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Excitement pervaded Wednesday night's screening of "Democracy for Sale," the documentary starring Wilkes native Zach Galifianakis which aired at the Stone Center for Performing Arts in North Wilkesboro. The excitement was from the fact that Zach himself was going to talk about the film afterwards. The Working Films organizers of the event were very nervous. This was the first panel, of the 75 events they'd put on, that Zach was going to participate in. It was also the largest viewing they'd had to date. 400+ people. They were nervous that he needed an easy way to get in and out of the venue without being mobbed like a Hollywood star. They were also a little nervous that he might not show up at all. We reassured them. Yes, he would get in and out easily. No one would bother him. Yes, he would show. Zach didn't disappoint. I'd seen the Epix series "America Divided" several months ago. It was edited unusually, with a couple of unrelated stories about immigration and unemployment with other stars interweaved throughout. You were constantly being yanked back and forth into the story. One moment, you'd be watchin America Ferrera focusing on immigration issues, the next, Zach would be talking about coal ash in NC. It was a little disorienting. But on Wednesday, they showed just Zach's story, in its entirety as "Democracy for Sale" and it was a more easily understood piece that way. First, it showed Zach starting with HB2, the "bathroom bill,"...raising NC's visibility on the national stage. And he starts an investigation of why NC, this state that he loves so much that he still maintains a home there, is so focused on bathrooms and where people go to the bathroom? It's not long before he senses that it's a diversion. And Ari Berman, journalist for The Nation, directs his attention to the NC issues that weren't being addressed. Corporate greed, power and coverups. Zach speaks to Tracey Edwards, a woman in Stokes County who grew up around coal plants of Duke Energy. Everyone in her community is sick with various - and unusual - ailments. She finally figured out that it was due to the coal ash in their water supply. She never wanted to become an activist, she had to for her family. The ties between then governor Pat McCrory and Duke Energy were strong. He worked for them for 24 years, they donated $30million to a PAC that gets republican governors elected. When they spilled their coal ash into the Dan River, they got a fine that amounted to nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Basically equal to if a person making $60,000 a year got a fine of 30-cents. Nothing. Zach goes and talks to UNC professor Gene Nichol, who is a researcher on poverty in NC and has written several books and studies on the topic. He enlightens Zach on the world of big money in politics. Citizens United, the law that allows corporations to give money as individuals and removes strict caps, has run amok. Long time political animals like Art Pope, who is a billionaire with his own conservative agenda, can give to candidates that he can control. Through all this, Zach is able to use his humor, and Wilkes County self-deprecation to show the absurdity of it all. Why should someone's voice be heard over someone else's simply because they have money and the other doesn't? The right to free speech should apply to all, shouldn't it? Zach speaks with Margaret Dickson, NC representative in Fayetteville. She spoke about the gerrymandered maps of NC, and how private contractors for the GOP went to the maps with surgical precision and cut around neighborhoods and houses to "pack" the African American and liberal households into as few districts as possible. Sure, they'd lose a few seats, but they could win a majority of the seats easily with their majority voters. This was not just sour grapes on her behalf. She showed that they went after her and were dead set that she was not going to win another seat in office ever again. Appalachia is deeply conservative. The bible belt is strong in the hills and valleys. But more and more are finding the Republican agenda is leaving their needs behind in a blind grab for more money and power,...two things that area are without. Zach speaks with Tracy Deyton, a long-time NC Republican whose family is changing their mind about their party after she has an autistic son. Their healthcare needs were being broken by policies made by the very party they were raised to believe in. They changed their thinking, and she shares her story to allow others to see the folly of their ways before it's too late. Finally, Zach gets an audience with Carter Wrenn, the campaign manager who not only defeated his uncle, Nick Galifianakis, with Jesse Helms, but continued to have a lock on the office until Helms' retirement. He validates Zach's suspicions about Art Pope. He is a billionaire, who doesn't have an elected office, but can win elections by the power of his money. As his friend, Ari Berman, tells Zach later, "Why should his voice matter more than yours?" "It's not a Republican/Democrat issue. It's a human issue," Zach Galifianakis at his film's screening this week, echoing Neil Gorsuch's "Long before we are Republicans or Democrats, we are Americans," line from his Congressional hearing. I beg to differ on that. It IS a Democrat issue. The Democrat