Welcome Back, Parson?

Now that the dust has settled in the local municipal races, the new topic of discussion in political circles is who will be appointed to replace Pinehurst’s Nancy Fiorillo and Southern Pines’s David McNeill.  Both were promoted by voters from their respective council seats to the mayoral chair. Last week’s vote will result in a vacancy on each council at the end of the year, when Fiorillo and McNeill are each sworn in as mayor.

The latest scoop in Pinehurst is that appointed council incumbent Mark Parson, who came in third in the race for two seats, will be appointed once again to fill Fiorillo’s expired term.  That idea is causing an uproar among some Pinehurst residents who want to see a fresh face who cannot be tied to the long-time clique at Village Hall.

Defenders of the Parson appointment idea point out that he has 18 months of experience on the board, so there will not be a learning curve.  They also point out that Parson did not truly become a political insider at Village Hall.  Parson also fits the important too-young-for-AARP demographic that many see as a vital component for Village government.

I have NO IDEA if Mark would accept an appointment to fill the Fiorillo vacancy.  My take on Mark Parson is that he is far from a rubber-stamp ‘yes-man’, and asks a lot of the right questions at the right time.