The head of the New Hanover County Republican Party criticized New Hanover County Board of Commissioners Chair Beth Dawson for her vote that removed fellow commissioner Woody White from a board governing Cape Fear Community College.
In a press release sent out shortly after the Monday, Jan. 4 vote, the county party said that Dawson, a Republican, has “compromised her GOP values.”
“This time the damage will be very costly to taxpayers,” the release stated.
Dawson joined Democratic vice-chairman Jonathan Barfield Jr. and commissioner Rob Zapple for a complete slate of board appointments for the commissioners, including a seat on the Cape Fear Community College Board of Trustees. Barfield also replaced White on the college’s long-range planning committee.
“It was the right thing to do for the community,” Dawson said. “It was time for a change.”
Dawson said White’s votes were sometimes in opposition to the board’s majority opinion, as well as the public’s approval of bond funding for college projects like the Humanities and Fine Arts Center.
“The public voted overwhelmingly to support the investment into the college,” she said.
During the meeting, White asked to remain on the board and expressed the value that his membership brings.
“I see tremendous value in continuity and longevity. Not perpetuity, but longevity,” White said. “The first year was a steep learning curve. But I learned about the budget, and how it works. I pushed to save over $1 million in taxpayer money.”
White described how he asked for a breakdown of the college’s institutional budget, which was originally only presented as a line item for $6 million.
“I do see some value in rotating from time to time, but I see more value in learning how the complex boards work,” he said.
White asked Barfield to yield and allow him to stay on the board. However, Barfield said that in a conversation last year among the board of commissioners, White indicated he would be willing to step aside from the college’s board.
White replied that he made no agreement to step aside from the board in prior commissioner discussions.
Barfield cited several reasons why he wanted to join the college’s board of trustees, including the fact that there are no black members on the board.
“This board of commissioners has not seen fit to appoint anyone of color since I’ve served here for the past seven years. There’s not one person of color serving on the board of trustees,” Barfield said.
Most appointments to the more than 30 boards and committees to which commissioners are members stayed the same. White retained his seat on the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, the Wilmington/New Hanover County Port, Waterway and Beach Commission and the Legion Stadium Commission.
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