Voters, remember leadership flaws
If you are registered Republican or Unaffiliated, please exercise your right to vote on May 6 and do not think your vote doesn’t matter. For some reason, several of the county commissioners want to see Salisbury crumble. They say “NO” to funding for improvements to Salisbury and Rowan County that would provide economic benefits and then use their blogs, posing as a legitimate news sources, to spread lies, attack businesses and try to give Salisbury a bad reputation.
While I am extremely happy to have moved here and have become a part of Salisbury, I was made aware of this flaw in leadership fairly quickly. Despite these attacks, I have fallen in love with Salisbury and Rowan County and the people that live, work and play here. Salisbury is the heart of Rowan County. So, this doesn’t just hurt Salisbury, it hurts all of Rowan County. There is a desperate need for change in leadership at the County Level. Please educate yourself and go vote.
I have been involved with La Resistance for a few weeks now. I have been impressed with the integrity and the passion this group has for the entire county. Despite lies and rumors, we do not pull up political signs or hack Facebook accounts. We respect those candidates’ business and personal lives. But when it comes to making important decisions, we have to consider all the relative facts.
We have interviewed and identified candidates who, with a plan, are devoted wisely allocating tax payer dollars for Education, Health of the citizens, and making Rowan County more attractive to businesses and new residents. What they don’t approve of is using your dollars to pay $2 million too much for a dilapidated shopping mall that will create further tax-payer burden for renovations and upkeep in the future.
Please include stopthemalltax.com in your research.
— Eric Phillips
Mocksville

Register of deeds
I would like to ask John Brindle to explain his values. He was a Republican and then registered to be a Democrat to be appointed as register of deeds. He lost his first race for that same position and then went out and changed his registration to Republican so that you could run in the Republican primary. It appears that he is more interested in a political party to get a job, than in the party’s values or in the actual job as register of deeds.
— Vicki Horn
Salisbury

A tireless worker
I have known Jim Sides since we were both commissioners.
It did not take long before I came to admire Jim for his character and his concern for all citizens in our fine county, not to mention he is a tireless worker. Though I no longer live in Rowan, I still work here and am interested in its wellbeing. This is why I fully support his re-election.
There is no one more diligent and prepared in all projects than Jim. The word “trustworthy” comes to mind when I recall his service on the board together. I would trust Jim with my last dollar.
Much has been discussed concerning the purchase of the mall and the location of the schools’ central office. It makes no sense to locate the central office downtown, where construction cost would be higher and parking would be limited. With this in mind, Jim, in informal talks, offered the Belk’s portion of the mall to the school system at no cost. The offer included funding for upfitting the building and moving expenses and, best of all, parking would never be a problem.
The schools’ leadership did not consider this offer because they wanted to be downtown. This offer alone would go a long way toward the justification of the mall purchase. Do we spend north of $7 million downtown, with limited parking, or allow the school to be at the mall at much less expense and still have plenty of room for the county as needs occur?
This is the kind of clear and reasonable economic thinking that Jim possesses.
I also admire his courage regarding the issue of prayer. Many elected officials across our nation have headed for the tall grass when threatened by the pagan forces of the world. Not Jim.
Please support and vote for Jim Sides.
— Jim Cohen
Trinity
Time well spent?
Rowan County has made not only national news but international news as well over the missing Erica Parsons case. This is a sad and serious case.
Our Rowan County Sheriff’s Office is in charge of this case. What is happening with this investigation?
I see that the sheriff has time to campaign and do fundraisers, even using another political candidate (Det. John Brindle) to assist in the fundraisers, cooking and promoting their own gain.
Couldn’t Erica Parsons and other victims of violent crimes be better served? With all the crime in my home town, I believe that the Sheriff’s Office should put crime prevention on top of the to-do list.
— Dani Burris
Seneca, S.C.

Watch the video
If you intend on voting in the Republican primary, I would like to encourage you to watch the video of the County Commissioner Candidate Forum that was held at Catawba College on April 15. I attended the forum and found it very informative.
Personally, I found Greg Edds to be the most rational and articulate candidate. He is passionate about tackling the key issues.
I also found him to be level-headed, respectful and civil. He is a breath of fresh air and I believe he will make a fantastic Rowan County commissioner.
But you need not take my word for it. Take 30 minutes or so and watch some of the video for yourself. It can be found on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3RNzOyChYk. Or, simply go to www.salisburypost.com, click on “Interactive” and go to “Video.”

— Bryan Overcash
Salisbury

The candidate forum is also being shown on Time Warner Access 16 in the Salisbury area at 6 p.m. each evening before the primary on Tuesday.