Working For A Better Stokes County

Working For A Better Stokes County

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

candidates forum

We are having a candiates forum thursday night, October 2nd in Walnut Cove. Richard Newsome, Ed Gambill and myself. Taking Questions from the audience. 7pm at the Senior Center.

absentee voting

I have a number of people ask me about absentee voting. Please go to

http://www.co.stokes.nc.us/vote/

this should answer any questions. Time is gowing short. If you have any questions please let me know

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Democratic headquarters is open in walnut Cove now. Grand opening at the King office is tonight. Lowes food shopping center next door to Dominoes Pizza. Come join us.

campaign

I have spent the summer learning as much as possible about county government and how we can improve on our current situation. I have met as many people as I can and really feel like I am ready to mount a campaign that will raise new ideas and bring new energy to our county government. from here on out look for regular posts. I also will be trying to keep everyone updated about the campaign events and where I will b e and whats going on. There are exciting things going on in Stokes county and I am proud to be a part of it.

cookout

ZOLLIE SMITH FOR STOKES COUNTY COMMISSIONER
RALLY/FUNDRAISER/HOT DOG COOKOUT

SEPT 6TH From 5-7PM

At the

THE DAN RIVER COMPANY
1110 Flinchum Road
Danbury, NC. 27016
http://WWW.DANRIVERCOMPANY.COM

Come early and Canoe down the Dan River with us!
If you want to rent a canoe call 336-593-BOAT (2628) for reservations.
The Last trip leaves at 1 PM in order to finish by 5 for the start of the cookout.

FROM THE SOUTH
Take Hwy. 52 North to Rt. 8 North (Germanton exit) thru Danbury and past the hospital. Continue in and at the second big curve turn Left onto Flinchum Road. Go 1/2 mile and turn Right into the parking lot at the DRC sign.

FROM THE NORTH
Take Rt. 8 South towards Danbury. At the stop sign turn Left go over the bridge. You are still on Rt. 8. Turn Right at Flinchum Rd. (the next road to your right), continue 1/2 miles and turn Right into the parking lot at the DRC sign.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE
ZOLLIE.ORG

Monday, March 10, 2008

Public Speaking

I am getting ready to have some opportunities to speak in front of crowds. After a lifetime of listening to sermons, speeches, lectures etc and doing some public speaking myself I have come up with a few rules for my public speaking adventures.

Zollie's 4 rules for Zollie's public speaking adventures.
1.Keep it Short
2.Keep it Simple
3.Keep it Positive
4.Keep it Short

I believe this blog along with my web site allows voters to read in detail what my views are, even to ask questions and offer suggestions. In talking to people in small groups and individually more details and specifics can be communicated. I have found that when speaking before a large crowd less is more.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Presidential Race

Seems like the race for the Democratic Nominee got a lot closer yesterday. I think that means they will still be campaigning in North Carolina before our May 6th primary. I am glad that we will get to be involved in the presidential primary race. I believe both candidates will be in our state and area much more than if the race was already decided.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Platform Issues

Last night I received a list of issues that I will need to address in my Platform

Economic Dev elopement
Health Care
Taxation
Education
Environment
Electoral Districts
Security
Infrastructure
Other:

I will continue to work to articulate where I stand on these issues as the campaign progresses.I have my opinions, but would welcome any and all comments, arguments , opposing views etc. I certainly appreciate any referencing facts and figures or directions to any pertinent information, people to talk to , newspapers or magazine articles, web sites/blogs anything that will help make my opinions the best informed opinions they can be.

Monday, March 3, 2008

3/3 Wilson Store meeting

Spoke at a Wilson Store Precinct meeting, Candidate Introduction Night. Myself and Richard Newsome are the candidates for county commissioner. Ed Gambel is running against Brian Holloway spoke. Bill Southern is running for judge. Diane Hamby and Roy Carter are running for the 5th district democratic nomination to run against Virginia Foxx forUS house of Representatives. Steve Carroll introduced me. I felt pretty confident my talk went well, tryed to keep it short. I also tryed to keep it as bi-partisan as I could. Stanley Smith who is the only democrat on the current board was on there along with Yvonne Rutledge, Who is a member of the Board of Education. Good food and fellowship. I enjoyed talking and meeting people from around the county. lots of folks seemd to know about the chicken stew and are planning on attending.

