N&R editor Jeff Gauger tweets “Having it 2 ways? Rep. Coble says nice things about but doesn’t endorse Jeff Phillips for Guilford commissioner.”
Gauger’s referring to the miscommunication between Rep. Howard Coble and Phillips, who’s running for Guilford County Commissioner in District 5 against Coble’s friend, incumbent Paul Gibson. (Seeing a lot of Gibson signs here in tony Fisher Park.)
Coble said Tuesday that Phillips’ campaign sent him that statement and that he signed it. But Coble said he made it clear to Phillips that it was not an endorsement and that he even asked the campaign to strike the word “endorsement” from an earlier version of the statement.
“I agreed to have my picture made with him as I do all Republican candidates,” Coble said. “Sometimes I endorse them and in some cases I don’t.”
Gauger’s tweet suggest Coble is trying to straddle the political fence, and commenters at the N&R expressed disappointment in the longtime 6th District representative. Not sure what Coble’s supposed to do in this situation. For what it’s worth, Gibson doesn’t worked up over the situation.
