This page will serve as a collection of public statements, policy positions, and social media posts made by McDowell County Commissioner Chris Allison.
I have a similar page covering McDowell County Commissioner Brenda Vaughn that was created a couple of years ago after noticing troubling posts that she made on Facebook and it is still being updated to this day. This page for Commissioner Allison is being created for the same reason that Commissioner Vaugn’s was created: to maintain a record of what public officials say and do so that they can be held accountable.
As a bit of background, Chris Allison appeared on my radar around July 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic (he was not officially commissioner-elect at that point, however there were only two seats open for the board of commissioners and he was one of two Republican candidates in the running, so his win was guaranteed after he won the primary. That is why I refer to him below as “commissioner-elect” even before it was official. He was officially sworn in on December 7 2020). Around the middle of 2020, he began to use his Facebook page to ostensibly downplay what was happening locally regarding the infection rate and mortality rate of COVID-19. I first mentioned this on my page covering the coronavirus in McDowell County, so I will begin this page by simply copying and pasting the same information from that page beginning around July 2020, and then I will update the page going forward in the same way I have kept up with Commissioner Vaughn’s page.
July 15, 2020: A side note: Chris Allison, who will be one of two new county commissioners beginning the next term, has spent the last month or so using his platform on Facebook to ostensibly downplay the virus in McDowell County: screenshot 1, screenshot 2, screenshot 3, screenshot 4. In his most recent posts, he made no reference to the fact that the virus has now made its way into assisted living facilities. Allison also thanked McDowell County Sheriff Ricky Buchanan for his announcement that the sheriff’s office would not be taking enforcement action against individuals or businesses for not wearing face coverings and, after one of Governor Cooper’s press conferences, Allison apparently felt compelled to announce how excited he is to vote for Dan Forest, among other Republicans, who recently said that “masks do not work with viruses.”
August 4, 2020: Again, county commissioner-elect Chris Allison is using his platform to downplay the seriousness of the virus. First the intention appeared to be an attempt to make it seem as though the numbers are overblown and unimportant (see the July 15, 2020 update above), and now he seems to be implying that the mandatory mask order from Governor Cooper is either not making a difference or it is making the situation worse or that masks themselves are not helpful. In his post he says, “Let’s look at the facts for McDowell County Covid-19 comparison of before and after Governor Cooper’s mask mandate:” [he then compares the numbers between two time periods, see screenshot 1] and he adds, “I’m afraid people think that masks are a shield of immunity. If you don’t wash your hands before you touch your mask, you are contaminating your mask. Try not to touch your mask while it is on your face. Wash your hands and keep your distance.” In the comments to that post, someone said, “If you don’t ever wash your cloth mask that was hand made.. then your hurting yourself as you continually breath in the same old germs.” Saying that someone might “breathe in the same old germs” doesn’t really line up with the available health information. Allison liked that comment, a tacit agreement about something that has no basis. Something else to note is that Allison has still not explicitly pointed out that a major difference between the two time periods he lists is that the virus has made its way into a nursing home. On July 30, 2020, Allison posted the following: “I want to make something clear. I share the latest McDowell County COVID-19 numbers provided by our Emergency Services team and Health Department. I share the numbers to keep the public informed. I understand that not everyone will take the time to check the text updates that most receive from the county, nor the daily updates on www.mcdowellem.com. It is important that we stay safe. I pray that God will keep a hedge of protection around us and everyone who has been effected by this virus. I pray for the loved ones that have suffered lost.” If Allison were honest, he would say that he is attempting to inform the public while adding his own twist to politicize and score points during a pandemic, but he would prefer to paint himself as an honorable and upright public official. [screenshot 1, screenshot 2, screenshot 3]
