Speedy meetings
Our local governing bodies are known for their epic meetings and feisty exchanges.
And Scoop was fully caffeinated, ready for another round for county commissioners Thursday. The meeting began at its usual time, about 5 minutes after its official listed time of 5:30 p.m. But one particularly vocal member wasn't there: Democratic Commissioner Melvin "Skip" Alston.
"Well let’s hurry up so we won’t have to deal with him," Republican Commissioner Billy Yow said about Alston, who came in a few minutes later. He was driving from a state real estate commission meeting in Raleigh that afternoon.
Alston and Yow are approaching legendary status with their boardroom antics. The two will talk over one-another, even ignoring the chairman's gavel for order as they jockey to get in a last word in a hot debate. And either will lecture at length if an issue sparks their interest.
Before leaving, Scoop asked Alston what he thought of Yow's comment.
"Hey Billy," Alston, chuckling, said to Yow, "maybe the meeting would go faster if I weren't here."
Whether it's Alston, Yow, or any of the 11 commissioners, when a politician gets going about a pet issue, there's no stopping them.
Scoop and others at the press table were just excited that there was daylight left when the meeting ended about 7 p.m. Often the board usually goes on until 9 p.m. or later, and hey, we've all got families to see and beer to sip.
Comments (1)
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Nine oclock at night! That's early compared to city council. Their meetings are regularly five hours long, and that is without any particular person consuming the conversation.
Posted on September 19, 2008 11:26 PM