Charlotte Observer
jmarusak@charlotteobserver.com
The argument between mayoral candidate Jared Esselman and Mooresville commissioner candidate Robert "Skip" Alexander grew so heated that Mooresville commissioner Mitch Abraham told them to take their argument outside the Town Hall meeting room.
Police Chief Carl Robbins had to separate two candidates for local political office when they began arguing loudly face to face with one another before the start of a Mooresville Board of Commissioners meeting on Friday morning.
Robbins told the Observer he allowed the men to remain in the room after they agreed to stop arguing.
Esselman is a political newcomer running for mayor in November against Mooresville commissioner Miles Atkins.
Alexander is among seven candidates in an Oct. 11 primary for Atkins' at-large seat on the Board of Commissioners.
The spat came just before the 8:30 a.m. start of a Mooresville Board of Commissioners "pre-agenda" meeting.
Commissioners hold such meetings on the Friday before their regular Monday board meeting to discuss what items will come before them at their regular meeting.
The meetings are open to the public, but only a handful of residents typically attend the meetings, where commissioners generally don't vote on issues.
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47 comments:
Well, now, lookee, here, we got us a disciplined military boy, Harvard grad-oo-ate, who can't control hisself and another grown man having at it. I already knew I wasn't going to vote for Mr. Wet behind the ears but I was leaning towards Skippy Boy. Looks like business as usual here in bee-uu-tiffull Downtown Mooresville where the level of maturity is about the same as on the 3rd grade sandbox on the playground. Boys, boys, take it outside if you can't behave yourselves. Say hello to Mayor Atkins.
Welcome back Mrs. Gatton. Go get 'em.
What were they arguing about?
The chief should have tazed both of them. Good to know we have mature adults wanting to hold office here in town. Sounds like they are putting too much sugar in the Kool-Aid.
Try decaf next time, boys.
Great question, 5:56 p.m. I'm working on that. As soon as I find out, you'll be the first to know.
The basis of the argument was about Skip's support of Miles Atkins. If Skip and Miles get elected for their respective offices, the problems that plague the town leadership will continue. At least Esselman will question the status quo and a vote for him is a vote for change and we need that.
So you were there I presume? Obviously you support Mr. Esselman. No offense please, but I think I'll wait for more information before buying what you offer.
So this excuses acting like a couple of bullies fighting on the playground and acting like a couple of 8 year olds? Typical Mooresville behavior.
It's called acting like an adult and clearly the two of them aren't capable of it, therefore they are not capable of running the show here in town. Just more of the same. Why am I not surprised?
Doesn't Harvard have an honor code? Guess Jared left that up in Boston. As for Skipper, sounds like he's gone to the Phil Redmond school of etiquette.
Is there something in the air or the water downtown? It's like whenever someone gets within twenty feet of the town hall they go totally nuts. Please tell me that there is somebody with a brain and some restraint running for office this time...
Typical Joe Marusak half-assed reporting. Joe, you need to hang it up buddy. You either lost heart for this stuff a long time ago or you started getting in bed with the Dark Side and started picking and choosing what you would tell us regular folk so that you could tip the scales in favor of your friends in "high places". Either way, your best days are behind you. Move on out and let a real reporter start reporting.
Wait a minute. Am I reading this correctly? The police chief had to separate two grown men? Really? I have to separate my 5 and 7 year old all the time and put them in time outs. They squabble over cookies and the tv remote. I sure don't think they're ready to run the town. Food for thought here.
Didn't young Master Jared have Mayor Inappropriate at his little coming out party and say something about healing up the town? Sounds like he's falling down on the job before he's in it.
"Problems that plague the town leadership?". Excuse me, but didn't he have the current mayor at his side? And don't they teach them to keep their cool under fire in the military? I think young Mr.Esselman should have had the clarity of mind to see the consequences of loosising his temper. This had to be a relatively minor circumstance. What happens when he's running the town? I don't think so.
As for arguing over who someone supports, I guess that's really none of his business, is it? Sounds to me like junior still has some growing up to do. As for Alexander, I am very disappointed. I hope that Mrs. Gatton is able to discover the context of the argument and tell us who said what to who.
The argument was over an e-mail that Jared sent to the mayor and town commissioners telling them how he wanted to change the Town Charter. Jared was hoping that the e-mail would never be released and now that it was he is trying to say it was a "term paper he wrote". If Skip and Jared cant act like adults now just imagine what would happen if they are on the board together.
If you don't want an email released then don't send it. Term papers get read too alot of them end up on line. If Jared wants to change the town charter, don't you think he ought to be telling us what he intends to do? Is he running for mayor or king? Sounds to me like he needs to go back to some for some remedial government classes. Must have cut those at Harvard.