Chicken Stew

ZOLLIE SMITH
STOKES COUNTY COMMISSIONER
2008

CAMPAIGN KICKOFF/FUNDRAISER
CHICKENSTEW

SATURDAY
3/15/2008 6:00 PM

MOUNTAINVIEW COMMUNITY CENTER
2473 SLATE ROAD
KING NC 27021
US 52 TO MOORE/RJR EXIT GO EAST, CROSS OLD 52 TURNS INTO MOUNTAINVIEW RD, CROSS 66, RIGHT ON SLATE RD, 1 MILE ON THE RIGHT.

checkout www.zollie.org


Zollie Smith for Stokes County Commissioner 2008
Dale Holder Treasurer

Campaign set

The final Lineup for the campaign has been set. I am one of two democrats filed so we will not have to run in the primary. There are 3 republicans so they will have to have a primary. Then the top 2 republicans will run against the 2 democrats and the top 2 leaders in total vote count will be the winners. I am enjoying the campaign so far. I was prepared to run in the primary if needed, I thought that would be the best way to get my name out in parts of the county that I am not as strong in but It also will save my campaign money not having to run in the primary. I am speaking tonight at Quaker Gap community building at a Candidate introduction night hosted by Wilson Store Precinct.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Since agreeing to join the political fray I have tryed to educate myself more on all the issues. Some that I was concerned about before or had a more immediate impact on my family I was more aware and informed than on issues that did not. But in talking to people and reading more and through the media, I hear alot about liberal and conservative views. Seems people want to label other views and certainly politicians as one or the other or leaning that way. Certainly in our area it is said you cannot be too conservative. I am not sure I understand what that actually means. I do definitely feel that this is a way to skip over the messy details of an argument, and that alot of times in the media it is a person of a certain political persusion degrading the views of another person, or the political record of a politician by saying they are liberal or not conservative enough. I am not sure all this is in the best interest of our country nor our community efforts.
By my definition conservative would be the point of view that the less government the better, while the liberal view would be a well thought out, well executed government program would be the answer. Kind of like ketchup on a hamburger. Some folks want a lot- a liberal amout, some folks like to be more conservative with their condiments. But the current conservative movement does not fit into that definition when you look at specific issues.
While out campaiging it has surprised how alot of people the first issue they want to talk about when I tell them I am running is gun control. I really dont believe this is an issue that comes before the county commissioners much but its of huge importance to some of my friends and neighbors. To me this would be an issue that the true conservative principles would apply. The "Gun People" as I call them seem to feel that any government control , or laws regulating the buying and selling, of their guns is bad. Less government good more government bad.
Another issue that folks get real upset about is imigration. Seems this is an issue that is very complicated but my conservative friends are all in agreement the government needs to get involved and build walls, hire more boarder patrols, more agents, spend what is neccesary to get those illegal immigrants out. On this issue the conservatives want more government.
The big issue some years is abortion. The current staus of being legal would seem to me to be the most conservative status. To take something legal and generate laws to make it illegal, spend government money to enforce these laws, supply more courts, build more prisons to house convicted abortion providers and abortion seekers does not sound like a less government position to me.
The big national issue right now is the war on terror. The conservative movement seems to support the war at any cost whether human of financial. Not to debate the merits of the war here but to me that would be completly opposite of the definition of smaller government is better.
I am not here in this entry to share my views on these , issues there will be more coming on all that. My point in all this is I think this country and county would be much better served if we all eased up on the labeling and tryed a little harder to educate ourselves on the individual potential solutions to specific problems. Lets take the partisan shrillness out as much as possible. I know I am going to do my best on this issue.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

We attended the West Stokes Swim team banguet tonight. We have had a child on the swim team 4 of the last 5 years. Every year we watch as these sports that dont get the attention that the other sports get, with coaches that have to be begged to coach, have enormous impact on these kids. The young girl that did coach said she agreed to do it at the last minute but did a great job and seemed to really enjoy working with the kids. They learn Sportsmanship, Teamwork etc along with getting great workouts. The boys team won the conference sportsmanship award .
It always makes me feel something is wrong with the emphasis we put on certain sports and the financial support they receive compared to what we do for other sports. It seems to me that if our goal is to create healthy adults sports like swimming, cross country and tennis would more important. The people I know that played alot of football when we were younger seemed to be much more prone to be suffering from "old football injuries "as adults. While the adults that played these other sports seem to be much healthier.

