2024 A Look Back: Ready to throw down award
Fight for what you believe in — but not like, literally. File photo
It’s nice to have an elected board of representatives who care about their county and are willing to fight for what they think is right.
Well, maybe fight isn’t the right word — that is, unless you’re on Swain County’s board of commissioners.
On June 18 of last year, during a closed session, Commissioner David Loftis became angry at another commissioner while talking about a new animal control officer position.
In the minute leading up to the verbal altercation, voices can be heard discussing problems with snakes on properties, presumably discussing how an animal control officer may handle that situation. In the background a couple of voices grow louder and suddenly a woman is heard saying in a calm tone, “we need law enforcement now.”
Within seconds, a man’s voice can be heard saying, “I will beat your butt.”
Say what you want about Loftis, but even in the heat of the moment, as he was ready to throw down, he still avoided using profanity.
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“Don’t you ever stick your nose into something I’m doing,” the voice continues.
A few seconds later, the audio cuts off for about a half hour before the board — minus Loftis — returned to announce no decisions were made during the closed session.
When asked by The Smoky Mountain News whether he was concerned about any kind of sanction from his fellow board members, Loftis stated his opinion bluntly.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t care what they do,” he said. “A bunch of crooks in my opinion.”
During the next meeting, Commissioner Roger Parsons said both the altercation and Loftis’ words to SMN were “embarrassing.”
“I think that people should taste their words before they spit them out. I don’t think I’m a crook. In fact, I’m positive I’m not, and I’ve never told a lie to a commissioner at this table, and I’ve never said anything that wasn’t true to my knowledge to any commissioner at this table,” Parsons said. “I just want us to have a little sense of decorum and good behavior and manners and work together to get the business of this county done in a civil manner that brings pride to our citizens. It’s heartbreaking for me to see what some of our meetings have turned into.”
The whole ordeal led the board to adopt a code of conduct on a 3-2 vote, with Loftis and Kenneth Parton going against the proposed code, which is itself a blemish on the reputation of the county.
