More Meddling from the Unelected

Cape Fear Future (CFF), a taxpayer-funded arm of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, likes to meddle.

CFF considers itself to be a valuable resource in our region promoting education and trying to recruit the elusive "knowledge sector" in our local economy. Their efforts are hard to quantify in any meaningful way. Most of their news updates consist of regurgitating news and events taking place outside of their sphere. However, recently, the group involved itself with one endeavor on their own.

A proud news release entitled, "Cape Fear Future releases new tri-county education brochure" states:

"In the spring of 2011, representatives from Cape Fear Future and the Chamber Foundation (both initiatives of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce) joined forces to assist the improvement of K-12 schools by raising awareness and support through marketing."

Interestingly, the two groups who "joined forces" are simply spinoffs of the same umbrella organization, and no outside influence appears to be present in the process of "raising awareness and support". The most noticeably absent entity from the effort is anyone from the public education system; specifically, the New Hanover County School Board. Why is this important? For one, the school board is elected by the people, and their involvement vicariously involves the public in these initiatives. However, one thing CFF has been consistent in, is not involving the public.

The result of this effort is an up-to-date profile with relevant statistical information to be provided to corporate prospects, commercial and residential realtors and anyone looking at our school systems. Our first goal was to create a printed brochure, and the second is to create and expand educational materials on the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce website.

The deep involvement of our Chamber in our public education calls into question their true motives. The specific mention of "commerical and residential realtors" makes perfect sense, given those who our Chamber and its satellite groups are comprised of, and the primary focus of their efforts. However, the idea that unaccountable taxpayer-funded groups operating in the shadows, without any input or accountability to the public; assigning, dictating, and communicating public education policy borders on highly questionable.

The draft brochure available here, may in and of itself seem harmless, and it may in fact be so. However, why are those elected by the public to look after and direct educational policy in our county being excluded from this process? We take our childrens' education seriously (well, many of us) - that's why it is so critical to have real people that can be held accountable for decisions affecting such. However, when a hodgepodge of faceless, publicly-funded bureaucrats, who are appointed by the inner players of the social and political machinery that seems to involve itself in everything, without any accountability to the public, one should be concerned.

Another notable example of what is most accurately described as meddling, is the implementation of a program in public schools, being completely directed and executed by the Chamber:

Shallotte Middle School in Brunswick County has adopted and implemented Project Lead the Way (one of only 3 in the state), a STEM-based curriculum that incorporates engineering, robotics, aerospace and other STEM-related courses... 

The Wilmington Chamber of Commerce’s Cape Fear Future initiative is exploring adoption and implementation of the PLTW program to New Hanover County

While this particular example may seem like a good idea, and in and of itself isn't alarming, the idea that CFF now wields the power to "adopt and implement" a program in our public schools should be alarming.

Another portion of text in CFF's brochure states that:

The Cape Fear region - New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick Counties - features dynamic public and private education choices for students and parents. Programs range from pre-kindergarten to alternative and special needs, early-college curriculums, magnet schools, and a host of other unique courses that produce well-educated and socially responsible adults (emphasis added)

"Socially responsible adults"? In the view of CFF, this is a valid function of our public schools. A more traditional view may consist of it being the public schools' role to educate students in the basic areas of reading, writing, and math - social responsibility is a job for parents, families, and the student's sphere of influence. School plays a role in this certainly - but in an indirect way. This isn't something that should be taught directly in school - who's to say which view of social responsibility is the agreed upon view?

CFF's view of social responsibility could very well be vastly different from that of yours and your family's. However, teaching social responsibility is a very valid activity in public schools in CFF's view, and they are doing their part to ensure their seat at that table - with your children. However, CFF has no accountability to you whatsoever. If you dislike or disagree with their influence over your children, you have absolutely no recourse. Is this the proper role of an unelected board of self-ascribed intellectuals and elitists, funded with your money?