Somebody here wrote that they are supporting Jared Esselman because he represents change. I am all for change myself. What I'm not for is going backwards. When I see Esselman signs in the yards of past officials like Frank Owens, Chris Montgomery, Danny Beaver, and Alice Lee, all I see is us going backwards. They were all involved in one scandal or another while they were running the town. Who needs that again?!
lOOKS LIKE SKIPPY BABY IS CHARGING INTO SOMETHING THAT HE CANNOT GET OUT OF. HE HAS ATTEMPTED TO INTIMINATE EVERYONE IN TOWN ABOUT BEING "A RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT". HE STRUTS AROUND AND INVOLVES HIMSELF ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE NONE OF HIS BUSINESS. HE IS RUNNING FOR THE AT LARGE SEAT AND HAS NO BUSINESS TRYING TO RUN THE MAYOR RACE. JUST HOPE HE DOES NOT HAVE A CHANCE. JARED IS THE MAN FOR MAYOR. MILES AND HIS WIFE HAVE TOO MUCH OF A CONFLICT OF INTEREST
BTW....Chris Montgomery doesn't have any signs in his yard.
Aren't we about to get rid of a mayor who got caught using email in a less than proper fashion? Now we got us a kid who is fumbling all over his excuses. Lordy, he can't even tell a good story. Term paper? I've heard better tales from my kids when they come in after curfew. Skip Alexander is a letdown as well but I will wait to hear his side. I think I agree with the statement that this young man is wet behind the ears and needs to do some growing up before he runs this town's government.
Skip is not only a scumbag he calls people and trys to lean on them because he is a retired special agent in the FBI. Not only did he verbally attack Esselman on Friday he followed this up by a tirade in his Sunday School class on this past Sunday morning. And you think he would be fit for town commissioner?
Hey, guys. Someone sent me a message today saying he's had difficulties leaving comments on the blog. Is anyone else having trouble with that? If so, please send me an email to jaimegatton@gmail.com.
I don't know WHAT they were fighting about, but I know what they OUGHT to have been fighting about. The fact that a shady crook like Erskine Smith is getting paid almost $140,000 while the rest of us are out here barely making a living but at least doing it honestly. How is it that people like me have to work and send taxes up to keep up a deadbeat like that? I'll vote for who ever promises to get rid of him.
Were you ther 4:444? Let's hear a word for word transcript. We are all getting really tired of these little eyewitness stories with nothing to back them up. Who is being leaned on and why? Is Mr Alexander a retired FBI agent or not? If he's lying about it, let us know. If he's not, shut up about it.
I'm with you 6:24. Erskine Smith is a slimeball and a pig. He should have been shown the door with Crone. The first guy who says they'll fire him gets my vote.
Old snoot face Smitty gets 140 grand ayear? Wow, talk about overpaid. He is a big old pig, I will agree with that. Half this town is on food stamps and this guy is cashing a check like that? What the hell does he do anyway? And while we're at it, what does the mayor pay?
No wonder old Smitty looks so well fed. Oink, oink. And he's never in his damn office when I've called looking for his sorry butt. Just saying.
I'll second that. Who does Smith report to anyway? He acts like he doesn't have to report to anybody.
Apparently he doesn't report to anybody. I would assume the mayor and the commissioners and that's not saying much is it? Montgomery is too busy messing with women and the commissioners have to clean up the messes the likes of Smith and Montgomery make. Somebody refresh my memory. Didn't this clown stand up for or make excuses for Crone?
Those of you who are commenting on Erskine Smith go up and click on his name on the left hand column here and review some of his prior history. This is what we are paying for, folks. Then go back and review the recent email that the cat lady posted in the post about Esselman announcing for mayor about the trash department throwing trash back in their yard. This is the kind of crap that goes on in this town and read the response he wrote to those ladies. Why the hell aren't people getting their asses fired over crap like this? This guy is handing over 200 grand to an old buddy of his, our money, by the way? You know this crap just never ends around here and we just sit back and let it go on and on. Is there a reason why this town makes Chicago look like Disneyland?
I am so glad to see other people are fed up with Erskine Smith too. You have heard of the joke "Where is Waldo?" Well around town hall our joke is "Where is Erskine?"
I refer you, friends and neighbors, to the bottom post when you click on Erskine Smith, "Friends Don't Let Friends Gouge Mooresville Taxpayers." The comments are just priceless. Here is my question? Why isn't this jackass in front of a grand jury? First off, his pal gets a commission of nearly a quarter-million bucks without so much as a bidding process? No conflict of interest there. Oh, and he's still sleeping in on the taxpayer dime at 10:30 in the morning. And we're paying big old bucks for a sliver of land that isn't big enough to put an outhouse on.
