The N&R published Tom Campbell’s column on the ‘signals’ legislative Republicans are sending to local officials:

In the three short months of this legislative session Republican leaders have sent strong signals they don’t trust locally elected officials, passing or proposing legislation containing a myriad of dictates such as tying the hands of locals to annex property, instructing school systems specifically where to cut budgets, dictating the firing and rehiring practices of school employees, providing detailed restrictions regarding local billboards, prohibiting competition with regulated monopolies and the list grows daily.

Campbell would probably add to that ‘myriad of dictates’ House Bill 366, which would require that special elections for –oh, I don’t know —-a sales tax increase—- only be held on the same day of a General Election or a Municipal election, where turnout is better and less select.

An example is Randolph County, which scheduled a March election for a sales tax increase that would raise funds for Randolph Community College.

I’d say the signal is pretty strong that Republicans don’t trust local officials. But when you look at that example —- or municipal broadband, to cite another example —- should they be trusted?