It's Good to be the King: Proposal would make Hotel Construction Illegal Anywhere - Except Downtown

The idea stemmed from a roundtable meeting with Charleston's mayor earlier this year when local leaders asked for advise on bringing more hotels downtown. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley told leaders, "that's easy, we made it illegal everywhere else." -http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20111206/articles/111209848?p=1&tc=pg

Charleston, South Carolina - the pinnacle to which all of our elitist downtown leaders all agree that we should be so lucky to aspire to, does things a little bit different. The above quote from long-time Mayor Joe Riley of Charleston pertained to the question of how is it possible to attract hotel construction only in the central downtown district?

Wilmington Downtown Inc. (WDI), everybody's favorite quasi-government downtown lobby organization, recently suggested that the clear way to prompt downtown growth is by creating a flurry of hotel construction there - and the way to do that is to limit the free market, and make it illegal to construct hotels elsewhere in Wilmington - exempting of course a couple of the other developments operated by members of the insiders club, such as Autumn Hall and Mayfaire.

The public/private economic group has proposed a text amendment to the city's land development code that would prevent new hotel growth in the city except for in the Central Business District, Mayfaire Town Center, Autumn Hall and along the Riverfront. 

"Moving this proposal forward would limit growth and congestion," Wilmington Downtown Inc. President and CEO John Hinnant said. "This is ultimately a decision that will have a positive impact down the road."

The question is, a positive impact for who? A cursory investigation reveals that the same players involved in the northern downtown development projects in proximity to the convention center, are the same players involved in Autumn Hall and Mayfaire, not coincidentally chosen for protection by WDI. In addition, these firms are also charter members of WDI. In the minds of WDI and its members and benefactors, this proposal has a two-fold advantage - giving downtown Wilmington an unfair advantage in the market, and creating market protection for WDI's most illustrious members' projects. The 17th Street hospital corridor is also given a nod of approval from Hinnant - not coincidentally the hospital board also contains some of the same key players involved in the other areas surrounding WDI.

This proposal represents the very worst about these unelected, faceless, bureaucratic agencies that make decisions for all of us with no accountability or fear of retribution from voters. Spineless city and county leaders often allow free reign to groups like WDI, who receive a fair sum of taxpayer dollars every single year, but have absolutely no accountability to taxpayers.

Possibly an advantage for WDI, Wilmington Planning Commission Chairman Chris Boney's firm, LS3P Architects, just so happens to be a partner with WDI. In addition, Wilmington City Council members such as Kevin O'Grady, Laura Padgett, and Mayor Bill Saffo have shown a propensity for allowing an unfair advantage to downtown in order to support their agenda, such as a vibrant taxpayer-funded convention center, which forecasts now show to operate in the red indefinitely.

At first glance, the proposal seems ludicrous; but it takes a more sinister turn. If private, unelected citizens such as Hinnant, who just so happen to be a part of an organization with lobbying muscle at City Hall can finagle with regulation and zoning for their own personal benefit, and for the financial benefit of those in their camp, then where does it end? If other parts of Wilmington not targeted for their own personal agendas start to show signs of growth that they warrant as unfriendly to their goals, perhaps using the long arm of the regulatory law to shut them down would level the playing field for their own ends.

Again, internal politics at the city level is shown to be quite Soviet in its implementation. 17% of voters gave a nod of approval to the status quo last month, which greenlights this sort of initiative. This proposal is a prime example of the elitist few centrally planning the fate and environment of the masses; without accountability, and without any fear of retribution from the public. Taxpayer-funded agencies such as WDI and WID have for long been a chief planning, policy-making, and regulatory body that operates in the shadow of City Hall, and without the nasty impacts and scrutiny that public officials are subject to. In turn, public officials gladly keep stocking these agencies with cash to do their dirty work.

Despite the shockingly long amount of time this practice has continued to be the modus operandi of city government, voters still by and large sit home at election day, and completely abdicate their duty to hold government responsible for its excesses and creative ethics.

Hinnant said the proposed prevention of building hotels in certain areas is just one possible way to lure more hotels downtown.

He said he expects it to be controversial but that sometimes politics need to be put aside to clear the way for future planning.

"At some point we all have to be accountable for our decisions," he said. "A lack of regulation is how we got to where we are on places like Market Street and Carolina Beach Road."

