Swearing In Just The Beginning of Expected Changes.

There will be a the swearing-in ceremony for the new commissioners held at 8:30 a.m., Monday, December 1st at the old Lee County Courthouse. This will be far more than just a legal requirement. A reception will follow in the new courthouse. This will be far more than a social event. The Commissioners will meet at the Government Center at 10:00 a.m. for their regular meeting. It will likely be the last meeting scheduled when the timing makes public input difficult for the many employed citizens of Lee County. The election of Richard Hayes, Larry "Doc" Oldham, and Amy Darymple along with the return of long time commissioner Ed Paschal is expected to result in a significant changes from the way the previous commission did business. The County Commissioners are already off to a bipartisan start. Democrat Richard Hayes has the votes lined up to be chairman and Republican Larry "Doc" Oldham has the votes lined up for the position of Vice Chairman. This process was largely carried out without significant input from Commissioners Reives and Kelly by the newly elected commissioners who seem to be working together with little consideration to party affiliation. Part of the expected changes include making one of the previous two meetings a month a work session that begins with public comments. With a work session there is near unanimous agreement that the infamous Finance Committee will be eliminated. This will bring to an end to one of Robert Reives tools for controlling commission actions and intimidating county employees. A change in meeting schedules to make them more accessible to the public is among the new commissioner's top priorities. One idea would schedule the work session at noon which would permit those who are employed to use their lunch hours to come for the pubic comment portions of the meeting. The business meeting is definitely moving to the evening although discussion continues as to the time the meeting would start, and 6:00 pm seems like the preferred choice. There is some concern that starting then would not provide some workers time to get there while others feel it would permit them to come by the meeting on their way home. The adversarial relationship between the commissioners and the Board of Education is likely to come to an end, although it remains to be seen if Commissioner Linda Shook's areas of emphasis will change to focus more on items that the commission can do something about. She seemed on the verge of accomplishing one of her major goals--seeing a new budgeting approach that would increase the school board's transparency in the use of funds and more clearly identify what activities were being funded with county appropriations versus state and federal sources. In fact the measure passed the finance committee, but Commissioner's Reives and Kelly changed their position when the proposal was presented to the full commission and killed the Shook proposal. With the commissioners taking office at a time of economic uncertainty which may require them to deal with budget matters far sooner than normal, she may find the new commission more receptive to her proposal. While the Board of Education and county commission were ultimately forced to deal with health and safety issues largely ignored by the commissioners at Lee Senior High School, the new commission will be much more interested in finding permanent solutions that taxpayers will support. Another vote on the local one quarter cent sales tax is likely but not before the commissioners feel a clear consensus has developed on its use. All this makes the ceremonial swearing in just the start of what will prove to be interesting developments you will want to follow in the e-Lee Dispatch.

Program to Free Up Funding For Loans

A bank with close ties to Lee County is getting a capital injection under one of the programs designed to help the banking industry during the current banking crisis. Capital Bank Corporation, parent company of Capital Bank, has announced that it has received preliminary approval of its $42.9 million application to participate in the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Capital Purchase Program (TCPP). According to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila Bair, the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program, which is voluntary, is to unlock inter-bank credit markets and restore rationality to credit spread. This will free up funding for banks to make loans to creditworthy businesses and consumers. The program, has two key features. (see press release)

• The first feature guarantees new, senior unsecured debt issued by any bank, thrift or holding company, which will help banks fund their operations. Both term and overnight funding of banks has come under extreme pressure, with the costs of funding ballooning to several hundred basis points. This guarantee will allow banks and their holding companies to roll maturing senior debt into new issues fully backed by the FDIC. However, guaranteed maturities cannot extend beyond three years. The ability to tap into this program expires at the end of June 2009.

• The second feature of the new program gives unlimited insurance coverage for non-interest bearing deposit transaction accounts. These are mainly payment processing accounts such as payroll accounts used by businesses. Frequently, they exceed the current maximum insurance limit of $250,000. Many smaller, healthy banks have been losing these accounts to their much larger competitors because of uncertainties in the financial system. This new, temporary guarantee –- which runs until the end of next year –- should help stabilize these accounts, and help us avoid having to close otherwise viable banks because of deposit withdrawals.