party collapsed in 2010. In part due to Gerrymandering. In part due to apathy. In part due to the explosion of "unaffiliated" voters. Until you have people willing to stand up proudly that they are Democrats in towns like ours,...and challenge the threats to their jobs, to their voices,...they will continue to win. In the end, there is hope that NC can come back from this gerrymandered, pro-corporation, polluter-friendly political climate. But it is going to take some time, and a lot of effort from people like Dr. Reverend Barber, and NAACP chapters all across our state (and yes, Wilkes does have one). And it's going to take you and me talking to people and sharing your story and explaining over and over and over again the facts and the ways the GOP big money agenda is hurting real families and small towns like ours. The questions at the end of the panel mostly seemed to revolve around HOW do you talk to people that don't want to hear you? And there's no easy solution to that. But Zach did offer that humor helps,...and that finding those areas where you DO intersect in interests helps....and that not giving up and losing hope. That we need to start talking to one another because we have to ask ourselves what happen when we don't. "When we're too polite, then it's too late," said Zach. Perhaps Professor Nichol said it best, "We must organize, energize and outnumber them." We can't depend on the courts to do it all for us. That will take too long. And if we don't convince enough long-time Republicans to vote more Democrats in office, we won't have the votes. So those dialogues MUST happen. The Wilkes NAACP needs members of all colors to succeed in Wilkes County. The Indivisible Group of Wilkes is making waves. But the Wilkes County Democrats need you, too. Our old-time establishment is not participating like they used to, and the younger generation is struggling to survive, but we need both of them to energize our local party, to find qualified candidates for local and state offices that will fight for us, to do the things that will make our communities a better place. If you came out to Wednesday night's event, we hope you'll come out to the next Wilkes Democrats' event. And if you missed the event, and want to watch "America Divided" which features Zach Galifianakis' film interspersed through Episode 4 and 5, you can watch if for free on EPIX or HULU (with existing subscription).  In a March 17th, Washington Post article on Democrats’ health-care bill rhetoric several assertions from leading politicians were called into question. It is no surprise to find that politicians on both sides of the aisle exaggerate or even mislead to get political advantage. But one particular assessment was more telling than others. Toward the bottom of the article the writer calls out a senator from Wisconsin for the following tweet the article called misleading, and it's the one in the image above:
“#ReadtheBill & you’ll see #TrumpCare would allow insurance execs to personally make millions off your health care.” — Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), post on Twitter, March 8 According to the article, at issue is an Obamacare cap on how much of a CEO’s salary an insurance company can deduct from its taxes. Currently the cap is $500,000. The GOP want this cap repealed, period. Other types of businesses have $1 million deduction caps. What this means is that a company can deduct the salary as an expense from its taxes. The democratic logic must have been that more than $500,000 in CEO salary is excessive and thus not a legitimate thing to deduct. After all, you do not want a company to use huge salaries as a way to pretend they aren’t making any money, right? Insurance companies are free to offer larger salaries but not free to deduct them. So why would the GOP care about removing such a cap? Because providing health care was not the primary objective of the GOP repeal and replace legislation. According to the article, five major insurance companies paid CEO’s $73 million in 2015. The companies were only allowed to deduct $2.5 million of it because of Obamacare restrictions. Naturally the companies want to remove that cap. They want to be able to deduct the other $70 million from their taxes as well. Now, if you are thinking this bit of crookedness is the point, I would encourage you to think a bit more critically. Consider what kind of financial condition a company must be in to be able to afford to pay a CEO tens of millions of dollars per year in salary. Aren’t we being told by the GOP that these companies are barely making ends meet? Isn’t the system about to collapse because Obamacare is forcing them to cover all these awful and expensive sick and poor people? Aren’t the companies having to jack up rates to cover this lopsided financial situation? While all the attention is on how Baldwin “technically” misled the GOP bill effects, the reality of how insurance companies are actually doing financially seems to be drifting quietly by, unnoticed. Also drifting by trying not to be noticed?... GOP hypocrisy! The next time you find yourself at the doctor’s office praying that insurance will cover whatever you end up needing to have done,… think about where the loyalties and values of your GOP representative and senator really have always been regarding their "reforms" of the health care law.
