Position/philosophy statement
I am a common-sense conservative that wants to keep Cabarrus County a wonderful place to raise a family. I support providing for our children in the classroom, creating opportunities for commercial growth, and reducing the tax burden on our citizens
Current Occupation
Assistant Director of Campus Health, Safety, and Security at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College
Age (optional)
54
Campaign Phone
980-521-8346
I retired in 2023 as the Chief Deputy of the Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office. I oversaw the day to day operations of the office, including the budget. No other candidate has managed a 50+million dollar budget. I have lived in Cabarrus for most of my life having attended elementary through high school in Cabarrus County Schools. I have a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice from East Carolina University. I am also a graduate of the UNCC Public/Non-Profit Leadership Academy. I have also been very involved in my community. As a member of Allen-Graham/Cabarrus Masonic Lodge and the Oasis Shrine, I have volunteered countless hours to helping others.
The budget shortfall. Roughly 80-85% of the County budget is mandated services which means the County has to fund it. You have to review the budget and make what cuts you can without affecting services. The budget process can be adjusted to help alleviate spending in a number of ways. The tendency from past boards has been to look to the employees to make cuts. This has created low morale and caused high turnover in some areas of the County. The better option to help with the shortfall is to create a pro-business environment where we will have commercial growth outpace residential. Commercial businesses add to the tax base, typically use less water/sewer, and have far less impact on our schools.
The County is responsible for the building of schools. Money can be saved by having smarter growth by working with the municipalities to better plan where that growth should occur. The Commissioners also need to be more involved in the approval process for these large subdivisions coming into our County, primarily because the needs of the school system have to be addressed before a municipality approves a subdivision. We have fallen behind in new school construction and in providing for deferred maintenance. Our teachers also deserve the best we can offer. We need to emphasize school infrastructure funding while planning our growth more collaboratively.
There has been such vitriol about the Economic Development Corporation which recruits businesses to Cabarrus County. Their funding, under $400,000, is "pennies on the dollar" for what they bring back to Cabarrus County. We need to continue their funding and then work to do the things that will promote businesses to come here by maintaining high quality schools, building up our infrastructure, and promoting great healthcare. The best way to fight inflation and high costs is to provide our citizens with higher paying jobs that does not require them to travel out of county.
Our social services department in Cabarrus County receives a great deal of critique. I am uncertain of how much of it is justified or not. What I can promise is that if elected, I will ask for an outside audit of our Department of Social Services to ensure that staffing levels are appropriate and that our processes are in line with state and national standards. In my own professional experiences, I recognized some perceived deficiencies while also seeing a lot of great work so I feel an audit is the best thing we can do to ensure we are working effectively and efficiently.
I just want to get the hyper politics out of our local government. Extremes are present on both sides of the political aisle. When a Commissioner makes a decision, those decisions affect the very people you may see in the grocery store or at the park. Extreme partisanship has no place in our local decision-making. You can have your base beliefs in conservatism without being extreme. I feel I bring a common-sense approach to our Board of Commissioners.
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Position/philosophy statement
I’m running for Cabarrus County Commission because county government should protect your life, liberty, and chance to pursue happiness—not pick a team in a national culture war.
Current Occupation
Semi-retired journeyman electrician
Age (optional)
60
County government sets taxes, budgets, ordinances, and oversees departments that can help a family—or ruin one. I’m a journeyman electrician of 44 years, raised in my father’s shop and a foreman for 18. I plan jobs, manage crews, meet real codes, and answer when work fails. Cabarrus is growing; growth without discipline means higher taxes, sloppy contracts, and rules that punish builders.
I’ve stood with people government ignores: veteran Joshua Rohrer (#justiceforjoshuaandsunshine), Pastor Moses Colbert’s Gastonia church fined for sheltering the homeless, and families after Kemari died in Person County CPS custody. Charity isn’t a zoning crime. Oversight isn’t optional.
The most important issue is paying for growth without crushing taxpayers or growing county power.
