His skill and patience in listening to and accommodating competing views is unsurpassed in the more than 40 years I have lived and worked here.

His service as chair of the Board of Commissioners, as chair of the Triangle J Council of Governments, as chair of the OWASA Board of Directors, and as chair of the County Planning Board, confirms the confidence his peers have shown in his leadership skills.

The net result of his service has advanced our community's watershed and natural resource protection policies; assured strategic land development planning and management; produced outstanding, efficient schools; created rural and farmland enhancement programs; and, always, underscored the special importance of promoting local and regional appreciation of water supply protection and conservation.

I encourage all Orange County voters to vote for Barry Jacobs in the May primary, and to re-elect him this fall as Orange County commissioner.

Bob Epting

Chapel Hill