Flaws in logic aside, given that disallowing hotels anywhere but downtown won't necessarily prevent them from locating completely outside of our city altogether; Hinnant demonstrates his complete ineptitude in understanding the role of government in a free market. His glib statement of it simply being "politics" that would create a controversy is telling. The argument is purely economic - not political. A free market is only free when it is left to its own devices unhindered. The beauty of this system is that it puts you and I - the consumer - at the top of the heap as the final decision maker as to what lives and dies economically; not some second-rate elitist bureaucrat hack, hell-bent on using every resource at his disposal to tilt the entire local economy to spill out favors to his cronies and allies.

Perhaps the most ironic of all, is Hinnant's statement, "At some point we all have to be accountable for our decisions". This - from a man who conveniently operates completely unaccountable to anyone for anything. He receives large sums of taxpayer cash year after year - and has no obligation to answer them for it. He is able to move in the shadows, undetected, without the spotlight of public awareness or impending elections to hold his feet to the fire. This - from a man who used the official WDI credit card account - paid for with the hard-earned tax dollars we contributed to government - to pay for booze, cigars, and groceries, and had absolutely no accountability for it.

Finally, Hinnant laments a "lack of regulation", referring to the vibrant hotel businesses within certain corridors of our city other than downtown. It was a healthy free market climate that offered the prime conditions for these businesses to thrive; but it will be the stroke of a pen from some progressive, "smart-growth" schmuck like Hinnant that will finish it off.

Someone who can point to an economically healthy sector in this current day and age, and castigate it as a negative because it doesn't fit within his scope of a centrally planned laboratory experiment that only serves to enrich himself and his buddies, is no friend to economic prosperity.

However, given the turnout of last month's local election, it seems like these policies will continue to rule the day unchecked, and voter apathy will once again sign over tacit approval for all things corrupt and counter to the basic ideas of liberty and prosperity.

What Does the New Tax Rate Mean to You?

Yes, there's more discussion of the new New Hanover/Wilmington/beach towns "tax rate." Nevermind that "tax burden" is far more important than "tax rate," because tax burden takes area median income into account, and that Wilmington's tax burden is very high.

That's another issue.

What we're talking about now is how the new rate is going to affect people differently across the county. After putting the revaluation off for years, the New Hanover County tax assessor finally found out that the overall decrease for property values was 14% for the county as a whole and 13% in Wilmington.

Yet this doesn't capture the full story.

As we can see from this graphic from WWAY:

Not every area lost value equally. Additionally, "[t]here are some areas, a few pockets, that are actually seeing an increase."

What this means is that in order to stay "revenue neutral" some people are going to see their property tax bills skyrocket, while others will actually see them go down.

Now, I'm not going to get into exactly how much each area will see their bills go up or down (although if I were a professional journalist, who was paid to do this kind of thing, I would.) I'm just going to try to give the broad strokes.

Firstly, the Fire District as far as I can tell is another word for "unincorporated area." There are roughly 100,000 people or so in that area. But the property values in the unincorporated areas fell far less than in the county as a whole. That means that at the bare minimum, they will see their tax bills increase about 6% to make up for the loss to other people's property in the county.

Again, we're not talking rate; we're talking about what will actually be coming out of their wallets.

If you're a property owner in Wilmington and your property actually gained value, your tax bills are going to skyrocket. You'll be paying at least 14% more in county property tax, and 13% more in city property tax. Since the city's and county's property tax rates aren't too far away from each other, you'll have a roughly 27% higher property tax bill.

Then your bill will also go up according to however much value your property gained.

So, as we can see, even if property tax rates are to be kept at a level so they're "revenue neutral" (as if any of our local governments can do anything but expand,) this revaluation is going to put more burden on some people and take it off of others. I can only imagine that the number of people who are hurt by it will far outnumber those who benefit.

The media outlets around here should be crunching these numbers, and not simply say things like "some neighborhoods will pay less on county and municipal tax bills, and others will have to pick up the tab." These are things that affect people's daily lives.

"Sorry, We Don't Have Money for Your Doggie Bag"

"However, we will fine you if you don't pick up after your dog."

That's the message out of a recent StarNews article.

Faced with looming budget cuts, it's possible the city of Wilmington's parks department could dump more, if not all, of its dog poop stations.

