{"id":11788,"date":"2015-01-17T23:19:55","date_gmt":"2015-01-18T04:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/?p=11788"},"modified":"2015-01-17T23:21:11","modified_gmt":"2015-01-18T04:21:11","slug":"breakdown-the-halifax-county-stalemate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2015\/01\/17\/breakdown-the-halifax-county-stalemate\/","title":{"rendered":"BreakDown: The Halifax County Stalemate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>BreakDown articles are in-depth articles where I analyze and comment on what&#8217;s really happening. They&#8217;re opinion based, and I strongly encourage criticism and opposing viewpoints. I&#8217;m expecting to ruffle a few feathers on this one.<\/p>\n<p>After going over the latest developments in the Halifax County Board of Supervisors deadlock over naming a new chairman, I&#8217;ve connected enough dots to lead me to the cause of this idiotic situation. It&#8217;s Doug Bowman.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h4><a title=\"BreakDown: Halifax County\u2019s Board of Jackass Supervisors\" href=\"http:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2015\/01\/09\/breakdown-halifax-countys-board-of-supervisors\/\" target=\"_blank\">Here&#8217;s our first BreakDown article on the situation (a few days after it happened)<\/a>.<\/h4>\n<p>Let&#8217;s review the players and the teams in this game:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Team Giordano<\/strong>: Larry Giordano, Doug Bowman , J.T. Davis, Tom West<\/p>\n<p><strong>Team Claiborne<\/strong>: Bryant Claiborne, Barry Bank, Lottie Nunn, Hubert Pannell<\/p>\n<p>This idiotic situation got weirder (yet much clearer to me) when the News &amp; Record published this um&#8230; interesting article on Thursday&#8230;<\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sovanow.com\/index.php?\/news\/article\/halifax_county_administrator_draws_fire_from_staff\/\" target=\"_blank\">Halifax County administrator draws fire from staff<\/a><\/h4>\n<p>Hello, News &amp; Record? You have the amazing photographer David Conner on your staff. Couldn&#8217;t you get a better photo than that? Anyway, let&#8217;s talk about the article first on a Big Board.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I know Kirby Saunders and I give him high credibility. I don&#8217;t know Robbie Love, but multiple sources vouched for him so I&#8217;m giving him high credibility too. Saunders has nothing to lose with his interview, but Love has a lot on the line.<\/li>\n<li>The statements from county administrator Jim Halasz and Finance Director Stephanie Jackson don&#8217;t do very much in rebutting Saunders and Love&#8217;s statements. In fact, their statements come pretty close to affirming the complaints.<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"The man who\u2019s not resigning has resigned.\" href=\"http:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2014\/02\/08\/the-man-whos-not-resigning-has-resigned\/\" target=\"_blank\">Regarding Earl Womack&#8217;s request for a black person to be appointed to his Board of Supervisors seat, I strongly objected to that as well. I didn&#8217;t like what was in the letter. I felt the contents were ridiculous. I think Earl Womack should have had the guts to stand in front of the public and read his letter himself. I didn&#8217;t think that because I was racist. I thought that because Earl Womack ran (and won) that seat while he knew he was under investigation for felony crimes<\/a>. I&#8217;m not holding that against Halazs one bit.<\/li>\n<li>Love and Saunders&#8217; statements show that there is a team effort between Bowman, Davis and West.<\/li>\n<li>Finally, County Administrator Jim Halasz isn&#8217;t &#8220;Grandpa&#8221; George Nester, his predecessor. Halasz&#8217;s management style is hands-on and that&#8217;s going to piss off a lot of county employees. Halasz has no authority over the Treasurer and Commissioner of Revenue because they&#8217;re Virginia Constitutional offices. But if those offices were eliminated and everything ran through the county&#8217;s finance office&#8230;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So how does all of this deal with the Board of Supervisors? Another Big Board, please.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Doug Bowman has incessantly came up with ideas to get rid of the Treasurer and Commissioner of Revenue offices. He looked like an ass when he jumped all over them about back tax collections and bills not going out on time. Even after being told that this has never worked in Virginia, Bowman is still holding tight to the idea.<\/li>\n<li>Doug Bowman would be a poor choice for Board of Supervisors chairman because of his hotheadedness and even he probably knows that he&#8217;d never get the votes from Tom West or J.T. Davis.<\/li>\n<li>Larry Giordano is also a poor choice for chairman. He&#8217;s just not up to speed on how things work and has looked foolish at times in his first year. However, he&#8217;d be a perfect sockpuppet for Bowman so that Bowman could advance his agenda and stomp on Team Claiborne. A vote for Larry Giordano is a vote for Doug Bowman.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now that Jim Halasz &amp; Stephanie Jackson&#8217;s &#8220;partnership&#8221; has been exposed, you can why Team Claiborne is digging in their heels. If the Treasurer &amp; Commissioner of Revenue&#8217;s offices get eliminated, it makes Jackson&#8217;s finance department super powerful. In turn, that makes Halasz and Team Giordano safe until the next election. Team Bowman&#8217;s ascent to the power position got derailed with Ray Owen lost his seat in the special election to Hubert Pannell. That turned Team Bowman&#8217;s 5-3 majority into a 4-4 tie.<\/p>\n<p>So what&#8217;s going to happen? I am quite confident that nobody on Team Claiborne is going to flip to Team Bowman&#8217;s side, and I can&#8217;t blame them after these new things have been revealed. Claiborne, Pannell, Nunn and Bank are on the &#8220;right side&#8221; of this issue. Team Bowman controls the finance committee and they&#8217;re looking to control much more of the county government. That leaves someone on Team Bowman to defect to the other team. Another Big Board, please.<\/p>\n<p>Who&#8217;s likely to defect and why?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Doug Bowman: He&#8217;d have to abandon all of his plans and his ego to leave his own team. That ain&#8217;t gonna happen, folks.<\/li>\n<li>Larry Giordano: He might realize that he&#8217;s being used as the pawn in this game, but I&#8217;m betting he already knows that and just wants that title of chairman. I&#8217;m very doubtful on him abandoning the ship.<\/li>\n<li>Tom West or J.T. Davis: Ding ding ding! Either of the two could make a deal with Team Claiborne that might just include the vice-chairman position for whoever hits the buzzer and sells out first.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If Team Claiborne wins (and I hope that they do), that&#8217;s going to rightfully put heat on Jim Halasz and Stephanie Jackson. They might be packing their bags sooner than they&#8217;d want to.\u00a0 You know we&#8217;re living in strange times when I think that Bizarre Barry Bank is on the right side of an issue. Heh.