August 14, 2020: County commissioner-elect Chris Allison continues to post nonsense about Gov. Cooper’s mask mandate in order to imply that it isn’t helping while he refuses to point out (seemingly intentionally at this point) that the virus made its way into a nursing home and devastated the residents. Currently, 12 deaths out of the total 21 in McDowell County are attributed to residents at Deer Park Health & Rehab. Allison also posted Gov. Cooper’s salary in order to show how much Cooper has made since the the declared state of emergency by saying: “Today is day 157 since North Carolina was placed under a state of emergency. This means Cooper has made approximately $61,920.80 during the state of emergency. During the same time frame, businesses have had to shutdown for good. People have lost their jobs, their homes, their vehicles, and the list goes on. Kids have lost the opportunity to go to school and participate in extracurricular activities. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this has affected us a lot more than Governor Cooper.” Has Cooper said or implied that the current situation has affected him more than the general public/business owners or is that a straw man argument that Allison constructed? Tough to say! On the one hand, Cooper has tried to keep people safe so that we don’t follow in the same footsteps as Florida, Texas, or New York and has pushed the state legislature to expand Medicaid and to increase unemployment benefits and for the federal government to do more to help individuals and businesses by giving state and local governments more funds to fight the pandemic, but on the other hand Republicans in the state legislature, Senate, and President Trump have either done nothing at all or intentionally obstructed the process, so who can say who’s in the wrong here? There’s simply no way to know! (screenshot 1, screenshot 2)
August 18, 2020: “Four of the state’s westernmost counties have higher per capita rates than Buncombe, with McDowell seeing the highest rate at 157 COVID-19 cases per 10,000 residents.” (As McDowell’s numbers trend downward, it would be nice if county commissioner-elect Chris Allison stopped his bad faith disinformation campaign and took a moment to at least acknowledged that McDowell has one of the worst rates in western NC.)
August 24, 2020: Trump visited Mills River, NC, and McDowell County commissioner-elect Chris Allison apparently went to the rally where there was no social distancing and very few people wearing masks during a pandemic. Allison said, “We had a blast with everyone.” (screenshot 1, screenshot 2, screenshot 3)
September 7, 2020: McDowell County commissioner-elect Chris Allison posted the following on Facebook: “Marked Safe from the Asheville Regional Airport Trump Rally two weeks ago today. Over 2,000 present. Everyone else still good?” More than 190,000 people have died from the virus in the United States so far. This future commissioner is making a joke about the pandemic. 26 people have died in McDowell County so far, half of which were nursing home residents. (screenshot)
October 12, 2020: Chris Allison posted pictures of himself posing with Republican candidates Madison Cawthorn (NC-11), Dan Forest (governor), and Mark Robinson (lieutenant governor). Each candidate has their own baggage, but Mark Robinson in particular has a history of anti-Semitic, racist, sexist, and homophobic statements on social media. (saved screenshot)
October 30, 2020: Allison made a conspiratorial post on Facebook, claiming that the Democratic Party and the media would somehow suppress Republicans from turning out to vote: “With the Democratic turnout lower than expected and considering everything the Democratic Party and the media have thrown at President Trump, I believe the Democratic Party and the news media have one more hoax fabricated to be released this weekend in attempt to mislead “We the People” and try to keep people away from the polls on Tuesday. DO NOT BE MISLEAD!!! PRAY FOR AMERICA AND GO VOTE FOR TRUMP!!!” (saved screenshot)
October 31, 2020: Commissioner-elect Chris Allison posted pictures of his children wearing “HIDIN FROM BIDEN / TRUMP 2020” shirts. Allison posted a similar picture on November 2, 2020, this time with himself and his wife in the picture. The children are the only ones wearing the shirts. The ostensible implication seems to be that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is a pedophile. There are indeed pictures showing Biden leaning uncomfortably close to children (and adults), however not many people go out of their way to politicize their own children in this way. (saved screenshot 1, saved screenshot 2)
November 4, 2020: After Chris Allison officially won the election for a seat on the board of commissioners, he acknowledged it by posting, “Thank you for your prayers and your vote for McDowell County Commissioner! I look forward to working hard for our county and our people.” (saved screenshot)
November 9, 2020: Commissioner-elect Chris Allison posted that he had created an account on Parler, sharing his handle for others to follow him there. Parler is described as the following: “Parler has a significant user base of Donald Trump supporters, conservatives, conspiracy theorists, and right-wing extremists. Posts on the service often contain far-right content, antisemitism, and conspiracy theories such as QAnon. Journalists have described Parler as an alternative to Twitter, and users include those banned from mainstream social networks or opposing their moderation policies.” (saved screenshot)
