UPDATE (October 3, 2007): Apparently, this idea is catching on. Kannapolis’ weekly paper - The Kannapolis Citizen - did an article on it. In the article, Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners Chairman Carruth called this idea “a very democratic idea for getting input”
I’ll be in town; but taking a break from blogging until October 8. But don’t get lazy on me - I have something for you to do.
In spite of the request by Commissioner Coy Privette that the Cabarrus Republican Men’s Club Executive Board choose his replacement before he’ll resign - at last night’s meeting of the Cabarrus GOP Men’s Club the topic didn’t even come up. According to North Carolina Law, the Cabarrus County GOP Executive Board has the decision after his resignation; but who wants to be bothered with the law when you are apparently above it?
The GOP Men’s Club Executive Board hasn’t been called and I feel it safe to assume that they are not going to follow Coy’s command.
But, I will.
It dawned on me that I’m the only person who was elected to both the GOP Executive Board and as a an officer of the GOP Men’s club. Given that, I’m already in a mediating position.
I’m a uniter - not a divider. Instead of running out the clock by going through the months-long process of putting together a silly committee and holding endless meetings to service a convicted criminal’s ego - I say we cut out the middle-men and go straight to the people.
It’s very simple:
First: Here are the statutory requirements for the replacement: they need to be a resident of Cabarrus County, 21 years old, and a registered Republican (don’t get huffy - that last one is required by law for a replacement).
Second: Using your real name, use the comments section of the site to make the appeal for your candidate.
Third: Following Coy’s resignation, I will take the list of people to the GOP Executive Board when we are considering replacements.
This process is open to anybody. Anybody - including Coy - can make comments on this site as long as they stay within the bounds of decency and common sense - and they properly identify themselves.
Coy wanted an open process and he’s getting one. If his resignation announcement truly was in good faith, then the requirement for the people to have a say in the process will have been met and we should be able to move forward. If he doesn’t resign - in spite of the fact that an open forum was held to name his replacement - then the suspected mendacity of his September 17 announcement will be revealed.
Seriously, e-mail your friends. Get the word out. You can’t get much more open than this.
See y’all on October 8.
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10 responses so far ↓
1 Brad Spry // Sep 28, 2007 at 4:41 pm
I try to avoid politics like the plague, but two things which are really important to me, regardless of party, are communications and accessibility.
Communications is a complex topic, but it should be a no brainer. Does the person communicate behind closed doors and in the shadows, or is the person open and transparent? Openness and transparency is mission critical for this position in my honest opinion. Yes, I realize sensitive things happen behind closed doors in order to protect interests, it’s just a fact of life. The majority of the time however, I expect the candidate’s position to be on the table for all to review and respond to.
My definition of accessibility is simple: is the person accessible? Can you actually contact the person and have a conversation? Are they just a click away? That’s important in this day and age. Or is the person unreachable and inaccessible? The latter is simply unacceptable. Can the everyman (or everywoman) actually identify with this person? This too falls under accessibility.
If these are my basic requirements, then the person who satisfies those requirements is right in front of my face. I nominate Justin Thibault.
Justin, you have what it takes.
Some people laugh at bloggers, of course you’re hardly just that. A blog is merely communications, and you do it effectively. I don’t agree with everything you (or your party) says, but that’s okay. At least I know where you stand, and that speaks volumes. Accessibility wise, you’re just a click away. I can reach out and ring your neck over the Internet if the need arises
In all seriousness, you have the governmental and political experience, you’re passionate, an excellent communicator, and extremely accessible.
The big question is “Do you want it?” If so, you only have one life to live, and you should go for it, so you’ll have no regrets. If your heart isn’t in it however, then forget it.
Politics stink, but your presence would make it stink less.
2 Steven H Smith // Sep 28, 2007 at 7:12 pm
My recommendation would be for Mr. Mark Smith, the same man who ran against Coy during the last primary. While I don’t know Mark well I did work the Harrisburg Polls for him during the last primary and was quite pleased with his outlook on local government. I do hope that the Committee will seriously consider Mark Smith to full Coy’s term on the County Commission. Thank You.
3 Justin Thibault // Oct 1, 2007 at 7:36 am
Brad - Thanks. I’m probably not going to run - now; because of personal and professional obligations. However, I think as blogging evolves that more and more candidates and officials will blog as a way to reach their constituents. I think it will be as commonplace for a local official to have a blog as it is for them to have e-mail.
Steven - I appreciate you participating. I checked and Mark ran in the 2004 primary and not in the 2006 Primary. And, depending on when Coy steps down - the appointment would be until 2008 and an election would be held for someone to fill out the remainder of the term (until 2010). All that being said, I know Mark and he’s a great guy.
4 Mike Brown // Oct 1, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Justin, I would support Larry Griffin. He is a class gentleman who ran in the last election.
Larry is a retired Air Force Colonel, has large project management experience, he has handles budgets far larger than Cabarrus County’s. He always speaks from not only fact be but from the facts behind the facts.
He is a former Chairman of our party who is known by most as a consensus builder as opposed to a polarizer. That alone would be a refreshing change.
5 Justin Thibault // Oct 3, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Mike - Like Mark, Larry’s a great guy. He even has a section on this website
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7 MarkMartin // Oct 24, 2007 at 10:18 am
My name is already in the hat, but I wanted to post here to give people a chance to ask me questions regarding my position on topics in Cabarrus County.
8 Aaron // Nov 16, 2007 at 5:27 pm
One name: Justin Thibault
9 Justin Thibault // Nov 20, 2007 at 11:56 am
Aaron - Thanks - I appreciate it.
Let me say this, I have no plans on submitting my name for consideration for Coy Privette’s seat on the Cabarrus Board of Commissioners and I have no plans on running for the Board of Commissioners or any other elected office in 2008 because of the aforementioned personal and professional reasons.
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