8. What are the other needs of Cleveland County?
Holbrook-Missing in action.
McIntosh- Low income housing, agriculture and a host of other things.
Gash- Community well being, A living wage, too much under employment and unemployment-need Jobs, need an educational system that works, close gaps between CCC and industry.
9. Graduates leave Cleveland County and never come back.
Holbrook-MIA
McIntosh- Would support scholarships like College Promise in Gaston County. Jobs pay substandard wages.
Gash- Need Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. Need workforce development that provides certificates. Would diversify recreation and tourism.
Editor’s Note: Willie Green proposed a College Promise Program for Cleveland County several years ago but Commissioners, Shannon Kennedy and Steve Thornburg at CCC required all scholarships go to CCC, which killed deal.
10. How would you balance county services with people asking for more services?
Holbrook-MIA
McIntosh- Through Continuance Improvement programs that lead to better decisions on funding.
Gash-Through innovative partnerships. Be creative and work together.
11. Relationship between Cleveland County Schools and Commissioners?
Holbrook- MIA
Gash- Through partnerships where Commissioners provide leadership And the Economic Development Partnership matches CCS education and training with jobs.
McIntosh- Support vocational training to meet the specific needs of jobs. Provide opportunities, Initiate Promise Program, help education leadership provide proper training for jobs.
Editor’s Note: Commissioners presently do none of this. They send $Millions to CCS with no leadership strings attached. Resulting in a broken system at CCS.
12. Top Three Priorities?
Holbrook- MIA
McIntosh- Public safety, education, transparency. Be able to communicate.
Gash- Education (Foundation of our society), Community Well Being (socioeconomics-support agencies to serve better), Quality of Life (youth development)
Closing:
McIntosh- Goal is to give back, kids need sense of purpose to do right instead of wrong.
Gash- Serve with integrity and transparency. Take what we have and build better opportunities. Government is to serve people.
So folks, there you have it. As Thomas Carlyle stated and later quoted by Martin Luther King, Jr, “No lie can live forever.” The old lies that swirl around Massa Eddie Holbrook’s campaign that the flawed, misguided and secret Economic Development Program has brought prosperity and well being to everybody, black and white, has been dispelled. We are where we are but we can do better with new leadership. Much better.
As I attended this Forum and found it, for the most part, totally informative and needed the Democrat winners are Chris Gash and Todd McIntosh. Massa Eddie has had his 12 years and it is now time for a change to Honesty, Openness and Transparency in County Government. New ideas instead of the old prejudices. Truth instead of deceptions.
I recommend voting for Chris Gash and Todd McIntosh in the Democrat Primary Election for Commissioner. Early Voting Starts Today. The Primary Election is May 8, 2018. See you at the polls.
