COMMENTS - I've got the experience

Here's what folks are saying about the Wilson Times article "I've got the experience" referencing John Farmer.

COMMENTS 28

John Farmer said that John Farmer said... Did you know that it has been proven that people that are trying to cover up corruption start referring to themselves in third person. It's a way to seperate themselves from the truth. It is obvious that he is trying to cover up his involvment with all the things that went wrong with the department while trying to claim all the good as his own. Some people are blind to the things that are right in front of them, so John Farmer said that John Farmer is going to keep things the way they are with the employees because the good conditions already exist. Yeah right. Monday, September 20, 2010 at 7:43 AM

Crystal Ball said... I am wondering where these Crystal Ball's are. It seems that any Farmer supporter that you find is oh so sure that he has this election won. "by a poll" Well I know they forgot to ask me as well as many others who they were voting for. There has to be a crystal ball that they are looking into. I would like to ask you guys with the crystal balls....when am i going to win the lottery? If you can answer that I will know when to play. This is just another one of Farmer's stupid tricks trying to sway voters. Have you not figured out that we can see right through you John? The dirter you play the more obvious it gets to people who the best candiate truely is so KEEP ON GOING FARMER!!!You will make it so much easier for WOODARD before this is over. CALVIN WOODARD Sheriff of Wilson County...that will be what you see so soon. I have even seen some of your wonderful staff posting that on here. So who else can tell lies about how wonderful everything is in the office right now. Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 10:56 PM

Proven experience? said... Man, this sounds familiar. Just showing his likeness to Wayne Gay. I do believe Wayne preached the same thing. Proven experience? We see where that got us. Lowest paid deputies in the state, third highest paid sheriff in the state, and a higher crime rate than Wake County. No thanks Mr.Farmer. Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 9:42 PM

I Agree said... I agree, the people on Fate Road that keep posting that they only have 1 sign need a reality check. You have one for Farmer and keep complaining. Do you want a Calvin Woodard sign? If so, call his headquarters and let them know. If your vote is based on signs, you need to stay home on Election Day. It is about the issues, like the high crime rate, the horrible drug problem, the conditions at the Animal Control Facility, the unequal amount of officers on duty at night that puts our county, kids not attending school, things just out of control and putting our county in jeopardy that you need to think about. You need to take this race more seriously. These conditions I have mentioned have all happened on the watch of the "experience" Major John Farmer. We need the leadership of Calvin Woodard to bring this county together and get the morale of the Sheriffs' Office back up where it should be. It may not be relevant to some people but it is to a lot of the voters that Calvin Woodard has several degrees. If you ever worked for a degree and accomplished the goal of receiving one, you would know what I mean. They don't just hand them out, you have to work for them. Just because you take up a seat in an office and do what the boss says without question does not constitute experience. Calvin Woodard has already made a difference in this county by bringing people together to work for a common goal. The campaign volunteers are a diverse group from all walks of life who are working for a better Wilson. John Farmer has shown that he does not bring people together except his relatives and Wayne Gay supporters,and uses intimidation to get what he wants. If won't work this time, the power of the people of Wilson County will prevail. Calvin Woodard will be the next Sheriff of Wilson County. Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 3:38 PM

fact checker said...To me thinks-You are absolutely right. I checked this out on the Salary Information for all NC counties on the UNC School of Government site. In 2005 our Wilson County Sheriff's salary was $91,764 and his major's average pay was $43,338. Now let's roll it up to 2010 Salaries. The Sheriff now makes $144,517 and the major's average was $69,407. Let's do the math, the Sheriff's salary increased $52,753 and the Major's average salary increased $26,069. So Mr. Farmer is familiar with the budget, well I guess so, he knows how to help himself and his boss to substantial raises and to heck with the rest of the staff. I guess that is the experience he is talking about, taking care of himself and his boss. I guess it never occurred to him that type of public information could cause poor morale among other things. While Wayne Gay got a $13,138 raise in the 2010 fiscal year, the sheriff's in the surrounding counties salaries remained the same or rose slightly. The difference in the Sheriff's salary if he had not received any raises from 2005 to 2010 is $168,590. So it looks to me that the County Commissioners, the Sheriff Wayne Gay and his experienced Major John Farmer don't mind looking out for themselves. I have not done the difference in the raises for the Major position. Since there is more than one major and it only gives one category for majors salaries. I can do the average if any one is interested. So if you have any doubt about who to vote for in this race, John Farmer is not the one to put back in the Sheriffs office were he can continue to do the budget. Just think about what that extra money that lined Gay's pocket could have done for morale in the Sheriff's Office if that money had been shared with the other officers. So now you have the facts "Me Thinks." Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 3:10 PM