Some of the stations for disposing of dog waste have already been removed as a cost-saving measure.

Kevin McRill, of Wilmington, found that out the hard way on one of his usual runs along the Riverwalk with his lab. The station behind the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce that he usually uses to dispose of his dog's droppings was gone.

"I think they've got better places to cut money than doggie bags," he said. "I think it makes no sense at all."

Firstly, there are no "looming budget cuts." This year's budget is 4.2% higher than last year's budget and that's been the general trend for many years (in fact, the general trend is higher than 4.2%, but we'll leave that for another day.)

Secondly, Mr. McRill is right. They have many better places to cut than doggie bags, especially if they're going to fine people for not picking up after their dogs.

[Nina Johnston, parks superintendent] said last year the cost of supplies and labor for maintaining the more than 40 stations in the city was about $30,000.

"And that's crazy," she added.

Yes, that is crazy.

Let's put aside the fact that we could probably save millions by privatizing parks maintenance. Let's put aside that we would probably thousands upon thousands by effectively auditing all of the Parks Department's purchases. Let's just assume this is a completely reasonable cost and things couldn't be done anymore cheaply.

Are these stations worth having?

Well, one way to tell is to compare it to other things we spend our money on:

• $1M on the Home Ownership program. Through this program we give second mortgages to people making up to 120% of the area median income. The delinquency rate for this program is 5x the local average.
• We spend about $250k on the Red Light Camera program. Yes, folks, we lose money on it and nationwide it these systems have been found to increase accidents.
• We'll be spending about $1.9M on a second golf course which has drainage issues. That's $.5M for the purchase, $.8M for the drainage issues and $.6M to give us our glorious walking paths and other miscellaneous improvements.
• We paid an Ohio company $143k to tell us which roads to pave when our Roads budget is only $1M for the year.

This totally ignores the savings we'd find by having public employees pay half for their benefits.

So, the point is, yes, there are plenty of other places to cut than this, especially if you're going to fine people $250 for not picking up after their dogs.

This article does, however, bring up a subtler point about why it is always better to have the private sector provide something than the public sector.

If this were all private, people could protest with their dollars and either the company providing the service would get the message or potentially go out of business. In the public sector, it's much more difficult, especially when you have people like our current city council running the show.

Is it possible to privatize parks?

Yes, in fact, the majority of Tokyo's parks are private. There is a website devoted entirely to the concept. NJ Governor Chris Christie is currently pushing for public private partnerships in state parks. So, yes, like anything, it can be provided by the private sector.

The danger is that once the government gets into something it makes it more difficult for the private sector to compete, because anything run or owned by the government has an inherent advantage.

At the bare minimum, we need to look into privatizing our parks' maintenance.

New Hanover County: Land Speculator

Apparently, New Hanover County owns nearly 4,000 acres of property, much of which is vacant.

Just from a brief look at this website, I'd say a conservative value to put most undeveloped property at in New Hanover County would be $50k/acre. I'd imagine developed land would go for even more.

Now, this is just a back of the napkin calculation, but I would not be surprised if the value of the government-owned land is over $200M. Now, of course, some land is probably being used for legitimate government functions, but I'd bet (wait, no, I know) a whole lot is not.

StarNews:

New Hanover County owns almost 4,000 acres of property containing cemeteries, museums, office buildings, parking lots and an array of other entities.

There’s also quite a bit of vacant land[...]

Shell cautioned Berger not to link the potential purchase of the bowling alley building to any other property the county owns, saying the deal “should stand in its own merits.”

“It’s very short-sighted to sell property that may have value in the future,” he told Berger.

Yes, folks, it's not that the land could be used for something; it's that it could be valued at something in the future. Don't you love when local government officials act like land speculators with your money?

[P]ointing to that list of property, Shell said each of the nearly 200 parcels has a use.

That includes property the county owns that has remained vacant for years.

There are lots purchased for parks and recreation space that
can’t be developed until the county seeks private donations or state grants, said Jim McDaniel, who heads the county’s Parks department.

Eighty-five acres are set aside to expand the new Smith Creek Park off Harris Road, for example. The land was purchased this year, but it will likely be years before anything is built there. Additional land sits for the expansion of Castle Hayne Park, too.