Under the TCPP, the U.S. Treasury Department will purchase 42,900 shares of senior preferred stock which will pay a dividend of 5% for the first five years and 9% thereafter. The Treasury will also receive warrants to purchase Capital Bank common stock with an aggregate market value of $6.4 million, or approximately 15% of the senior preferred stock investment. Capital Bank will have the right to redeem the preferred shares at any time after three years. Companies participating in the program must adopt the Treasury Department’s standards for executive compensation and corporate governance, for the period during which Treasury holds equity issued under this program. These standards generally apply to the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, plus the next three most highly compensated executive officers. Capital Bank operates 28 banking offices in Asheville (4), Burlington (4), Cary, Clayton, Graham (2), Hickory, Mebane, Morrisville, Oxford, Pittsboro, Raleigh (5), Sanford (3), Siler City, Wake Forest and Zebulon. The Company's website is http://www.capitalbank-nc.com

Plenty of Stuff is Going Around

Catching My Breathe and Getting Ready For the Holidays

The e-Lee Dispatch computer has had a major cleaning and upgrade since the hectic days before the election. The editor has had a bit of a rest after writing 190 blogs since February. Much of what is going on--like the complaint with the Board of Elections -- is moving slow and not by nature too well suited for our sometimes irreverent style of writing. Nevertheless, things are happening and look for a least one interesting development regarding Steve Thomas and another prominent politician next week. And a new poll will help round out our analysis of the election. We still suggest you use a RSS feed or subscribe by email because posts will not be made with the same frequency they were prior to the election.

Near Consensus On Fraudulent Election Report

It seems that the various groups that have their breakfasts together every morning are holding up well. Folks may have their own favorite breakfast spots but the speculation is nearly unanimous at all of them on at least one of the individuals who took the election form out to Steve Thomas to sign. In fact the consensus seems so great, it does not need to be mentioned here. Just go order some bacon and eggs.

Clerk Selection Being Discussed in Whispers

In recent days the conversation has turned to the announcement by Superior Court Judge Frank Lanier Tuesday that he had appointed Susie Thomas, an 18-year veteran of the office, to succeed Lee County Clerk of Superior Court Ann Blakely who has announced her plans to retire January 1. The issue seems to be that Larnier announced Thomas's appointment very quickly after learning that the Lee County Bar planned to strongly endorse someone else for the vacancy. It is doubtful, however, that a lot about this will reach these pages. Some attorneys are apparently miffed, but all of them are being very careful in their comments. Not much more will be learned here.

Herald's Coverage of Superintendent Selection Process Causing Some To Rant

Members of the Board of Education have been upset this week with the Sanford Herald's Saturday November 15 headline on the selection of five finalists for the position of school superintendent.

The headline was completely at odds with the opening paragraph of the story and apparently has led to some public misunderstanding of the selection process. The opening paragraph of the story says

The Lee County Schools superintendent search committee has whittled the field down to five finalists who will vie for the position through public forums and interviews in the coming weeks.

The same kind of confusion was evident in that day's editorial:

If we had one complaint, it's that we would have hoped for a more diverse final five. The candidates (four men, one woman, all white), we are sure, are those the School Board feel are most qualified for the job. A more diverse final field, however, may have attracted more interest from the area's growing minority community.

The headline and editorial comment left board members concerned that the process had not been understood by the paper and, in turn, by the people. Since it was the selection committee, not the school board, picked the five concerns about diversity of the applicants should have been more clearly directed at the selection committee and not the School Board.

