Jill Patton has won over Harry Hipps in overwhelming fashion by a 2:1 margin in Ward 6 as has Hank Guess over Z. Anne Hoyle in Ward 4. The only precinct that has not been reported is Sandy Ridge, in which only 38 votes were cast.
Here is the breakdown of the totals:
The Hounds Objective point of view - This city is what it is. It is a city where ideas take a backseat to status. In my opinion that is what has led to the malaise. Look at how we keep electing Republicans to state positions just because they are registered Republicans, when they have done nothing to promote our area's cause in Raleigh and people are told to wait their turn.
These candidates are the winners and they will be our leaders for the next four years. They probably think the Hound's over and this whole thing was geared towards this election. Well, there is always a silver lining, because now Harry is going to be able to help me more with this blog and I have had another person come forward that wants to help also. So now I can work on some even more complex issues. It ain't about the horse race. It's about governance.
Look how many RINOs we have in this area. Real Republicans believe in individual freedom. That is the reason why the Republican Party is dead, because the GOP wants to pick winners and losers based on a caste system. We used to be a Meritocracy, now it's about nepotism, cronyism, and out and out corruption. Look at the comments from people on this blog, where people state that this city is so Status Quo. Clue 1 - It ain't only me folks.
My true feelings about this election - Someone said that Jill Patton wasn't running against Harry. That she was running against me. It takes a really lower IQ for someone to think that. Harry Hipps is one of the smartest people I have ever known. To think that he was espousing my ideas alone, belittles him, insults my integrity, and shows a truly simple mind. Look to the right of this blog and see that he is a listed contributor.
When it comes to Mrs. Patton, I know that I have been overly critical of her at times. I have allowed her to voice her grievances with me. She is approachable and does listen to those people at the neighborhood meetings and I think they supported that today. But, she is going to have to become a leader with her own ideas, agenda, and stand out on her own sometimes.
Come on out here on the plank with us sometime Jill and feel it. It can be more stress than one can bear, but avant garde has so much more meaning than status quo. That is why 1% of us look at this city as clueless, but 1% ain't gonna win no elections, and 7% ain't gonna get anything substantive done (that total equals the 8% who even care enough to vote).
Harry Hipps has been a close friend to me for 25 years - through good times and bad. If the knuckle dragging rich elite in this community can't figure out that we are just as intelligent as them, then that is their loss. We are victims of your Steak 'n Shake, Chick-fil-a, Bojangles, fast food economy. I heard some elitists say that Harry's just a Pretzel Maker. Harry has run that store for over 5 years and has grown the company in double-digit percentages annually since he took it over. How many businessmen can say that in this area. And the rent in that little space he works in is over $5,000 per month. He does honest work and no one like that sits on that council, so the average person once again goes unrepresented.
Harry did work for Brett Self at Stone Hearth Bakery before that. Brett is a graduate of the CIA (Culinary Institute of America for the Brain Challenged Bourgeois). Brett couldn't make a go of it, because people can get the Cream filled Krispy Kreme donuts so much cheaper than them thangs he called Cannoli's. So Brett had to move away to Atlanta. Typical talent loss here in the home of "It's better than nuthin." People in this area want Fat (I mean Fast) Food. That is how L-R got that grant, because we have instituted the Golden Corral, J&S mentality as part of our culture, which is no culture.
Look at myself. I never talk about my own educational achievements on this blog. I have a degree in Economics and Finance from UNC-Wilmington. Folks, that isn't an easy degree to obtain. And I have a degree in Culinary Arts from Central Piedmont Community College, which is one of the best Community College Culinary programs in the country. My cumulative Grade Point Average in obtaining that degree was a perfect 4.0. I earned a Presidential (as in United States) honor during my time there for my academics. That ain't braggin', It's just the facts.
