Charlotte, NC – County Commissioner Bill James has filed for re-election for county district seat 6. In a recent interview James spoke about what he considers being his greatest accomplishment over the past 14 years mentioning his role in changing the policy of CMS busing plan. This issue took place during his early days as an elected official.
James was first elected in to office in 1996 after two failed bids for City Council. In a mostly republican district he describes himself as a conservative working to promote fiscal responsibility for the county. When asked what is the most important issue facing Char-Meck in this current election he stated
He also states that the board that is to be elected during this political cycle will be responsible for the redrawing of the new district lines that is required every ten years.
James played a major role in the decision of putting the county on a “debt diet” by writing letters to the national credit reporting agencies that assign credit scores to municipalities. According to James, the credit scoring agencies threatened to downgrade Mecklenburg County’s credit score by several levels if they did not reign in their spending.
The county commissioners are responsible for allocating money to CMS (approx 1/3 of their annual budget), public libraries, parks and recreation, CPCC and the building of a new jail on Spector Drive. The changes on the bond allowances will force the elimination of as much as 75% of the CMS projects currently in their 10-year plan. The financing of the new jail expansion is expected to cost around $220 million over four years.
“Char-Meck has been fiscally irresponsible over the past decade that they are going to face a hangover for many years to come”.
- Bill James, Charlotte City Council
Commissioner James is a CPA by trade but no longer has an active license in North Carolina. He is the father of four children ranging in age from 11 to 22. He has been a critic of the CMS system stating that they are not good stewards of their finances. He made reference to the $16 million that was allocated to Marie G. Davis school for improvements. The school had few students and has since been converted into a military leadership school. James feels that CMS allocated monies to inner city schools in order to placate the districts stating that “politicians want to keep everyone happy”.
Commissioner James was recently involved in a controversy surrounding the debate on domestic partnership benefits debate. He was overheard asking fellow commissioner Vilma Leake if her son, who had dies of AIDS, was a “homo.” James felt it was unnecessary to apologize for something that was not meant with ill intent. He says he was just using the term for homosexuals that he was familiar with. James is opposed to offering county employees domestic partner benefits due to the fact that in North Carolina engaging in homosexual sex is still considered a crime.
The implementation of the domestic partner benefits program according to James would cost the county around $500,000 a year and during this economic environment this is not the time to add cost. He also feels that the way the policy is structured it is open to abuse. When pressed on the issue of whether or not abuse is also an issue in traditional marriages he admitted that yes there will be people that take advantage of any thing.
On the last topic of conversation, what did James think about public officials tweeting, texting or emailing during sessions? While he did not say it was wrong, he did feel it was open to misinterpretation and that he does not engage in it.
Larry Shannon, running for County Commissioner at large. Believes it is a time for change in our government. All the people are suffering. It is time for new ideas, inclusion of new people with creative approaches that will deal with the needs of all the people. My professional experience is wide range, and have all been challenging from financial and strategic planning capabilitis along with tactical decision making skills. And my passion is serving and being a voice for the people.
Reporters Note: Bill James is running unopposed in this race.
I must agree with most of the views of Bill James. Only thing I would add is allocations to Marie G. Davis school for improvements. These type schools could serve a purpose. Those students we are losing in other schools, rather than kicking them out. Let’s send them to a sort of boot camp, where they can be evaluated, we can work with the students and the families to at least give them the basic skills they need to survive in today’s society. I would rather see them there than the county Jail or the state system.