Wake County taxpayers are on the hook for the hiring of two lobbyists who will fight each other before the General Assembly. The Democrats on the Wake County school board have voted to spend up to $100,000 to work against the Republicans on the Wake County commission. The Republican controlled commission has hired former Raleigh mayor Tom Fetzer to lobby on its behalf for changes such as taking ownership of schools and providing funding for public charter schools to build their facilities – changes the Democrats on the school board oppose. Fetzer will reportedly be paid no more than $25,000.

Since we now have a clear, ongoing political and policy divide in Wake County, I support the hiring of the lobbyists. Let’s fight it out and settle it once and for all. And let’s act like adults and put the political party identification on the ballot and stop pretending that local boards are “nonpartisan.”  Democrats and Republicans view the role of government very differently. Party identification is a key piece of data that helps voters evaluate the candidate.