New Herald Poll Directed At Kelly

The poll on the Herald's Web Page has changed from choices for chairman of the board of commissioners to what should Jamie Kelly do. The chairmanship poll was promoted here on the blog and the numbers changed steadily in the direction of Richard Hayes and away from the other three choices until Hayes had a majority and Kelly 17%. This poll is directed at Kelly: How should Lee County Commissioner Jamie Kelly react to the investigation into the "No Hincks" election signs, and the documentation accompanying those signs? The choices are "No Reaction: Kelly was within his rights" or "Resign until he's cleared." The question reflects the editorial position of the Herald.The latter choice is running about 80% but the problem is that Kelly does not have that choice. He either resigns or he doesn't. We aren't told what the number of respondents are although the steady change in the chairmanship question suggests a higher level of participation than is perhaps normal. Kelly was certainly within his rights to order the signs attacking Hincks as long as he reported the expenditure. Now he is caught up in a perjury investigation with no certain outcome. Folks would no doubt like to see the matter brought to a resolution regardless of their opinion of Kelly, and there was discussion among some people this week of going further than the poll and start a petition drive for his resignation. Locally the issue isn't going away, but the best course of action is to let the process work itself out. Politically, the question that actually haunts me most was why and how did we get to this point when Kelly's buying of the signs was perfectly legal? Not only that.They were a very clever political ploy--one of the best I have seen.

Lee GOP Gearing Up For Convention Fight

Supporters of Richard Littiken and Chad Adams are gearing up for a challenge to their version of GOP politics and begun a series of attacks on likely opponents with an election analysis finding fault with all the campaigns except Andre Knecht who finished dead last in order for Larry "Doc" Oldham to win and Linda Shook who was defeated by this blog. The tactics are similar to those used previously against John Sauls.

The issue of leadership of the Republican Party is no longer one that should be based on personality and ego. As a result, our sister blog, The e-Lee Dispatch Plus, (click here) has begun publishing a series of columns representing the diversity of thought about what it means to be a Republican. Many will be glad to see Ann Coulter's back after her exile for not being politically correct. Links to other columnists are in the latest post. Others with a variety of viewpoints will be published as time permits. The convention will be in March. To participate disaffect Republicans who have changed their registrations will need to change back to Republican by January 31..

Favorite Restaurant Closes

The River Lodge Restaurant has closed due mostly to a dispute between the two brothers, one who operated the River Lodge and the other, Davidson's in its new location. Of course, fewer people are eating out these days and that may have had some effect. According to The Rasmussen Reports seventy-three percent (73%) believe the economy is in a recession and 74% say the economy is getting worse. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of adults say they’re eating out less now than they were six months ago.

Southern Pines Has Similar Effort Underway

While the origins of the effort in Southern Pines vary quite a bit from those that led to the creation of the Second Century Project here in Sanford, much of the work and process is similar. The “ 2nd Century Project” is a consortium of business owners and community leaders, in partnership with local government. It is a strategic initiative and branding campaign designed to create awareness of and promote Sanford and Lee County. Driving the Southern Pines effort is the issue of development. The Southern Pines council enacted a year long moratorium on subdivisions and had hoped that the process could be completed before it had to deal with the future growth of the town.

Southern Pines held a "vision workshop" from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Southern Pines Recreation Center that was open to the public last Thursday.

"What we're proposing to do is work with the community at roughing out a vision statement," said Bill Grimes, principal of Studio Cascade, the firm hired to guide the town through the long-range planning process. Organizers expected as many as 250 residents to hear a short presentation from Grimes and then break up into round table discussions to offer individual input into the town's future.

Mayor Mike Haney, mayor said, "The success of this process is predicated on the involvement of the town,, "Participation is very important during this whole comprehensive long-range plan process for it to be all we think it can be."

The town sent out post cards to all water customers asking them to attend. All town residents and those living within the extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction were invited to attend.

Grimes asked participants to discuss and list issues and opportunities faced by the town, both current and future concerns. The plan will be designed to have a 20-year horizon.

Multiple topics to facilitate discussion on the full range of issues the plan were addressed All written comments will be transcribed and included in work to develop a community vision, a broad-brush statement that will guide formation of goals and policies in the draft plan.

