Commissioner John Pethel said he and his fellow board members agreed this summer to shift a line in his district, though other BOC members said they don’t recall such a move.
The status of that line could impact the upcoming 2012 BOC elections, since a resident in the disputed area — who was mentioned by name Jan. 9 but has not made any formal announcements — may run for Pete Bond’s district 4 seat if he is actually in that district.
The district 4 seat is up for grabs this year. The district 2 seat, held by Pethel, will be up for election in 2014.
Right now, one side of Cecil Stewart Road is in district 2, while the other side is in district 4. Pethel says that all of the road should be in district 4. In fact, he said the BOC already approved that shift.
“We discussed that that night; we voted on it,” said Pethel of the summer meeting. “… I have to go about three quarters of a mile down to Cecil Stewart Road, which half of that road is in district 2 and half is in district 4. And I just wanted to put all of that in district 4 so that I wouldn’t have to go three quarters of a mile out of my way to serve one side of the road.”
Madison County commissioners agreed in July to keep county commission district maps virtually untouched. There were minor adjustments made to account for population shifts shown in the 2010 Census, but no other notable shifting of lines.
County commission chairman Anthony Dove said he was contacted recently by Rep. Alan Powell about the new district maps. Dove said Pethel had contacted Powell about the Cecil Stewart Road change and that the representative sought the input from the board on the proposed change.
“I need to let him (Powell) know, is the board OK with that (Pethel’s change) or not,” said Dove to the board members.
Pethel said Jan. 9 that the BOC already took action on his proposal.
“We voted on it that night to change it,” said Pethel. “And you (Chairman Anthony Dove) said you didn’t see any problem with it. Look, I don’t know why the confusion about this. The road is divided into two districts. It causes me to have to go three quarters of a mile out of my way to service one side of the road … It just makes common sense to take the other half of that road and give it to district 4 and that keeps me from having to drive all the way down the Macedonia Road to serve that one side of the road. It affects about six or eight people.”
Dove said Pethel showed him a possible change on a map, but the board never took any action on it.
“You pointed at the thing and said ‘can you make that change,’ but you never put that in a motion,” said Dove.
“I had it drawn, Mr. Chairman, on the map I showed you,” said Pethel. “And we talked about it. We discussed why I wanted it changed.”
Dove said such changes require a board vote and aren’t in the chairman’s hands.
“I think the board has to make that decision,” said Dove. … “We voted on proposal one and then if we’re going to change it, then the board should agree on a certain change.”
Commissioner Mike Youngblood said that other commissioners have roads that are split into two districts. He addressed District 1 commissioner Stanley Thomas, pointing out that the two share representation of a road.
“Stanley, on Helican Springs Road, you’ve got one side of the road and I’ve got one side of the road, correct? So, what would be the difference in that change versus this change? The change (by Pethel) is not my concern. My concern is ‘did we vote on it?’”
Pethel said that only he and commissioner Pete Bond would be affected. He didn’t see why any other commissioner would care about the district line.
“Well, Pete and me are the only ones affected by this, the only ones affected at all,” said Pethel. “And if he has no problem with it, why would the other three have a problem? And why would you (Bond) have a problem?”
Pethel then asked Bond if he’d have an issue with taking all of Cecil Stewart Road, rather than half.
“I’d rather not answer that question for the simple reason that there may be some people running (for the district 4 office) on that property,” said Bond. “As of now, he’s not in my district.”
Pethel asked Bond if the upcoming election is influencing his decision.
“You don’t want that, because you think somebody might run against you, is that what you’re saying?” Pethel asked Bond.
“No, what he’s saying is he doesn’t want to answer that,” said Dove.
The chairman said Tuesday morning that the board was presented a chance to vote on Pethel’s proposed change Monday and no action was taken.
“So, in my eyes, proposal one without the revision still stands,” he said.
Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.
That was a quick moment was'nt it. Thats must mean he has not done anything worth a flip. Impeach Pethel in 2012, whio's with me?