Rabbi Will McCubbins, China Grove, N.C.
♦ I watched the video on Monday night’s commission meeting where Commissioner Craig Pierce, not one for mincing words, shook up the rookie commissioners when verbally spanked them, “All I’ll say is this is the best commissioners that city council’s money can buy.” Let’s be real these new commissioners are not representing the county’s interests in the least–they represent Salisbury’s downtown interests solely. Those interests are NOT the county’s.
Klusman is a downtown true believer. Jim Green? Edds insures downtown buildings which is all he cares about. He also laps after approval from anyone with Salisbury money.
Although well recognized for his calculating approach to working people, Edds is easy to figure. Many of us remember when he “worked” the local Tea Party as one of its top leaders. I’ll give credit to Edds, he’s slick and knows how to work people. Tell them what they want to hear. His years of selling insurance paid off. Someday Greg Edds may become one of Bob Jones University’s most famous graduates or maybe a double ‘diamond direct’ for some multi-level marketing firm if his political ambitions don’t pan out. Who hasn’t heard Edds telling everyone during the campaign how he’s running respectful and a positive campaign. Yeah. He disrespected his former friend Jim Sides over and over again and flung dirt at others over the back fence. By the way whoever tells people they are running a respectful and positive campaign anyway? Or keeps repeating “I’m truly humbled today **Fill in the blank** because he thinks that statement will give the right appearance.
Craig Pierce nailed it after the three new commissioners voted to shred the West End Plaza up-fitting contracts when he said, “Well that just goes to show you that you don’t know how county government works. Once you cancel the contracts, you have to send it all back out for bid again…You just put the Board of Elections and the Veterans Service Office out another six months, minimum, to start construction. And this is all because you won’t do what you’re supposed to do, which is take care of the county.”
Right on the money.
The county purchase of the West End Plaza was only controversial to a small number of downtown merchants and the people holding the leases on downtown buildings used by the county. They wanted keep all the county employees locked into downtown Salisbury’s high rents. The purchase of the West End Plaza was not controversial with most people living in the county or outside of Eight Block. They didn’t give a hoot one way or the other.
The West End Plaza was a great deal when you consider all the inexpensive footage it provides. The building’s condition is excellent unlike the myths put out by the downtown crowd. Yeah the old commissioner’s had ulterior motives alright–the best interests of Rowan County. Something, the ‘three city councilmen’ sitting on the current county commission, care little about.
The three new commissioners just cost the county taxpayers some major bucks and set back the schedule to appease ‘eight block’.
