Welcome to Sam's website.                    Sam is a Davidson County (North Carolina) Commissioner.                    This website is primarly an archive of Sam's campaign and public service.

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What's in the news?
Don't have time to check the record. We have archived many of the local newspaper articles that mention Sam throughout the 2002 campaign and beyond. Look for the highlighted text.
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Don't have time to take the tour. We have clips and quotes of many of the local newspaper articles that mention Sam throughout the 2002 campaign and beyond. Look for the highlighted text below and on the Campaign News page.

January, 2003
Board opposed to West Belt project.
By Kristen Johnson
Thomasville Times
With its first vote of 2003, the Davidson County Board of Commissioners voted 5-2 to approve an amended resolution restating its opposition to the High Point West Belt project.
Commissioner and Thomasville-area resident Sam Watford cited the proposed FedEx hub as an important reason for the West Belt’s construction.
“If you live in Thomasville, it’s hard to get to the airport,” he said. “A limited-access highway will help make that an easier trip and help development from the FedEx hub.”
Watford and Kepley both voted against approving the resolution of opposition.
Click here for complete article.  Click here for meeting minutes.

March, 2003
Property taxes to raise?
By Kristen Johnson
Thomasville Times
More than $75.5 million in proposed capital expenditures over the next five fiscal years could force Davidson County to raise property taxes by as much as five cents.
“It seems to me like some previous boards have just made financial commitments for future boards to figure out how to pay for,” commissioner Sam Watford said. “I can tell you right now that some of these projects are going to move slower than they are on paper.”
Click here for complete article.  Click here for meeting minutes.

June 7, 2003
Property taxes to raise?
By Kristen Johnson
Thomasville Times
When his turn to speak came, it was Davidson County Commissioner Sam Watford who summed up the board’s sentiment.
“Nope. There are no sacred cows here,” he said, answering a question fellow commissioner Billy Joe Kepley posed to the group. “Anything ya’ll want to cut, lets go. I’m with you. Schools, public safety — nothing is sacred as far as cutting this budget down.”
Click here for complete article.  Click here for meeting minutes.

November 25, 2004
Thomasville Middle School expansion
By Kristen Johnson
Thomasville Times
Board vice-chair Sam Watford, who cast the lone dissenting vote, delivered what was arguably his longest speech since having been elected.
“I’m the only person up here who seems to be concerned about where this $5 million is coming from,” he said. “I can see you have a need for it, but I can’t in good faith vote to support this expansion because I don’t know how we’ll pay for it.”
Reading from a list, Watford ticked off several elementary schools from around the county and listed their square-footage.
Based upon that comparison, he said, Thomasville Middle School is “far from overcrowded.”
“This is $5 million we can’t even borrow this year,” he said. “There just is no way to do this without adding at least a nickel to our property tax rate.
“We need to slow down. I was taught that you shouldn’t live beyond your means, and this is the ultimate example of doing that. I can’t support this.”
Click here for complete article.  Click here for meeting minutes.

April 29, 2005
Same-Sex Marriage resolution
By Kristen Johnson
Thomasville Times
Commissioner Sam Watford was perhaps the most direct of all the commissioners in expressing his opinion.
“I trust in God and believe in traditional marriage,” he said. “But I will absolutely decline to debate morality while in this room and while serving in a governmental capacity. It’s not the time or the place for it.
“I refuse to use the religious and moral values of the majority of Davidson County’s citizens for my personal and political gain.”
Watford called the question — which in governmental terms means an elected official wishes to call an end to discussion on a matter and vote.
The board was subsequently polled. Potts, Akins and McClure voted in favor of the resolution, while Sink, Walser and Watford voted against it.
Click here for complete article.  Click here for meeting minutes.

June 15, 2005
Taxes will rise 1 cent in county
By ERIC FRAZIER
The Dispatch
Board trims half proposed hike in 6-1 vote to approve annual budget
Tuesday was a night for compromise as the Davidson County commissioners cut in half a 2-cent property tax increase that had been considered for the 2005-06 budget.
"I said once before I'd never vote for a tax increase - and I said at 18 I'd never walk around at the beach with a pot belly, either," said Sam Watford, drawing laughter from the board and audience.
Finally, it was Watford who made the motion to adopt a penny increase and trim the other penny from the staffing changes and Medicaid. Larry Potts offered the second.
Click here for complete article.  Click here for meeting minutes.

