Yadkin County Commissioner Kevin Austin wants the people of Yadkin County to beware of progressives bearing gifts. I would propose that there is an even greater threat to the citizens of this county; public officials bearing receipts for personal legal expenses. In the last 100 years, Progressivism came bearing gifts of voting rights for women, the 40-hour workweek, a G.I. Bill of Rights and Social Security checks for seniors.

In Mr. Austin’s first year of office he has brought more delays in the building of a county jail that was ordered to be taken of care of half a decade ago, the slashing of fund’s for education and personal legal bills in the amount of $7,983.14.

His counterpart in all things anti-progress, Yadkin Commissioner Brady Wooten, racked up well over twice that amount in personal legal bills with a whopping $19,811.31. They were the only two commissioners to use taxpayer money for personal lawyers. All of these expenses will be paid for by the taxpayers – regardless of whether they voted for Mr. Austin and Mr. Wooten, regardless of where they stand on the jail issue.

It was fitting that Mr. Austin chose to use the Trojan horse analogy. Like him, I enjoy a good history parable. I’ve always thought it unfair to judge the entire Trojan people as foolish or unwise for allowing a wooden statue filled with enemy soldiers to overtake their city. Surely, there must have been some voice of dissent in the decision-making process. Surely, someone would have stood up and commented on the recklessness of such naivety. Such champions of reason have to exist in all places and in all times.

But even if it were so, the entire city suffered the same fate. Disaster befell them all – the foolish and the wise. And so it was and so it is with today’s Trojan Horse politicians like Mr. Austin and Mr. Wooten. Their bellies are swollen with the unanticipated and none will go without knowing the consequences of their less-than-virtuous intentions.

 For Mr. Austin, it is purely business. He is a businessman afraid that his profits will be adversely affected by the building of a jail near his property. He is a businessman first and a commissioner second – a container of armed men first, an image of innocence and good tidings second.

The $27,794.45 in personal legal expenses incurred by these two men will be paid for out of the pockets of every taxpayer in this county. That stinging bit of reality is far more reason to be fearful than some ambiguous threat of the dreaded beast known as Progressivism. 

I think the people of Yadkin can live with Progressivism’s school lunch program and overtime pay but I’m not sure how many more of Mr. Austin’s lawyers’ bills they will be willing to put up with.

Bradley Hardy

Yadkinville