[...]The county also has majority interest in about 60 acres off Independence Boulevard, known as Bryan Farms, that sits in a trust with strict guidelines. McDaniel said the county can only use the area for farming or gardening functions, and he and other staff are exploring options for it.

“It just has great potential for this community,” he said.

Yes, folks, the local government may get involved in farming. Does anyone remember how this worked out for Russia or China? Of course, in this case, the government wouldn't be the only supplier of food, but do they not realize that if they enter into private business they crowd out private firms?

Vacant land also remains where a library on Northchase parkway is supposed to be built. The land, about 3 acres, was purchased in 1996.

Shell said many other parcels were purchased before they are ready for development to avoid paying more for them in later years.

“Spend a little money, save a lot more,” he said. “That’s what I’m all about.”

Does anyone fell like telling Bruce Shell that the real estate market is still going down? Thanks for all your prudent investment, Bruce. How about you take the losses next time?

The county also holds the deeds to several small tracts of land that were foreclosed because of unpaid property taxes.

All of those tracts are less than half an acre, and Shell said there aren’t many uses for them. He said the county will work with Wilmington officials to determine if any of the larger of
the parcels can be used for low income housing or economic development uses.

Yes, low income housing. More central planning. Nevermind that "affordable housing," which this seems to be, has proven to be a disaster wherever it goes. (Pruitt-Igoe anyone?) Shell doesn't even seem to realize that selling the parcels could allow the county to reduce its tax burden, which is the number one factor correlated with economic growth.
No, economic growth can only come as a result of the actions of our glorious central planners.

He’s [Catlin] also interested in opportunities for the county’s airport land, in an area called a foreign trade zone. “It could also be a launching pad for more international business,” Catlin said.

I had heard of this "foreign trade zone" before and thought it seemed like just another lofty idea. Then I happened to read a story about foreign trade zones just the other day and they seemed like a really great idea. They're a way around some more burdensome government restrictions on trade. Here's some info on them.

County commissioners will soon decide on the fate of another vacant property – a government building at 320 Chestnut St. that used to house the Public Defender’s Office and other departments.

The building has sat vacant for more than a year since a water leak and subsequent asbestos issues dislocated the
departments.

Shell said he’ll present a feasibility study for repairing and renovating the building to commissioners in January.

Jason Thompson has said that if this building were knocked down he would actually like to see the county build a totally new building in its place. This is some of the most valuable land in the county. It's right downtown, and we don't collect property taxes on it because it's publicly owned. Does this make sense to anyone?

So what, if anything, would the county manager choose to let go from the government’s inventory?

The first and practically only thing Shell mentioned
in an interview Friday was the Lucile Shuffler building at 2011 Carolina Beach Road.

[...]“I’m not anxious to sell anything,” Shell said.

Is anyone surprised? He has no incentive to sell anything. Every piece of land he owns, every dollar in the government budget elevates his status. You, however, have an incentive to get people with this mentality out of office.

Wilmington Post-Election Meltdown

Once again, those idealists with dreams of serving the best interest of the local citizen, with well thought plans of budget-saving measures and tax relief, were put in their place by a small band of voters armed with nothing more than the desperate desire for status.

"...and the best part is, they don't even care that we're milking this town dry!"

As the numbers rolled in at the New Hanover County Government Center last night, it became clear what motivates the typical Wilmington voter. One would think that an incumbent whose legacy is swanky junkets on the taxpayer dime would be turned out handily by voters. Not so fast - this is Wilmington, after all. Laura Padgett, the timeless fixture on Wilmington City Council likes to travel on public money so much, that a new set of rules had to be enacted to keep her in check. After going through all of the council's budget for travel, she demanded more - since her presence at the International Shoelace Makers BBQ, Wine Tasting, and Beauty Pageant in Aukland, New Zealand is imperative to our very economic survival here in the Cape Fear region (or is it the Riverfront Beaches and Island Coastal Estuaries and Salty Marshlands and Bad Traffic and Roads region? I always forget...).

