What's Going on in Wilson

Wednesday, September 08, 2010 -One event canceled, two events added

Wilson County's Tea Party has officially cancelled the sheriff's debate they were working to organize.
Bobby Pittman, who was helping organize the Tea Party event, said they decided Friday to call off their debate event after he didn't get a call back from Calvin Woodard, the Democratic nominee.

Planned events
However, there are still at least two election forums planned in the community:
* The Wilson Times has just announced plans for a sheriff's debate for Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. at Fike High School. See Page 2A for information on how to pick up free tickets beginning Thursday.

* Delta Sigma Theta will hold an election forum Oct. 24 at Darden Alumni Center at 4 p.m. It is free to the public and features candidates from multiple races in Wilson County. "The earlier you get there the better chance to get the seat you want," president Catherine Taylor said. "We plan to have all of the candidates who take part talk briefly about their candidacy. The audience will then have a chance to ask questions of any candidate they wish as long as they are polite."

Changing plans
The Tea Party event picked up a lot of attention in the community during recent weeks. Pittman said another Tea Party member, Joel Killion, talked to Woodard last Wednesday, but Woodard still had not told Killion if he had changed his mind and would now come to the debate.

Originally, the Tea Party was going to hold the debate at the Agriculture Center and charge $20 per person to cover the charge of having a Rocky Mount television station record the event. After Woodard said he had a problem with the cost, the Tea Party members decided to have the debate for free, but have a box for donations at the door. Tea Party members said they would give 140 tickets to each candidate to give out as they pleased.

"The Tea Party people were trying to do their best with having the debate, but I personally didn't think it was in the best interest of the people of Wilson County when the amount of people was limited to 300," Woodard said. Unaffiliated candidate John Farmer was moving ahead with plans to attend that debate.

Pittman said he and Tea Party members are disappointed because they thought the debate would have been a good thing for Wilson County residents. "I also don't think some Wilson people understood we were trying to keep everything neutral," Pittman said. "They were asking why a Rocky Mount television station. It wasn't going to air in Rocky Mount. They were just recording it because they didn't have an interest in who won. Our moderator was from Wayne County."

The Tea Party has been active in Wilson County recently, successfully chartering numerous buses for a recent trip to Washington, D.C. Members said the trip was a success. A second trip to Washington is planned for Saturday to attend the Sept. 11 event.

*Article written by Janet Conner-Knox, Wilson Times Staff Writer