Homework
Labor Day marks the unofficial kick off of the local campaign season. Conventional wisdom holds that voters tune out the local political scene until after the first Monday in September, fixating instead on races of national importance or last minute summer vacations.
But for those of you looking to get in some summer reading on one of Guilford County's most hotly contested county commissioner races, head to the Internet. All three Guilford County Commissioner District 7 candidates have some sort of web presence. (Find a map of all nine county commissioner district by clicking on this link.)
The story in District 7 until now:
Republican incumbent Mary Rakestraw faced a tough primary against political newcomer Mike Winstead. Among her liabilities heading into the campaign was opposition from Sheriff BJ Barnes. Barnes, an influential fellow Republican, had been irked by several of Rakestraw's votes, including her opposition to his proposal to build a golf driving range at the prison farm. Barnes threw his support behind Winstead, a partner with local developer Mega Builders.
Winstead and Rakestraw both ran hard campaigns, using print and broadcast advertising. But in the primary, Winstead took two-thirds of the vote.
Winstead now finds himself in a three-way race against Democrat Mike Barber and Libertarian Jim Capo.
Barber is a sitting at large commissioner but has chosen to run in the district this time. His page features a comments forum that allows voters to ask questions as well as static pages that lay out the candidate's position on a variety of topics.
Winstead's page is currently a pared down version of the one he used during the primary campaign. For example, the section titled "My Opponent" says an update in imminent as of 11 a.m. on Sept. 2. Winstead's page does have pictures of the candidate posing with Republican Party stalwarts like Barnes, gubernatorial candidate Patrick Ballantine and U.S. Rep. Howard Coble.
Jim Capo's page is a blog, the same format of website as you're reading right now. His latest entry as of 11 a.m. on Sept. 2 regarded the Amendment One referendum that will be on ballots statewide.
The links to the web sites mentioned in this entry are:
http://www.votemikebarber.com/
http://www.votewinstead.com/
http://www.jimcapo.com/