<\/p>\n<p>As I said at the beginning of the article, this BreakDown is only my analysis of the situation and solely my opinion. I could be totally off-base on this, but I&#8217;ve connected the dots enough that I hope you consider what I&#8217;ve said. I highly encourage people to agree or disagree in the comments section below.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ve got more coming up on SouthsideCentral!<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.imgur.com\/KuEywg6.jpg?resize=450%2C298\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"298\" \/><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BreakDown articles are in-depth articles where I analyze and comment on what&#8217;s really happening. They&#8217;re opinion based, and I strongly encourage criticism and opposing viewpoints. I&#8217;m expecting to ruffle a few feathers on this one.<\/p>\n<p>After going over the latest developments in the Halifax County Board of Supervisors deadlock over naming a new chairman, I&#8217;ve [&#8230;]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[101,63,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-breakdown","category-halifax-county","category-politicscentral","odd"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pwqFk-348","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11736,"url":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2015\/01\/09\/breakdown-halifax-countys-board-of-supervisors\/","url_meta":{"origin":11788,"position":0},"title":"BreakDown: Halifax County&#8217;s Board of Jackass Supervisors","author":"SouthsideCentral","date":"January 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In Pittsylvania County, we had a well-deserved shift of power. In Martinsville, we had a surprise change of power. In Halifax County, we had a stubborn Board of Supervisors who set a new record for dysfunctional stupidity. Let's look at it in this BreakDown... There is no chairman of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BreakDown&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BreakDown","link":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/category\/featurescentral\/breakdown\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"sclogo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/sclogo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11947,"url":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2015\/02\/04\/breakdown-halifax-countys-brokendown-board-of-supervisors\/","url_meta":{"origin":11788,"position":1},"title":"BreakDown: Halifax County&#8217;s BrokenDown Board of Supervisors","author":"SouthsideCentral","date":"February 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"We're in rare territory here. I'm doing a BreakDown on something that's already broken down. Let's put Monday night's Halifax County Board of Supervisors meeting into the BreakDown machine. It ain't gonna be pretty. We'll start you off with the Gazette-Virginian's article about it (paywall may apply unless you break\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BreakDown&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BreakDown","link":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/category\/featurescentral\/breakdown\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"sclogo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/sclogo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12730,"url":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2015\/05\/18\/lets-talk-the-halifax-county-recall-effort\/","url_meta":{"origin":11788,"position":2},"title":"Let&#8217;s Talk: The Halifax County Recall Effort","author":"SouthsideCentral","date":"May 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"We haven't had a straight up opinion piece in a while here on SouthsideCentral, so we're dusting off the \"Let's Talk\" category and getting one done. Today, a recall effort was officially started in Halifax County. The goal is to get Bryant Claiborne, Lottie Nunn, Barry Bank and Larry Giordano\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Halifax County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Halifax County","link":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/category\/locations\/halifax-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"sclogo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/sclogo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12274,"url":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2015\/03\/26\/reportcard-halifax-county-board-of-supervisors-32615\/","url_meta":{"origin":11788,"position":3},"title":"ReportCard! &#8211; Halifax County Board of Supervisors (3\/26\/15)","author":"SouthsideCentral","date":"March 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"If the schools give out report cards every so often, so can SouthsideCentral! Let's do a ReportCard on the Halifax County Board of Supervisors in this article. CAUTION: There's a potential for more \"F\"'s than an R-rated movie here. If you don't know that an \"A\" is tops and an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;GovernmentCentral&quot;","block_context":{"text":"GovernmentCentral","link":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/category\/governmentcentral\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.imgur.com\/OAGSBhf.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12034,"url":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2015\/02\/15\/breakdown-the-halifax-county-meltdown\/","url_meta":{"origin":11788,"position":4},"title":"BreakDown: The Halifax County Meltdown","author":"SouthsideCentral","date":"February 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In the last BreakDown, I reminded you that the Halifax County government system was already broken down. We're past that point and in full meltdown mode now. You probably know the details by now but if you don't, pick one of the three newspaper articles to read. Or pick them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BreakDown&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BreakDown","link":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/category\/featurescentral\/breakdown\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.imgur.com\/wLS0hmB.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13922,"url":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2015\/09\/05\/halifax-county-elections-update-1-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":11788,"position":5},"title":"Halifax County Elections &#8211; Update #1 &#8211; (Part #1)","author":"SouthsideCentral","date":"September 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It's Labor Day weekend, so it's time for the November election season to take the stage. We're going to take our first look at Halifax County's election slate now. We're going to focus on county races here. We've got five out of the eight election districts electing School Board &\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Halifax County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Halifax County","link":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/category\/locations\/halifax-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"sclogo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/sclogo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11788"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11790,"href":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11788\/revisions\/11790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}