November 13, 2020: As public health officials warned about families gathering for Thanksgiving, and after the virus ravaged nursing homes in his own community, Commissioner-elect Chris Allison took to Facebook and posted the following: “Good luck to Cooper governing in my household and my family’s households. I wish him the best of luck on the enforcement of yet another unconstitutional order. You aren’t canceling our Thanksgiving. People should be praying to God instead of trying to take God out of everything. I’m tired of everything related to Christians (church, weddings, funerals, Thanksgiving, Christmas, family gatherings, etc…) being cancelled by some “all powerful” government officials.We can gather and still use something called Common Sense in keeping everyone safe.” (saved screenshot)
November 29, 2020: Commissioner-elect Chris Allison posted misinformation suggesting that there was mass voter fraud in the 2020 election: “A little math puzzle: 1.8 million mail-in ballots were sent out by the State of Pennsylvania. How many were returned? 2.5 million were returned. Voter turnout by mail-in ballot equals 139%. Overachievers. Obviously, these 700,000 votes are far more than the approximately 70,000 vote difference in PA.” This has been repeatedly debunked. (saved screenshot)
December 7, 2020: Two new county commissioners were sworn in Monday morning, including Chris Allison, who has downplayed and made light of the pandemic multiple times (see updates from July 15, August 4, August 14, August 18, August 24, and September 7 for detail). The other new commissioner is Patrick Ellis. They replaced Barry McPeters and Lynn Greene, both of whom have also downplayed the pandemic in the community (see updates from the first few paragraphs of this post as well as May 11 August 21 for detail on McPeters and Greene). At the monthly county commissioner meeting, both the Public Health Director Karen Powell and Emergency Services Director William Kehler pleaded with the public and leaders to set an example and wear a mask. During the meeting, none of the commissioners wore a mask (and they haven’t been wearing one). Allison released his first official statement as a county commissioner: “I appreciate everyone who came out to the swearing in ceremony this morning. I thank God for the opportunity to serve the wonderful people of McDowell County. I want to thank my wife, Savannah and our children, Tori, Evan, and Destiny for their continued support. I’m thankful for my parents and my wife’s parents for always being their to support me. I want to thank Rook and Roxan Wetzel for their support. I look forward to serving the people of McDowell County and I pray that I can help make a small difference.” (saved screenshot)
December 21, 2020: The McDowell County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to increase the pay of county government workers. According to the McDowell News, “Employees who work in the county’s public safety sector will see a 7.5% pay increase. These are employees for the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office, McDowell EMS and the 911 Center. All other county employees will see a 5% pay increase, according to County Manager Ashley Wooten. These increases become effective Jan. 1, 2021.” This vote came two weeks after Sheriff Ricky Buchanan went to the county commissioners about the need to pay his employees more. Pay increases are always good, but the favoritism is blatant. The commissioners voted swiftly — in just two weeks after hearing the initial request — to increase county pay, and even then the increased amount is higher for a specific group of employees. I suppose the implication is that the other workers are not as important or worthy. On December 22, 2020, Commissioner Allison even went out of his way to make his favoritism clear by posting, “A well deserved raise for all McDowell County employees. Thank you for your service to our community and I wish each of you and yours a very Merry Christmas. I’m proud to stand with a board that is FUNDING our law enforcement and emergency management department instead of defunding them. Again, thank you for your sacrifice and service to our county.” No one has seriously suggested to “defund” the McDowell County Sheriff’s Department or emergency services. There is no broad coalition of people demanding this. There have been, however, countless people in the community hoping that the commissioners would increase county pay more often, especially since the county commissioners like to brag about record retail sales (which means record tax dollars) seemingly every other year. Perhaps it is a coincidence, but Allison frequently congratulates, compliments, and draws attention to law enforcement workers and emergency services workers but never focuses on other county departments such as the department of social services (examples: post 1, post 2, post 3, post 4, post 5, post 6.) (saved screenshot 1, saved screenshot 2, saved screenshot 3, saved screenshot 4, saved screenshot 5, saved screenshot 6, saved screenshot 7).
