Beaufort County Commissioner Seeks Re-election

The Beaufort County Republican Executive Committee voted, 10 to 8, at a special meeting this afternoon, against appointing a new candidate to replace former Republican candidate for Beaufort County commissioner Cindy Baldwin, who voluntarily withdrew from the race on Aug. 3.

The special meeting was closed to media, and I was only permitted to attend as my father, Republican county commissioner candidate Stan Deatherage's, campaign manager. I will respect the wishes of Beaufort County Republican Party Chairman Larry Britt to not report on what the specific Executive Committee members said or how they voted, but I will define the sides.

Among the eight who voted in favor of replacing Baldwin with a third candidate, there were three arguments. The first two arguments, though different in substance, were both idealistic: appointing a third ultra-conservative candidate who could win and possibly take out incumbent Republican commissioner candidate Al Klemm, who is perceived by some as b... Read More

Campaign Schedule

July 3, 2010, Saturday from 11:00 am - 11:55 am: The Belhaven, North Carolina 4th of July Parade: Ride.
Main Street, Belhaven, NC.

July 3, 2010, Saturday from 10:15 am - 10:55 am: The Boyette Civic Center: Dignitary Breakfast
The Boyette Community Center, 257 West Pungo Street, Belhaven, NC.

July 1, 2010, Thursday from 5:15 pm - 9:00 pm: E&R Meeting
The Commissioner's Meeting Room, 131 West Third Street, Washington, NC.

June 30, 2010, Wednesday from 5:15 pm - 9:00 pm: E&R Meeting
The Commissioner's Meeting Room, 131 West Third Street, Washington, NC.

June 29, 2010, Tuesday from 5:15 pm - 9:00 pm: E&R Meeting
The Commissioner's Meeting Room, 131 West Third Street, Washington, NC.

June 28, 2010, Monday from 5:15 pm - 9:00 pm: E&R Meeting
The Commissioner's Meeting Room, 131 West Third Street, Washington, NC.

June 24, 2010, Thursday from 5:15 pm - 9:00 pm: E&R Meeting
The Commissioner's Meeting Room, 131 West Third Street, Washington, NC.

June 23, 201... Read More

Ripped from the headlines…

On August 4, a federal court in California struck down the gay marriage ban, popularly known as Proposition 8, and handed a victory to thousands of gays and lesbians who demanded they be entitled to “marry” their partners. Civil unions weren’t good enough, for in their eyes they are a “separate-but-equal” classification that made them feel like second class citizens. True equality was their desire. From plaintiffs’ standpoint, the title of marriage is an intangible right and California had no legitimate reason to deny it to them. It was an Equal Rights lollapalooza out in California. Round one went to Kristen Perry and her partner Sandra Stier and to Paul Katami and his partner Jeffrey Zarrillo, all plaintiffs in this litigation, Perry v. Schwarzenegger. And of course, to their esteemed attorneys, Theordore Olson and David Boies (both regular litigators in front of the Supreme Court). Oh, and did I mention that t... Read More

Say what you will about Beaufort County government, but the numbers are in, and Beaufort County has secured its distinction as one of the most efficient counties in the entire state, according to the Civitas Institute Report Card on County Government Growth.

This distinction is especially notable, in that only 12 of North Carolina’s 100 counties managed to earn an ‘A’ in government growth for the first decade of the 21st Century, by lowering the number of county employees at a time when their populations increased. In the case of Beaufort County, even though its population increased 5.4 percent from 2000 to 2009, Beaufort County trimmed its workforce by 22.4 percent during the same time period. Most of the other North Carolina counties expanded government, even as their populations remained relatively static. Of the 100 counties, 60 grew their workforce at rates higher than that of their population growth. For example, the Swain County payroll expanded 100 percent, while the po... Read More

On August 17, 2010, BHP Billiton of Australia tendered an unsolicited offer to purchase Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan for 38.5 billion dollars (US currency), or 130.00 per share. At the point of this corporate announcement, they also flatly rejected the bid. Today they are reported to review the hostile takeover bid to advise shareholders of what action they should take.

BHP Billiton operates as a diversified natural resources company in Australia, the Americas, and southern Africa. The company explores for and produces crude petroleum oil and liquefied natural gas; mines bauxite, refines bauxite into alumina, and smelts alumina into aluminum metal; mines various base metals, including copper, silver, lead, zinc, and uranium; explores and produces diamonds, titanium minerals, and potash; supplies nickel to the stainless steel industry; and explores iron, manganese, metallurgical coal, and thermal or steaming coal. Needless to say BHP Billiton is a very multifaceted corporation... Read More

Governor Perdue came to town Friday. It was embarrassing.

Her handlers couldn't have done a much worse job, all the way around. She visited PAS USA, the Beaufort County Child Development Center and the WDN. She got blindsided.

Tommy Thompson, chief Economic Developer in Beaufort, took the credit/blame for selecting the industry she visited. It is a foreign owned outfit that sends its profits to Germany rather than investing them in the USA. Some would say they are here to exploit cheap labor and economic development incentives.

Her visit was coincidental to the release of unemployment figures that showed the state still mired deep in a recession. While they say unemployment improved by two tenths of a percent, that's like saying you're drowning in 20 feet of water rather than 19. What they do not tell you is that the real unemployment number in most of Eastern North Carolina is closer to 20% if you include those who have given up looking for work and even higher if you include the &... Read More