Dan Berry, candidate for town council in Holly Springs, NC

Six people are seeking to join the Holly Springs Town Council.

And with three seats open and only one incumbent running for re-election, the board is guaranteed to see some new faces.

Incumbent Peter Villadsen is not seeking another term while Council member Christine Kelly is running for the mayoral seat. The leaves incumbent Dan Berry and newcomers Carrie Randa, Jahmar Cobb, Kristi Bennett, Tim Forrest and Susan Smith on the ballot for the three seats.

However, in August, Smith announced on Facebook she was no longer campaigning for the seat.

Early voting in the Nov. 2 election begins Oct. 14 and runs through Oct. 30.

To find polling places and full details on early voting, visit wakevotesearly.com or contact the Board of Elections at 919-404-4040 or voter@wakegov.com

Name: Dan Berry

Age: 33

Residence: 120 Abbeville Lane

Occupation: Director of Finance, Global Collaboration Sales at Cisco

Education: BS in Business Finance from Penn State University and MBA from Saint Joseph’s University

Political or civic experience: 2017-Present Holly Springs Town Council, 2019-present Holly Springs mayor pro tem, 2016-2017 Holly Springs Planning Board member, HOA president for five years, Volunteer firefighter for 10 years and 2 years as fire company vice president, Eagle Scout

Campaign website:www.danberry4hs.weebly.com

In August, Holly Springs Mayor Dick Sears decided against ordering a mask mandate like some other Wake County towns. Do you agree with this decision?

Yes, I agree with and advocated for Mayor Sears’ decision to not implement a mask mandate in Holly Springs. Holly Springs has had an incredibly high rate of voluntary compliance with masks in indoor public places. Our town has also consistently had some of the lowest case counts in Wake County.

Our residents are taking the precautions they feel are necessary to protect themselves, their families, and neighbors and should be applauded with no mandate. Mask mandates issued by local government units put undue pressure on law enforcement and business owners. I also believe that businesses should be able to make their own decisions about whether or not to require masks in their establishments. The Governor’s office and NCDHHS have continued to push vaccination as the best solution to curb COVID spread, and I vehemently agree with this statewide guidance encouraging our citizens to get vaccinated.

What is Holly Springs doing right, and wrong, on managing growth?

During my term, Holly Springs has implemented a rolling five-year schedule of updating our key plans: Growth and Community Character, Comprehensive Transportation Plan, Parks and Greenways Master Plan, and our UDO. With this strict schedule, the town will make development decisions with an updated and timely vision and development regulations to support it. We also adopted a tree ordinance in 2018 to reduce clear cutting and mass grading by developers so that our town could preserve and enjoy the natural beauty of the land that surrounds us. Although our voters passed a transportation bond in 2018, we continue to struggle with improving road infrastructure at a pace in line with the growth. With almost $200M of needed road improvements and only $40M in approved town bonds, there is still a large dependency on the state and NCDOT to help us keep up with the growth we are experiencing in southern Wake County.

If elected, what would your two or three priorities be during your first year in office?

▪ Fiscal responsibility

▪ Responsible growth

▪ Quality of life sustainability and enhancement

What unique skills or life perspective would you bring to city governance?

I have served on the Town Council since 2017 and as mayor pro tem since 2019. Prior to my election in 2017, I spent one and half years on the Holly Springs Planning Board. From 2012-2017 I was an HOA president. Prior to moving to North Carolina, I was a volunteer firefighter for 10 years and served two years as a fire company vice president. I am also an Eagle Scout.

Professionally I am a global sales finance controller for a large technology company where I directly lead a global team of finance managers and analysts and am responsible for revenue and expense management of a $6B annual software business. My professional finance background, tenure on the Town Council, proven leadership skills, emergency services experience, and familiarity with the desires and concerns of the town’s stakeholders make me the most uniquely qualified candidate to continue serving in this role.

This story was originally published October 15, 2021 at 10:47 AM with the headline "Dan Berry, candidate for town council in Holly Springs, NC."