C4GC Hating on Wilkins

Tina Forsberg at The Greensboro Guardian has problems with The Rhino Times‘ endorsement of Tony Wilkins for Guilford County commissioner in District 6:

John Hammer has endorsed Tony Wilkins, whom I have found to be one of the most divisive personalities in all of the local GOP. Tony operates an internet blog and participates in several other local blogs. There, he discusses and critiques local policy and general goings-on, mostly concerning government. Unfortunately, he has used his platform to execute vicious personal attacks on other Republicans. Those public and very caustic remarks prompted me –some months ago –to disassociate myself with him, even as a ‘Facebook friend.’ We have enough challenges ahead without that type of distraction.

For some reason, Forsberg can’t manage a link to The Rhino Times:

Wilkins is on the War Memorial Commission, what is commonly called the Coliseum Commission. He is without a doubt the most conservative member of that commission and has resisted the pressure put on him to vote with the majority. There are some folks on that board who really know how to pressure people, and the fact that Wilkins has held his ground is admirable and is a good indication that he could resist the pressure put on Guilford County commissioners to give money away. It’s not easy to say no when you look out and see a couple hundred people, including a string of children reading poems and singing songs with the message that you should just say yes.

Wilkins is also the owner of Furniture Connection and knows the problems that small businesses, which provide most of the jobs in this area, are having. Williams works in human resources for Cintas Corp. and Henning works for Brady Services.

Wilkins has not only has lived in Guilford County his whole life, he has lived in the same zip code, so he should know the district pretty well. He also has a good many friends among current elected officials, and a number of them have publicly endorsed him. With the state of relations between Guilford County and the City of Greensboro, having friends on the Greensboro City Council could prove to be important. The taxpayers are better off when the two local governments cooperate – something that was thrown out the window by County Manager Fox.

My memory of Forsberg’s account is that C4GC tried to take over the Guilford County GOP and was thwarted by Wilkins’ leadership. If Wilkins has been vicious or caustic to such an extent that it warranted de-friending, I am not aware of it. My recollection is he was defending himself and the GCGOP from their hateful allegations. Perhaps she should trot out some examples of T Dub’s “vile, inflammatory statements” as proof. Of course, not being able to provide a link to the actual endorsement, further acts of internet daring-do could prove problematic.

Typically, the C4GC crowd writing at The Greensboro Guardian have been a little light in computer literacy. In this case, I think Forsberg may also be mistaken with her allegations. The fact is Tony has a long history as a local blogger and conduct such as she describes is not something he is known for. Most of the time, he talks about lunch or music, exhibits an excellent sense of humor, humility and affability.

Unlike the lock-step authoritarians at C4GC, Wilkins takes a human approach to issues rather than a political one. He well understands that local matters require listening to neighbors and constituents. Indeed, the citizens will find Tony a guy they can deal with, rather than someone who takes his orders from a dangerous cabal of bigots, racists, misogynists and hypocrites who act from a position of arrogance, ignorance, hatred and intolerance.

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