WHAT! said... WHY WOULD JOHN MAKE A STUPID STATEMENT LIKE THAT! CALVIN WORKS FOR THE SBI AS AN INVESTIGATOR. THAT'S ALL HE DOES-INVESTIGATES MAJOR CRIMES. SERIOUSLY,I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW HOW MANY CASES JOHN HAS INVESTIGATED FUTHER MORE HOW MANY HAS HE EVER SOLVED.I REALLY LOVED HOW HE DODGED AROUND THE QUESTION ABOUT THE DEPUTIES SALARY-GIVE THEM A GOOD SCHEDULE INSTEAD OF A PAY RAISE,YOU ARE KIDDING ME! Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 1:30 PM

To me thinks said... Farmer and Gay both received raises on more than one occasion when the deputies got nothing. get the past years budgets and see. for example when animal enforcement was taken over himself, gay and a secretary got the money, not the deputies having to do the dirty work. Im not a farmer fan bc he is simply not fair Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 12:05 PM

"That you lead by example said... you make sure you stay tight with the sheriff and you get yours if no one else does. Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 10:31 AM

been intricately involved with the day-to-day running of the sheriff's office from the budget to personnel issues for 12 years. said... but he has no reponsibility or accountability for the shortcomings in the past. past history is usually a very good indicator of future actions. anything good , farmer is responsible for and he had hands on control. anything bad, and there was alot of bad and shady business, he had no controll over and it was all wayne gays responsability. pass the buck Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 10:29 AM

to target said... because the sbi, like the hp , dot , and any other state agency or board all filled up with political patronage appointments. that is why nc is the most corrupt state in the country. it has always been bad because it has been a one aprty corrupt democratic controlled state for so long and the master of political patronage, james b Hunt Jr made it legendary and his proteges Easley, Perdue, Basnight, Cooper, AB "show me the money" Swindell, rand, ballance, Butterfield and all the rest of the democratic crooks keep it going. Calvin is just an honest, hard working, god fearing , family man with some integrity and alot of courage to challenge the corrupt political establishment and give honest , hard working average people hope that there is some justice and fairness in our system of government. he has already won the sheriffs race once. i doubt it will happen, but it would be a travesty of justice if it was stolen from him the second time by a wayne gay clone. I dont think the "majority" of our electorate are that stupid and gullible. we certainly have our share as has been proven by past elections and the longterm entrenched incumbents who are a bunch of arrogant , self serving embiciles who are running our city and county into the ground. Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 10:10 AM

In a nut shell said... Woodard works more than 20 counties with the SBI. He investigates homicides, officer involved shootings, internal affairs, ect... If woodard can keep up with more than 20 counties, Im sure he can keep up with Wilson. Woodard was never promoted at the Sheriff's Office because he wasnt one of the boys. The promotion went to someone who all they did was see what was happening and grabbed a shovel and helped over it up. I mean really, if Farmer wants to say he is such a wonderful manager, then why has the moral been so low for more than 2 years? Answer: Decisions were never thought out and his poor leadership skills made employees not respect him; however, he led by intimidation. Thats what he is trying to do in this article is intimidate Woodard by talking him down. He figures that if he can intimidate Woodard then he will become discouraged and back down. Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 9:41 AM

what gets me with farmer said... he wants to use how much he ran the sheriffs office for experience but when he is questioned about dept deficiencies he always says gay made all the decisions without his input and passes the buck to Gay and takes no reponsibility for the depts shortcomings. he sounds alot like bill clinton used to . take credit for everything good, blame the republicans for everything bad. anything good he takes credit , anything bad was Wayne Gays doings. typical politician . when a politician claims he is not a politician LOOK OUT. LOL Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 9:07 AM

to me thinks said... its not the deputies getting raises most of us are talking about. most govt workers havent had raises in this bad economy. its the disparity between the top brass and the avrg detention officer or deputy and the meager starting pay and tenured pay compared to surrounding counties and other nearby law enforcement agencies. Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 9:03 AM

Woodard supporter said... Woodard has been in law enforcement his entire adult life. Just vote for Woodard. We need someone fro the outside, not an insider from the same department. Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 8:45 AM

not even relevent... said... You say because Farmer doesn't have a college degree that means he isn't qualified? How ignorant. Do you know how many successful people don't have college degrees? If he went to work right out of military service or high school, then he has acquired a wealth of knowledge in "hands on learning." Not everyone is destined for college and that shouldn't be a deciding factor of this job. Mr. Woodard is younger and has been successful at his career and gotten college degrees and that is all well and good. It is not caparable. Both men have different qualities and strengths to draw on and the 30 years of experience that Farmer has does matter. One of them will have to convince me they are the best candidate for this job, until then I remain undecided. Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 8:14 AM

methinks said... OK, here are some facts that folks are just ignoring. 1: Deputies not getting raises is not all that shocking. No state employees have received a raise in over 3 years. We are in a economic crisis in case you have forgotten. That means, no only are we the citizens broke, but the government is too. 2: College degrees are great, but hey, they are really only worth the paper they are printed on. When you apply for a job the requirements clearly state what education is required or how many years of experience will be accepted in place of said education. Now as a perspective employer (that would be we the citizens) we need to decide what works best for us. Do we hire an employee with the greater education but no hands on learning or experience that needs time to learn and be trained for his new position or do we hire an employee with less education but with greater experience that can come to work on day 1 and know exactly what to do without being told? Really folks, look at the bigger picture. Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 10:02 PM

