Rhino Times reports Guilford County commissioners who did not support High Point’s funding plan for its downtown stadium “have targets on their backs” for the 2018 election:
Several Guilford County commissioners said this week that a political action committee – the High Point Political Alliance (HPPA) – is “targeting” Guilford County commissioners who are up for reelection this year since the county didn’t offer financial support for the stadium meant to help revitalize High Point’s downtown area. High Point leaders say that, if the current board won’t support their city, they’ll seek out and support commissioner candidates in the 2018 election who do.
Guilford County Commissioner Skip Alston said he’s gotten word that commissioners who didn’t vote to support the downtown baseball stadium now have targets on their backs for the High Point PAC and others in High Point.
“I don’t like what they’re doing,” Alston said. “It’s political suicide. It shows that they don’t want to work together going forward. I don’t like that.”
Several Guilford County commissioners said the HPPA may even find and support opponents of sitting commissioners in districts, like Alston’s, that are entirely outside of High Point.
Mind you the ‘mortgage’ on the $35 million stadium has been signed and it’s full speed ahead–weather permitting—for a spring 2019 opening. So any ‘targeting’ of a Guilford commissioner would be “petty,” as Commissioner Alan Branson described it—although HPPA’s official position is they simply want commissioners on the board who will support High Point’s economic interests.
