Can somebody please help Joe Bowser with his leaky toilet?

This weekend's best entertainment value came, as it so often does, from the column inches that comprise the Herald-Sun's letters to the editor section.

And no, I'm not talking about the poor high school senior whining about having a five-to-twelve page paper ("When will the torture stop? and Are you enjoying our suffering?" he asks). No, I'm talking about the letter complaining about Durham's unfair, unreasonable water rates:

I complained recently in this forum about the jump in my water bill from $83 to $132. Well, I paid my most recent bill and it jumped to $142. I guess the powers to be in this city let you know in no uncertain terms that you do not complain about actions they take -- no matter how it impacts you. They say just send your money downtown when I say so.

Those people in power! Those downtown scum, sucking your wallets dry! Just who is the populist who will stand up for the hard-working men and women of Durham?

Why, no less than your faithful correspondent, one Joe Bowser -- County Commissioner-elect, and as we discussed last week, pretender to the chairmanship of the BOCC.

The first thing I began to wonder when I read this was, can somebody please get a plumber over to Bowserville down on Druid Place and stop his toilet from leaking?

After all, Bowser doesn't have a manse; according to County tax records, his is a modest dwelling in the Hope Valley Farms area, that classic 70s ranch, just 2,000 sq. ft. in size according to Zillow.

The married Bowser is in his late fifties, and so seems doubtful to have a passel of young kids around the house. (The N&O's profile on him lists one child; a Google search suggests she's in her late 20s.)

Now, my wife and I live alone, with no kids at home to boot. And our most recent water bill -- under the new rate structure -- was $75.91, for 7 units of consumption. A late spring bill had been 10 units; we've been trying to cut down on how much we use water, run fuller loads of laundry, and so forth. And that's with $10 towards our yard waste pickup.

By my calculations, even assuming the Bowsers have a yard waste container, they must be using somewhere on the order of 19 units of water in a two month period.

That's somewhere in the vicinity of 14,000 gallons over a two month period -- or almost 240 gallons for the Bowser household per day.

The average American household uses an estimated 50-70 gallons of water per day, though during the recent drought, extreme conservation methods saw some households, even those with multiple children, able to eke out a clean, hygienic existence on 40 or less per day.

So, either JoBo has been soaking up the sweet, sweet ecstasy of election victory in his zero-edge, always-refilling hot tub -- or somebody's got a leaky toilet.

According to a contractor friend of mine who owns a number of rental properties around Durham, when they get a water bill over $100 for one of their properties, their first instinct is to call up their tenants and say, "You've got a leaky toilet, I'll be right over."

Unless he's just refilling the radiator on his '77 Mustang II, the Pinto-based model. (I would know, one of those was my first car; refills from plastic jugs of water were standard operating procedure for trips over 10 miles.)

...

The fun doesn't stop there. Bowser continues in his letter to blame the City Council for keeping rates high, even after the water crisis has passed:

[T]he rate increase was done under the disguise of conservation. Well, water is plentiful now so lets scale the rates back until Mother Nature says you must limit your use again.

Just do not wait until it gets in a crisis before implementing the higher water rates -- when the next drought comes.

Not content enough to stop at demonstrating to the whole of Durham County that he can't be bothered to check for leaky fixtures (or to commonsensically conserve), Bowser then goes on to belly-flop into an empty rhetorical pool.

Let me get this straight. The point of higher rates is just to encourage conservation? Nice theory; too bad it doesn't match the reality.

Reasonable people disagree over the implementation of this particular rate increase/tiered rate structure, or whether it could have been more economically progressive, or targeted businesses more.

But it's pretty darn hard to miss the fact the Durham had just about the cheapest water rates in the state before this year's drought. (Why do those who call for cutting taxes if they're above average, never call for increasing fees that are below average?)

And, according to city administrators, those low rates weren't providing the revenue needed to support bond issues to build out and improve our water supply.

Conserving in a drought is all well and good -- but if the supply of water runs out, something we were fearing not even twelve months ago, there's not a lot of good that conservation does.