The following was first posted HERE on March 8th, 2017:
Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, a name that sounds like a plausible Civil War Era villain in any work from Ernest Hemmingway to Mel Blanc, is having a bad couple of weeks. And by “couple of weeks” I mean “tenure as Attorney General of the United States”. Despite the quickly developing narrative that he met with the Russian Spybassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, while a technically a senator but really as a Drumpf campaign surrogate, Sessions cannot seem to shake the racist overtones that shadow his past and darken his Southern accent. In a recent article by “The Blaze” they assert SNL (Saturday Night Live) mocked him in their March 4, 2017 cold open in a way they would never have mocked previous Attorneys General Eric Holder or Loretta Lynch. They are totally 100% correct. Because Holder and Lynch probably didn’t get turned down by the Senate for a federal judgeship due in part to a letter from Loretta Scott King outlining their inability to be anti-racist. The sketch, which is obviously a parody of “Forrest Gump”, puts talented comedic actor and chameleon lady Kate McKinnon as Sessions on a park bench. As a dim imitation of Gump, earnest and overly polite, Session recalls some of the finer points of current events. The impression holds true as Session blatantly over-communicated and tells too much truth, which sparked the scrutiny he’s been facing recently concerning Kislyak when Sessions over-answered a question Sen. Al Franken (D-MI) asked him during confirmation. (The sketch did have a sense of coming full circle as Sen. Franken is an SNL alumnus. At best, Sen. Franken probably crossed his arms, tilted his head to the side, and said, “Well, imagine that.”) Sessions is going to be a target for all kinds of ridicule the longer he’s out front of the Drumpf administration. He’s not a sympathetic character, whatsoever. In fact, his name alone is a hyperbole of the societal norms that sired his worldview. In the first sketch McKinnon’s AG Sessions was unveiled in a cold open press conference, with Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer, the character started by saying something that you could imagine the real Sessions saying, “There are two kinds of crime: Regular and black.” After a history of being repeatedly accused of saying racist things (including the KKK was okay until “I found out they smoked pot” and calling black men “boy” and not really wanting any part of civil rights cases IN ALABAMA) the words sound lifted from his journal. As an Attorney General of the United States his entire job is twofold: Defend the people of the United States by challenging the Presidency as necessary, and ensure there is no obstruction to any citizen availing themselves of protections of federal law. Voters especially need this protection as unnecessary and even racist laws have been enacted since the rollback of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 with Shelby County v. Holder in 2012. There is literally nothing in Sessions career that has suggested or intimated that he has those abilities or proclivities. Even as recent as the past weeks as Attorney General he hasn’t even addressed the desecration and destruction of Jewish gravesites or commented on the threats against Jewish Community Centers. The fact he hasn’t said anything about it proves he either doesn’t understand what his job covers or he doesn’t realize the optics and his position to get out in front of the story. Sessions was offered Attorney General because of his fealty to Drumpf. He doesn’t have the savvy or steel to perform the ultimate tasks of the office. He only wants to be rewarded for his loyalty and ultimately execute some form of revenge against the system that shunned him in the 1980s. Thankfully he has recused himself from any investigation on the Drumpf administration’s ties and communications to Russia, but he needs to take a page out of Forrest Gump and just stop running.  Recently Business Insider reported press secretary Sean Spicer quoting Trump flipping on economic reporting. Apparently Trump believes the current jobs report is not phony. Perhaps reports he regards as favorable come from a special reporting system that is more reliable than those he sees as unfavorable. Notwithstanding the childish naivety of this stance, it is alarming the GOP leader would believe such a fluid grasp of reality is acceptable. However, it underscores the much more pervasive issue of GOP hypocrisy.
Nowhere is this hypocrisy more evident than religion. Trump’s presidency has begun to shine a light on the real and large gap that exists between Republican values and the actual teachings of Christ. This is important because for years the GOP has pretended to be the party of Christian values. In fact, a Pew Research Center analysis just after the election showed overwhelming Christian support for Trump particularly among white evangelicals and Mormons. Furthermore, it is widely believed this support passes into the GOP in general. Given the apparent warmth of this relationship, it stands to reason that GOP values would be closely aligned to tenants of Christianity easily found in The New Testament. If you believe this, you should probably read the text again. Falling in behind Trump, the GOP has endorsed and supports leadership that reflects a lifestyle and vision wholly in opposition to Christian values. For example, real Christians do not trade spouses like used cars. In fact, The New Testament is clear that being able to maintain marriage is key to being qualified for church leadership. Trump’s endorsement of violence against women and declaration of being above the law also do not reflect core Christian values. The hypocrisy of this is glaring. Certainly the issue of pro-choice played a role. The GOP has cultivated a strong, ignorant myth of bigotry around this issue regarding democrats. They have also used this controversial issue to mask the steep divide that exists between what they stand for and the teachings of Christ. For example, real Christians know that building a wall and becoming a fearful isolated nation is the EXACT opposite action and attitude Christ called for in his disciples. Instead, Christians are called to go forth and boldly proclaim Christ, teaching and demonstrating the love of God throughout the world. Service and sacrifice are core Christian values, not military might and accumulation of wealth. It is clear the GOP measures human value by wealth and considers helping the poor and the sick as appropriate if conveniently affordable. Even mentioning universal healthcare draws a foaming, rabid rebuke of “Socialism!” Why? Because it is un-American?!? It may be un-republican to oppose profiteering on the misery of others, but it certainly is Christian to place the needs of people ahead of money. While republicans readily chant “America First!” real Christians put only one word in front of “--- first,” and it is most definitely not America. Furthermore, real Christians know that just after it come the part about loving your neighbor as yourself. If you are looking for a bright spot in the Trump presidency, perhaps it is the one that is currently shining on the blatant hypocrisy of the republicans’ “alternative” relationship with Christianity. Perhaps soon Christians will return to the teachings of Christ and realize they have nothing in common with republicans.  "Never be surprised by what they do. Be ready."
