Robert Conner has a difficult job, and it didn’t get any easier on Monday night.

Conner, who has worked at the Tax Office as a revaluation coordinator, was picked that night by the Robeson County Board of Commissioners in a split vote to supervise the office. As part of his new job, he must earn the required credentials, the lack of which some commissioners tried to use to deny him the job, but were reminded of past hires they pushed involving individuals who were given time to get credentialed up.

Funny how things work out sometimes.

Commissioner David Edge made the motion on the item, which was not on the agenda, and got support from Tom Taylor, Pauline Campbell and Lance Herndon. Campbell’s vote signals a potential defection from the crowd her late husband aligned with to control the board, and, we are sure, angered those who worked to get her the District 2 seat.

Funny how things work out sometimes.

Of those who stood against the hiring of Conner, Faline Locklear Dial, who joined the board in December, best articulated her position. Dial obviously was in support of Betsy Cummings, who has led the department for months as interim supervisor, a period during which collections have climbed impressively. Dial pointed out that she had stood in opposition of hiring Cummings, who is saddled by the fact she is married to board bully Raymond Cummings, but became convinced she is best-qualified for the job and is County Manager Kellie Blue’s preference. Dial said she was assured during orientation for her role as a commissioner that Cummings’ hiring would not rise to a conflict of interest.

To be sure, we all have a stake in this hire, but none more so than Robeson County residents who own property, and that is pretty much all of us. Understand that for every percentage point the collection rate rises, that puts $450,000 more in the county coffers that can be used to enhance lives in this community. It is also a matter of fairness because when some don’t pay their fair share, others have to pay more than their fair share.

Robeson County has historically suffered from a low collection rate, although it has climbed steadily for the past decade, when the Tax Office was led by Cindy Lowry. But Lowry was ambushed last August by Cummings and his yes men in an effort to make room for his wife, a coup that was never completed.

We will have to wait with everyone else to see if Conner is up to the task, but let’s make no mistake about this: Conner’s hiring was a repudiation of Commissioner Cummings and the way he has conducted himself on that board, including as its chairman last year, and those who orchestrated it pulled a page from Cummings’ playbook. Cummings, more than any other commissioner, has used the office to take care of himself and friends, most obviously when he was on the board of the Department of Social Services, a position he had to vacate after he pitched a hissy fit and faced the threat of a lawsuit.

Cummings has acted with impunity. He pushed for the purchase of the Angel Exchange building, doing so when Edge was absent. Last year he used his discretionary fund — your money — to distribute dollars in advance of the election for Lumbee tribal chairman as a way to buy votes, but he couldn’t buy enough. His defeat was overwhelming and embarrassing.

Cummings, as a commissioner, has been neutered, which is why we were among those, including fellow commissioners, who suggested that he give up the last two years of his term so his wife would be selected as tax supervisor. And that is what could have happened.

But Cummings would not budge. So when his wife looks for the reason she was denied, she needs to look no farther than across the dinner table.

Funny how things work out sometimes.