Buncombe County Republican Chair Declares War
By
Mike Harrison, a favorite of libertarian leaning Republicans, was voted in as Buncombe Republican Party Chair in 2007. His competition for the seat, a Stompy gambler named Chad Nesbitt, didn’t take the loss well and harassed Harrison until he resigned the Chair. Tim Peck and Carl Milstead, Jr. made a feint at taking the Party over, but that appears to have been more hype than hope.
Richard Mills became acting Chair when Harrison bailed, and he selected Mark Delk to head the floundering Party, riven in the vacuum once filled by the lumpy predilections of Taylor loyalists. Since June, 2007, Delk captained this rudderless ship. At the time he said, “We, as Republicans, need to base everything we do on what is right—not what is expedient [or] popular.†Nesbitt claimed to like him, and he certainly sounds Mumpalicious in his sentiments.
Mtn. X: “Last year’s internal fighting followed 2006 elections that saw Buncombe County Republicans lose to Democrats in two of three state House races, the state Senate, the race for sheriff and the race for clerk of court. In a region-wide race, Republicans also saw Democrat Heath Shuler dethrone their party’s top elected official, eight-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor.”
Fast forward nine months, and Dr. Timothy Johnson, the newest head of the Buncombe County Republican Party, is whistling a very different tune:
“When it’s all said and done, we want to win in November.â€
[...]
“We are going back to war. We have much to say and much to do.â€
This newest winning warrior, having lived in Buncombe for only two years, won’t be embraced by nativists like Ralph Roberts, but Lord knows the rest of the Party is likely to treat him as a savior sent to rescue them from the purgatorial political trinity of infighting, inefficiency, and ineffectiveness.
I can’t say I’m happy about it. I’m really fond of the idea of a Buncombe Republican Party in tatters, flailing from ego to ego in a vain attempt to build something that doesn’t suck. But it looks like they may have actually settled on someone with strong tactical and leadership skills. It’ll be a while before we see if the Yelton/Nesbitt wing of the Party torpedoes this guy or if the libertarians try to take a whack at him. Until then, know that the best way to defeat Republicans is by helping Democrats.
Register. Vote. Volunteer. Donate. Show up and do something. Dr. Johnson just declared war on you.
Hype can be good. Strategic hype that sends bigoted, one-dimensional thinkers into a feverish tailspin is even better.
Thanks to Mark Delk for stepping in as interim chairman after Carolina Stompers Don Yelton, Chad Nesbitt and Zora Hayes harassed Mike Harrison into resigning months after being duly elected over Chad Nesbitt and his vice-chair running-mate Rick Jenkins.
Congratulations Tim Johnson. You would do well to heal the party by first purging the nutjobs. Put shoulder to plow, sir.
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Seems like only yesterday that smarmy (Mrs. Blue’s description), then-GOP chair George Keller sat ignored in his folding chair outside the Board of Elections during early voting in 2006. That is, when he wasn’t maintaining the phony “North Carolina Independent Public Policy Research Group (NCIPPRG)†web site. Meanwhile, the Dems had a table — outside the 50 ft. line, of course — enjoying lots of traffic and energized voters. Hats off again to Phil Burton for the spiffy palm cards!
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Okay, what’s with the cat? I’m offended.
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Twitter: gordondsmith
says:
The drowning cat represents the BCRP. Talk about being offended…
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I think that the BCRP may be able to claim a majority on the county commission at the end of this election season. Ramsey, Carroll, and Dunn. The Dems will control the entire Buncombe County delegation and hold Shuler in office. Stanley and Bailey will be the only dems on the county commission for sure. It may be a close toss up between Carroll and Jones.
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Twitter: gordondsmith
says:
Why do you say so?
Carroll will spend a ton of money, but if Obama’s atop the ticket, look for Democratic turnout to swell. The “NO!” crowd will show up, but I don’t think any of their candidates have free rides.
I imagine we’ll see Stanley lose in the primary and Jones, Bailey, Peterson, and one other Democrat push through. On the Repub side it’s Carroll, Dunn, McKee, and one other.
