Mr. Marley appears to have the history of politics and policy in Chatham a little mixed up in his June 11 Chatham Chatlist post. I have been either covering or participating in politics and policy in Chatham for 39 years. I do not believe there has necessarily been a correlation between a party label and whether an elected official is considered conservative or progressive on any particular issue. In fact, until the approval of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, the Democratic Party in the south was the home of the most conservative politicians in the country. Remember Jesse Helms started out as a Democrat.