The Spag Platform

Over the past 10 years or so, we have seen local government fall into the same kind of politics that the state and federal  government have fallen into.  It is the kind of politics where your tax dollars are used to please the special interests of a few.

Private interests use their access to politicians to get special treatment. Often this comes in the form of tax incentives which are nothing more than a subsidy paid by you to often wealthy corporations, and that aren’t available to everyone else.  These policies are fundamentally unfair and are outside the proper role of government.  Other times, your money is spent on projects that have traditionally been performed by the private sector.

A lot of money is spent and only a few are really served. Meanwhile, your taxes go up. 

We live in tough economic times right now, and we cannot afford wasteful spending.  Even in good economic times, I have watched as government at all levels has expanded as if there was a limitless supply of money available.

It is time to go back to basics and reduce government to its proper size and role.  This starts by cutting waste, saying “no” to the special interests, and spending public money more wisely and responsibly on the kinds of services that we expect from government, such as our schools.

Unfortunately, we have not seen this kind of leadership or mindset in Guilford County for a long time.  It is time for a change.

District Three consists of Oak Ridge, Stokesdale, Summerfield, and Northwest Greensboro.  The highest per capita property values are in this district.  This means that the highest taxes per capita are in this district. We pay for much of the government waste, but see few of the benefits.

Two years ago, our current Commissioner Linda Shaw voted to spend over $650,000,000 of your tax dollars on various bond referendums.  As a result, your taxes have gone up and will go up more but I’m willing to bet that you weren’t told just how much at the time.  We need a representative who will be a more careful steward of your money and who will keep you informed of the consequences of government actions so your views can be heard and you can make the right choices.

We need someone who knows that we can't have everything we want when we want it and who will take a more conservative approach to county spending projects, including not spending more than we can afford.

At one time Mrs. Shaw seemed to be a reliable conservative, but that is no longer the case.  During her 12 years on the Board of Commissioners, she has gradually strayed from these values and has often voted for projects that lead to higher taxes, bigger government, and the kind of unfair tax incentives that transfer your hard earned money into the pockets of a few wealthy individuals with political connections and grandiose plans.

All across the United States, people are tired of this kind of politics as usual where the average tax payer is the loser.

That is the real issue in this election- who will truly represent the interests of Northwest Guilford County?  Who will uphold true conservative values and fiscal responsibility?  I believe that is what my neighbors in this district believe in, and what they want.  Elect me and I will not let you down.

Comments

[jo]

Mr. Candidate;
This is a better approach to winning an election. But I'm looking for meat on the bone. Don't tell me you're against tax incentives... everyone is against them. If you plan to vote against them to bring jobs to Guilford County then you're not the candidate for the job. We need jobs anyway we can get them. Yea, I know this is the wrong way, but if we don't play this game we lose.
Our conservative Mayor is against them, but he's not voting against them.

[Jean Langston]

Jo, you certainly are lucky that "Mr. Candidate" has a blog so you can keep making your critical statements. I cannot do that on Linda Shaw's blog because as she said on the video "she doesn't blog, she doesn't twitter". She does make statements on video and then deny making them even though we can confirm she made them by watching the video.

[Spag]

Jo isn't going to vote for me anyhow. He is here to antagonize. What he really means is that I am not "his" candidate, something I knew a long time ago.

[Mick]

JO's later posts dont seem too awful antagonistic and the questions and statements seem to have some merit. I am glad to see you being more proactive about yourself as well. I was tiring of the reasons not to vote for Shaw. I need reasons to vote for you as well as reasons to vote against someone else. You know that whole "devil you know" thing.

Good luck next week.

[Spag]

Thanks Mick. Jo keeps commenting giving various reasons as to why I'm not the right candidate to support. This started with his very first post which was based on his disagreement with me over an observation of Obama's foreign policy, something that has nothing to do with being a County Commissioner. He didn't like what I wrote and said that made up his mind back then about not voting for me. Of course, he can't vote for me anyhow because he isn't a Republican and isn't in my district.

If you only followed this thread, you might consider his comments somewhat reasonable. But if you follow all of them they amount to nothing more than "don't vote for Spag because he's a conservative".

[Mick]

That would be why I said "later posts". But, I get and and agree with your point(s) in this regard. We aren't as politically differant as you might think, Spag. You are to my right no doubt but we are in the ballpark. BTW, I am an R and I do live in your district.

It is down to "devil yo know" issues and "time for a change" issues.

Mick

[Marshall]

Jo is a man? hmmmm

[charlie calvin jr]

most people aren't looking for leaders. god save me from people who believe they need them. i need responsible people who won't give the farm away or set it on fire while i'm out busting my ass in the field. I disagree strongly with some of Spag's political models but he is honest to a fault, helpful in situations to people he doesn't know and returns calls. He couldn't damage this county any more than the existing brigands and inside traders have done.