Yet, here in Rudyville I can't utilize my skills, because no one wants anything other than fast food. You know your Country Clubs, fast food, whether you like hearing that or not. And anyway, there isn't anyone here that I really care to work for any more, because they don't want to pay you a living wage. They don't respect chef's here in the Chicken Wing and Ranch Dressing capital of the world. (Sorry I had to digress for context, back to the subject)
I love talking politics and life with Harry, because he is a well rounded person, who is comfortable in his own skin. He is a statesman. Anyone who speaks with him will understand that. He, like myself, isn't only a listener. And folks we are definitely not of one mind. He is an assimilator. He draws off of what others say and their experiences to increase the own contexts of his human being. Talking with him tonight, he chalked it up to an experience and a life lesson. He would like to have won, but as he said, "it is what it is." I like when he says, "If you keep doing what your doing, you're going to get what you've got." Hickory, your reality awaits you.
Frankly, I don't have a good feeling about this City Council and it isn't because Harry lost. I meant what I said. These people look at being on that Council as a position of status and not a position of leadership. There are a couple of people on there who have leadership capabilities, but they weren't up for election this time, and capabilities aren't necessarily abilities. These people don't even seem to care that only about 1 in 12 registered voters turned out, as long as they won. That's all that matters to them and to me that is sad.
It is upsetting to me the way that the Mayor said this Council was all of one mind, which most of us who pay attention interpreted as "in it together" back in July, when they all announced at the same time. It wasn't long before some of them just threw Z. Anne Hoyle under the bus with no support. That shows their principles. Look at how Mrs. Patton supported Hank Guess in a very public way and I also have been told that Mrs. Fox was talking him up in public. I honestly do appreciate how Mayor Wright stayed above such purely political posturing. I think that is going to always stick out in my mind, because I think that Ms. Hoyle is a very kind lady. Even if she was going to lose, she deserved better treatment than what she got in the end. Mark my words that that is always going to be remembered. If you weren't going to support Ms. Hoyle, then state it from the get-go.
Hank Guess is a hot commodity, the golden boy, but is he going to be able to live up to the billing. I can promise you that if he follows in the footsteps of Sally, like Jill has, then he is going to really hate being an Alderman, because he is going to be called on it from some of his most ardent supporters. Hank says he wants to represent all of the Ward. Well Hank, you are supposed to represent the whole city. Soon, feet may be meeting fire.
I have been in lockstep with no Alder and I have admitted where I agree and disagree with each of them. But, I do not pretend to be one of them and this isn't about my relationship with any of them. It is about their governance of Hickory. We need real jobs and economic development in this area and anything that goes against that will not work. "Buy Local" doesn't work if we aren't producing things locally and this city is not going to be revived on Mom and Pop retail stores. We need ingenuity and innovation. Will Hank and company help foster a New Hickory or will he fall in line with Old Hickory's entrenched interests and clique mentality?
To be continued....
2 comments:
Hound, you seem a little bitter in this rant. Surely you've lived here long enough to understand that the city of Hickory is run out of the Lake Hickory Country Club. If I lived in Hickory, just reading the sound bites, I would have voted for Harry, but it's very difficult for someone to come from outside that power structure without city connections and support to win a seat. If he runs again, I think he would be better served if he declared himself a political independent. I would do whatever it takes to distance myself from the conservative republican leadership that has fought so hard to maintain their Old South status in this town.
You are right. I am bitter. I have been throughout this whole charade and i am going to move away from the bitterness and work to change the backward culture and mindset of this city.
We don't have conservatism around here. We have a caste system. We have people who declare their political positions for convenience, but they do not represent the ideals of those institutions.
The Republican Party here in Catawba County is a joke for the most part. I have talked to Bill Shillito and I think he is trying to get it back on the right track, but there are "Old South" obstacles that he will have to tackle and I wonder if anyone will ever be willing to tackle those, and until they are then the economics of this area will continue to implode.
Republican and maintaining, meddling, and micro-managing are not congruent statements. You cannot have individual freedom and rights, if you have the above things going on. And doing those things stifles creativity, ingenuity, and entrepreneurship.
The realities of the new world demands that you shed the Old Structure of Hickory. And that is going to be a hard fight.
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