However, the opinion was clear that voting Padgett had its social benefits. Pity the poor sap who dares go against the grain and vote an outsider. This is the very purpose of our elections, after all - one must demonstrate one's worth in the social arena. Can you imagine attending the annual Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend Ball at the Cape Fear Country Club next year and not have a history of Padgett votes to your credit? Ahh... the horror. One may be inclined to think that such a person has no place amongst the elite establishment. Social suicide indeed.

The queen of last night's ball was none other than Madam Margaret Haynes, draped in designer fare from head to toe, with cheeks armed and willing to receive the barrage of showy kisses from the ostentatious gallery of  artificial idiots. Haynes, who has proudly proclaimed that those who do not support her fail to do so simply because of their intellectual deficits and departure from intelligence, was ensconced by a faithful entourage of 60-something look-alikes, short silvery hair and gaudy jewelry sure to lure onlookers into a false sense of intellectuality. Those who believe in the heresies of limited government and fiscal constraint, are nothing but hapless peasants who are to be treated with the greatest disdain, and offer little social reward in entertaining; and social reward is the driving force behind Haynes. With her signature dark beady eyes and painfully forced smile she searches high and low for it - as do the loyal dolts that could not wait to replant her once again on city council for four more years of pretentious fabulousness.

Neil Anderson, the newest import on the social totem pole made his concessions early to the round table of kingmakers, and was swept into office ala O'Grady. Anderson, who speaks in slow Southern tenor, played the part of a working class conservative well throughout his quest for social.... errr... political office. Even well-known local conservatives were heard vouching for his name on the ballot. However, a simple glance at Anderson's campaign reports reveal the truth. The same wealth and power machine with pure disgust for anything conservative and fiscally responsible funded the entire Anderson affair. In fact, Anderson's reports read almost identical to none other than Padgett and Madam Haynes. Support such as this almost guarantees one a seat at the table, but does not come cheap. Those seasoned power brokers that hold out campaign cash in exchange for favorable representation are far too experienced to make the mistake of accidentally supporting someone with true conservative integrity.

One could not help but also notice the obvious display of  kinship and alliance between the Anderson and Haynes camps throughout the campaign. Poll volunteers report each candidate's campaign team pitching for one another at early voting locations. Haynes, known for her utter contempt for all things conservative, would never align with someone she would describe as a dirty unintellectual conservative simpleton. Therefore, the Anderson charade must be called into question, as this was certainly his effort in making nice with the elitist snob cartel in order to curry favor in local social circles.

And of course, like time-honored clockwork, the Saffo coronation ceremony was in full swing at last night's event. Perfectly timed with the flash of fawning media cameras, King and Queen Saffo made their grand entrance, expertly working through the crowd of desperate socialites praying for a chance to kiss a ring, cheek, hand - anything - just to be seen among their peers and idols. Queen Saffo was loyally positioned at Herr Billy's side, marionette strings hardly showing, shooting off plastic smiles and accolades - endless hours of rehearsal paying off dividends to that effect. Media robots scurried over each other for the chance to garner favor with their masters with a chance shot of glorious pomp and circumstance - or a couple of witty one-liners, for the sad masses that vicariously prove their worth with pseudo-celebrity mush.

The revelation that Saffo stands to personally profit from the current Skyway Bridge plans had zero effect on his cred as the glittering, shiny-haired superstar of local fame. The desperate throngs dutifully rushed to the polls to proclaim their unyielding support for photo ops and ribbon cuttings.

It didn't take long for the Monday morning quarterbacking to begin Wednesday morning. One morning talk radio show featured the same weekly media hack, positioned for this occasion as an "expert", analyzing why newcomer conservatives such as Joshua Fulton came up short in the race. The agreed upon diagnosis was that he was assumed among voters as being the city council equivalent to Commissioner Brian Berger; conveniently ignoring the historical fact that all outsiders that don't fit the cloned mold of social stalwart and willing idiot to the great power structure of the Wilmington political complex are rejected by voters in Wilmington. Where is the great social payoff in electing someone that isn't a Gold-level member of the Cameron Art Museum? What is to be gained by a limited government candidate not seen at the head table of the GWBJ Power Breakfast events? Someone not affiliated with WID would be a waste of time. After all, what are local elections about if not to serve as a referendum on who carries the most societal credit?

