By Walter Petty
Siler City, NC – You may have seen attack ads about my time on the Chatham County Board of Commissioners, accusing me of missing meetings while still being paid.
There are those who would have you believe I neglected my duties on the board by misrepresenting the facts.
Most people know the facts including those making the accusations, but it’s time to set the record straight for those who do not.
The Democrats criticized me for missing meetings that coincided with some important facts. They used a clipped quote from the (Raleigh) News & Observer dated April 16, 2019:
“The demands on my schedule have become increasingly difficult to manage,” he said… “Petty was absent from the March meeting and had missed several other engagements last fall while away on business.”
What they left out from the same article:
“Petty’s business installs and services electrical generators that provide backup power for other businesses across the Southeast. He was gone much of the fall as his company helped in recovery efforts after Hurricane Florence in North Carolina and Hurricane Michael in the Florida panhandle.”
I was away, providing emergency power to people in need. Those included fire departments, emergency medical services, nursing homes, etc., in eastern N.C. devastated by Hurricane Florence.
If they want to attack me for missing a meeting while helping people in emergency situations, so be it.
There is another fact, but it is personal, so I didn’t talk about it much. During this time our youngest son was suffering from a neurological condition that greatly impacted his health. Over four years of 24-hour care was required before he passed away. By spring of 2019 my father’s health had declined, so I resigned in April. In May my father passed.
My opponent, Rep. Robert Reives II, missed legislative votes in the summer of 2021 to take care of his mother. It was the right thing for him to do, and I commend him for putting his family first. I am disappointed that some people think it’s OK to attack me for doing the same.
This election should be about our records and our policy positions.