The whole point of the higher rates is to support water and sewer projects that could run into the tens of millions of dollars, as to add new intakes and treatment plants from Jordan Lake.

It's not about, or only about, conservation. And never has been.

...

There's only two possibilities here, really.

Joe Bowser is either completely clueless about how local government works, and why -- or he's crazy like a fox, appealing to citizens who haven't gotten the message about the recent change in water rates.

After having served on the BOCC before his ignominious loss in 2004, I pray the latter is the case.

Still, there's no question the next four years will be interesting. Bowser's already attracting fans, like one Mr. Donald Hughes of Greensboro, who also writes in Sunday's letters to the editor:

...I urge members to support Commissioner-elect Joe Bowser for the position of chairman. Addressing issues of the common person, ensuring the effective and efficient operation of county government and leading with moral courage, Bowser is the epitome of a true public servant. Durham -- yes we can and yes we will do the right thing!

Mr. Hughes being, of course, the son of Jackie Wagstaff, the infamous ex-school board member and fringe mayoral candidate whose visage -- if we ever got around to printing 'em -- would join those of Bowser and Victoria Peterson on BCR's "Durham Politics: We Love Crazy" t-shirt.

There will be no shortage of material to cover in the next four years on the BOCC. Comedy or tragedy, though, we're not sure.

Comments

[Todd]

Joe Bowser is the perfect example of why the BOCC should have 2 year terms.

[Ginny]

Wow, Kevin, this is an awesome post. I'm not sure even the reporter in me would have thought to calculate Bowser's water bill/look up his modest house, etc (maybe that's b/c my water is included in my rent, so I don't know what a high bill would be fore me). Anyway, I thought you did a great job of highlighting an important issue: Just how much do some of our elected officials really now about local government. Kinda scary, isn't it?

[Please Save Us From Idiots]

Sorry, Kevin, your optimism is for naught; Joe is clueless about local government...and about many other things. I heard him speak recently at two different events. At both, what he had to say made no sense, even to a supporter of his, and his grammar was so poor that his message (whatever it was supposed to be) got lost. By the end of his remarks at one event, people were chuckling at him.

Reading Bowser's letter, one does laugh out loud at the stupidity. Then the reality sets in at how much damage he did in the past and how much he can do in the future.

Let's pray that Page, Heron, and Reckhow can work together and bring Howerton into the fold to make Bowser politically impotent for the next four years. Then he'll be just entertaining.

[Michael Bacon]

This is why we have five county commissioners. It takes two idiots to actually cause real trouble. One is just entertainment.

[Charlie B.]

Kevin, it's too bad that you did not post an APB for additional BOCC candidates last summer...not that it would have mattered. How on earth did Bowser get the largest number of votes?

[barry]

"How on earth did Bowser get the largest number of votes?"

You already know the answer to that one, don't you?

[Toastie]

"so lets scale the rates back until Mother Nature says you must limit your use again...just do not wait until it gets in a crisis before implementing the higher water rates -- when the next drought comes"

A blood vessel in my brain just ruptured trying to follow this logic.

I think Wayne Drop needs to pay Bowser a visit.

[barry]

btw Kevin, i think the 50-70 gpd number is for interior uses only. Outdoor watering is over and above that. Perhaps Joe has some landscaping in the back yard that gets watered on a regular basis.

At the Dependable Ranch, even relaxing our strict conservation methods (ie, catching all the shower warmup water and using that to flush our toilets), our latest bill only went up from 6 units per two months to 7 units per two months.

[Bonita Bovine]

I would *so* buy that tee shirt! Keep me posted on its availability. Is there room for Steve Matherly, too?

[A productive member of the Durham community]

Your 'concern' for the welfare of our city is apparent by your constant complaining. "How on earth did Bowser get the largest number of votes?" You are exactly right...you know the answer. CHANGE!

If you spent as much time working toward meaningful solutions the most pressing issues of our community as you do in trying to tear down our leaders, our city/county would probably be even greater than its current state.

