Then Commissioner Chairman Eddie Holbrook asked County Manager Jeff Richardson if he (Richardson) had discussed this with Coroner Robbie Morgan? Richardson says that he had called Morgan at 3:00 PM before the meeting at 6:00 PM and Morgan had agreed with the trending information and basically everything Richardson had said. The Commissioners took turns saying they had not made up their minds beforehand and then voted unanimously to abolish the Office of Coroner at the end of the present term-which will be 2018.
I am sitting there in the front row listening to all this, not believing a word I am hearing and smelling a rat. After the meeting I made a beeline home, pick up the phone and call Robbie Morgan.
I tell Robbie what just happened at the Commissioner’s meeting and all about Jeff Richardson telling the Commissioners he (Morgan) had agreed with all that was said. Robbie Morgan listens to all of this and says, Yes, Richardson had called him at 3:00 PM out of the blue and Yes, he had told Richardson that he understood most of the counties had changed to a Medical Examiner system instead of a Coroner. Then Morgan tells me all he told Richardson that Richardson had left out telling to the Commissioners. Morgan says “I told Jeff Richardson that it would be the worst thing the county could do was to switch to the Medical Examiner system.” Morgan went on to say many of those counties that had switched were now regretting what they had done. The Medical Examiners working out of Raleigh do not work on weekends so if you have a fatality wreck or a murder on a weekend, there are problems. The Medical Examiner’s Office bill the counties in such a way that it is hard to budget for what they charge. Counties no longer have any control over what the Medical Examiners do and when they do it. Morgan went on and on about why such a change should not be done and then told me that he been told the Commissioners would not let him speak if he showed up at the meeting.
Since I have known Robbie Morgan for quite a while, I say, you know there will be three commissioners up for election in November of 2018 and three commissioners are a majority. I hear a little chuckle on the other end of the line and Morgan says, “I will probably be thinking about that when the time comes.”
I chuckle a little too. I’m thinking, all we need now is two more good candidates and we can put a stop to all this foolishness by the crowd of crazy Commissioners we have now. And, if we can’t quite get it done in 2018, three commissioners are up for election in 2020 too.
So, folks, this article is a good example of how the Commissioners operate. This is like what they did when they sold the hospital out from under the citizens of Cleveland County and spent all the money. The many tens of millions of tax dollars they have given away in the name of economic development while 25,000 county residents are on food stamps. The mess at Cleveland Community College and at Cleveland County Schools that the commissioners have helped cover-up-till now.
Folks, think about running for office. Think about running for the office of Cleveland County Commissioner. 2018 is not that far away.
