Author: Stan Deatherage | Published: February 11th, 2010

    Beaufort County Commissioner Hood Richardson, easily the most vocal commissioner in recent history, has, once again, exhibited the temerity to challenge the sitting governor to the Great State of North Carolina to a no-holds-barred debate on the issue of illegal immigration.

    This initiative of the Commissioner began during the February 1st Beaufort County Commissioners’ General Meeting, and again on February 3rd when we were interviewed by WITN-TV, when he challenged the governor again. This initiative by Commissioner Richardson was in response to a letter from the Governor, to the county commissioners, explaining the State’s position as to why they would not remove the language of Spanish from the State’s publicly financed website.

    This explanation from the Governor ranged from the need to disseminate information to the economic value of tourism, but not a word about illegal immigration, prompting Commissioner Richardson to comment, “I don’t get what Governor Perdue is trying to accomplish here. Does she believe that tourism is more important than the millions of dollars per year this county spends on illegal immigration, or maybe tourism is a valuable component of illegal immigration? Maybe we can best sort this out in a debate.”



    On February 10, 2010, in the AM, Commissioner Richardson received his “green card” from his return-receipt-requested letter requesting that the Governor debate him on this issue, from whence Commissioner Richardson has long been an advocate of America defending its borders.

    Speaking for what I have witnessed in my nearly 14 years of serving as a county commissioner (12 of them with Hood), if I was the Governor, I would tread lightly about the person of Commissioner Richardson in a debate. My continued advice: know your subject, drop the talking points, be sincere, and genuinely press your point if you do indeed favor the public supporting illegal immigration in North Carolina.

    Governor Perdue not taking a position, on such a volatile and taxpayer robbing issue, is political suicide, In a quasi liberal state like North Carolina, the electorate may pivot ever more conservative as the reality of liberal policies in the stark light of a deep recession continues to sink in. The Governor should realize this and understand, Commissioner Hood Richardson may be a human buzz saw in respect to bombastic words ferrying a fervent, well considered ideology; however, he is certainly not one to be ignored. Unbiased folks may often wonder: Why the Governor continued to ignore him on such serious subject, when she took no position whatsoever?

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