By the way...thanks for taking the time to read my letter to the editor ;-)

[Oh the trouble I've seen]

Don't forget Lavonia Allison on the t-shirt! (Or were you saving her for the hat?)

[Will]

Say it ain't so Joe! (Sorry, couldn't resist). If "A productive member..." is Joe Bowser then let me give you a word of advice.

As a public official don't comment on a blog, especially on a post about you, throw accusations around, hint at who you might be then use a pseudonym.

That's as cowardly as they come and proves anything ever written about you. CHANGE???!??? OMG - Seriously?!?!

I have an idea for the back of that t-shirt. "Bowser - We just took crazy up a notch."

[anon]

Hey Joe, heard you shot your toilet down, shot it down to the ground...

Yes I did, I shot it, you know I caught it leaking around town...

Any other Jimi fans?

Couldn't resist :)

[Citizen Against Ignorance]

According to Google's street view, the tax photo is way wrong. Either that or way old. There's a bunch of nice landscaping in the street view image - maybe that's where Bowser's high water bill came from. Or the construction to put in the brick mailbox, dormer, etc., used a bunch of water. Besides that pesky leaky toilet issue, of course.

[Rebecca]

Can you say "above-ground pool"?

[A productive member of the Durham Community]

Will,

You are guilty of your own charges...throwing accusations. I am NOT Joe Boswer.

If you read the initial article, you would see that it refers to my (Donald Hughes) letter to the editor regarding my support of Mr. Bowser for Chairman of the Durham County Board of Commissioners.

I will NOT use this forum to argue because it is a waste of my valuable time. Time that I would rather use actually working in my community.

Take a look and the mirror and ask yourself are your actions helping move the Durham community forward.

-Mr. Hughes

[Bull City Rising]

Donald,

First, thanks for commenting.

FWIW, I think many of the correspondents on this are very active in "helping move the Durham community forward." The commenter you quoted in your first message is someone who just so happens to be pretty deeply engaged on that end of things.

(If you were referring to me as the person "tearing down our leaders," I would take some difference with that remark, but that's a subject I'd be happy to have a conversation with you about in person or by phone; my phone number's published on the About page for anyone who'd like to reach me.)

Frankly, I think the surprise about the number of votes Mr. Bowser received stems from the fact that the final year he spent on the BOCC a few years back was tumultuous with a capital t, and whose infamous flyer in the 2004 election resulted in his suspension as Durham NAACP president by the national organization and in what was described as a possible IRS investigation for misuse of a non-profit's status.

I appreciate that Bowser and others have styled themselves as being interested in the needs of a broad Durham population. I also think there are plenty of elected officials who speak to that cause every day while showing the knowledge and coolness for the position. Brenda Howerton comes to mind in her campaign points and agenda. Fred Foster too, after a fashion; I got to know him through Durham Neighborhood College, and didn't agree with him on every civic issue, but his heart's in the right place.

For that matter, I've been skeptical of the Hesters here on the blog in the past, but I can appreciate the effective organizing Denise and co. are doing with the Fayetteville St. Group, whose new web site is impressive and demonstrates a real engagement with the community. I don't agree with Denise Hester on infill and transit, but I appreciate that she is articulate and informed in her views.

With Bowser's history, though, how is he in any way going to be effective as an elected official again? And, what's to say that his next term won't turn into a four-year battle with Mike Ruffin?

Is our local government served by in-fighting and public turmoil? The School Board was an embarrassment -- a joke -- for years. Will the BOCC become the same?

Moving the Durham community forward is about honoring the past while moving past it. Can Bowser do so? I'm not sure the answer is yes where Ruffin and the BOCC are concerned.

More to the direct point, I'm chilled to the bone that an elected official would think we don't need to push water conservation until the next drought. I like to think that our officials have finally "gotten it" and are at last pushing to have the revenue we need to invest in new water sources. Climate change means that droughts are likely to happen more frequently, not less -- and we need an expanded supply to be ready.