TO;Just sayin said... What sheriff department has Farmer ran and where did he get all his college degrees from? Oh he hasnt and he didnt that is right. So just how is he qualified for the postion? oh that is right HE ISN'T....Calvin has more knowledge in a min. than Farmer has in a day. Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 9:54 PM

NO COLLEGE DEGREE said...Farmer would not even be considered to lead most police departments because he has no college degree. Seems to me that if you always had a desire to be sheriff then you would have done something to advance your education. Guess you figured if it worked for your mentor Wayne Gay, it would work for you as well. Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 9:10 PM

Please... said... More education? You don't even have a COLLEGE DEGREE!!! Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 9:00 PM

Just sayin' said... Calvin does NOT have the experience! He has been working for the SBI, not the Wilson County Sheriff's Officee. Calvin has been told what to do by his superiors. He has not been in charge of personnel, budget management, etc. He will be totally in over his head if he's elected. I'm sure he's a good guy, and a hard worker, but he doesn't have the leadership ability to run the sheriff's department. Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 8:03 PM

IT IS ALL ABOUT ME!! said... When you read both of these articles what I hear is Night and Day. Farmer is all centered around me me me and drilling Woodard into the ground with what he is not capable of doing.He needs to take the time to get to know the candiate he is running against. Then when you flip sides Woodard took the opertunity to tell what he is going to do with the Sheriff's department. I know the best thing he will do is boost the moral. That is just one of many that Farmer will not be able to do. He is already there and can't assist in doing that. WOODARD is already our next Sheriff. He won it already. This is all another one of Gay's trick's he has up his sleeve. The other one could be if Farmer wins, he could be Farmer's right hand man and Farmer step down. Leaving us right back where we started. It has happened in another county in the past. Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 5:44 PM

Target said... If Calvin is so qualified and has so much experience then why is he still a grunt at the sbi?Why isn't he running the place? Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 1:55 PM

Facts said... Experience, was part of Wayne Gay's campaign slogan of "Proven Experience". As for working a drug case, its no different in working a break in or a vandalism case. You simply take the information that is provided and follow up on it. The difference is that it is more time consuming because drug dealers do not have a watch. Im sure if Woodard was to be elected Sheriff, he would evaluate the drug guys and make any necessary changes without influence. I also read that ur experience is in budget and personnel issues so you received a raise when the deputies didnt, and you assisted in the decision making process of the personnel issues. I can think of 5 deputies now that shouldn't be wearing a badge, but their behavior was allowed. Its unethical for deputies to wear a badge and do what they did and its also unethical to allow it to happen. I really extend apprciation to WDT, both articles seem fair and allow citizens to see what each canidate is about. Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 1:53 PM

twindad said... I told ya'll that all that coaching by Wayne Gay makes for long days! If Farmer thinks his days are long now during campaigning, just think how long his days will be if he happens to win Wayne Gay will be "coaching" him (telling him) how to run the sheriff's office. Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 1:10 PM

Outside looking in said... Mr. Williams needs to ask any Deputy how smooth things are running right now. I know a few of these guys, and their morale is discouragingly low. Change for the sake of change can be negative, but change is needed in this case. You can believe that Mr. Farmer will not be controlled if you want to, but I don't believe that myself. Calvin does have the experience! Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 12:04 PM

said... I will focus on the best man for the job and we all know Farmer aint the right one. He starts his morning at 5:30 to see what he can do that would stab his other candiate in the back that day. I hope and pray he pulls up in my yard and tries to change my mind, when I have a Woodard for Sheriff sign in the front. If Gay aint behind him where did he get all the money from to buy all them signs and he just had his first fundraiser and the signs are about $8.00 a piece. WOODARD fro Sheriff is the right choice if you want some order brought to the Sheriff department. Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 10:49 AM

said... If your vote is decided by who put a sign in your yard or your neighbors yard then you don't need to vote. Also don't forget that Fate Rd is divided in 2 by 795 and not everybody delivering yard signs knows that. You complain like you don't know it yourself. YOUR ROAD IS DIVIDED BY A HIGHWAY. NOT EVERYONE KNOWS HOW TO GET TO YOUR HOUSE. Please vote for the canidate that will be best for the job. Voting is a right that that should be taken seriously and you abuse it when you vote carelessly. I'm sure that even if the Sheriff himself didnt know where your street is , law enforcement officers that patrol your area do .So now you dont have to worry yourself with the next Sheriff putting yard signs on your road , you can focus on the issues. Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 9:24 AM

Fifth Grader said... Thank you. Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 7:29 AM

fate road said... 1 john farmer sign on fate road,0 calvin woodard sign on fate rd, do you 2 know where fate rd is. Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 2:43 AM