Lenslinger, a cameraman for a local TV station has a blog and is quite a good writer.  He has an excellent post about local politicians that resulted from a follow up story he and a reporter were doing about some Guilford County commissioners who were attending a National Association of Counties meeting in Hawaii at taxpayer expense.

As a result we have one of the best quotes I’ve ever heard re. local politicians:

How come successful, educated, seemingly rational people run for public
office only to devolve into infantile behavior once they‘re seated? I’m
not just talking Guilford County, either. I’ve done time in County
Commissioner and City Council meetings from here to the coast. No
matter what issue was at hand, I’ve been summarily flummoxed by the
childishness exhibited by the low-level politico. Black, White, or
Plaid, the foolishness knows no racial bounds. Something about
achieving a local constituency makes eight out of ten well-meaning
civic geeks go absolutely bat-shit. Why that is I don’t know, but
commissioner hissies and councilman tantrums are as common an
occurrence as that dork on TV, the one broadcasting live(!) from the
backseat of some housewife’s grocery-getter with a giant thermometer in
his sweaty grip.