news-record.com

Decisions, decisions

So, how many Guilford County commissioners does it take to screw in a light bulb?

The answer: No one knows because they keep changing their minds.

When Guilford County commissioners elected Kay Cashion as their vice chairwoman last week, how many votes did she get? The answer might depend on who you ask or, more specifically when you ask them.

The vote on Cashion came just after Linda Shaw lost her bid for vice chairwoman on a 6-5 vote. The original vote for Cashion was 7-3, with Steve Arnold abstaining.

But after it was clear Cashion would win, Arnold changed his mind and told the clerks he wanted to vote yes for Cashion.

Then Shaw, who had voted against, did the same thing. That made the official vote 9-2, said Effie Varitimidis , the clerk to the board.

In the end, only Skip Alston and Carolyn Coleman voted against Cashion.

Caucus update

Regular readers will remember that for the past couple of months, Scoop asked Rep. Alma Adams about when she might have an update on the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation. That's the nonprofit tied to a politically powerful group of General Assembly members, the Legislative Black Caucus.

When we checked back Monday, Adams told Scoop the auditor the group has hired has been slow on the draw, so now she expects to have something to say "by the end of the year." She said the tardy audit has "put me in a difficult spot."

The Greensboro Democrat took over leadership of the caucus and its foundation this year and, by her own account, has been "Miss Fix It."

A central question: Should a group tied to legislators raise money for its purposes when legislators are prohibited from taking campaign contributions?

Besides a private audit, the group is waiting on rulings from state ethics watchdogs still to be drafted, Adams said.

She did address one point that had been controversial this year.

"The foundation board will be passing a policy that it will not allow any board member or legislator or their family members ... to receive a scholarship," Adams said.

Let there be ...

Peace on earth, just not in this meeting room.

If you take a stroll down Market Street past the old County Courthouse where Guilford County commissioners meet, you might see what you could call either the most appropriate or inappropriate signs in Greensboro.

On the front of the building hang two giant signs with white doves that say simply, "Peace," with one just outside the meeting room.

The signs might be meant as holiday wishes for passers-by. But for commissioners, notorious for feuding over matters big and small, they sound more like a New Year's resolution that will bite the dust about two weeks past Jan. 1.

Staff writers Mark Binker and Jason Hardin contributed. Get your daily dose of Scoop online: blog.news-record.com/staff/scoopblog