Alderman Seat Additions

It was brought to the attention of the current BOA that many residents wanted to see more representation on the Kernersville Board. Mr. Owensby of the Kernersville News wrote an editorial on the issue that favored more representation. In that same edition of the paper Ivey Redmen (a past board member) and Dawn Morgan (a current board member) submitted a letter to the editor stating why more representation was needed.

The item was then placed on the agenda for the Board of Aldermen to discuss. During that discussion I made the motion to add two Aldermen seats and keep the Mayor’s voting rights as they are now, which means the Mayor would vote in the situation of a tie.

In my opinion if we are really talking about adding more representation, then adding two seats is appropriate considering our growth and our future growth. I think the Mayor is well informed and is an important part of our town government. The Mayor has his opinion and he shares his opinion. I feel giving the Mayor a vote would stifle the communication on the BOA and in the long run cause harm. The position of Mayor is that of a great ambassador for Kernersville and a key leader on the Board.

On April 3rd the Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to pass a resolution with the intent to change the Town Charter. By doing so this BOA set into play a series of requirements. One being to set a public hearing on the charter change and to receive feedback from the citizens. This was written about by the newspapers and yet only one person spoke at the public hearing on the issue. I was disappointed because I value the public’s opinion and many times I feel as though I only hear from the same folks.

The course has been set and the final vote on the addition of the two seats will take place at our June meeting. I stand behind our unanimous vote for the additional two seats.

I do, however, question if some people really wanted more representation or if they just wanted to amend the charter to afford a voting right to the Mayor. I sincerely question the motives of Mr. Owensby and the Kernersville News. Do you want additional representation or not? Mr. Owensby writes in a May 15th editorial that pickings are slim for good candidates, and have been slim in past elections. If that is the case why would Mr. Owensby have even supported adding one Alderman seat?

In the 2005 election we had eleven candidates, in 2003 we had seven candidates and in 2001 we had eleven candidates. I believe we will see the number of candidates increase as the number of seats increase. We can never predict the qualifications or motives of candidates in any year.

Let’s add the seats and give the citizens of Kernersville more representation in the matters that affect this community. We have good leadership now and I feel sure we will continue to attract good sound leaders for the future.

Please let me know your thoughts on this matter. Do you want to add two additional seats to the Board of Aldermen?