It's a phrase I heard often from my Dad while growing up. It's pessimistic and dark, sure,…but that's what being a 4th generation Democrat in Wilkes County breeds within you. Times when you have the thought, "Nah, even the GOP wouldn't do something so crazy, reckless, or self-serving," and you are tempted to give them the benefit of the doubt, is when it most applies. We should be applying it to everything happening right now, because we're about to see a power grab that is unprecedented in our lifetimes. It is also why organizing is so important right now. Democrats must identify as such in Wilkes. There are many more of us than most people realize, and we tend to isolate ourselves with little formal contact under that heading. But Wilkes County has only 1/2 of its Democrat precincts organized in this county. All it takes is 4 registered Dems to do it, and it can mean gaining a voice during these difficult days ahead. We won't be shouting into the void. Watauga County turned blue this election. If they can do it, we can too,...but it'll take every Democrat's participation with the party. We simply don't have enough dedicated Dems in this county that are willing to do the work right now. We go back to the same handful of volunteers to do so much, that they're getting burned out and tired. The same few people did all the calling, canvassing, e-mailing and sign planting in this last election. We need fresh bodies with energy and passion. We have outlets for our voice that we've never had before. We have this blog, we have Facebook, we have Twitter,...we have platforms from which to shout and share. But we need you. We need you to go to Board of Education meetings and speak out when our students aren't put first, we need you to go to town meetings, and planning board meetings and County Commissioner meetings to keep track of the dealings happening under our noses. We need people to help Dems fundraise so we can have an HQ year round and visibility for those that move here. We are not apathetic. I know this. It's just such a daunting task for each us us that we don't know where to start. So just start with something. One thing. Come to the next Wilkes Democrats meeting December 13th at 6pm at Benton Hall in North Wilkesboro. Get organized FIRST. Then, write a piece for this very blog. Like and Share us on Facebook. Volunteer to call our legislators,...again and again. Help be a watchdog at local meetings for abuses of power. And most importantly, don't be afraid to be a Democrat in Wilkes County. Be ready.  L to R: Pat McCrory, Graeme Keith, Mac Everett and Andy Dulin, at the Good Fellows Club holiday lunch, Dec 2007. And I have never been as happy as these dudes, ever. It's called a kleptocracy, and yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. Kleptomania is a compulsion to steal. A kleptocracy is a government run for the profit self-interest of an individual or company. It's a kleptocracy when the elected officials are personally profiting rather than doing right by their constituents.