Congratulations Wilmington. You have once again proved without a doubt that you are nothing but an unoriginal mass of society whores, with nothing short of pure disdain for factual and calculated voting based on choosing the best fresh perspectives to solve the issues that face us everyday. A conservative candidate not chosen in this circus of plastic pageantry should hold their head high, and take pride in their intact character.

The Gloves Come Off: Unfounded Accusations - Wilmington Council Race

It appears that all of the political unrest and animosity that seems to pervade the air we breathe these days, has also settled upon our small corner of America here in Wilmington, and surrounds our city council race. Something never encountered by this writer has also made its appearance. An attack site has been set up to feebly attempt to denigrate and discredit a newcomer to local politics, challenger Joshua Fulton.

Usually sites of this regard are aimed at informing voters of incumbents' records and challenging their veracity on the campaign trail. Some sites in this vein carry a lot of merit, since they can provide a comprehensive analysis on an incumbent's voting record, and draw comparisons between historical fact, and a politically populist message. Such sites can be a quite useful tool in politics, given they are heavy on fact, and light on hyperbole.

However, the website in question at this moment is an abject reversal of such a formula. TheRealJoshuaFulton.com (TRJF) is a caricature of political rhetoric, paranoid fantasy, and hyperbolic dreck. Obviously, the writer goes to incredible lengths to maintain his anonymity; lest he be found out and ridiculed for such insane delusions. Besides efforts to concoct "evidence" that supposedly has  Fulton in bed with everyone from radical Islam to Big Labor (also ironically chastising him for his anti-statist views opposing union control), TRJF takes specific aim at yours truly.

If one didn't realize that TRJF was a serious effort to sway the council elections, one may find its claims and accusations humorous, if not downright satirical. However, as it stands, the intent to be serious results in a lot of effort to string together a cornucopia of outlandish, preposterous, and quite psychotic incoherence.

The latest posting from TRJF has The Alliance for a Better Local Economy and myself colluding to control Fulton in a nefarious scheme to exact the evils of better fiscal control of tax dollars, removing burdensome regulations that hinder organic free market business growth, and ridding local government of insider maneuvering that results in corrupt backroom dealings such as what has been now discovered involving our local ABC board. TRJF charges that I myself has the hooks in Fulton, and in fact it is I, not Fulton, that voters would be electing should he win a seat on city council.

Some of Ben McCoy’s positions have  validity, there is no doubt there, but if you vote for Joshua Fulton, you are actually electing Ben McCoy.  Fulton will just push whatever buttons that McCoy and ABLE desire to be pushed.  Fulton will not be an independent thinker.      

Never mind the fact that I have contributed no money to Fulton, or any other candidate's campaign. It is nothing more than my swagger and charm that persuades the pliable Joshua Fulton to adhere to my wishes, and carry out my bidding. It certainly isn't that I discovered Fulton along with everyone else while closely watching the council race, and decided that I agreed with his fiscally conservative platform.

It gets even more deranged. The writer produces a letter written recently by Fulton to city employees, that among its many paragraphs, contains the word "profligate". This is then compared to a letter written to city council by myself about a year ago, in which I use the word "profligate" as well. In the irrational and muddled mind of the blog writer, this is apparently hard evidence that I wrote both letters.

The same word, the rarely used word PROFLIGATE appears in both letters.  Now, either Ben McCoy wrote both letters, or both he and Fulton enjoy using this word in their “letters”.  We, at therealjoshuafulton.com don’t believe in such coincidences.  Writing styles are fairly ingrained personality traits.  It is our belief that McCoy wrote both letters.

Why the word "letters" appears in quotes, is anyone's guess. But more importantly, the only thing that any of this proves is that the writer of this blog, in all of his rigidly protected anonymity and ambiguity, has a severe deficiency in vocabulary. One can instantly see a clear definition in writing style of both letters, and it is incredibly clear that the two letters were not written by the same hand. The use of the word "profligate" is not noteworthy in any way, and highlighting the use of the word as some sort of evidence that the two letters were written by myself is hilarious.

I would assume that I don't have to say it, but for the record, I had nothing at all to do with Fulton's letter, nor any aspect of his campaign in any way, other than planting a few yard signs.

