Political winds change.
Case in point: Lee County, the suburban county south of the Triangle that is expected to be the focal point of natural gas drilling in North Carolina.
Democrats seized control of the local Board of Commissioners last November and are now expected to pass a resolution next week opposing fracking and the drilling regulations lobbed by the N.C. Mining and Energy Commission. Interestingly, that appointed commission was once chaired by former Lee County Commissioner Jim Womack, an outspoken conservative who supports fracking.
In Feb. 2013, the Indy reported on Womack’s use of an anonymous blog to attack his local political enemies.
In the case of local politics, it can be difficult to assess what issue causes local government turnover, but it seems likely that the county’s long-lagging economy and a groundswell of public opposition to drilling helped Democrats seize power. Thus, next week’s motion.
The meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday in Sanford.
