CountySeat!
Why must we drive to Bath to participate in organizational meetings for GOP Party?
Why dont they at least rotate locations once in a while?

Commented: Wednesday, September 17th, 2025 @ 1:50 pm By: Befuddled

I'm curious. Does the Council members and Commissioners (and candidates) believe they are here to represent THE people, or rather to represent the local GOVT along with all its depts?

I think WeThePpl are last on the totem pole of concerns.

I want to know as a citizen of the City and the County, do the Commissioners have any Duty/Responsibility to protect me from City corruption? I heard one Commissioner say that what the City does is not his concern.

Also, the City/County purpose paving a roadway for 1.6 million. The Commissioner said: That's a lot of $$. Then another one said well half of that would be the City's part. WELL, the City has no $$. Its WeTheCitizens paying. If the County pays half and the City pays half, then that means, I AM PAYING 100%. Quit being so generous with OTHER PEOPLE's MONEY! Quit treating Money like it's FREE.

Commented: Sunday, September 14th, 2025 @ 9:50 pm By: Befuddled

Stan, I listened to table talk. Thanks for your time doing this.
I think this should be done EVERY WeeK until the election. We need to know more!! Time is short and this election is critical. We cant afford another corrupt Govt.
Lastly, You should invite us to send you OUR questions. I want to know what these candidates think the role of the City Manager is? The current Council thinks the City Manager is there to do their thinking for them. All Council meetings are choregraphed. Its just a performance, even the motions are written by the City Manager's "Team Players," for the Council members to read. I suspect they dont even know what they are reading, and the decision for how they vote has been pre-planned by "The Staff." "The Staff" is code word for the Manager's henchmen. We need new blood who will promise to do the work and think for themselves. I fear the new, will be the same as the old.

Commented: Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025 @ 7:53 pm By: Befuddled

It has been reported on this platform that one of our City Council members does NOT even live in Washington.
I wonder if the City police were sent to verify that all the Council members live where they say they live?
Its been reported on WITN at www.witn.com that the police were surveilling Ellen Brabo to verify that she actually lived at the B & B.
Shouldnt the police do the same for Council members?

Commented: Tuesday, August 19th, 2025 @ 2:26 pm By: Befuddled

Yes, when you live and work in a corrupt City like Washington, it is important that you are a "team player." You take your demotion with a smile and simply say "Yes sir, Mr City Manager, your wish is my command."

Why Couldnt our Police chief continue as Chief AND help the Detective Dept? Afterall Mr Drakeford who is Director of Public Safety has held multiple titles at the same time... Director of Public safety, Fire Chief, Police Chief, Deputy City Manager...
Such a team player! He can do all the jobs for the City.

I ask, why didnt WITN interview Mayor Sadler? Because everyone KNOWs that the City Council are all just puppets to the King of the City, the CityManager.

By the way, Chief Drakeford doesnt want the city to be known as a ticket city, so you can bet the police officers heard that, and stopped bothering to write speed tickets.

Please read: www.witn.com
It is WITN Investigative Report.

Commented: Saturday, August 2nd, 2025 @ 12:39 pm By: Befuddled

VZ:
Do you hav a timeline & a Who's Who, of what went down th moment
after th staff at the BoardofEducation were told:"Hey u dont own th 9acs that is in your NewSchool BuildingPlan."

Did Cheeseman go to th SchoolBoard members & ask what should we do abt this? Or did he skip them & go straight to th CityManager, skipping th CityCouncil as well? Then did th CityManager&Cheeseman contact the CountyManager & discuss what to do, skipping th CountyCommissioners at this time too?

When Cheeseman was meeting w th CityManager,& asked What is th land worth in $$, did he say $1million? And then did Cheeseman say What abt 1/2 of it?
Then did th CityManagr independently,& exclusive of the CityCouncil quote to Cheeseman $500,000, to which Cheeseman sd, Okay if I can get th 4 Useful Idiots to say yes? And then, w nothin more than these
3 bureaucrats agreeing,did Cheeseman go to th CommissionerMeeting & say, Well th CityManager says $500,000, to which th 4 sd, "Tell me NO more, LET's DO THIS ASAP."

Commented: Saturday, July 5th, 2025 @ 1:36 pm By: Befuddled