Studio Cascade's web site (click here) says: Comprehensive Planning draws a community's "road map" for successful, sustainable growth, so it's essential that plans truly reflect the goals, needs, and objectives of each community. Whether addressing State-mandated plan requirements or preparing proactive visioning documents, Studio Cascade is a leader in connecting civic involvement with comprehensive plans that:

• Increase the vitality and safety of neighborhoods
• Protect property values
• Protect the environment
• Enhance civic functional and aesthetic characteristics
• Expand economic potential

Although the Southern Pines effort has very different origins, beginning initially as an issue related to development ordinances but has taken on many of the characteristics of the Second Century Project. "This is the exciting first step in our comprehensive planning process," said Southern Pines Mayor Pro-Tem Chris Smithson, who chairs the committee. On the other hand, the 2nd Century Project has been a project primarily lead by local business and civic leaders. According to Kirk Bradley, Chair of the 2nd Century Project of the research team,

“Together with the help of our consultants, we have set the agenda around four primary goals: 1) to create a comprehensive brand for Sanford and Lee County; 2) to incorporate all the studies and efforts of the past three decades into a results oriented action plan; 3) to create a consortium of both public and private stakeholders to implement the action plan; and 4) to make Sanford and Lee County a primary destination to live, work and play in the greater Triangle region.

The strong private sector involvement here in Sanford will likely mean that there will be a different emphasis even if some of the components are the same. On the other hand, the understanding and commitment of the public sector to its role is likely to be greater to the south. "Choosing the right firm for Southern Pines is more than just hiring one experienced in writing plans. It is hiring a firm that also has expertise in facilitating widespread public participation. This combination will help ensure that the final plan is a truly representative vision of what the town is and where it wants to go." It is the emphasis on public participation, vision, and a comprehensive plan that are similar. The language describing the efforts show similar expectations. Sanford's Second Century project is currently significantly ahead of its neighbor to the south. Other community workshops will take place early next year in Southern Pines and will continue through the spring. Following a summer break, one or two additional workshops will help complete the draft plan, slated for delivery in September 2009. The Southern Pines Project has a web site (click here) and a local "drop in center". Information on the project web site says:

Southern Pines' new long-range plan will engage residents in charting a course for the future. From housing, to transportation, land use to basic services, what should be included? What's working now, and what challenges need addressing? The process will create a comprehensive set of goals and policies to guide decisions 20 years into the future. Follow the process and add your voice!

Editor's Note: The Pilot newspaper in Southern Pines was a primary source for this post.

Finding Image For Littiken Delays Post

Search for Graphical Representation Takes Hours--Failed

Editor's Note: I think visually and begin every blog with an image that serves as what the English teachers call a "writing prompt." While some may say I just had writer's block, literally hours were spent looking for an image to prepare a post on Littiken's handling of the Sanford Herald story on "Straight Talk" the new GOP blog. It was a constant temptation to use images not in what I consider good taste. According to the Herald

"An entry at www.leecountygop.com titled "In Hitler's Footsteps" was made Thursday promoting a book called "Defeating the Totalitarian Lie: A Former Hitler Youth Warns America." The author begins the post by writing 'I have noticed throughout the campaign season that Obama is following Hitler's playbook as he considers his moves and programs."

Unfortunately, Littiken has become the "image" of the Republican Party, and only he could take a good idea (a website and blog) and turn it into yet another embarrassment. I will just let the images speak for themselves and address how the Lee GOP rids itself of his leadership in a later post. These images will give you some idea of my thoughts. We had been in the process of election analysis. So you get something thought provoking, I am including this link (click here) to an interesting column from Rob Christensen, the chief political correspondent for the News and Observer and Charlotte Observer.

Kelly Still Looking For Four Votes

Kelly, Reives Trying to Cut A Deal

Editor's Note: The final post in the series analyzing the election is being postponed to bring you up to date on the latest developments in the fight for chairmanship of the Lee County Commission. That analysis will come next weekend. Yesterday's column can be found at the e-Lee Dispatch Plus. (click here) Also, in the interest of fairness work by a genealogist has found that I am indeed related to Jamie Kelly's paternal grandfather, Sion Kelly. Perhaps that is where we get our common interest in politics, but my wife has told me not to expect an invitation to Thanksgiving Dinner!