November 23. 2005 12:00AM
County tables new rules for subdivisions
By ERIC FRAZIER
The Dispatch
A complex and controversial new type of subdivision ordinance will not be tried in Davidson County any time soon, it appears. The board and county staff have been studying the matter since April. County Manager Robert Hyatt, who provided an 80-page information packet but no formal recommendation at the meeting, said he was seeking direction.
"If you're looking for direction, I'm thinking we might need to look the other way," said Commissioner Sam Watford, who is a utilities excavating business owner.
Click here for complete article.  Click here for meeting minutes.

December 14. 2005 12:00AM
Commissioners to get retirement benefits
By ERIC FRAZIER
The Dispatch
The Republican-dominated Davidson County Board of Commissioners has approved a retirement plan for elected officials that is opposed by the county's Republican Party executive committee.
In a 4-3 vote Tuesday night, the commissioners adopted retirement benefits proposed by Vice Chairman Larry Potts. Voting with him for the plan were Cindy Akins, Fred Sink and Max Walser, the lone Democrat on the board.
Chairman Fred McClure, Don Truell and Sam Watford voted against the plan.

"I still feel like this is a part-time position," Watford said, noting that most part-time county workers are not eligible for retirement benefits.
Click here for complete article.  Click here for meeting minutes.

January 25. 2006 11:59AM
Timetable set for school construction
By ERIC FRAZIER
The Dispatch

School construction financed with the bonds Davidson County voters approved in November will be spread over six years, meaning the list of projects tied to the referendum will be completed in 2011.
Sam Watford, who made the motion to adopt Option 2, was convinced the middle option was fast enough and represented the best stewardship of taxpayer funds.
"In 2006-07, we're going to have $25 million worth of school construction going on in this county," he observed. "... You can't compare that to anything that's ever happened in this county. I think we're going wide-open."
Click here for complete article.  Click here for meeting minutes.

February 10. 2006 12:00AM
Planning session focuses on sewer, jobs
By ERIC FRAZIER
The Dispatch
Most of the topics were updates of ongoing concerns. However, Public Works and Services Director Bill Clutter got board members' attention with the news that Winston-Salem/Forsyth Utilities might be willing to assume responsibility for part of the county's sewer collection system, from which it now accepts wastewater for treatment.
"To me, this news he's brought back is some of the best news we've gotten in this county," remarked Commissioner Sam Watford. "We're not in the sewer treatment business. Let's get a working relationship with them and get this going."
Click here for complete article.  Click here for meeting minutes.

August 02. 2006 1:00PM
Board votes not to sign Alcoa agreement
By WILLIAM KEESLER
The Dispatch
By the narrowest of margins, the Davidson County Board of Commissioners elected Tuesday night not to sign the relicensing "Agreement in Principle" between Alcoa Power Generating and lake-area interest groups and local, state and federal agencies.
The board vote was 4-3, with McClure, Sam Watford and Larry Allen favoring signing the agreement and Walser, Don Truell, Larry Potts and Cindy Akins opposed.
Watford said he felt the AIP's benefits outweighed its weaknesses. "I've always found that it's better to cooperate than it is to kick," Watford said.
Click here for complete article.  Click here for meeting minutes.

November 15. 2006 1:00PM
Gay marriage, English-only resolutions OK'd after hot debate
BY GLEN BAITY
The Dispatch
In a surprise move, the board on Tuesday night took on not one but two contentious national issues, declaring the opinions of the board through separate resolutions. One of them, a resolution making English the official language of Davidson County government, was placed on the agenda well in advance of the meeting. Watford, citing the resolution's non-binding nature, called it "a waste of time and paper." "This is a do-nothing resolution that serves no purpose at all," he said. The second, added only after the meeting was called to order at 7 p.m., was a reworked version of 2005's marriage resolution, which had been previously voted down 4-3. The new resolution, which on Tuesday passed 5-2, called for the state General Assembly to allow a voter referendum on the issue of gay marriage. Watford, who voted against the original resolution last year, returned to his opinion that the issue was political. "This is nothing but politicians wanting to get their names out there and be associated with this," he said.
Click here for complete article.    Click here for meeting minutes.

January 10. 2007 1:00PM
Commissioners move forward on pretrial release
BY GLEN BAITY
The Dispatch
After a protracted debate, the Davidson County commissioners Tuesday night voted to continue examining a proposed pretrial release program for some county inmates.
By a 4-2 vote, the commissioners voted to apply for a state grant from the Governor's Crime Commission that would fund the program for two years. Pretrial release programs have been identified as a priority for that commission for 2007. Commissioner Sam Watford observed that if the county receives the grant, it can evaluate the program's funding after the grant money runs out to gauge its effectiveness. "This is about treatment of offenders who have not yet been sent to prison," said District Court Judge Mary Covington, one of several judicial officials on-hand at the meeting who praised the program as a way to reach first-time offenders. "(They're) just getting the treatment early. That's the incentive."
Click here for complete article.     Click here for meeting minutes.