January 6, 2021: Commissioner Allison continues to post conspiracy theories and misinformation, this time about the election in Georgia. In the post, Allison compares two screenshots of election returns from 11:15pm and 11:18pm on January 5, 2021 with the caption, “Here’s your vote dump. 11:15 vs. 11:18“. In the screenshot at 11:15pm it shows Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler ahead of their Democratic opponents. In the 11:18pm screenshot, it shows Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in the lead. Allison’s implication is that, like post about Pennsylvania, the numbers do not line up and that something nefarious is being done. The sudden shift is because the results from larger cities, which lean Democratic, started to come in. Allison may not be aware of the concept, but this is what is known as “counting votes.” (saved screenshot)
February 4, 2021: Allison posted a picture of himself with NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson with the following caption: “Continue to stand firm Lt. Governor Mark Robinson. I pray for you and stand with you. May God bless you sir.” It is unclear why Allison decided to single out Robinson in this post. It is ostensibly related to Robinson being in the news lately because of his ahistorical opposition to new social studies standards for public schools, however even if the post is unrelated it is revealing that Allison has chosen to tell Robinson to “stand firm” considering that Robinson is supposed to headline an event with religious extremists and in late 2020, there were reports detailing Robinson’s homophobic, racist, and anti-Semitic comments for which Robinson said he was “not ashamed.” (saved screenshot)
[Note: This update was originally posted here, however I am adding it to this post as well as it includes a mention of Allison, bolded for emphasis] February 8, 2021: Tony Brown, chairman of the McDowell County Board of Commissioners, issued a statement confirming he has been sick with COVID-19 and pneumonia. See January 25, 2021 and February 3, 2021 updates for more detail/initial references to this. The McDowell News reports: “At the beginning of Monday’s meeting, Vice Chairman David Walker read a prepared statement from Brown. “I regret I am unable to attend tonight’s Board meeting,” read Brown’s statement. “As some of you are aware, I contracted COVID-19 several weeks ago from a family member. This was unrelated to any functions or meetings as my role of County Commissioner. The virus progressed to pneumonia and forced me to be admitted to the hospital. I am currently at home on the road to a speedy recovery. Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers.” The article continues: “On Monday, Jan. 25, the commissioners held their regular lunchtime meeting at the Universal Advanced Manufacturing Center but without Brown. At that time, county officials would not give clear answers as to why Brown was not present. However, rumors had circulated in the community that Brown had been hospitalized with COVID-19. When asked about those rumors last month, county officials declined to confirm or deny it. Brown has previously stated to The McDowell News about how he considers his health to be a private matter. Many other local, state and federal leaders have been candid about their COVID-19 struggles, urging those with whom they had been in contact to get tested. Later Monday’s meeting, County Manager Ashley Wooten said county staff is working to have the regular March meeting livestreamed so the public can watch it remotely. It will not be a Zoom meeting and the commissioners will still gather in the conference room of the Universal Advanced Manufacturing Center. But this would allow the public to see and hear the commissioners live from the safety of their homes.” […] “On Monday, Commissioners Patrick Ellis and Brenda Vaughn wore face masks throughout the meeting. County staff, such as Wooten and Kehler, and all others present wore face masks throughout the meeting. Walker and Commissioner Chris Allison did not wear face masks throughout the meeting.” Note that they will continue to hold in-person meetings and that the livestream will be for the public only. Two of the commissioners, David Walker and Chris Allison, continue to not understand and/or ignore the necessary precautions. This is all despite their colleague being hospitalized.