Cabarrus keeps adding people, students, and demand for schools, roads, public safety, and social services. Voters face major school and community-college bonds; commissioners still set the tax rate, debt, and budget. Do this wrong and families get higher bills, sloppy contracts, and more rules—while agencies like DSS operate with too little scrutiny.
The job is simple and hard: fund what the county must do, refuse what it should not, and measure every dollar like a job site. Protect life, liberty, and happiness. Growth should mean opportunity, not a larger government living off the people who built this county.
The Commission does not run classrooms. Its real job is capital and local dollars: buildings, debt, the tax rate, and whether school funding is spent as promised.
I will fund facilities students actually need—safe, uncrowded buildings—without writing a blank check. Bond and budget votes should come with a public list of projects, costs, and what gets cut if bids run over. Operating money should follow enrollment and results, not last year’s request plus a percentage.
I will not use the school budget as a culture-war stage or a patronage pot. Counties should pay for education, demand transparent books, and leave teaching to educators and parents. Cabarrus kids need roofs, seats, and accountability—not higher taxes for vague “investment.”
A county cannot decree prosperity. It can stop taxing and regulating it away.
I will keep the property tax rate as low as honest budgeting allows, scrutinize incentives that pick winners, and measure economic-development spending by jobs and tax base—not ribbon cuttings. Speed and clarity in permitting beat a thicker “business-friendly” brochure. Growth should pay more of its own way so existing residents are not billed twice.
Protect property rights, keep ordinances narrow, and spend public money on core services—public safety, roads, and school facilities—not programs that compete with private employers. Cabarrus sits next to a major metro. People and shops will come if government is predictable, limited, and cheap enough to live under.
Quantity without accountability is how children and families get hurt. Quality means help that is timely, lawful, and limited—not a larger agency with a thicker file.
I will demand transparent DSS performance: placements, reunifications, deaths and serious injuries in care, wait times, and complaint outcomes the public can see. Child protection should target real abuse, not poverty dressed up as neglect. Parents deserve due process; kids in custody deserve actual safety.
For homelessness and addiction, fund core crisis services and clear rules—not harassment of churches and charities that feed and shelter people. Voluntary help is part of the safety net. Commissioners should oversee the department and ensure total transparency.
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Position/philosophy statement
Besides my service as a two-term Town Councilman, and a sitting Cabarrus County Commissioner, my training as an architect and business owner puts me in a unique position for government service. Architects are trained to solve problems.
Current Occupation
Commissioner, Architect, Business Owner
Campaign Phone
9803545622
I was appointed to the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners by the Republican party in December 2025 with a unanimous vote by the Board, and was subsequently appointed Vice-Chair of the Board, again with a unanimous vote. I served on the Harrisburg Town Council for two terms where I was also the Chair of the Board of Adjustment. My training as an architect and business owner puts me in a unique position for government service. Architects are trained to solve problems – to look at the big picture and make informed decisions and recommend solutions – often outside the box solutions.
We have a current budget deficit of $13.7M, ballooning to 27 million in 2028 and a staggering $66 million by 2031. This is not sustainable. With an almost half a billion-dollar budget, there is no reason whatsoever to be seeing shortfalls even five years out, let alone one. After my work is done in the next few months to pass a budget that actually works, I’ll shift my focus to ensuring the tax burden placed on ordinary hardworking people is as minimal as possible.
The County is required by state law to fund school facilities, but we are looking at huge budget deficits. I think we should ask the voters, on the ballot, if they want to approve Bonds to build schools. I think the voters are smart, but they’ve been treated in the past as if they are not.
We’re experiencing unprecedented economic growth and prosperity. Our only issue seems to be that we don’t know what to do with it. We’re operating under outdated policies that don’t take full advantage of the opportunities the private sector has to offer. We’re giving away without objection tax revenue for no reason whatsoever. We’re acting as if Cabarrus County isn’t an incredibly attractive market for private investment and opportunity for the people to grow their wealth. We’re in the top 5 counties in the state and we’re acting as if we need help. No, we need to unleash the business community to do what they do best – grow – which in turn provides the best opportunities for the people.
