The 7-member Board sets the policy for the county, determining the strategic vision for the county, appoints a county manager, attorney and others to serve the county, adopts ordinances, including zoning, and establishes an annual budget, which includes setting the tax rate and calling bond referendums.Commissioners are elected by district in partisan elections every 4 years and serve non-staggered 4-year terms.
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Current Occupation
Fire Specialist at New Bern Fire Rescue
Age (optional)
38
Campaign Phone
2526711649
I am a fourth generation born and raised in district 1, I know district 1 from one side to the other. The citizens in Fairfield are just as important as the citizens of Vanceboro. I have been a career fireman for 18 years, and have served the residents of district 1 as a volunteer fireman for 25 years. I am a past chief and current president of my volunteer fire department. I have had extensive work preparing county budgets in my fire department as well as while obtaining my degree in fire protection technology. I am the founder and president of the 1845 Firefighters Foundation. I currently serve on the craven county board of adjustments, and serve as the treasurer on the craven county firemans relief fund.
It is time to redraw the district lines of the county. I think this will be a issue for the county as the demographics of the county have changed drastically since the lines were redrawn last. I think that each district should be drawn based on what sets that area apart from other districts. Such as I think the rural areas should be rural and have farmland and farms within their district. Industrial areas of the county should be drawn as a district with businesses and industry, subdivisions and residential areas should be drawn that way. I understand that each district should be represented with somewhat of the same amount of people in each district, however I think my recommendation would be more beneficial to the citizens.
The county commission has to continue improving the school safety of our children and educators. In order to do this the funding has to continue to provide a minimum of one school resource officer in elementary schools, and one to two officers in each middle and high school. I also believe in the state lottery money coming back to the schools across the state as it should be. Currently that is not happening, a portion of it is making it to the schools, and the other is being spent elsewhere. I believe this is where the local school board and the board of commissioner's have to work together and lobby for that money to be accounted for and put back into our local school's here in craven county.
I would like to see a marketing committee formed to market craven county for more industrial businesses to come to craven county. I think along with more industrial businesses, will come more chain restaurants such as steakhouses. This committee would be tasked with going out and finding these corporations, restaurants, and industries and showing them why they should come to craven county. In getting more businesses you get more tax revenue for the county as well as good paying jobs for the people of craven county.
I am not sure where social services needs improvements for a policy to be implemented. I do believe that social services does a great job in dealing with the issues that they are tasked with. As commissioner I would work with them to see that they continue to get the needed resources to perform their jobs.
I believe that my time as a volunteer fireman serving the county helps me see the county in a broad spectrum, and makes me a good candidate to serve the citizens of craven county. I put in countless hours volunteering my time as a volunteer fireman and serving on the county boards. I am not just starting to serve the people in district 1, I have been serving the citizens for the past 25 years.
