Woodard: Family and business brought me out of the race
I talked with former candidate Reginald Woodard today about his withdrawal from the District 1 race. He told me that his wife's health has been declining and he is opening another branch of his family's funeral home in High Point.
Both of those issues, he said, would keep him from giving all of his time to serving on the council.
"I would want to be committed to it if I do it," he said.
The time issue is always a big barrier for local candidates because they are all "part-time" jobs that often take up a lot of time. City Council member Florence Gatten, a professional campaign manager and PR consultant, often says that the city loses out on quality candidates because they can't afford to interrupt their professional careers.
The alternative is to make being a council member a full-time job as it is in larger cities in the Northeast. But then, does that exclude folks that want to serve but can't turn over their business or law practice to someone else for a few terms?
Comments (2)
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Matt,
Thanks for this update.
Mr. Woodard's reasons are certainly very legitimate ones for reconsidering his candidacy.
I hope that his wife's health improves, and I wish him the best with his plans to expand his business.
Apparently, there were some questions about the health of the Rev. Dr. William Joseph Barber II, Skip Alston's challenger for the presidency of the North Carolina NAACP State Conference of Branches.
On his blog (The Political Agitator), Curmilus Dancy II provided Rev. Barber a forum to address those concerns.
Rev. Barber wants his supporters to "know that I'm fine and wouldn't be running if I had not been cleared by my doctors."
He also addresses how he hopes to improve the health of the NAACP.
Regardless of who we want to win any election, the health and well-being of all candidates is of greatest concern.
Sincerely,
Hardy
Posted on July 26, 2005 11:03 PM
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II Candidate for President of the NC NAACP State Conference of Branches is on the campaign trail
www.thedcnnewsletter.blogspot.com
Posted on August 17, 2005 8:28 PM