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GREENSBORO - This time, it'll go smoother.

So hopes Melvin "Skip" Alston, the new Guilford County Board of Commissioners chairman.

Alston, elected Monday by his peers, served as chairman in 2003, a year marked by fierce squabbling on the board.

"That was a challenging time," Alston said. "I'm hoping this time it will not be so challenging."

Alston, a Democrat, will be joined by new Vice Chairman Steve Arnold, a Republican, in a move that some commissioners said could signal a new spirit of cooperation on the often fractious board.

The bipartisan leadership "sends a very good message across the county that all of us are going to be working together," Commissioner Linda Shaw said.

Alston and Arnold said they want to take a close look at the budgeting process with an eye to making county government more efficient.

It's not a year for raising taxes, Alston said.

"My motto this year ... is to do more with less," he said.

Alston also said he wants more openness to the media, with more news conferences and a more open atmosphere.

He also pledged to work with all the commissioners.

"It's not a one-man show," he said. "If it fails, all of us fail. If it succeeds, all of us succeed."

Alston's previous term as chairman included bitter battles, particularly with fellow Commissioner Billy Yow.

Yow, a Republican, didn't vote for Alston on Monday but offered some praise.

"He'll be a good chairman, I'm sure," Yow said. "He has the knowledge."

Alston won the job by an 8-3 vote, with Kay Cashion, Paul Gibson and Yow voting against him.

That came moments after a vote for Cashion as chairwoman failed by one vote. Carolyn Coleman, Bruce Davis, Kirk Perkins, Shaw, Mike Winstead and Yow voted no.

Cashion said she wasn't bitter about the loss to Alston.

"I tip my hat to him," she said. "Once the vote is taken, that's history."

The board traditionally picks a new chairman each year.

Although the chairman has no formal powers beyond those of other commissioners, the position typically carries some influence.

Besides representing the county at ceremonial functions, the chairman also often works to corral votes and set priorities.

Gibson, a former chairman, said it makes a difference who the chairman is.

"The chair sets the tone, certainly sets the agenda," he said. If some board members feel left out of the process by the commissioner, trouble often results.

The election of the chairman and vice chairman came after new board members were sworn in.

Several members mentioned the economic situation and called for unity on the board.

Many thanked their families and mentioned their support, but Gibson went a little further in thanking his wife, noting that the board has kept him busy.

"I promise I'll paint the ceiling," he said.

Contact Jason Hardin at 373-7021 or at jason.hardin@news-record.com