A matter of accountability
What percentage of Guilford County taxpayers would approve of the 40+ percent pay raises commissioners just gave themselves?
The number would be very small, judging from the public reaction so far.
So how can elected officials so blatantly defy the wishes of their constituents for their own financial benefit?
Lack of accountability.
Of the six commissioners who voted for the pay raises, three were elected without opposition and one was appointed to the board.
The two who were elected in competitive races -- Paul Gibson and Kirk Perkins -- don't come up for election again until 2008, when voters might forget about the pay raises. But Gibson says he isn't planning on running again anyway.
This system of representative democracy only works if leaders have to stand before the voters in regular contested elections.
That doesn't happen as often as it should in Guilford County.
What would help? Change the system to elect more commissioners at-large and fewer in districts designed to guarantee outcomes.
Comments (2)
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Doug,
There's an even better way to create accountability for governmental officals. It's called "recall". Many states have it and use it. The Democrat Commissioners would have been a little slower to roll the pork, if they knew that angry voters could have rolled them out of office. Recall is a valuable tool in creating accountability. We could use it in Guilford County.
Posted on July 9, 2005 7:46 AM
I think there should be seven commissioners and they should all be elected at-large. This is the way it was before the general assembly made it eleven members and by districts. If every commissioner was at-large they would represent EVERY CITIZEN, not just a choice few and they would have to answer to every citizen. I receive as many calls from citizens outside my district as I do those from within my district. Most of them say they are calling me because they couldn't get their representative on the board of commissioners to return their call or answer their email.
Posted on July 9, 2005 7:32 PM