Frankie Waters elected chairman, Jerry Langley elected vice-chairman.
Prearranged political machinations at play in the first meeting of the newly formed board.
The most important business of the people in the first meeting (always December's general meeting) of a singular political /governmental year is the
selection of the board's chairman. Almost always, maybe always, it sets the roles of certain commissioners to do the people's business for the balance of the year. This first meeting,
December 12, 2016, after the staggered presidential election of offices at all levels of government, save municipal, would be no exception.
The selection of this year's board chairman was commonplace in its mundane pageantry, but well choreographed with a few revealing twists. I, and my publisher peer Delmar Blinson, read it as clear as braille to blind man. For the sake of brevity, I will speak of our hypothesis later, but for now, let us discuss who voted for whom, and the structure of how the majority may proceed going forward. Will they set a distinguishable pattern of governing, and what will be the ramifications foisted upon Beaufort County's tax payers.
Commissioner Ron Buzzeo (left) voting for Commissioner Frankie Waters for chairman, while Commissioner Hood Richardson stays relaxed as he waits his turn to vote: Above. photo by Stan Deatherage Click here to expand.
In the vote for Beaufort County's chairman, I observed: Commissioner Ron Buzzeo nominate Commissioner Frankie Waters and Commissioner Hood Richardson nominate himself; and then I witnessed the vote: Voting for Republican Frankie Waters were Commissioners - Republicans: Ron Buzzeo, Jerry Little, Gary Brinn and Frankie Waters, then Democrats: Jerry Langley and Ed Booth; voting for Conservative Hood Richardson was only the Conservative icon himself.
What partly illuminates the organized voting pattern for chairman of the board is reflected two ways: 1) The election of the vice-chairman; 2) the undeniable political /governmental standing of the Conservative icon.
Commissioner Gary Brinn (left) watches as Commissioner Frankie Waters (right - now elected chairman) nominates Democrat Jerry Langley for vice-chairman: Above. photo by Stan Deatherage Click here to expand.
In short, the voting for the vice-chairman, which may serve to shed some light on the election of the chairman, is as follows: Republican Frankie Waters nominated Democrat Jerry Langley; Republican Gary Brinn nominated Conservative icon Hood Richardson. Voting for Democrat Jerry Langley was freshman Republican Commissioner Jerry Evans, Republican Ron Buzzeo, Republican Frankie Waters, then Democrats Ed Booth and Jerry Langley. Voting for Conservative Commissioner Hood Richardson was Republican Gary Brinn and Commissioner Richardson.
Now for that illumination, foreshadowed, which may shed some light on the pre-determined election of the chairman: 1) What you have here is Democrats voting for a Republican for chairman, and Republicans voting for a Democrat for vice-chairman; 2) Commissioner Hood Richardson's standing is beyond reproach, serving for 20 years as commissioner, with an impeccable record as a Conservative. Furthermore, in a year of voter revolt against government ineptitude, Incumbent County Commissioner
set a new record for the most votes for any commissioner since the advent of Limited Voting in 1992.
Interestingly, before the night was over, there was a 5 to 2 vote to influence county businesses to use an outside of the county vendor for internet promotion and advertisement rather than local vendors. These intellectually distant county commissioners made this bold move without the county receiving any discernible benefit of real value for their tacit endorsement over local vendors. This prearranged reverse economic development by 5 county commissioners was forged over the strenuous objections of Commissioner Richardson that they wait and gather information before acting in such a frivolous manner.
With Commissioner Richardson, by far the most knowledgeable commissioner on the dais, combined with his outstanding sense of public propriety, it seemed a rather natural fait accompli by the other 5 commissioners to vote to ignore the obvious propriety of organic economic development, and to further ignore the grizzled, but wise Conservative Commissioner. I've seen this movie before; many versions, and it just loops that same tired,. unimaginative script over and over. To put a proper finishing point on the awkward ambivalence of these commissioners: If some local crony group had shoved a "shop local" mandate under their noses as an endorsement of keeping business local, they would have signed that too in that "same breath" of egregious political hypocrisy. This assumed surety of action is what most wordsmiths would term 'supreme irony'.
A similar significant irony is that I am a supreme optimist, and to that end, I remind all: Elections sometimes make big differences, and, often, they make little, or no difference. We shall see if next month's meeting reveals any improvement ... the words of the optimist, your publisher.
More on these commissioner's exploits, as this optimist, your humble publisher, continues to cover the Beaufort County Commissioners current governmental frivolity and obvious misadventures; and if they do something substantive and wise, we will report that too.
