Citizen Ed Paxton was the only person to sign up to speak at the December 2nd meeting of Greenville County Council.
Paxton speaks slowly and deliberately. There is no mistaking what he says and he typically does not use words lightly.
“I’ve got three things I’m going to say tonight and none of them are pretty, so I will just go with the one on top.
“The alleged public hearing you people conducted last Council meeting and made record of tonight in the minutes with regard to the 10 year plan, and the crowd here tonight amply displays how many people in this county distrust County Council. Something desperately needs to be done regarding this county and County Council.
“Abuse of power by government is pretty rampant here in Greenville County. For example, yesterday morning our Sheriff arrested a number of people on private property without the private owner’s consent or request. These people had as much right to be on that property as did Duke Power Company and its hoard of contractors. These people that got arrested were not causing nearly as much commotion as were the contractors.
“Abuse was evident at the last Council meeting when the chair alleged that Council’s rules applied to the matter of planning, when in fact they clearly state that these rules do not apply to matters of zoning and land use. It was a stinking bold-faced lie. And a lot of you sit there mute and let the Chair and Mr. Burns get away with it need to examine some of your interests.
“What it boils down to is Council and the Sheriff abusing the power of government for the benefit of government, and those of you that get a paycheck like to be seen on the podium.
“Lastly, I would like to make a comment, a personal comment to someone on Council. If you would spend more time trying to have better government than trying to find out what Ed Paxton does for a living I think we would have better government. This is the second time I have brought this up. Someone in the framework is asking questions about what I do for a living and why I live in the area I live in. It’s none of Council’s business.”