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The
Watauga County Democratic Party held its annual convention Saturday,
energized by last fall’s victory in three commissioners’
races.
The
party elected its officers for the year, including a new chair,
Diane Tilson. She worked on her first local campaign in 2000, and
has served on steering committees for both county commissioners
and Boone town council members. She has served on the county planning
board and is currently vice-chair and has served as vice-chair of
the party’s executive committee since 2001. Tilson replaced
Sue Sweeting.
Tilson
said the party’s goal should be to reelect commissioner Billy
Ralph Winkler, whose term will be up in 2006, and to gain the other
two seats currently held by Republicans. She said the party should
also try to keep the clerk of court’s office, which will be
contested in the next general election.
“We
need to build our county base upward and outward,” she said,
and urged the party to pursue victories in the state General Assembly
races and find a candidate to unseat U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx in
the Fifth District.
She
said the voter base should remain energized by putting people in
key roles and to maintain precinct-level enthusiasm. “We must
stay true to what the Democratic Party stands for,” she said.
Commission
chair Jim Deal served as keynote speaker for the convention. He
said the Democratic Party is the party asking “Is there a better
way?”
He
reviewed key issues which he said turned the last election. He said
education was important to the county’s voters and its future.
“We need a commitment that is more than just words,” he
said.
Deal
supported long-range planning and making decisions on how to pay
for a renovated high school. It said it would be an interesting
budget year, with requests that will probably be twice what the
county could spend. “Education will always be a top priority
if we want Watauga County to be the best that it can be,” Deal
said. “That’s what separates us from some of the other
parties. We don’t just say it, we make a commitment.”
Deal
said the party also supported local businesses and start-ups, and
said the county should be seeking technology-based businesses. He
said recreation and the needs of seniors were also important party
platforms. He said there were people who were natives, but others
had moved her recently, yet all had a stake in the county’s
future. “As a party, we are truly committed to a brighter future
for the people of Watauga County,” he said.
He
said choose-and-cut Christmas tree farms were a strong economic
force despite the decline in traditional agriculture. Deal said
everyone benefited from choose-and-cut because visitors ate in local
restaurants and stayed in local lodging establishments. He also
supported more recreational facilities such as youth or teen centers,
“things we see in other communities but don’t see here
in Watauga County.”
Deal
said Democrats were successful locally because they were able to
reach across party lines and appeal to moderate voters. “We
are the party of hope, the party that believes the people of Watauga
County deserves better,” he said.
The
party elected Susan Phipps as Treasurer, Jerry Williamson as Secretary,
with Charlie Wallin as First Vice-Chair. Other vice-chairs elected
were Marjory Holder, J.W. Randolph, Jasmine Shoshanna and Anna Sagel.
The party elected Dennis Grady, Loretta Clawson and Celia Roten
to serve as voting delegates for the state Democratic Executive
Committee.
The
party also adopted seven resolutions: supporting the promotion of
bio-diesel production and use in motor vehicles; moving the polling
places for the Boone 3 precinct from the Agricultural Conference
Center back to the Appalachian State University campus, as well
as moving the New River 3 precinct to a centrally located polling
place; opposing privatization of social security; supporting a universal
health-care plan; supporting “The Voter Confidence and Increased
Accessibility Act of 2003” and maintaining physical ballots
instead of relying solely on electronic data; apportioning the state’s
electoral votes based on popular vote rather than the presidential
race winner receiving all the state’s electoral votes; and
supporting alternative energy use and research.
The
convention was held at the Watauga County courthouse in downtown
Boone.
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