After two years of being in charge of every major decision, the thoughts of being "just two commissioners" doesn't appeal to Jamie Kelly and Robert Reives. It is a blow to two large egos While likely-chair Richard Hayes continues to talk about an open, participatory, and less partisan board, the two king pins of yesteryear still aren't listening to the voters. Kelly has approached each of the two Republicans on the board, Linda Shook and Doc Oldham about them possibly serving as chair instead of Hayes. While Shook is thought to have considered it, Oldham gave a quick and strong "No." Where the two deal makers would get the fourth vote is not clear because they struck out with Ed Paschal. Perhaps they are counting on those provisional ballots to be counted tomorrow, but Lemmond is not likely to pull it out.

By arranging such a deal their votes would become very important, and they could negotiate for concessions about their roles and power in the new board. Right now the decision to go with Hayes is pretty firm, making the wishes of the two former bosses largely irrelevant. Their votes don't matter, and they can't stand not having veto power over what the commissioners may do.

While going to a new commissioner like Oldham is not really a surprise, going to Shook who they virtually ignored for two years shows the growing level of their desperation. Kelly is particularly interested in establishing that his political career has not been hurt by the sign controversy even as at least one group of Lee County activists is considering a petition drive calling for his resignation. Ed Paschal has seen this kind of stunt before and is having none of it.

Kelly may be gaining encouragement from a poll currently being run by the Sanford Herald on the front page of its electronic version. Or he may still that he is just flat supposed to be a king maker if he can't be the king.

He is gathering 22% of the vote. (click here) While Hayes is the leader, nearly one in four say they favor Kelly. What is not known is how many people have expressed an opinion. These polls typically draw small numbers and could simply reflect the Dairy Bar crowd of 25 or 30.

The access to the poll is on the free portion of the site. All those who have talked about petitions and protests have a chance to let your feelings be known by clicking here and voting for your choice and encouraging others to do so. (You can only vote once.) It is an excellent way to have a referendum on Jamie Kelly and Robert Reives. You can bet they have there hard core supporters trying to paint the picture that all is forgiven with the sign fiasco. (click here) After her loss to Jimmy Love, the offer might have been tempting to Shook, but she soon grasped that after her shoddy treatment by the two suitors for two years, this was about giving them a sense of power and control and not a vote for her. Most Republicans have decided that since the Democrats hold the balance of power in what could be a very difficult year. the democrat Hayes, as leader of the ticket, deserves their votes. Hayes is getting a quick education that his motivation of what is best for the county is not shared by Reives and Kelly who look out instead for themselves and their power base. No doubt Hayes will try to bring them around to his ethical standards, but it is like teaching pigs to sink--the pigs don't learn and you end up annoying the hell out of the pigs.

Richard Littiken doesn't seem to be taking the election results any better than Kelly and Reives. While he had a motive to do so, Kelly has at least called Doc Oldham to congratulate him while no member of the county GOP executive committee had done so by today. Like the other two, Littiken is likely preoccupied by the failure of his candidate for commission, Andre Knecht. But here we begin to get into that final analysis that you can look forward to next week along with news on the perjury investigation which has taken some very interesting turns.

Holding The Winning Hand

Shook Never Had A Chance

Editor's note: Don't miss the hard hitting and thorough analysis in the column "Uncommon Sense" in Wednesday's Sanford Herald concerning this election and Sanford's waning good ol' boy network. It is part of our three part analysis and will be published on the e-Lee Dispatch Plus on Thursday.

