Guilford County commissioner swearing-in ceremonies are always a jovial affair, however, on Monday, Dec. 3, the commissioners had an unusually elevated level of fun – with just about every single commissioner getting solid laughs at some point in the morning from the cheery audience in the Old Guilford County Court House.
For instance, when Commissioner Carolyn Coleman thanked Guilford County District Court Judge Teresa Vincent for swearing her in, Coleman thanked her for choosing to take the time to do that when instead Vincent, Coleman said, “could have been sending someone to prison.”
When Commissioner Skip Alston made his comments, he thanked a bunch of people who had helped him return to the board and then added: “I want to thank my wife – for giving me permission.”
That got a laugh but it probably wasn’t entirely a joke.
Commissioner Justin Conrad pointed out that several commissioners had run unopposed this year. Conrad had gone through a tough race that came down to a recount.
“It’s a lot more fun to run unopposed, but it’s harder to raise money,” Conrad said.
Conrad’s daughters were playing hooky in order to be at the ceremony.
“They just want me to talk forever so they don’t have to go to school,” Conrad said at one point in his speech.
The real scene-stealer, however, was Commissioner Kay Cashion, who had a fascinating tale about the red outfit she was wearing.
“This is the fifth time I’ve been sworn in, and I’m wearing the same suit that I wore the previous four times,” Cashion said. “The good thing about all this is … it still fits.”
Cashion actually broke a little bit of news while she was joking around: She said she would not be wearing that suit four years from now – apparently meaning that she didn’t intend to run in 2022; however, on second thought, that statement could just mean that, when she wins her seat back in four years, she will wear a different suit to the swearing in.
Commissioner Jeff Phillips – though he stays in good shape – couldn’t make the same claim.
“I will say that this is not the suit that I originally wore when I was first sworn in,” Phillips said.
