I Guess Jennifer Best Disagrees That A Woman Should Be On the Board of Commissioners

On November 27th, I published a blog post endorsing Tiffany Collins for the Haywood County Board of Commissioners. In that post, I wrote:

“Jennifer Best has served as a Republican commissioner in Haywood County for six years. As only the fourth woman to serve on the Board of Commissioners, she has been a vital voice for women’s concerns in the county. Now that she has decided not to run for reelection in 2026, the Board risks returning to an all-male composition.

This shift threatens to leave Haywood County's women's unique perspectives and needs unrepresented,” and “Jennifer Best’s tenure demonstrated the importance of having a woman on the Board who can articulate these needs. Without a woman commissioner, the Board risks overlooking or misunderstanding the challenges faced by many families in Haywood County,” and;

"Jennifer Best’s tenure demonstrated the importance of having a woman on the Board who can articulate these needs. Without a woman commissioner, the Board risks overlooking or misunderstanding the challenges faced by many families in Haywood County."

For some reason, Commissioner Best appeared to interpret those words as an attack or misrepresentation of her and decided to respond by posting the following on her Facebook page:

“I hesitate to share the attached post. The nonsensical ramblings of Mr. Cossette have clogged my County Email Inbox for some time. His epistles are frequently incorrect and lacking research.

Please understand that I do not know or endorse this candidate. I have never met her, spoken with her or frankly ever seen her at a public commissioners meeting.

It is not critical that a woman serve on the board. What is critical is electing a qualified individual who understands the business of county governments, providing services for all residents, even those who do not vote or do not vote for your candidate, and someone who puts the needs of our county above their own.

To elect someone as your local government representative because a keyboard cowboy attempts to draw a correlation between them and me is a horrible idea.

Like I said previously, if you don’t know them, can’t trust them with your money, wouldn’t ask them to watch your child or walk your dog, then they, male or female, should not serve as your representative in local government.”

As you can imagine, I felt compelled to respond to Commissioner Best’s Facebook post with the following comment to that post:

“I could not agree with you more regarding your statement that: What is critical is electing a qualified individual who understands the business of county governments, providing services for all residents, even those who do not vote or do not vote for your candidate, and someone who puts the needs of our county above their own." I can name only one member of the current Board who meets this qualification. Terry Ramey!

(Point of clarification to Ms. Best: the most critical qualification for any candidate is knowing and acting in a manner that clearly shows they understand that: “providing services for all residents, even those who do not vote or do not vote for your candidate, and someone who puts the needs of our county above their own,” IS the business of county government and IS the defining qualification of any candidate seeking public office. This certainly doesn't mean that any candidate running for public office requires experience working with or within the government .)  

Further, I pointed out to her that, in my opinion, several members of the current Board of Commissioners fall into the very category she described in her post as those who should not be voted for. In my opinion, the majority of current Board of Commissioners members are individuals I do not trust to protect and serve the residents of our community in accordance with the will of Haywood County residents, let alone to do so for any member of my family or my pets.

Haywood County needs a woman on the Board who understands the unique perspectives of a daughter, wife, and, most importantly, a mother, and I stand by that opinion.

I went on to point out to her that I am not aware of any candidate that I have highlighted in any of my posts who has reached out to her for her endorsement. Again, in my humble opinion, it is a bit presumptuous of her to think that any candidate needs her endorsement to succeed in winning the primaries.

I further pointed out to her that: “This keyboard cowboy, as you refer to me, has more years serving this country as a(n): Combat Marine Corps veteran, elected official, party official, senior manager within the Washington swamp who worked closely with Representatives and Senators at both the state and federal levels, vocal advocate for honor and integrity from our elected officials, active advocate for election integrity, and an active official with the NC Convention of States movement, for nearly as long as you have been walking with the living.”

I have debated, argued, confronted, and been confronted by members of the U.S. Congress and White House staff over the span of thirteen years and I am certainly not going to be intimidated by the words of a County Commissioner.

Of all the candidates running for those three seats, at this point, only two of those who have announced their candidacy have the honor and integrity to govern in a manner that genuinely serves the will of Haywood County's residents, and not their own personal agendas: Terry Ramey and Tiffany Collins!

I closed by thanking her for sharing my post regarding Tiffany Collins with all of her Facebook friends and followers, promoting Tiffany for one of the open seats on the County Board of Commissioners in the March primaries!

Doesn’t sound negative or critical of Commissioner Best to me. Still, I guess Ms. Best doesn’t like to be referred to as a vital member of the Board, that she is only the fourth woman elected to the Board, or that the women of Haywood County deserve a woman on the Board to represent their unique perspectives as women.

Who would have guessed?

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