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County Commish Shopping for Seat-Fillers for Other Districts???

12/5/2009 - Franklin County politics are in a major state of upheaval as rumors fly.

The latest is a Franklin Times report that one of our Commissioners is planning to step down from the BoC. Bob Winters seems to be the Commish in question, but Commissioner Foy has been mum as well, so we'll just have to wait until the other shoe drops to find out for sure.

The rumor mill is definitely working overtime these days, though and it sounds like there's a lot happening behind the scenes in Franklin County government. Scuttlebutt says that one or more county employees who have been taking heavy fire for a while now may soon be looking for other work. No matter what happens next, 2010 should be a very interesting election year in Franklin County.

12/2/2009 - Whooo-eee, the fur is hitting the fire now, Readers! We're hearing that a certain County Commissioner has decided that the article below was talking about him and his efforts to unseat a fellow-commissioner and is taking some folks to task! Thanks for confirming the rumors, Mr. Commissioner!!!

11/30/2009 - One of our illustrious County Commissioners is reportedly looking for someone to fill one or more of the eligible seats on the Board of Commissioners in the 2010 election.

Three of the county's seven BoC seats will be up for renewal in 2010: District 2 is currently held by Penny McGhee of Franklinton, District 4 by Bob Winters of Lake Royale, and one At-Large seat currently held by Harry Foy, Jr. of Spring Hope. It is not yet known whether any or all of the incumbents plan to try to retain their seats.

Ms. McGhee is coming to the end of her first term and is the sole female on the BoC, but she tends to vote in line with the rest of the Board on most issues. Mr. Foy has been a closed-session hating thorn in the side of the Board for nearly 20 years. Mr. Winters is also a first-termer and is well known for his "what does this mean for Lake Royale?" perspective and runs with the crowd on issues not impacting his own community.

It is not uncommon for party-heads to start fishing for fresh meat from their own side of the political fence as elections draw near. Trolling for candidates by sitting Board members is unusual, though, and one has to question whether such activities would be considered legal. North Carolina General Statute ยง153A-99(a) "County Employee Political Activity" clearly states that "The purpose of this section is to ensure that county employees are not subjected to political or partisan coercion while performing their job duties, to ensure that employees are not restricted from political activities while off duty, and to ensure that public funds are not used for political or partisan activities."

Regardless of whether one Commissioner who is not up for re-election should be actively seeking candidates to fill another position on the same Board, it is clear that the 2010 elections are looming large in the eyes of some.

Let the games begin!

Copyright 2008,2009 by Sheila Hanna. The names "FC Stop the Rock" and "FC Concerned Citizens" are copyrighted 2008, 2009 by Sheila Hanna.
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