Monday, February 4, 2008

I am hoping my campaign will encourage people that have not been involved in the political process before to get more involved. I am hoping more people will pay more attention, we all educate ourselves on the issues , discuss alternatives throughout the campaign then make a decision and vote. I hope by doing this we can have a campaign that will increase the effectiveness of our county government whether I win or lose.
For people that are not registered they can contact the Board of Elections @ www.co.stokes.nc.us/vote/. As long as you are going to be 18 in time for the general election you can go ahead and register and be eligible to vote in the primary. You can register as a Democrat, Republican or Unaffilliated. To vote for me in the Democratic primary may 6th you will need to be registered as a Democrat or Unaffiliated.
In my capacity as Co-President of the West Stokes Band Boosters we are working with the other band booster groups around the county to increase support for the music programs with in the schools, from the County and from the Community. We recently joined the King Chamber of Commerce. We are hosting a Business after Hours get together march the 11th. In order to further awareness of the Band and what a great program we have and what a positive effect being in the band has on the students involved. The Band Boosters are hosting a get together with Band Booster groups from around the county Febuary 11th. We have invited the principal and athletic director from West Stokes. Our new School Superintendant is planning on attending. We have also invited members of the Stokes County board of education.
I was not in the band, neither was Renee. But we have become converts to the band. We have seen first hand what great impact the band has on these kids. These really are the best kids in school. They are the top kids in their classes, they have the best graduation rates, least discipline problems almost universal acceptance to college. College admission officials look for band involvement when deciding on college applications. I read this weekend that 50% of the incoming freshman at Georgia Tech were in music programs in high school. The County funds for the band have been going down over the last few years. The marching band is completely funded by the Band Boosters. It seems to me that we should be doing all we can to support music in the schools.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Whenever I tell people that I am running for a seat on the County Commission, the first question asked is "what is your platform?". My platform seems to be taking shape...foremost of which is to improve the schools to a point that they become an attraction to business and residential development. This will help expand the county's tax base so that we can provide better services to the citizens of Stokes county.

In future posts I will review what brought me to the point of running for County Commissioner. I will also continue to review the campaign up to the latest point. My desire is for this blog is to generate discussion on the issues, keep friends and supporters up to speed on the campaign, and hopefully get help from the constituents in educating myself on those issues, and the specifics of running a campaign for an elected office.

I've found it quite interesting and informative so far, and I'm only getting started! I spoke to my first group of constituents that I didn't know personally this past Monday night and it seemed to go well. There will be much more of that as the campaign wears on!

One of the biggest reasons for running is to be an example to my kids and their young friends (and all Stokes County youth for that matter) that citizenship is not a spectator sport. My hope is that we will inspire a significant number of the youth to get registered to vote, to get educated about government, to discuss the issues, and to cast an educated vote when they get into that booth.

If anyone has any questions about getting registered please let me know! There is contact information available on my website at www.zollie.org.

The schedule right now is to file on February 11. There are two contested seats among the current board of County Commissioners. Leon Inman and Jimmy Walker are both up for re-election. Mr. Inman is the current Chairman of the Board. As far as I know, they are both running again. Both of them are Republicans, and both have been very active in the community for as long as we have lived in Stokes county. I have a lot of respect for both of them. Leon Inman was vice -principal of King Elementary during my term as president of the PTO. He was also the realtor we used when Renee and I bought our land in Pinnacle. I do not have a axe to grind with anyone on the current council....it's just that I feel that in our form of elective government that it is crucial to have different people with different ideas and experiences get involved.

My first objective is to win the Democratic Primary. As of this posting I have not heard for sure who else is running for either the Democrats or Republicans. I really try not to worry about that since I have no control over it. I feel my time is better spent at this point working on my campaign and polishing my platform, and those are constants won't change regardless of the competition. We'll know for sure when the filing period ends February 29. Both primaries will be May 6.
Hello!
Testing to make sure I am entering this correctly.
Thanks to Chuck Segal for all his help and support.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Welcome to the Zollie Smith Campaign Blog!

The Zollie Smith Campaign welcomes you to follow the election for the Stokes County N.C. Board of Commissioners from this blog. Zollie will be keeping us informed about the issues facing Stokes County, as well as commenting on the events leading up to the election. Zollie believes in keeping constituents informed, and this blog will serve as one of the ways in which our campaign can reach out to the public. Please feel free to comment on posts, as we feel that responsible government must keep the lines of communication open to the very people it is charged with serving. Thanks for reading, and remember....

ZOLLIE SMITH FOR STOKES COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS IN 2008!