Democrats say tough road lies ahead
The following candidates spoke at Clay County’s Democratic Party meeting on Saturday, February 27, 2010 at the Hayesville Schools Cafeteria.
See a gallery of photos from the event here.
John Snow
running for State Senator
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to be faced with a really difficult election,” incumbent state senator John Snow warned members of the Clay County Democratic Party on Saturday night.
Snow, who is running for his fourth term for district 50, said too many people are scared of the current economic condition.
“There’s a lot of people who don’t have a job, a lot of people who have lost a job, and a lot of people who are trying to get a job but can’t,” he said. “People are losing their homes due to foreclosure. It’s a climate that can be used against you to try to get somebody else put in office… We got to the brink of disaster with the election of Obama. One of the reasons Obama was able to be elected is that we were in such serious trouble.”
Snow reminded the crowd that there was a $5 billion surplus when former president Bill Clinton left office.
“I don’t need to tell you what happened in the two Bush terms,” he said.
Snow said that while the stimulus programs have been wholly unpopular, he was thankful for them.
“If we hadn’t had the stimulus programs and moved forward we would have fell off that cliff into a depression,” he said. “There’d be a lot of people taking their own lives because they couldn’t face the consequences…”
He said that while he wasn’t sure how everything is going to turn out, he’s glad that the government is at least trying to take action.
“We almost lost a whole generation of teachers,” he said. “We had to raise some taxes and people didn’t like that” but it was necessary to save jobs.
Snow said that education, if nothing else, will move America beyond the recession. He also said that promoting green industry would help provide more jobs.
“The stimulus money allowed us to keep our schools open,” he said. “We can’t be drowned out by the people who are shouting. There’s a lot of people shouting things that just aren’t true.”
Snow reminded voters that of all North Carolina legislators, he lives the furthest from Raleigh and it’s difficult for him to travel for frequent visits.
“I live closer to five other state capitols than my own,” he said. “My district is bigger than the state of Delaware.”
The upcoming election is an especially important one, Snow said.
“To be honest with you, all of the power of the senate has been in Eastern North Carolina,” he said. “But we have an opportunity now…to move some of that power back to the mountains…”
He said that he was glad to see a good turnout at the Clay County meeting.
“I went to a meeting they had over in Haywood County the other day…and it wasn’t nearly as good as this,” he said. “It looked like there were more candidates than there were people.”
Snow said that while he was committed to doing whatever it takes to keep people working, it would make it even harder to balance the budget.
“Thank you for your support for me in the past,” he said. “I hope you’ll work for me in the future. This is going to be a tough election; but we’re tough people and we’re going to make it.”
Joe Shook
running for Sheriff
Shook defended his tenure as sheriff of Clay County at the Democratic meeting Saturday night.
“I run on the Democratic ticket but I think that once you’re elected you’re the sheriff for everybody in this county – everybody,” he said.
The sheriff’s office hired about four new deputies, secured extra grant funding and purchased new uniforms and side arms under his watch, Shook said.
In total 22 glock pistols and 22 shotguns were added to the law enforcement arsenal recently.
Shook said that officers in training at Southwestern Community College speak highly of the operation in Clay County, but that while his team has worked hard for the past three years, 2010 would be tough.
Until just a few years ago Shook had never attended a political meeting in his life, he said, due to restrictions on patrol officer activities. He said he wished all of the candidates well.
Deby Jo Ferguson
running for Sheriff
Having worked for both the Smoky Mountain Sentinel and the Clay County Progress, Ferguson said she has a long history with Clay County.
In fact, she reported on Heath Shuler when he played local football long before becoming a congressman.
“As you know, I am running against Joe,” she said. “I do work for the sheriff’s department, so obviously we have things that we probably don’t agree with, but that’s okay.”
The time will come, she said, to discuss their differences, but in the meantime she said she’s glad to meet with anyone who wants to talk with her.
Wanda Anderson
running for Commissioner
The other candidates for commissioner called to say they couldn’t make it, leaving Anderson to stand alone at Saturday’s meeting.
Despite working two full-time jobs, Anderson said she was up for the task.
“Give a busy woman something that she’s really passionate about and I can get it done,” she said.
Having been raised in Clay County, Anderson said the education system still needs to be tweaked and that business needs to pick up.
“We need jobs here,” she said. “We can entice some industry to come into the county”
Anderson has experience working against the tide, having triumphed against the local zoning board in the past and also advocating for less fortunate citizens.
“I worked for Clay County social services for seven years so I know there’s a great need in this county for help for the people,” she said.
Israel Rogers
running for Clerk of Superior Court
Having served on school board for four years, Rogers said he’s ready to move on.
At 37-years-old, he described himself as a “people person” who would take the job very seriously.
“I’ve got a lot to learn about the law…but the management skills I have,” he said.
Melvin Cantrell
running for Clerk of Superior Court
Cantrell is the vice chairman of Reach of Clay County and a charter member of the Brasstown Fire Department, but his resume doesn’t end there.
In addition to being a former member of the Clay County Fire and Rescue Squad, he’s been employed by the sheriff’s office for a continuous 28 years.
“I think that’s probably something that nobody else has ever accomplished in Clay County, working for the sheriff’s office that long,” he said.
Recounting the story of the county commissioners’ decision to give each community $40,000 for a community building 15 years ago, Cantrell said he was involved with an even bigger task.
Raising extra money for the community of Brasstown. In all, more than $120,000 was contributed to add to the $40,000.
“People who work together for a common cause can do wonderful things, and that’s what we did at Brasstown,” he said.
Cantrell said that the center is still moving forward with other projects like buying three additional acres and building a playground.
“We leave that community center open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to try to give these kids something other to do than experiment with drugs or whatever,” he said.
Denise Hallauer
running for Clerk of Superior Court
An attorney at a “struggling small business” in Murphy, Hallauer listed the duties and functions of the position and office, stating that few know what the job really entails.
“The economy is very, very tough right now,” she said. “The clerk’s office, while not being able to solve any of those problems,” can still work to the benefit of citizens, she said.
Hallauer said that foreclosures are a big concern right now.
“If there’s any possible way to keep someone from losing their home I would find those ways to do that…” she said.
She noted that she has experience working with finances for employers in the past and emphasized the execution of perfection to the letter of the law.
Tony Ellis
running for the Board of Education
Ellis said he began work with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office in 1992 and has most recently been a School Resource Officer for Clay County Schools.
“We’re in the top ten in the state and I hope to at least keep it that way and hopefully improve it if we can,” he said.
Chad Hodges
running for the Board of Education
“I have an utmost desire to see children and youth in this area succeed and get the best possible education,” he said.
Hodges said it would be his job to ensure that teachers get the best possible resources.
“Our schools have been top performing in the state and that is my main agenda,” he said.
Wanda Cotton
running for the Board of Education
Cotton said she wants to give schoolchildren the technology needed to prosper, noting that she has two children.
Cotton was born in Hayesville, graduated from HHS and owns Cotton Builders with her husband.
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