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Political Brawl Brewing In High Point
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High Point City Councilmember Latimer Alexander finds the idea of Vice Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Steve Arnold running for mayor of High Point funny, saying Arnold's District 2 popularity wouldn't carry over to an at-large mayoral race.
"That's a joke," Alexander said. "Steve wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of being mayor of High Point."
Arnold isn't a declared candidate for High Point mayor – but he talks like one.
Arnold, who has teamed with Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston to shake up county government over the last year, but who is mired in financial troubles in the wake of US Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Waldrep Jr.'s Dec. 30 order denying him bankruptcy protection, now faces a shake-up of his own in High Point, where several politicians are criticizing him and encouraging other candidates to run for the District 2 seat on the Board of Commissioners that Arnold now holds.
The critics include High Point Mayor Becky Smothers, who took umbrage at a reference to the District 2 seat as "Arnold's seat," even though Arnold has held it since it was created in 1990.
"It ain't Steve Arnold's seat," Smothers said. "It's a seat on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners that comprises a lot of the City of High Point."
Smothers and other Democrats have tried to encourage Democratic opposition to Arnold for years, but this year is different – Arnold could face Republican primary opposition, something he hasn't had in recent elections. That matters in a district that is considered safely Republican.
Arnold's support in his district has been consistently strong, but some of his critics, thinking they sense blood in the political water, figure this year is the year that another Republican, at least, would have a chance in District 2.
The possibility of a Republican challenger to Arnold arose recently in a newspaper piece that described Smothers as "beating the bushes" for such a challenger.
Smothers said that was plain silly.
"I never used that word," she said. "I would not expect to find a candidate in a bush."
Bush-beating or not, Smothers and Alexander, a Republican, criticized Arnold and made clear that they wouldn't mind seeing him unseated, and Arnold, perhaps in retaliation, suggested that he could run for mayor against Smothers.
Does Arnold really plan a run for High Point mayor, or was the suggestion just a way to get in a dig at Smothers, who has held the mayor's gavel for all but four years since 1992? He isn't saying. Arnold said it's too early to discuss what he called the political machinations of High Point, and will first have to decide, by the Feb. 26 filing deadline, whether or not to run for reelection as a commissioner. The filing period for the High Point mayoral race doesn't start until July.
So why does Arnold sound like a candidate for mayor?
Arnold followed his refusal to throw his hat into the mayoral ring with a full-bore attack on Smothers and the rest of the High Point City Council that sounded for all the world like a stump speech.
Two possible Republican challengers to Arnold have been mentioned so far this year: High Point City Councilmember Bill Bencini, who has considered a run for Arnold's seat in the past but never thought the time was right, and Don Webb, the High Point GOP chairman and city executive for Wells Fargo Bank.
"Several people have asked me to consider it," Webb said. "I am considering it right now, but I have not moved beyond the consideration stage."
Bencini is reportedly the cause of Arnold's wrath against Smothers. The story is that Arnold was angry because Smothers had encouraged Bencini to run – something Smothers confirmed that she had done. "I'm not the only one who's talking to him," she said.
Bencini, like Webb, said he hadn't yet made up his mind.
"I am certainly giving it consideration," he said. "But I'm not at the point where I'm ready to make a decision."
That didn't stop Bencini – or Alexander, who said he could support either Bencini or Webb – from criticizing Arnold's performance as commissioner. And Arnold was just as quick to criticize Bencini. There's obviously no love lost between the camps.
Arnold dismissed Bencini's chances of winning a race for county commissioner, calling them "pretty slim" based on his record as a councilmember.
"Bill has shown himself to be a liberal," Arnold said. "And liberalism is out of fashion nationally and in High Point right now."
As evidence for Bencini's alleged liberalism, Arnold cited efforts by the High Point City Council to get the county commissioners to grant High Point extraterritorial jurisdiction – zoning authority outside the High Point city limits – in northwest Guilford County.
"It's a very liberal concept, this regulation without representation," Arnold said. "And the concept should be repugnant to anyone who claims to be a Republican."
Arnold described the extraterritorial jurisdiction push as outrageous.
"This is not consistent with conservative philosophy," he said. "It is not a politician's job to determine what individuals do with their private property."
Arnold's attacks on Bencini as neither a conservative nor a Republican, and his use of the dreaded L-word to describe Bencini, drew swift rebukes from Bencini, Alexander and Smothers.
Bencini turned the L-word back on Arnold, attacking his record as county commissioner.
"If liberalism is so out of fashion, why is he trying so hard to consolidate and enlarge city government?" Bencini said. "He's trying to convince the municipalities in Guilford County to consolidate services under the county government. That would be a larger government. I think small government is what conservatism is all about, not making government bigger."
Alexander, who, even more than Smothers, is the leader of the anti-Arnold movement, defended Bencini as a fellow Republican and got in a sideways jab at Arnold's business woes.
"Bill's a good Republican, just like Steve's a good Republican," he said. "I've never seen Bill be extraordinarily liberal, but I've never seen him be tied up with Democrat versus Republican. He's a responsible businessman who's got a long track record of success. I've seen him to be a conservative."
Bencini described himself as a man who likes governance better than politics. He said, "I'm not really good at politics."
Alexander, who clearly revels in the give-and-take of politics, made no pretense of not enjoying it. He said he didn't even think Arnold would file to run for reelection to his commissioner seat if Bencini filed, given Arnold's legal and financial troubles.
"Steve hasn't lost an election since he lost the lieutenant governor's race 20 years ago," Alexander said. "He doesn't want to get beat, either. I can't imagine Steve wants to keep looking at his dirty laundry in the newspaper."
Smothers took the high road on Arnold's financial troubles, commiserating over them and saying she hoped things would work out for Arnold and his family. But she dismissed his criticisms of Bencini and of herself as out of touch – a common theme among Arnold critics in High Point.
"All I can say is, Mr. Arnold knows very little about High Point," she said. "He must not know Mr. Bencini very well either."
Arnold said he wasn't surprised at the opposition from Smothers and Alexander. "I've heard that discussion," he said. "They've been talking about it for a long time."
Arnold said he didn't fear having Smothers as an opponent if he decides to run for mayor, saying that the last time he was on the ballot with her, when both won at-large City Council seats in 1987, he beat her vote total. He had numerous criticisms of the performance of Smothers and the High Point City Council.
"I could give you a big long list," he said. "Leadership is lacking, and what we need is conservative, principled leadership."
Arnold dismissed Bencini's idea that consolidating planning on a county level was a big-government move.
"Consolidation will clearly save money, not only on the government side but most importantly on the client side," Arnold said. "Time is money to builders and developers and other business interests. That will surely save a lot of money. I can't believe that an elected official doesn't understand that concept."
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