January 20. 2007 1:00PM
Davidson, counties statewide seek Medicaid relief
BY GLEN BAITY
The Dispatch
North Carolina is the lone state in the union that puts the burden of Medicaid administration costs on its individual counties, which has been a bone of contention between county and state government for years.
At a Jan. 11 and 12 meeting of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, more than 80 delegates voted to place relief from that burden at the top of their list of legislative goals for 2007.
Tellingly, numbers two and three on the list are increasing funding for school construction and empowering local governments to seek alternate revenue streams. Watford said school construction woes dominated discussion at the meeting. Medicaid relief, he said, was the subject of less discussion. Watford, on behalf of the county, cast a vote to keep the priorities as they are. He said Thursday he was encouraged by the support of the state legislators representing the county - Reps. Jerry Dockham, R-Davidson, Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson, and Larry Brown, R-Forsyth, and Sen. Stan Bingham, R-Davidson, have all pledged their support for Medicaid relief in the past.
Click here for complete article.    

March 14. 2007 1:00PM
Employee documentation rule defeated
BY GLEN BAITY
The Dispatch
A measure adding new language to county contracts concerning the legality of contracted workers was voted down 4-3 Tuesday night following a testy discussion at the Davidson County Board of Commissioners' meeting. McClure was joined by commissioners Larry Allen and Larry Potts in voting for the measure while commissioners Sam Watford, Max Walser, Don Truell and Billy Joe Kepley voted against. Watford took umbrage with the new language, saying it constituted "a do-nothing resolution" since federal and state laws already require employers to verify their workers' legality. "If it's a do-nothing resolution, Commissioner Watford, what is all the fuss about?" McClure asked his colleague. "If (contractors) have to do it already, why are we fussing about it?" Watford shot back. That exchange followed an earlier one in which Watford assailed McClure's motives as political.
Kepley raised the concern that the new I-9 requirement might drive up the cost of county contracts, a point with which Watford agreed.
Click here for complete article.     Click here for meeting minutes

May 04. 2007 1:00PM
Board to seek federal funding for I-85 bridge
BY GLEN BAITY
The Dispatch
The Davidson County Board of Commissioners on Thursday passed a resolution seeking federal funds to upfit one of the county's busiest corridors.The resolution, which specifically calls for lane additions and the replacement of two bridges on Interstate 85 between Exits 81 and 86, was passed unanimously at the commissioners' monthly information meeting.Commissioner Max Walser will carry the resolution with him when he meets with Congressmen Howard Coble and Mel Watt next week to convey the board's opinion on the pending Alcoa relicensure.Commissioner Sam Watford, who recently discussed the Yadkin River Bridge with Rowan County Commissioners' Chairman Arnold Chamberlain, asked Walser to raise the bridge issue with legislators during his trip. To reinforce the county's stance, Rowan is set to pass an identical resolution prior to Walser's trip. "The interstate is a federal highway anyway," Watford said in an interview this morning. "We figured we could start at the top."
By passing the resolution, the county hopes to qualify for those funds. The document further cites the number of accidents that occur along the stretch of road as well as the route's presence in a county economic development corridor. Watford said he hoped Senators Richard Burr and Elizabeth Dole, both natives of the Triad, would be swayed by the joint resolution from the two commissions.
Click here for complete article.    Click here for meeting minutes.

August 03. 2007 1:00PM
Bridge collapse heightens concerns
By SETH STRATTON
The Dispatch
The collapse of an interstate bridge in Minneapolis, Minn., made Davidson County Commissioner Sam Watford think about another interstate bridge closer to home that has been structurally criticized.
The safety and replacement of the Interstate 85 bridge over the Yadkin River connecting Davidson and Rowan counties have been discussed by local, state and federal officials for years. Now the county is trying to get more local governments and legislators on board with the building of a new bridge by asking towns and cities from Atlanta to Petersburg, Va., to pass a resolution in support of the bridge's replacement. "We have to get somebody else involved in it, be it the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County or the City of Greensboro. That would do it," Watford said. The four-lane bridge with a concrete divider was rated as the seventh-worst bridge in the state, according to a AAA Carolinas study of the top 20 substandard bridges in North Carolina. "We need to tell (other governments) how this affects the economy of the whole state," Watford said.
Click here for complete article.    Click here for meeting minutes.