If Joe Bowser really doesn't understand that concept, then I'm really glad the City and not the County provide my water supply.

[Will]

@ Donald. First, I said "IF" the comment were from Joe. So I'm not guilty of anything. Secondly, the post was about Bowser's letter to the editor and in doing so made mention of your letter to the editor. Lastly, your letter said you were from Greensboro which conflicts with "...member of Durham..." pseudonym. Do you live in Durham? Do you pay taxes here?

To answer your question - When I look in the mirror I see an educated, progressive, creative-class member of Durham whose involved in neighborhood, civic and civil rights groups both at city and statewide levels. I see a person who LOVES Durham and will defend it until my fists (or fingertips) are bloody. A person who knows Bowser is NOT "change" but "Same! Same! Same!". Bowser's letter was ill-informed, unnecessarily aggressive and inappropriate for someone on the BOCC not to mention someone wanting to lead it.

Come on Donald - he's vaguely claiming in his letter that because he's criticized the city before they charged him more! Is that the kind commission you want to support? That's the exact kind of "leadership" that Durham DOES NOT need making headlines.

You choose to write your letter and your comments here to defend Bowser. So tell us please, what specifically, do you think qualifies Bowser to lead the BOCC.

While you're at it, what do you see in the mirror?

If you can take the time please do respond. I have a keen ability to multitask so this is in no way a waste of my valuable time.

[Trinity Rez]

Will I can tell you in very few words what Donald thinks qualifies Bowser to lead the BOCC.

Like his mother, lord who could forget that individual, he views ever thing the the prism of race.

[Trinity Rez]

Will I can tell you in very few words what Donald thinks qualifies Bowser to lead the BOCC.

Like his mother, lord who could forget that individual, he views ever thing the the prism of race.

[Lois]

It is so unfortunate that the author of the blog above and all individuals who posted comments (with the exception of Donald Hughes) have chosen to be so bitter and full of hate. It is my assumption from all the mean spirited comments that the Klu Klux Klan is alive and wimping in Durham, particularly since the majority of comments are remedial. You have thrown away your hoods and sheets and now use your computer or laptop to spread your hate.

Based upon the comments, the majority of you folks must be pretty miserable since it appears you have nothing else to do but spread hate. Get a life, grow up, and throw away your Klan membership. Enjoy life –stop the hate.

It’s 2008, we’ve defeated the Meals (oops Fool’s) Tax, elected the first black District Attorney in Durham, as well as witness history – Joe Bowser was the top vote getter and the American people have elected their first black president.

In addition, Joe Bowser was the top vote getter because intelligent people who understand the dynamics of Durham are not afraid and do not listen to the Klan. Furthermore, he would have been an excellent chair, particularly since he is not brought and paid for like so many other elected officials. Certainly, he’s no coward.

For your information, Mr. Bowser has a very thick skin and could careless about what you think of him. So,whatever you write or say will not deter him from doing what is right for the entire Durham commnunity. To bad, you folks want all of resources for yourselves, which is why Durham needs a commissioner like Mr. Bowser who will expose corruption.

Lois Murphy

[Bull City Rising]

Ms. Murphy:

Are you trying to compare me, and the readers of this blog, to the KKK? Or saying that we were once members of the KKK?

Inquiring minds would want to know.

Incidentally, I voted for Obama, Cline, and Page. Does that make me a self-hating Klansman?

[Erik]

Is "you folks" the new "That one!"?

[Pepe]

I, for one, am disgusted to learn that I have been frequenting a blog dominated by klansmen. Ms. Murphy, I congratulate you for exposing the terrible monsters behind this blog! I find it intriguing that the name Kevin starts with a K, exactly one third of the requisite letters required to spell 'KKK'. I should've seen it all along.. Frankly, I'm ashamed of myself for not realizing it sooner.

Down with BCR and the klansmen that lurk behind its horns!

[KeepDurhamDifferent!]

I freaking love Joe Bowser if he has supporters like this. Bring on the crazy!