apex

It was a routine drunk driving stop. State Trooper M. Cape saw the car swerving in and out of lanes around midnight on Feb. 13th. He pulled the car over, asked the driver, a 24-year old male, to take a blood alcohol test.

The man refused. The man was arrested. The man was given a court date.

Then the man ran for Apex Town Council, and with the help of Republican stalwarts Mayor Keith Weatherly and Rep. Skip Stam (R-Apex), he won.

Scott Lassiter, a 24-year old teacher at the Johnston Co. Schools, was been groomed by the Apex Republican establishment for years. Ironically, his mother is Ann Lassiter, a confidant of former Democrat Speaker Jim Black and recipient of several thousand taxpayer dollars to write a 20-page “book” about the General Assembly a few years back. But that didn’t stop her and Keith Weatherly from being close, or from Weatherly appointing Lassiter to the town Parks & Rec board when Lassiter was still in high school.

By now, you’ve likely heard about the Apex Town Council’s January 19th decision to strip abortion coverage from their town employees’ health plan. What you may not have heard about was their follow up meeting last week.

Are city councilpersons and county commissioners elected as morality police? You might think so if you're following the news out of Wake County.

Last month's decision by the Apex Town Council to strip abortion coverage from their town employee's insurance coverage was initiated by Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly. Mayor Weatherly, as noted in a previous post, works as a legislative assistant to Representative Paul Stam, a longtime crusader against a woman's right to make child-bearing decisions.

At this week's meeting of the North Carolina City / County Management Association, the dark shadow of Paul Stam haunted the hallways. Fresh from a new kill in Apex, where one of his lieutenants stripped abortion coverage from the city's health care plan, he's mounting a crusade to force North Carolina's city and county governments to become part of his political agenda, demanding that they follow the path of Apex, where one white middle-aged man knows more about what's good for women than women themselves. The county managers apparently told Stam, "thanks, but no thanks," and good for them. They deal in health services day in and day out, and they know the high personal, social and public costs of unplanned pregnancies. The city association seems to have taken a wait and see approach.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.

It's tempting to think that regular citizens have no voice in the big game of politics, and for good reason. When you see guys like Paul Stam and Keith "Mini-me" Weatherly cooking up schemes to screw over women in Apex, it feels pretty frustrating.

That's why I'm frequent and enthusiastic boycotter of businesses. For example, I'm still boycotting Whole Foods because their lunatic CEO uses his bully pulpit to preach a dangerous brand of free-market fundamentalism. I also boycott South Carolina for its racist leanings. The list goes on, but the point is the same. I don't want my money going to support things I find morally irresponsible or offensive.

So today, I've officially begun my boycott of Apex and will continue to do so until they reverse their anti-woman health insurance plan.

Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly claims to have received a call from a citizen who told him that abortion care was covered in the town’s health plan. According to WRAL’s highly sensationalistic coverage, Mayor Weatherly said he didn’t believe it was true until he looked into it.

You are invited to an Afternoon Reception in support of

Ed Ridpath,Democratic Candidate North Carolina House District 37

With Very Special Guest
Honorable David Price, US Congress North Carolina District 4

And Special Guests

Honorable Ty Harrell, Representative, North Carolina House District 41
Al Swanstrom, Democratic Candidate, North Carolina House District 36

Hosted by Apex Council Member
Honorable William Jensen

Sunday, May 18th, 2008 from 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM
Halle Cultural Arts Center, 237 North Salem Street
Historic Downtown Apex

Platinum: $1000 Gold: $500 Silver: $250 Bronze: $100 Admission: $25

On Saturday, June 14, we'll be canvassing precinct 18-03, Al's home precinct, with Congressman David Price, who has graciously agreed to go to his constituents' doors and tell them why Al should be the next representative from the 36th district.

Let me introduce myself. I’m Al Swanstrom, and I’m running for the NC House of Representatives in District 36, which my friend Greer Beaty almost won in 2006. It covers parts of Cary, Apex, and Swift Creek.