November 14. 2007 9:00AM

County commissioners OK purchase of pod for school system
 By SETH STRATTON
The Dispatch

The Davidson County Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of a multi-classroom mobile pod unit at its meeting Monday night. The pod is meant to relieve the crowding of an elementary school in the growing northeastern section of the county. The vote was approved 6-1. Commissioner Sam Watford opposed. Watford said he felt there could have been better planning when the school system drew district lines between Wallburg and Friendship Elementary School. "It looks to me that somebody made an error when drawing the lines," Watford said. Friendship's enrollment is listed at 451 on its Web site, less than half of Wallburg's enrollment. Friendship opened two years ago. Watford said he thought Friendship "is not that crowded," and that maybe the schools should look at shifting some students.
Click here for complete article.    Click here for meeting minutes.

 January 04. 2008 9:00AM
County weighs future with planning group
By SETH STRATTON
The Dispatch
The Davidson County Board of Commissioners is discussing whether its absence from a transportation planning group would be a benefit or a detriment to future road projects in the northern part of the county.
At the county board meeting Thursday, Commissioner Billy Joe Kepley asked fellow board members to hold off on signing a "memorandum of understanding" between the county and the Winston-Salem Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, essentially approving a new voting structure. Kepley said the voting structure gives Winston-Salem and Forsyth County too much power and is "un-American and un-Christian." But Commissioner Sam Watford thought the county may not have a dog in the fight.
"All I can say is that if we had 90 percent of the MPO within our jurisdiction, we'd hold 90 percent of it, so I can't see your point at all Mr. Kepley," Watford said. Kepley said the MPO is the only organization he has come across that diverges from the typical voting structure. Other transportation planning groups give each government organization one vote, which the commissioner argues is more balanced.
Click here for complete article.      Click here for meeting minutes.

March 12. 2008 9:00AM
Commissioners voice toll bridge opposition again
By SETH STRATTON
The Dispatch
Commissioner Billy Joe Kepley was asked by N.C. Board of Transportation member Nancy Dunn to informally poll the board's interest in an Interstate 85 toll bridge over the Yadkin River. The result? None here. Kepley asked fellow commissioners at their Tuesday night meeting to call or write him their opinions of a toll bridge, but most didn't need the week that Kepley suggested to publicly denounce a driver-funded project for a free road. "(Dunn) is well aware of how the commissioners generally feel about a toll bridge over there. And the citizens, I don't think there has been anyone who spoke in favor of having it," Commissioner Fred McClure said. "I don't need to wait two weeks to give you where I'm leaning. I'm not leaning at all. I'm on the other side, definitely opposed to a toll bridge on that road."
Board of commissioners Chairman Larry Potts and commissioners Larry Allen and Sam Watford also denounced a toll bridge idea. Commissioners Don Truell and Dr. Max Walser were a little more open-minded to the idea of a toll.
 Click here for complete article.      Click here for meeting minutes.

April 09. 2008 9:00AM
County refuses to sign planning agreement
By SETH STRATTON
The Dispatch
By a 4-3 vote, the county board refused to sign the memorandum of understanding with the MPO, an organization that prioritizes road projects for a region and votes on what projects should be planned prior to being added to the Transportation Improvement Plan list of the N.C. Department of Transportation. County Planning Director Guy Cornman said he wanted to make sure the two counties would be able to work together when the new N.C. Highway 109 is built. Cornman said transportation officials are looking at four different routes for the state highway that runs along the eastern part of the county to Winston-Salem and will eventually connect with Interstate 40. Cornman said without a county voice in those talks, Winston-Salem officials could have complete control over where the new route would go. Robert Hyatt, county manager, warned commissioners that not signing the agreement "could come back to haunt us" in other areas including economic development, the quest for a new Yadkin River Interstate 85 bridge and other regional projects. Commissioner Sam Watford, who said "since I've always been a small fella," urged the commissioners to "cozy up" and "make friends" with people from bigger cities and communities and not try to become their adversaries. Voting against signing the memorandum were Kepley, Potts and commissioners Larry Allen and Fred McClure. Supporters were Walser, Truell and Watford.
Click here for complete article.  

June 25. 2008 9:00AM
Board OKs landfill gas project
By SETH STRATTON
The Dispatch
A partnership between the county and a pair of companies to capture methane gas emitting from the county landfill and convert it into energy will add about $200,000 in revenues to the county's pocketbook each year and help prevent greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere. The Davidson County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a 20-year contract with North Carolina-based Enerdyne Power Systems and DTE Biomass Energy, a utility headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich. "That greatly exceeded my expectations," Commissioner Sam Watford said about the estimated revenue to the county. In other news, commissioners:
• Designated Watford as the county's voting delegate to the National Association of Counties annual conference next month in Kansas City, Mo.
• Re-appointed Watford to serve an additional three-year term on the county Department of S
ocial Services board
Click here for complete article.  
 

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