Buncombe County Commissioner Mike Fryar is crying foul. Assistant County Manager Mandy Stone resigned from AB Tech’s board of trustees so Fryar could have a seat at the table. Fryar is on record for strongly opposing the quarter-cent tax increase for the community college, and he suspects that may have something to do with what preceded. The Buncome County Commissioners unanimously approved his appointment; but the day before, the Madison County Commissioners had called a crash meeting in which they appointed one of their own, Wayne Brigman, to the board. Two hours before the Buncombe meeting, Brigman was seated. Since the bylawss only allow one person serving as a county commissioner to be seated on the college’s board, Fryar was out.
Personally, I was disappointed with the lot “conservative” Buncombe County Commissioners received in the boards and commissions appointment process. They will be serving on boards overseeing mixtures of government with things I believe are better left to markets. It appeared to be one of those cult/gang buy-in maneuvers, if I may say so.