Carroll will have all the money in the world and all the backing of the groups that think people like you and me are radicals. He’s scary. He’ll have consultants and teevee ads and whatnot. I still don’t think he’ll win though.
County’s ready for folks who will pledge to be honest and above board, responsible, and respectful. We’re tired of the old guard, back-room, closed door politics of secrecy. Anyone who’s willing to come in and open the process will be well received. This is why the incumbents are in trouble. All of them.
We can help by pushing up name recognition for our fave candidates through the primary, then by getting involved in our fave general candidate’s campaign. It’s going to take a lot of work to keep the “NO!” crowd from turning back the clock and turning Buncombe into a playground for special monied interests like The Cliffs and Progress Energy.
We need far reaching solutions to long-standing problems.
Our resources are limited and our natural beauty is fragile. Wise land use is a prerequisite for anyone running this go ’round.
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Twitter: gordondsmith
says:
I was recently given Dr. Johnson’s cellphone number. He still has an Atlanta area code.
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In a crowded field, only those with name recognition and money will win out. I think that the in Buncombe county money = the seat. Carroll and Dunn will have twice as much money to spend as anyone else on the ticket. If any of the two incumbents are to loose out in the primary it will be Peterson. She is a joke that only got in because there was no other woman running. Only a handful of folks know who she is outside of hardcore party types. Jones will only win if she can mobilize city voters. Obama is her best bet for that.
I think that Jones, Thomson, and Bailey are the best choices. Not sure about a fourth dem.
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Control of the County Commission could well come down to who wins the Gantt vs. Ramsey race for Chair and given how close county wide races tend to be in Buncombe County (the city votes heavily Democratic, the county comfortably Republican and the results are usually in the narrow range) that could come down to how many Asheville progressives are willing to hold their nose and vote for Gantt despite his role in the Progress Energy and Stewart Coleman deals.
Among the Democrats, Bailey is in. He’s got a lot of goodwill and name recognition because of his AB-Tech work and politically speaking he is both a blank slate and a new face. Peterson is also probably in. She’ll be saddled with some of the less than popular actions Commission has taken, but since she is in her first term she probably won’t get as much of it as Bill Stanley who, after 20 years, has probably worn out his welcome.
I question whether Holly Jones can win in November. She’ll do very well in the city, but among a lot of County residents she’ll end up being the “poster child” of everything they hate about Asheville — annexation, water rate differentials, free thinking bohemians you name it — they will throw it all at her.
Among the Republicans Joe Dunn (oh, excuse me, *Dr.* Joe Dunn) may have history working against him (it has been 25-30 years since anyone from City Council has won higher office) but his opposition to annexation on Council and his often abrasive “I’m right and if you disagree with me you are ill-informed or ill intended” manner will play very well among the “no” factions of the county. It will be interesting to see how much of a Romney he does in flip flopping on his support of the city in the water negotiations though (my guess is a lot). In any case he’s probably in. Carroll is probably in too. As we saw last year with Bill Russell a boat load of money from CIBO and the real estate developers will go a long way.
If Obama is the nominee that indeed will mobilize Democratic turnout, but once the Republican attack machine is through with him (I guess you all have heard that he hates America) Republican turnout will be strong too. The general rule of thumb is that high turnouts usually benefit Democrats so that could give them a tiny edge, but the bottom line is that I suspect Republicans will increase their seats on Commission in November.
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Forgive my ignorance (I’ve only been in Buncombe for 3 years so my county politics knowledge is lacking) but who are the NO! folks you’re referring to?
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Twitter: gordondsmith
says:
Bob,
The County Planning debate has been a major flashpoint for going on two decades. Several nonbinding referendums were held, and voters opposing zoning won those. You may still see “No Zoning” or “No” signs around the county. One of the major moves of the current Commission was a decision to go ahead with county planning.
There is a strong streak of libertarianism in these mountains, and folks fear that planning = losing property rights. They’re the NO! folks I refer to.
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Blue-Collar Bothwell for Buncombe!
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