Trump should get a lot of attention for planning to run a kleptocracy. The greatest republic in the world is getting ready to be a government of self-interest and personal gain by a man who so far has completely refused to use a blind trust for his companies. But North Carolina has been leading the way with kleptocracy the past 4 years. Yes, Pat McCrory appears to have fully lost the election and should concede. Any reasonable person would have by this point. But not him. Why not? It is because he's profited hand-over-fist as our governor. Read this official complaint filed by the News & Observer on McCrory's ethics violations, which point out the main ones: McCrory gave Duke Energy the lightest of hand slaps for their coal ash spill which has seriously harmed the health of thousands of North Carolinians and our natural resources. 40% of McCrory's 401K assets were wrapped up in Duke Energy stock - which would have suffered if their stock plunged from a large penalty. Oh yeah, and he worked at Duke Energy for 16 years. McCrory served 4 years on the Board of mortgage company Tree.com, for which he received a "gift" of over $1,000,000 worth of stock, $255,680 in director's fees and at least $10,063 in dividends,…all while appointing members of the NC Banking Commission, which regulates banks and…mortgage companies. McCrory was listed on his tax forms as a consultant for his brother's sales solution company, McCrory & Company, LLC. But according to SEC filings, Pat was actually a full partner in the business. Many of the customers of McCrory & Company are also state contractors that donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Pat McCrory's gubernatorial campaign and to related PACs for his election. Graeme Keith, of Keith Corp Development, received a $3 million state prison contract, against the wishes of prison officials, after stating in McCory's presence that he had given a lot of money to candidates over the years and now it was time for him "to get something in return." He did. An FBI investigation followed of which McCrory was only recently cleared of breaking the law. And that's not even getting into his time at Moore & Van Allen, a law firm that does lobbying deeply entrenched in the GOP. And that's just McCrory! Can you imagine all the stock holdings, board entanglements, income sources, business relationships and other potential conflicts of interest that Trump has? Well, you'll have to imagine it, because he hasn't released his tax records so far, and is under no legal rule to do so as president. For the record, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon wants to re-introduce a presidential tax return disclosure bill. We hope it gains momentum and will pertain fully to sitting presidents as well as future candidates. Pressure Virginia Foxx, Thom Tillis, and Richard Burr that this something we want. But in the meantime, we need to hold our NC leadership to higher standards as well. NC state law does not require candidates to disclose details of salary information either. Perhaps it should reconsider that, because a self-serving NC leadership can have a disastrous impact close to home. Goodbye McCrory, we will not miss you. (Note: this article was declined by 'The Record' editorial staff after publishing Pearson's column for the past 7 years.)
Well the presidential election of 2016 has come and gone, but by the looks of things on the streets of many of our major cities and the ongoing war on social media including Facebook, the old saying “It ain’t over till it’s over” still applies; it just ain’t over yet. The ‘glass ceiling remains unbroken, but that’s about the only thing in our political system that has not been shattered during this most contentious election, at least not yet. However, as sports enthusiast say after their team’s losing season is over, “just wait till next year.” There are still several qualified female candidates, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, waiting in the wings to finally break the glass ceiling so it’s just a matter of time. For those who have not gone to the courthouse to check, let me save you a trip. My Father was a Republican and my Mother a Democrat; naturally I am a registered Independent. As an Independent, I originally supported another Independent, Bernie Sanders, who ran in the Primaries as a Democrat because Independent candidates just don’t have a chance in hell to win. Bernie is the Independent U.S. Senator from New Hampshire. However when Bernie was defeated in the primaries, I was forced to choose between the two competing major party candidates that had a realistic chance of winning the presidency, i.e. Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. Third party candidates, as always were just a detractor. For me, the decision was clear and easy: It was between a long-serving, highly experienced and intelligent former First Lady with the most government experience of any candidate in recent memory. She was a former U.S. Senator, and former Secretary of State with a penchant for sending out thousands of E-mails on her home server/computer. She was paired with a former Christian Missionary to Honduras and former Governor of Virginia, currently serving as Virginia Senator, Tim Kaine, a smooth talking polyglot, as her VP running partner. Those two Democratic candidates were opposed by a thrice married, misogynist, hedonistic, agnostic, philanderer; a sociopathic, adulterer and corrupt, wealthy businessman awaiting December trials for fraud, and rape of a 13 year old girl. A crooked businessman who refused to pay bills owed to contractors, and had numerous law suits pending against him. A foul-mouthed, draft-dodging, racist and religious hypocrite Trump hates immigrants’ regardless of their shape or color, except for two of the ones he married. Trump is supported by David Duke and his KKK. Trump publicly made fun of disabled citizens and Gold Star parents, as well ridiculing Sen. John McCain, a national Navy POW hero and former presidential candidate from Drumpf’s own party. McCain served several years as a North Vietnamese POW after being shot down in Viet Nam. I served in a squadron (VA-174) with McCain following his return home. A loud-mouthed school-yard bully and carnival clown with absolutely zero (zilch) experience in government, Trump refused