Priority number one is getting our fiscal house in order. We are spending more than we are taking in – I would go out of business if I took this approach at my architecture firm. Simply getting out of the way - letting the economic engine that is private industry drive our economy, provide jobs and opportunities, and increase the tax base so that we can provide services for the best value possible without getting into services that we have no business doing.
I am a member of the Cabarrus Chamber, NC Economic Development Association, CPN (Construction Professionals Network), SCUP (Society of College and University Planners), and a certified disaster relief inspector for NC SEER – where we work for FEMA after natural disasters to ensure buildings are safe for people to return. I am LEED Certified for Building Design + Construction where I served as the Board Vice-Chair and Membership Committee Chair. I served on the American Institute of Architect’s Legislative Review Committee and am a registered architect in North and South Carolina. I received the Charlotte Business Journal’s prestigious 40 under 40 award in 2022 and a CPN Service Award the same year.
Position/philosophy statement
I believe in fair and functioning government that works for everyone - regardless of your political affiliation. I will be unapologetic about tackling the issues facing the working class, and the biggest possible supporter of our public schools.
Current Occupation
Sales Consultant
Age (optional)
41
Campaign Phone
704-291-2758
One beautiful thing about our democracy is that there are not many qualifications to run for office. However, I have been very active with the Cabarrus County Democratic Party since the Fall of 2024. I have served as Vice Chair for my precinct, and assisted with the Messaging Task Force that worked on various communication strategies for the local elections last year. I also volunteered to canvass and phone bank for Dr. Erin Bank’s successful campaign for Harrisburg Town Council in 2025.
In my professional career, I have worked in technical sales since 2008. My most recent roles have centered around managing third-party resellers. At the crux of those kinds of sales roles is collaboration and partnership.
Funding to pay for deferred maintenance and new build for our school systems. The county went with the Limited Obligation Bond to pay for the NW Cabarrus High School replacement and new NW Elementary School, and are attempting a GO Bond to pay for some deferred maintenance and replacement for Central Cabarrus HS. The next Board must work hand-in-hand with the school board, county manager, and county department heads to determine the best route to pay for the remaining needs that have been identified, whether it be a rotating cycle of GO bonds, a mix of GO bonds and LOBs, or something else.
Being the biggest advocate and cheerleader possible. The Board of Commissioners can do this by intentionally working hand-in-hand with the school systems and boards, to ensure that needs are being met, and that parents and teachers are being listened to. The Board can also do this by speaking up to the legislators in the General Assembly. The state controls so much of what the county is able to do, and by fully funding our public schools at the state level, it will make that job of the County Commissioners that much more impactful.
Return to fully funding the local Economic Development Committee.
Next, it is imperative that we continue to attract and retain businesses to our county that pay a fair wage, treat their employees well, and invest in the community. Using incentives to attract those kinds of businesses can be a good tool for our county to use. However, we must be judicious with that process. The Board, in partnership with the Economic Development Committee, the Chamber of Commerce, and relevant municipalities, should continue to work together to offer attractive, yet reasonable, incentives to certain types of businesses, while including protections (such as clawbacks or performance milestones).
We are fortunate to have exceptional services offered by our county, especially with regards to our first responders. However, one area that has been identified as an issue is a need for more child welfare workers. I would work with the HHS team and County Manager to identify what the specific needs are, and address how we can close that gap.
We've got a lot going for us in Cabarrus County, and it's not by accident. We've had previous leaders that have identified areas of need, and collaborated with various entities to address those needs and improve the lives of it's residents. However, if we want to continue to deliver for our county, and ensure this is a wonderful place to live and raise a family, then we need elected officials who are going to govern for all 245,000 thousand residents - not focus on partisan antics or individual acclaim.
We deserve elected officials who will collaborate for the greater good, and who understand that they are a part of something so much greater than their individual selves.
I believe in a better Cabarrus, and I look forward to building that vision this November.
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