Several recent news items have inspired me to write this letter encouraging all of my Buncombe County neighbors to campaign and vote for Quentin Miller for sheriff, Anita Earls for N.C. Supreme Court and David Wilson Brown for Congress.
Quentin Miller: He and his awesome wife, Karen — whom he met in the Army — have fostered over 100 kids in Asheville. He is a 24-year veteran of the Asheville Police force and served as one of the top-ranking African-American officers. And to top it off, his opponents have absolutely no law enforcement experience. None.
His view and analysis of law enforcement serving as a component of healing the sicknesses of addiction, violence and frustration in our society are refreshing and urgently needed.
Anita Earls: This letter writer is a former federal court civil rights litigator. Folks, we’ve lost the federal courts. Taking back the state courts is crucial to protecting our rights. Anita Earls, a civil rights lawyer, founded the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a North Carolina based civil rights nonprofit. She understands the role of the judiciary in protecting our democracy. If any of this matters to you, it is crucial that you tell everyone to vote for her. You can be sure the Republicans are pouring millions into stopping her so they can continue to take away voting rights, due-process rights, the rights of municipalities to prohibit discrimination, etc.
David Wilson Brown: He will join the 47 Democratic Congress members who have already voted to absolutely stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia and stop the U.S. war in Yemen. He told me personally that he supports the Equal Rights Amendment and a constitutional amendment to protect the right of privacy (the constitutional foundation needed to protect abortion rights, gay rights, etc.). There’s so much more. Check him out and vote!
I hope I’ve inspired you to vote for these three candidates. And there are so many others. Early voting [started] Oct. 17. Come on out to the Wesley Grant center and vote!
— Roberta Wall
Asheville
Roberta, do you support Turning Point USA and the inspiring Candace Owens ? http://www.TPUSA.com
#BLEXIT
Yes! She’s wonderful! The same Candace Owens who less than two years ago ran a Trump bashing website on which she routinely mocked everything from his politics to his penis size, and said the Tea Party (now the MAGA bunch) would soon die out. Then after Trump won she switched sides because there was more money to be made selling out. Quite the inspiration indeed.
Mr. Miller was a Sargent, which is nowhere near “top-ranking” in a police organizational chart. It’s actually nearer the bottom (just above rookie and patrolman). His proposed policies mimic sanctuary cities and adopts their failed “coddle the criminal” mentalities (not to mention using language straight off of Ms. Wall’s website).
Anita Earls is a Social Justice warrior who wants to legislate from the bench, and who made her living by doing that very thing (suing the state and championing policies and procedures that Ms. Walls just happens to teach).
David Brown is a Nancy Pelosi clone who wants to take their “crumbs” back via abolishing the federal tax cuts, and he’s all about the “red-flag” laws that absolutely makes an allowance for law enforcement to seize legally purchased and owned weapons.
Ms. Wall is endorsing these three candidates because they all three have proposed policies very much aligned with her business, so this is not just an endorsement; it’s a business model that she conveniently omitted in her glowing endorsements.
And what rank did Shad Higgins advance to in law enforcement? Oh wait, none. Because he has ZERO experience in the field.
LOL coming from someone who wants open borders, that’s funny.
“Squirrel!”
I’m glad you brought up experience. I was merely pointing out that Sargent was not “top ranking, and that a police Sargent, now matter how well meaning, is still a low-level employee. As such, Mr. Miller had zero exposure (experience) in senior budgeting, auditing, and other key financial issues. Other than line-level reporting, he had very minimal exposure (experience) in key personnel actions (hiring, firing, recruiting, etc.). His primary reference is 24 years at APD, which if you’ve read a paper or two in the last 10 years, is not a shining beacon of hope that he does law enforcement right (just going on my experience with APD).
Based on that, and other factors pertaining to his lack of experience, Mr. Miller is ill equipped to be our sheriff. He will likely win the election, but it sure won’t be because he’s qualified for the job; that’s not how Asheville politics roll. It reminds me of an old farm metaphor: you can train and run a mule all you want, and he’s still never going to be a good racehorse.
Still trying to unravel the logic that no experience in law enforcement serves as the foundation for criticism that another person’s 25 years in the trenches is insufficient. Heck, on the basis of that reasoning Tracey DeBruhl should be made our “Philosopher King.”