“Weekend Watercooler” listeners know that I often joke that Penny Rich is my senior political correspondent. The fact is I’ve interviewed Rich so many times on the Watercooler it’s not an interview anymore — just friends catching up.
There’s a reason for so many appearances on my little show: COVID-19. Over the last 18 months I have frequently had Rich as a guest on my program to get the latest update on the pandemic as it unfolded in our community.
In 2020, Rich was the top elected official in the Orange County government. Week after week we would talk about changes in mask mandates, voluntary shutdowns, mandatory shutdowns and often we discussed how important it was that our local government was taking charge of those aspects of public health management over which they had control.
The Orange County government followed CDC Guidelines, but they didn’t stop there. It was clear in January of 2020 that we were all about to see a dramatic public health crisis in the spread of this new virus. It would clearly be made worse because of the lack of competence in the Trump administration.
It was also clear that state and local governments would need to fend for themselves. Rich led the Orange County government response to the pandemic. A bad situation was not worsened by an uncoordinated local response. The commissioners acted, communicated and kept close tabs on a constantly changing unprecedented situation so they could keep adjusting their plans.
That’s what strong, responsible leaders do.
Penny Rich has decided to raise her hand and say “Yes, I’ll serve” to fill the seat of Mark Dorosin until the special election can be held next year to replace him on the Board of County Commissioners.
In the primary last year, Rich came just seven votes short of re-election. More than 12,000 voters said they wanted her service to continue. She handled that loss gracefully and professionally. When there was a recount with the identical outcome, Rich said she was grateful for the great job that our board of elections did in both counts. It’s a tribute to them, she said, quite unselfishly.
We could all understand if she wanted to drop off the radar for a while after such a close race and disappointing loss.
Instead, she has continued to speak out on important community issues and she is just out and about -helping, writing, contributing. That’s civic commitment. If you follow a lot of national politics, you don’t get to see a lot of that, but indeed, that’s what it looks like. Get up, dust yourself off and find other ways to serve.
I mention all this because the County Commissioners will now make this appointment and I strongly suggest that there is no better choice than Penny Rich. The reason is very simple. The task at hand is to replace an experienced leader in Mark Dorosin with a responsible person to be the seventh vote on the board.
- Someone who will act in good faith.
- Someone who will not require a new commissioner orientation.
- Someone with strong experience and good judgment with a clear understanding of what the job is to be a county commissioner.
I don’t make this suggestion because I agree with Penny Rich about everything because I’m sure I don’t. I make it because I think this is the obvious choice for the Commissioners and one that is most faithful to the will of the voters – an extremely important priority right now. This isn’t an election, it’s an appointment and that means that the Commissioners must find their way to act on behalf of the voters, following their intent. With our voting rights under such assault right now, we need a process with integrity.
I think appointing Rich is the most fair outcome.
I think it’s the right thing to do.
I think the Commissioners should do it before Penny changes her mind. Let’s get Rich – Quick.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97-9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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