Rock Hill

To the editor:

County legislators are prohibited from voting on matters bearing directly on their financial interest – County Code, sections A8A-1(A) and A8A-2(B)(6) – but that didn’t stop chairman Robert Doherty.

If we’d known then that he was delinquent on his property taxes, we would have seen his vote in favor of resolution 471-20 last year for what it really was. More than authorizing county borrowing to cover unpaid property taxes, it authorized covering his.

The chairman’s failure to recuse is another example of the ‘catch me if you can’ he’s notorious for – obligations sitting well with him, fine; otherwise explore evading them.

When borrowing to repair county roads was discussed earlier this year, it’s worth remembering he not only balked but argued for redirecting the entire $7.3 million we received in federal covid relief funds toward non-pandemic-related expenses. County borrowing for his debts, fine; assisting county residents through the pandemic? Let’s not get carried away.

It’s not for nothing that he’s recently embarked on a weekly public relations campaign – exposing an elected official’s tax delinquency can have that effect. But reasons are many why residents should consider carefully whether what he tells them is truthful, and his latest attempts at papering over his short-comings as county leader should be seen for what they are – an attempt to avoid a pay cut should he fail to secure his chairmanship in January. Between now and then, expect he’ll be singing loudly for his supper.