Lee County meeting crowd BOOS Chairman Kirk Smith after comments on Sandhills News: transparency coverage by activists

Attendees of the March 16 Lee County Commissioner meeting booed Chairman Kirk Smith after he shared his opinions on Sandhills News.

He shared personal views about recent publications covering board actions, which were verified, and about his commissioner candidate interview Q & A being edited.

Video recorded by Diara Townes.

Review the article Smith mentioned, covering transparency issues here.

Review his campaign interview here.

Each candidate with an available email address was sent an emailed Q & A and was instructed to include a photo. Kirk wrote that Sandhills News could clip his image from the county website.

There were no candidate questions that opened the conversation for grandstanding with lists of accomplishments, civic club memberships, or honors. Yet, Smith shared this information at the start of his submission, and it was omitted because it was not part of the Q & A and would not be fair to publish because no other candidates were given that opportunity.

The meeting began with Smith’s comments and continued with a presentation from Sanford Area Growth Alliance’s input on the possibility of data centers and fracking in Lee County.

The fracking debate began at the Jan. 5 meeting. Read about it here. This article is a clue as to why Smith may have called Sandhills News a group of activists.

Stay tuned to Sandhills News for journalist Diara Townes’ coverage of tonight’s meeting.

March 16, 2026

Stephanie M. Sellers

Submit news tips, events and interview requests to editor@sandhills.news.

Sandhills News is plain-English local government reporting that explains how decisions affect your land, taxes, schools and rights.