<< Back 11/27/02 Corbin wants to mend Macon’s Republican rift By Don Hendershot Harold Corbin’s four years as chairman of the Macon County Board of Commissioners was just the tip of the iceberg in regards to his political career. Corbin, who was defeated in this year’s Republican primary, spent seven years as chairman of the Macon County Republican Party and nine years as district chairman, serving 17 counties in Western North Carolina. “I used that position, as chairman, to help the party and help the people. During that time there were two Republican governors. I had good access to them, and I was able to accomplish things for Macon County and Western North Carolina,” the lifelong Republican said. Corbin attributed his defeat in the primary to a small clique in the local Republican Party who had been working against him since he was elected four years ago. He said he was approached by the group when he first filed for office and “they wanted to tell me how to run my campaign.” “They wanted me to get dirty. I said no. You sell yourself, you don’t down your opponent. That’s not the way to do business,” Corbin said. When he won the chairman’s seat, Corbin said he was once again approached by the group. Corbin said they intimated that they would keep him informed about how the community felt regarding issues and how he should vote. “I told them, the people of Macon County elected me, and I’ll vote my conscience to do what is best for the people of Macon County.” One thing Corbin believes is in the best interest of the people is land-use planning. Planning is one of those “knee-jerk” issues in Western North Carolina that immediately leads to the “Z” word (zoning) and a political maelstrom. Corbin and the current board worked long and hard with the Visions 2025 group to come up with a land-use plan. The controversial plan passed the first reading unanimously and enactment looked promising. But opposition to the plan galvanized, and Corbin did not bring it up for a second vote. Corbin believes his support for the land-use plan led to his defeat in the primary and attributed it to the local Republican leadership. “They were successful in defeating me in the primary by all sorts of lies they told in the community about land-use planning,” he said. “I’ve been in politics all my adult life and this is the most vicious group of people that I’ve ever come up against,” Corbin said. Although disappointed that he was not able to enact a land-use plan, Corbin believes the Democratic sweep in the Macon commissioners race shows that the people of the county are ready for some kind of land-use planning and feels the incoming board will be able to enact a plan. Corbin believes the current board has served the county well. He pointed to many capital projects completed under his watch including two new schools, renovations at Franklin High School, East Franklin Elementary and Macon Middle as well as the Human Services Building and the renovation of the old Health department building. “Our schools were 40 years behind,” Corbin said. “The day I was elected we had 10 teachers in Franklin High School that did not have a classroom.” Asked how the county could afford all the capital projects and still carry a fund balance of more than $8 million, Corbin said, “That’s the conservative coming out in me. You can do that if you don’t just throw money at the wind.” Corbin attributed much of the county’s financial success to County Manager Sam Greenwood. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Sam Greenwood is one of the best county managers in the state of North Carolina.” The current chairman is also proud of this board’s environmental record. “I believe in hitting environmental problems head-on,” Corbin said. Under his watch, the board has passed a flood plain ordinance, a sediment and erosion control ordinance and amended the watershed ordinance to help protect the Little Tennessee River. The board has also supported the Little Tennessee Greenway. While Corbin has taken his knocks in the political arena, he still encourages others to become involved. “I would encourage decent people to seek elected office. That’s the way we’re going to stay ahead in Macon County and Western North Carolina.” Evasive about any future plans for seeking office, Corbin is not hesitant about the political future of the Republican party in Macon County. “I intend to see that we get the party back,” he said.