This guy is so slimy that it's a wonder that the EPA hasn't declared Mooresville a toxic waste site.
Why do people put up with it? How is it that he keeps his job and we keep paying his salary?
OK, I'm reading a little more and stunningly enough, I see that this town even has a code of ethics. Imagine my surprise. Why do they bother? This bozo and his enablers are laughing at all of us because clearly nobody gives a damn. Until we start speaking up and demanding better, this is just going to go on and on. Fortunately, we got a preview of things to come Friday morning so we know who not to vote for but Smith has to go and we need to start demanding this from the commisioners and the mayor.
And why is this story in the Charlotte Observer and not in the Mooresville Tribune? Not that I read that rag, but I'm sure it isn't in it.
He does kind of look like Bozo the Clown, doesn't he? Smith that is. Do we really need a couple of babies to add to the circus?
Old Skippy is supposed to have a bagful of credentials including FBI and Boy Scout. Seems like all of those credentials are just on worthless paper now that he blew his first test. I always did think he was a nut under that cool exterior, now I know. Damn glad he didn't win the Sheriff's race. Got to keep him out of Mooresville as well. He is a retired everything and needs to stay retired.
These grown men are funny I would rather have a mayor who will stand up for himself that a coward in any seat who would tattletale and post thing using Anonymous
Ha Ha that is great at least we may have a canidate for mayor that won't back down or just go with the flow and just play follow the leader. And as far as "wet behind the ears" I think serving our country and fighting in Irag and Afghanistan probably kept those ears pretty dry.We should first and foremost thank him for serving our Country. How many people running for mayor anywhere has served our Country and graduated from Harvard and has come back to their hometown and wants to lead it in a positive direction.Obviously we have a lot of old men posting on here with one foot in the grave if they think he is such a young thing.
I would much rather have someone in their 30's than someone close to retirement and maybe only thinking about hey how much can we make if we run this town together before we retire
The fact remains that he couldn't keep his cool in a seemingly minor situation. How is he going to react to the daily stresses of running a municipality this size and clean up the crap that has got to be higher than the town hall? This was a preview of coming attractions and I'd say we would do well to select another feature.
Some of you idiots do not realize how many times Skippy boy has harrassed Esselman and how many times this well poised young man has kept his cool. He finally has had enough of Skippy's lies and is now willing to stand and face him. I say great going and do not take any more of Skips intimination!
Somebody who fought in Iraq and can't keep his cool in a pretty pedestrian situation still has some maturity to develop. What's he going to do when there is a personality conflict with a couple of secretaries or someone puts cold patch ion the wrong pot hole?
It looks to us like both these boys are in need of some anger management and town hall ain't the place for it. People are getting sick of business as usual at town hall and the high price of that business. Smith has got to go. We need an honest manager at two-thirds the salary or even less.
Harassment seems to be the regular way of doing business around here. Seems to me that we need people in office who will act like adults and treat the taxpayers here with some respect.
Mr. Esselman said HE confronted Mr. Alexander and called him names. He also said that the Police Chief did not have to get involved. So please someone tell me where it says that Mr. Alexander was being childish or angry.
Signed,
Confused
Harassment???? What are we calling harassment here? A candidate for office picking a side and pointing out some clear problems with what another candidate is telling people? I don't know about you, but I call that responsible citizenship. Harassment is someone jumping in the face of another someone and calling them a liar and a coward. Shame, shame, shame on you, Jared. Wet behind the ears is right!
this is to "October 4, 2011 1:36 PM"
All I got to say is Hell Yeah!
From what I hear, Skip aggressively confronted Jared on at least one occassion before this, and has been passing out "the Skip papers" all over town. It just seems odd to me that he is campaigning against Jared Esselman MORE than he is campaigning FOR himself. Just makes you wonder what his real motive is...just imagine if he turns these tactics on taxpayers who disagree with his decisions as a commissioner.
I have a question....This article seems to be about "what was said and what was not said, as well as, who had to get involved" My question is....are the meetings not video taped? That would answer all the questions here.
Skippy baby is calling people and confronting them about checking their email traffic with his FBI status - what do you think he would do if elected. He has a real authority problem in continually pushing his weight around
Emails sent to public officials are public record. Jared got caught in a premature power play and he got caught not being involved locally but bringing in his out of state friend's. While Miles Atkins also has some out of area supporters the majority of his backers seem to be local. Jarred is putting forth a campaign that is troubling at best. I'm very concerned about what he has in mind for this town. Don't forget he had the current mayor at his announcement. If any of you think Atkins has sent out damaging emails put them out there. Fair is fair.
I believe there is an Iredell County government watch FB page that includes all munipipalities. You can like and it's anonymous. Seems a good way to let them know we are watching. Maybe someone could start a Mooresville watch page.
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