The cherry on top, is that Fulton is a teacher of creative writing at UNCW. If anything, he should be the one to craft both letters, given his expertise in the practice. I consider myself a student of the written language, and embrace words as my palette. I strive to utilize words that correctly capture the spirit of my views, and enjoy using words that could be considered somewhat uncommon. However, I would not consider the word "profligate" as such - making this entire subject all the more comical.

The clear platform over at TRJF is that of protecting public sector jobs, salaries, and benefits for all within the city. The blogger all but reveals his position as a either an active or retired public employee. This paints a clear picture as to why the sites are set squarely on Fulton as being the sum of all evils in this current election cycle. Fulton's fiscally conservative views are deemed as the ultimate threat, as his position on council could lead to a reduction in duplicative or underperforming staff, minor cuts to city-contributed benefits in some cases, or other efforts to gain more prudent stewardship of the citizen's tax dollars. To the writer of TRJF, this is the ultimate crime, and Fulton must be stopped.

Fulton has made it clear that his intention is not to layoff public safety workers, or cut the salaries of firefighters and police officers who make a mere $32,000 a year. The waste exists in the administrative side, where it is not uncommon for a department within the inner sanctum of city government to have an average salary in the six digit range, when their private sector counterparts make half or even less than that. And even then, he has also clarified that his approach would not be a wide swath of cuts, but a targeted effort to clearly quantify where waste exists.

Fulton's message is gaining very positive traction among the voting population, who are realizing that they are contributing huge sums of money into a system where extravagant salaries and benefits are common; whereas they themselves are struggling to make ends meet in this dire economy. To the faceless minions of TRJF, this is viewed as a threat to their own gravy train, and warrants a last ditch desperate and pathetic effort to undermine Fulton with wild incoherent rambling devoid of logic.

So who is behind TRJF? Clearly, no citizen without any skin in the game would go this far, enthusiastically risking their reputation and credibility to this extent; even vigorously crossing the line into the realm of libel and slander to try and demonize a non-incumbent private citizen running for political office. Even someone as intellectually limited as the folks over at TRJF could see that this site exists to promote a certain mindset to the office of city council. While TRJF is far too cowardly to expose themselves, they cannot help but to offer insight as to who they are with this:

Fulton and his cronies have accused Mayor Saffo and other Democrats of publishing this site, and in their paranoia they state, “This is the old Wilmington Guard fighting to retain power.”  This site endorses no political candidate for City Council, there are 3 seats up for grabs and the Mayor.  This site endorses no incumbent, or new candidate.  We can also tell you that this site is most certainly not run by the “Wilmington Elite”.  Quite the contrary.

First, neither myself, nor any other of Fulton's supporters that I have encountered has ever accused Mayor Saffo, or any of his supporters of operating this blog. Saffo is far too intelligent and smooth to lower himself to such unfounded and deranged rambling. Likewise, no one has ever claimed it is the "old Wilmington Guard". TRJF actually manufactures for itself notoriety in claiming that conversations such as these exist, where Fulton's supporters are out there talking about who may be behind it. In fact, the day I discovered TRJF for the first time, the site talked about me discussing who may be behind it. I found that strange, knowing that I was discovering it for the first time at that moment.

TRJF could never be construed as an effort by the Louise McColl controlled aspect of the city council race such as Mayor Saffo; nor an establishment candidate, and seasoned politician such as Haynes, Padgett, or Sparks. The message of TRJF does not in any way coincide with that of Neil Anderson or Napier Fuller, and is far too combative to be affiliated with Ricky Meeks. Frank Meares is basically in agreement with Fulton on platform, and is obviously not behind it. Matt Hinson? A retired city worker for 30 years, who has shared concern about the "plight" of the government worker? Hinson remains the solitary question mark regarding TRJF, and these things have a funny way of coming to light. The coming weeks will be very eventful I predict.

Meanwhile, if some disturbed pseudo-blogger claims that Fulton both worships the devil, and is simultaneously an atheist; while working toward a nuclear Iran, and cementing Big Labor control over every aspect of our lives, while at the same time being a radical anarchist - don't believe the PROFLIGATE hype.