At the Clayton City Council meeting on July 16, resident Gary Hood announced that Clayton Watch has formed a Political Action Committee (PAC) and has launched a new website, claytonwatch.org.
Clayton Watch is spearheaded by local activists Gary Hood and Bill Walcutt. The two are well known in the community for their conservative positions and their displeasure with certain members of the Council, Planning Commission and others in City Government as well as past decisions and conduct.
They are known to walk neighborhoods to distribute flyers, attend council meetings, and engage on social media platforms such as Next Door to express their position on various issues. Their opponents see them as being hateful and vindictive. As a result, hostilities have escalated.
Clayton Watch has been accused of using divisive tactics by distributing flyers containing misinformation and hit pieces; however, opposing factions have countered with their own attack including a flyer calling Hood and Walcutt puppet masters over the current City Council.
City government has been faced with high turnover in several key positions for the past few years. Is this because of the activities of Clayton Watch? You decide.
In the site’s first few days, it has already exceeded 10,000 pageviews. While the site maintains a conservative narrative, anyone can research copies of past email exchanges with City personnel, news articles, Requests for Information, city budgets and audits, community activities, updates on city projects, candidate statements and much more.
Whether progressive or conservative, claytonwatch.org serves as an exposé into local issues worthy of discovery for concerned citizens. Their efforts pressure the City government to be accountable, promote transparency, and insist that whatever decision the City makes, it governs by the rules.
Its mission statement says, “To help inform the citizens of Clayton about the true facts of various proposed projects and city sponsored initiatives within the city. We seek to counter the misinformation and will do anything and everything legally possible to stop this abuse of power. Only by knowing the facts can an informed citizen make a reasoned decision.”
As an official PAC, residents can bet Clayton Watch will be asserting its influence in the local election this fall.