February 17, 2021: Allison shared an article of the news that Rush Limbaugh died and added his own caption: “My prayers are with Rush’s family. He will be greatly missed. Thank you sir for your endless stand for Patriotism and Conservatism.” In the 1980s during the AIDS epidemic, Limbaugh had a segment on his show in which he mocked people dying of AIDS and played certain songs to celebrate and laugh at their deaths. In 2012, he called Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and “prostitute” on air because she had testified about the importance of birth control. Limbaugh invited a guest onto his show to sing a song titled “Barack, the Magic Negro” to the tune of “Puff, the Magic Dragon” and in 2016, Limbaugh read an essay on his show that was written by a white supremacist. When talking about the genocide of indigenous people, Limbaugh said, “Holocaust 90 million Indians? Only 4 million left? They all have casinos, what’s to complain about?” There is much more. But yes, Limbaugh will be greatly missed by Christians like Allison because of his “endless stand for Patriotism and Conservatism.” (saved screenshot)
March 31, 2021: Allison shared an article about declining church membership in the United States and included the following comments: “Church attendance declining is a direct reflection of why America has become so evil. In order to get our country back, we need God back in our everyday lives. America needs to put God first. Removing prayer and God from schools and aborting or murdering babies are examples of the pure evil of this country. It is by the grace and mercy of God that we still function as a country. 2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. I pray that God continues to bless America.” Allison seems to want a theocracy. Luckily we don’t live in one, at least not yet. Perhaps he should reflect on why people like him are driving others away from the church. (saved screenshot)
May 22, 2021: Allison posted a link to the YMCA of Western North Carolina’s mission statement and offered his criticism: “I figured everyone should see the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) “mission” statement. You would think an organization, who has a mission “to put Christian principles into practice”, would not end their support of a fellow Christian community organization. Support the McDowell Pregnancy Care Center.” The YMCA decided to discontinue hosting the Walk For Life event that is put on by the McDowell Pregnancy Care Center. The Care Center is one of many “crisis pregnancy centers” which purport to help expecting mothers but they usually don’t receive all of the help that they need and the centers are meant to dissuade people from getting abortions even if that is what the mother wants or needs. Doctors have called the centers unethical. If you don’t support our local unethical and misleading pregnancy center, you ain’t a real Christian! (saved screenshot 1, saved screenshot 2)
September 2021: Throughout the month of September, Allison posted and shared multiple posts about COVID19 and deaths related to COVID19. He shared hospitalization numbers as well as posts about prominent people within the community like Garrett Presnell and Richelle Bailey, both who died from COVID19. He posted a lot about prayer requests and offered comforting words to the sick and deceased. It’s too bad he previously used his platform to downplay and joke about the virus.
October 6, 2021: Allison shared a post from Chet Effler, a Republican candidate for Marion City Council, in which Effler was critical of the City Council’s decision to not participate in a downtown Halloween event this year and encouraged people to avoid gatherings and to be safe. Allison added “Well said, Chet Effler.” to the shared post. There seems to be a belief that the City Council somehow canceled Halloween itself. They simply chose to not encourage the downtown event, in which some businesses hand out candy to children. Parents can still take their children elsewhere, and churches all across the county hold Trunk-or-Treat events. (saved screenshot)
October 11, 2021: Allison shared a picture of himself with North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson that he originally posted when they were both just candidates, now with a caption that reads, “I stand with Lt. Governor Mark Keith Robinson!!! He is standing for the children of NC. Prayers for you and your wonderful wife, Yolanda Hill, in this fight.” This comes after a video recently surfaced of Robinson in June 2021 at a church where he referred to trans and gay people as “filth.” This is on top of what was previously mentioned months ago on this page, which is that Robinson has a history of anti-Semitic, racist, sexist, and homophobic statements on social media. Allison, who is supposed to represent and work for the whole of the community, made it clear that by “standing with” Robinson, he supports and agrees with his hatred and bigotry. (saved screenshot)
October 13, 2021: Allison posted the following: “Inflation=cost of living increases for everyone Crime=safety decreases for everyone Control=directly causes division All of the above=SOCIALISM. I want America back!!!Our country needs GOD!!! 2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV If my people, which are called by name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” Allison makes it clear he has no idea what he’s talking about. Absolutely zero understanding of what socialism is, just a reactionary post based in fear meant to scare everyone else in the community. What is his proposal or solution regarding inflation and crime? What does it mean that the country “needs God”? Is Allison proposing a theocracy? Is he suggesting the country is godless? Is it a veiled partisan attack? There are millions of Republicans and Democrats who are Christians, not to mention any of the other religions in the country. Allison offers no tangible solutions or policy ideas, just more scaremongering. (saved screenshot)
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