Francesca Slaughter, a realtor who started the Facebook Group, “No High Density Southport,” has put her neck on the line to oppose the current county Board of Commissioners. She wrote the following summary of the September 23 commissioners' meeting:
The chamber was packed, overflowing with citizens who bravely stood up to share their gut-wrenching stories, pleading for the commissioners to listen and act.
Many spoke of the devastating flooding that overtook their homes, the result of a county commission that continues to prioritize bare-minimum ordinances in our county’s Unified Development Ordinance. These decisions allow large-scale developers to build on the cheap, clear-cutting land and disregarding essential infrastructure safeguards, leaving citizens to bear the brunt of the destruction as we have just witnessed. They have already rubber-stamped 52,000 units to be developed under these weak ordinances, with more on the way.
The harsh truth is undeniable: our commissioners are serving their largest campaign donors — large-scale developers. This isn’t speculation; their campaign finance reports lay it out in black and white.
One of the most heartbreaking testimonies came from a local builder who, with his family, barely escaped their home as it flooded, losing his livelihood and equipment in the process. Another was from a single woman, struggling to make ends meet in a single-wide trailer, whose property was overwhelmed by floodwaters, again because of nearby mass developments pushed through without the adequate infrastructure in place.
And how did our commissioners respond? Their complete lack of empathy, compassion, or basic human concern was breathtaking.
Commissioner Forte actually commented that “Only one person died, and it was his fault” while speaking about an elderly gentleman who tragically drowned after driving into floodwaters.
Commissioner Sykes went so far as to call the citizen speakers liars. These same commissioners even violated their own rules when they cut off a speaker representing 4,000 local residents — giving her only three minutes when she was entitled to eight per their rules. She then protested about extending the public speaking portion another 30 minutes to allow the remaining speakers to be heard, displaying total disregard for the citizens she is supposed to serve.
Commissioner Williams categorized ordinary citizens advocating for their right to safety and well-being as “special interests who want to strip property rights and turn the county into an HOA.”
The bottom line is this: the actions (or inaction) of these commissioners, who have collectively held power for decades, make it crystal clear—they have become drunk on power and have little or no respect or concern for anyone outside their own circle.
We must vote them out this November! Dr. Tom Simmons, Jonathan Damico, and Bob Fulton represent a chance for real change. They refuse to accept corporate donations and will not be influenced by anyone but the citizens they serve.
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