The only race in which a Democrat significantly improved his performance from two years ago was Jimmy Love in House District 51, normally a competitive district. Two years ago he defeated his GOP opponent Tim McNeil from Harnett County by 1321 votes with McNeil carrying the Harnett County portion of the district almost enough to offset Love's margin of 1828 in his home county of Lee. This year Love carried Harnett County by a small margin and crushed his Lee County opponent, incumbent county commissioner Linda Shook by a margin of 5500 votes in their home county. Shook was, in a sense, a victim of heavy recruiting by the NC GOP caucus which was desperately looking for sufficient candidates to take control of the House should there be a Republican sweep. Two years before, the failure to have a full slate, killed fund raising efforts. Why give money to Republicans if they can't take control even winning every race?. By the filing date, they would have taken any ne just to get a name on the ballot. At the eleventh hour she relented and made the sacrificial trip to the board of elections to file. Long time Republicans warned her that promised significant financial assistance from the GOP House Caucus could not be counted on in a year with a Presidential race, senatorial race, and a full ballot of statewide races competing for contributors. Even with that support she would have been overwhelmingly outspent by the incumbent Love. In fact, caucus leader Chip Stam did send several thousand dollars from his own campaign. Final financial reports are not yet due, but she was overwhelmingly out raised locally where she could muster only token financial support from a handful of individuals while Love had many contributions in the $100-200 from a wide range of people plus very substantial support from several major local contributors, some of which alone out matched Stam's contributions. Some of her strongest supporters as a commissioner who knew she would put forward a well thought out set of issues were still candid enough to tell her Love was just too personally popular to beat in a county-wide vote in Lee County as a state legislator. Some party leaders asked her to help with the planned effort to win commission seats instead, but others like Richard Littiken were determined to fill the ticket. She would do well to cut her ties with him. But as a commissioner she had become obsessed with the budgetary impact of illegal immigration and state-mandated programs over which commissioners have no control and was frustrated with her inability to find solutions to these programs. Working as a loner, and under the heavy hand of Robert Reives, there was little of a county record of achievement. In the end, and with strong encouragement from Littiken and Chad Adams, she filed for an office she never had a chance to win because it looked more attractive than her commissioner's seat. No doubt this is why she decided to run against the experienced and clever Love who had voted carefully and used his office to build significant respect as an incumbent who had seen his popularity grow while hers had seriously eroded, in part, because of her close association with Richard Littiken and Americans for Prosperity. (For the purposes of her political future, this analysis largely puts her financial problems aside. However accurate her version of her first round of bankruptcy difficulties as a political vendetta may or may not have been, some questioned her judgment for filing for office while confronted with serious financial problems. Others, especially supporters of funding for the high school and other projects she had opposed, questioned her continued membership on the finance committee. Her most recent problems are with a US Bankruptcy judge for violating his order, and blaming others this time is a dog that will not hunt. If handled right it need not be a decisive factor. There were 1,298,000 bankruptcy's pending at the end of 2007 and with entire industries looking at the option, it is not an insurmountable stigma.) Shook now faces some major challenges. She needs to recognize that her first challenge is she must first win reelection. This will require that she broaden her interests and demonstrate a willingness to cooperate as a team player with the new bipartisan coalition on the board. She does not need to put her principles aside but needs to demonstrate leadership on a major community issue like BRAC where her considerable energy, intellect, and drive can make a difference. Continuing to look like a one issue candidate on immigration will not carry the momentum to win. Following through on her proposal for changing the appropriation process to the schools could be a significant plus if she gives up her antagonistic ways toward the school board. She has to learn to become more of a collaborator and listen to a wider range of views. As Stephen Cover wrote, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” It is a tall order, but Linda Shook is an inteligent, brave, highly motivated and hard working person. If she decides to take that course, she still has a a viable political future ahead of her .And despite the expectations of some, Jimmy Love has every intention of running again in 2010 to participate in the 2011 redistricting process, especially after his strong showing this year. Meanwhile, Love's showing will strengthen his hand against would-be challengers of his own party. It is no secret Jamie Kelly had planned to advance to that seat from the chairmanship. That is not going to happen. Kelly is not likely to have a reputation that can be repurchased regardless of the outcome of the legal situation in which he now finds himself in time to tackle Love. Love's argument that the county is better represented in the re-redistricting process of the additional term by a representative of considerable seniority will resonant strongly even beyond members of his own party. These plans may come as a surprise to some but have been openly discussed for months. Jimmy Love looks like a stronger candidate today because he had what amounted to token opposition. He had the cards all along and has emerged from this race with an even stronger hand for 2010. His final expenditures, however, are going to look like massive overkill. As someone told him, all he really needed to do was to go to the beach in September and come back to vote and have his election party on November 4. During that stay he could have played a lot of cards while still holding the winning hand at home.