Board puts politics above potty breaks

Memo: Henceforth, water pitchers will not be available at Wake County commissioners meetings.

Parched? Tough luck.

Folks, how do I put this kindly? Normally, attending a Wake County commissioners meeting is a bit like watching a Flomax commercial.

Ahem. With the average age of our commissioners (OK, just the Democrats) somewhere this side of Methuselah, there are lots of bathroom breaks.

So it was fitting, I guess, that the careful and reasoned choice of the board's next chairman rested on Betty Lou Ward's decision to make a quick potty run during deadlocked deliberations.

Ward, at 73 the second youngest of the Dems, asked for a five-minute recess to do her business. But it wasn't officially granted. So during her "unexcused absence," the Republican commissioners took advantage of the moment and reinstated Tony Gurley as the chairman.

Oh, Betty, how could ya?

You should've known good grace would never rule.

The Repubs are not just camels, they're cold hearted.

Evidence: After hours of tedious voting and revoting, this time at an impasse over the vice chairmanship, Commissioner Stan Norwalk, age 77, asked to have sandwiches brought in.

Norwalk explained that he's diabetic. He needs to eat regularly to regulate his blood sugar.

So of course, they put it to a vote.

Commissioners Paul Coble and Joe Bryan voted ... no.

Good thing Norwalk didn't go into diabetic shock or suffer a heart attack. They would have had to vote on whether to suspend proceedings and use the defibrillator.

Better yet, they would have taken advantage of the moment.

"Betty, while you were wielding the paddles, we voted. And guess what? You lose. Oh, by the way, how's Stan?"

Finally, at 2 a.m., Norwalk requested that the board recess until this morning so he could get the insulin he'd missed earlier in the evening. Gurley - a pharmacist! - again voted no. That's what all-night pharmacies are for.

The meeting set a new tone for a board that has worked hard to be cordial despite deep ideological differences. The meeting also set a new criterion for the next county commissioner election.

Let's call it the bladder factor.

Forget who pledges not to raise taxes. Who votes to build better roads, or to put more police officers on the streets, or to protect our schools in these turbulent times.

Who's the best man or woman for the job?

I guess that just ...Depends.