Remarks by Stephen Valentine
35 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 2
- Play at 56:31
“Jillian, thank you for your presentation here today and for what you provided, Russ, right at the end there. I do want to say that I see the van or did see the van from time to time, and visibility in our community is important. You had pointed to the numbers of individuals that you provided service to. Can you bring some context to that? I mean, in light of the challenges that we face in this area across our community, can you sort of explain that number?”
Board of County Commissioners · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 58:15
“So is it safe to say that that number doesn't actually reflect, like, you know, the need in this particular community?”
Board of County Commissioners · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 59:02
“My colleague, Commissioner Burton, had mentioned about this work and it continuing. And so you were operating under one-time money,”
Board of County Commissioners · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 1:21:56
“oh yeah thank you chair so my questions are actually statements really but I directed at the county manager and so several times today we've heard about the need for better coordination with the city particularly in this this area and so I concur with those comments and so to the extent that we can coordinate better with the city particularly around funding I think I've made that comment on numerous occasions so it's not just in this area but in additional areas I think that we can do a better job and also I think it's lost on our residents I've been hearing a lot of conversations about this…”
Board of County Commissioners · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 2:12:37
“I'm Jonathan Gaddis, Interim Executive Director of Urban Industries of Durham.”
Board of County Commissioners · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 1:26:55
“Land Acknowledgement. So as we convene for the Durham County Commissioners Meeting, it's crucial to recognize the painful truth of history. We stand on the stolen ancestral lands of the Catawba, the Eno, the Dokonichi, the Chicory, and the Tuscarora Peoples. Excuse me. whose deep connection to this land predates our arrival. We acknowledge with humility the unjust displacement and violence that occurred, leading to the dispossession of indigenous peoples from their homelands. Their resilience in the face of such adversity is a testament to their strength and spirit. May we humbly honor the…”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 28, 2026
- Play at 1:39:42
“Yes, Chair. I know this is actually directed to the manager. We had talked about previously bringing before one of our work sessions an update on the drug treatment court. I just want to make sure that we don't get lost in our conversations moving forward. Make sure that gets on the agenda.”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 28, 2026
- Play at 1:42:35
“Chair, I'm actually going to read one and then just make brief comments on the other.”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 28, 2026
- Play at 1:49:54
“Yes, I also would like to congratulate our partners on 50 years. And so Duke Regional is actually our hospital for our community, where I live, or have lived for many years. And so your partnership with Lincoln also is- relationship that is at the very essence of our community and so i'm looking forward to another 50 years where duke regional partners with lincoln to make our community very best it can be so thank you so i'll hand it over to you okay so the board is requested to honor the legacy and impact of white rock baptist church as they celebrate a hundred and 60 years of faith,…”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 28, 2026
- Play at 2:01:48
“Yes. Thank you, Chair. And so resolution honoring the life and contributions of Professor Charles Edson Smith. And so the board has requested honor the life and contributions of Professor Charles Smith. And I want to just give you a brief introduction into who he is or who he was in our community. And so Professor Smith was a professor of law at the North Carolina Central School of Law. And I had the distinct pleasure and honor to walk in those hallowed halls at the time where he presided in the classroom. I might say held court for those who knew him. And I stand here today saying that I…”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 28, 2026
- Play at 2:08:34
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 28, 2026
- Play at 2:12:40
“Thank you, Chair. And so I won't read the resolution. I actually had an opportunity on Saturday, September 26th, to actually read the resolution at the Prince Hall Day celebrated here in Durham County. But I would like to just say that the most first rule Prince Hall Grand Lodge of North Carolina is jurisdictions incorporated under the leadership of Grand Master James C Russell. In conjunction with the 20th District, under the leadership of District Deputy Terrence Sembley and the District Deputy Worthy Matron, Gwen Valentine, celebrated the life of Prince Hall as an abolitionist, as an…”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 28, 2026
- Play at 2:43:29
“Any other comments? Yes, Chair. And so thank you. I actually had on my list to have you speak about this tonight as well. But thanks to my beloved commissioner, she brought it to fold. And so here we are. And so these proposed changes are draconian in nature. And so this is just a larger sort of systemic change. attempt to break down our complete social safety network. And so these changes and this response is within a notice and comment period, correct?”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 28, 2026
- Play at 2:44:11
“Okay, and so if the agency takes a look at all the comments and decides to move forward, what would be the immediate impact on our community?”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 28, 2026
- Play at 2:46:06
“Yeah, this is very troubling, particularly in light of this board's commitment in this particular area with regards to doing pre-K. And hopefully, I think it's the plan into the future to eventually see this evolve to universal pre-K. And so this could be potentially a setback in our efforts. to make that a reality here in Durham County and I have often said and still will continue to say that the money that we spend and make a commitment to our young people is a dollar well spent and so every dollar we commit to our children particularly at the young impressionable stages of their life bears…”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 28, 2026
- Play at 3:14:13
“all right uh commissioner valentine all right do you want to go yeah yeah so thank you uh you had said that uh there was a component and i guess it goes back to what the manager was just uh talking about with regards to being structured for success i'm always a little concerned about the technical assistance piece and ensuring that i know our partners are given the aid and assistance that they need to be successful i mean that's very important to me particularly around this monies and these grants around youth programming which is very much needed uh people in our community talk about it all…”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 28, 2026
- Play at 3:17:09
“Well, I don't even mention that, and you mentioned that these grants are only for a year, but you know, I think you would agree with this in the grant world, so if you're successful, the probabilities of you being successful in the future increase exponentially, and so I don't want to be in a position where a lot of our partners are not exactly sure what they don't know and fail as a result of that, and so any way that we can help assist in that regard, I think would be helpful. Commissioner Jacobs?”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 28, 2026
- Play at 1:42:08
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 2:25:11
“Yes, I just want to say thank you again to the Durham Cultural Roadmap Committee and the time that they have put into this endeavor. I would like to just say that I think that we don't truly know the economic impact with respect to the arts. And so I look forward to the implementation. The question that I have, however, from one of our speakers, they talked about the proposal not being publicly available. Can we have someone speak to that point to give me a little bit more context?”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 3:08:13
“Commissioner Valentine. Yeah, thank you, Chair. So I just have several questions. Thank you. This is hard work. You had talked about changing your methodology. In the past, you've worked with volunteers and you moved to contractors. The information that you provide here indicates that you were able to capture more data. What was actually the impetus from the very beginning for changing your methodology?”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 3:10:04
“Uh, you also, uh, made a point to share with, uh, share with us around selection bias. And so moving forward, how, how do we deal with that?”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 3:11:56
“You also mentioned the listening sessions, and so you also, if my mind serves me correctly, at the moment you talked about the places where these listening sessions occurred, or was that generally the capturing of data? Can you share with me about these listening sessions? I just want to know more and understand exactly what's happening at these listening sessions.”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 3:14:10
“and finally two two questions i'll give them both to you at the same time you had mentioned that uh responses from the community were around dorm being safe a safe dorm and opportunities can you encapsulate what what that means”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 3:15:48
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 4:09:16
“directly answer your question it was not uh aggregated like that okay it's just kind of written yes that's that's the way okay all right i understand that all right commissioners who wants to okay uh valentine thank you chair uh let me first just say uh thank you for your work thus far uh two comments made during the comment period stand out to me And one pointed to the money spent on a previous study and the lack of accountability since that previous study. And another person got up and commented that we should keep our youth at the forefront. And I think we should be laser focused about…”
Board of County Commissioners · Sep 8, 2026