to release his income tax information like every president in modern times, and lied about the reason he could not. He knows they will expose him as a fraud and liar. A narcissistic, possibly mentally ill candidate, Trump is married to a female immigrant from a former Soviet Union country in Eastern Europe. She has questionable citizenship credentials and a marginal moral reputation. She is a former nude model whose completely naked frontal pictures have appeared prominently. Terrific role model for our daughters and granddaughters, don’t ya think? Trump and his hard-core, right-wing Indiana VP running mate want to abolish the EPA and the Dept of Education, as well as Planned Parenthood, among other changes…so much for clean air and water and an educated populace. Since most current Republicans are what sociologist label as “upper-lower class,” poorly educated voters, these proposals are attempts to dumb-down America and keep the dying Republican Party afloat polluted party in power. Neither Trump nor Pence believe in the preponderance of scientific evidence about Global Warming.Pro-lifers to the core, both Republicans candidates want to overturn Roe vs Wade and to punish women for having an abortion. They also want to throw their political opponents in jail for opposing them just like in a third-world Banana Republic nation. Drumpf is too dangerous to allow anywhere near the “nuclear football.” He eludes the same egotistic manners similar to Hitler/Mussolini and Joseph Stalin and sucks up to our long-time former and future enemy, i.e. Russia and its evil dictator Vladimir Putin He also has called for allowing several other countries to have nuclear weapons. Is it any wonder that not one major newspaper in the United States endorsed this disturbed individual? Trump was a spoiled, vain lad growing up in a very rich household, which made him think it was OK to kiss and “p*ssy grab” any woman he wanted because he is rich and famous? Come on, man! A gambling magnet in Atlantic City, NJ and Las Vegas with probable Mafia ties in those businesses and locations, many of which have failed or declared bankruptcy. This supposed “successful businessman” has declared bankruptcy multiple times in order to escape paying his bills. His modus operandi has long been to threaten to sue any business or individual who crosses him because he knows that most of them don’t share his wealth and cannot afford the lengthy legal fees involved; so they will give in. Regret that I have to go now so you’ll just have to guess for whom I voted. Ciao for now---and hope to see you here again next week, assuming I am still alive…LOL. "The Democratic Party provided the voters of Wilkes county with a clear choice of four outstanding candidates that believe education of our children, economic opportunity and equality for everyone, along with a clean environment, are key factors for the future success of our County. The majority of voters have spoken and it seems that they do not share those concerns.
On the National level we come to this point in our history because we have allowed ourselves to be divided. Our lack of trust and faith in each other will continue to damage America across racial, religious and economic lines in my view. We respect the democratic process and assure the citizens of Wilkes County that the Democratic Party will continue to represent the values and support the candidates we believe will move our county forward together. We welcome you to join us at: www.wilkesdemocrats.com." ~ Larry Pendry Chair Wilkes County Democratic Party  Brandon Anderson is a native of Wilkes County, and is the only Democrat running for the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners. In high school, he moved briefly to Alleghany, before returning to the county nearly 10 years ago.
A man of faith, and an ordained minister, Anderson has been Senior Pastor at Peak Creek Church in Laurel Springs. If you've ever heard him speak on political topics, he will move you with his spirit, passion, and conviction. Anderson served on the Alleghany County Ministerium, a board of Ministers within Alleghany County which supports groups like Solid Rock Food Closet, the Emergency Relief Fund, and Alleghany Cares. For ten years, Anderson worked for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. He currently works for Lowe's Companies. Politically, Anderson currently serves as 2nd Vice Chairman of the Wilkes Democratic Party and was key to the strength of the Young Democrats within Wilkes County. He often travels for statewide Young Democrat events. His family has always been politically active, with his Great Great Grandfather, Arthur Perry, serving on the Alleghany Board of Commissioners in the early 1900's, and his Great Grandfather, Guy Thomas Perry also serving for nearly 14 years. They were the 1st father & son to serve on the Alleghany Board of Commissioners. Hi Grandfather, Guy, served the longest of any commissioner in the history of Alleghany. Within the community, Anderson has been a volunteer and supporter for Gifts for Strangers of Wilkes and the Catherine H. Barber Memorial Homeless Shelter. Nationally, he is involved with the Human Rights Campaign, which is the largest civil rights organization within the USA that supports rights for all of humanity. He is also involved in the high school exchange student program, having hosted three exchange students from Germany and has traveled to Germany to visit them afterwards. Brandon Anderson wants the best for Wilkes County. That includes being an inclusive community that lifts up all its citizens and doesn't divide them. His platform also includes:
The Wilkes County Board of Commissioners has been exclusively Republican for nearly 25 years, with little noticeable progress in Wilkes. That just simply doesn't make sense. Yes, Democrats are the minority within the county, but we should still be represented on the County Board of Commissioners. We still need to give our greatest resource for the future, our young people, a reason and desire to come back to Wilkes and raise their families. Anderson wants to bring about positive and productive changes to Wilkes County, pure and simple. How can you support Brandon Anderson for Wilkes County Commissioner? In these simple ways:
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