Collective Letter Applies PressureThree county commissioners, Robert Reives, Jerry Lemmond, and Jamie Kelly used official county letterhead to officially endorse John Slade as the new president of Central Carolina Community College and to use their collective positions as Commissioners to influence the Board of Trustees on Slade's behalf. Slade is vice president of instruction/chief academic officer.
Reives and Kelly are two of three members of the finance committee. Lemmond follows Reives on most matters. The board of commissioners provides funding for the college and has been dealing for a request for a new building. The board of commissioners also names two members of the board of trustees.
A single letter signed by three commissioners on county letterhead could be seen as significant pressure and perhaps an abuse of their elected positions.
The letter was addressed to Bobby Powell, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and dated on the day of the meet and greet for Slade.
The letter was not filed with other commissioner correspondence and was written on stationary from the county manager's office. As a result, a copy could not be obtained through normal procedures for obtaining such information. The copy was finally obtained by direct request for the assistance of the county manager once it was clear that the letter's existence was known.
This letter has been known to the Dispatch but publication was withheld until, based on reliable sources, the publicity around the letter would not effect the selection process. While not part of the "Where There Is Smoke There is Fire Series', this letter will add credibility to a future installment of that series.--Editor
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