Republicans Harry Brown, Bill Cook and Norman Sanderson have given you a large tax increase. They raised taxes on the regular boating public, but they left out the rich boaters with this from $15 to $150 per year tax increase for boat registration. Isn’t that wonderful? All of you voted for Harry Brown, Bill Cook and Norman Sanderson have got what you voted for — a very large tax increase. … The commercial fishermen and the rich boaters don’t have to pay it. Here again, they stick it to the little people. They stick it to the working people.

Whoever is calling (and) saying Washington is so thriving and busy downtown must be talking about back in the 1940s and 1950s because it sure ain’t thriving now. Back in the 1940s and 1950s, there were more businesses in downtown Washington than there is in the whole city of Washington now. You’ve got downtown, little restaurants — one opens, it closes. One opens, it closes and so on.

We have a beautiful state. Visitors ask why do North Carolinians pollute the roadway with trash.

The classy brickwork and landscaping at the Civic Center, Festival Park and Harding Square are assets to our community, but please fix all of the leaning signs and clean up the piles of leaves with grass growing in them. Look also at all the cigarette butts along the waterfront and the parking lot. Those things detract from this overall beautiful look.