N&O endorsements: Our choice for Wake County Board of Commissioners

In the 6th District race for Wake County Board of Commissioners – the only contested seat of three up for reelection on the seven-member board – voters have a clear choice between Democratic Board Chair Shinica Thomas and Republican challenger Jacob Arthur.

After tax hikes in recent years, taxes and spending are becoming issues. But Thomas and other commissioners think they have little choice but to raise and spend more given the county’s growth and the rising needs of its public schools.

In addition to setting tax rates, the board regulates land use and zoning outside municipal jurisdictions. Members serve four-year terms and are elected countywide, though they must live in the district they represent. The 6th District covers northwestern Wake County.

Arthur, 45, thinks fiscal belt-tightening is what the county needs. Thomas thinks the government should play a broader role by increasing support for schools, Wake Tech, emergency services and care for the homeless.

Arthur, an attorney and U.S. Navy veteran, disputes that the county needs to keep raising taxes. “It has a spending problem,” he said. He is not in favor of the commissioners approving more money for schools because he is not convinced that the spending is being directed where it should be.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to allocating money to a specific purpose,” he said, such as replacing a failing air conditioning system that results in students missing days of school.

Thomas, 50, who formerly served as director of advocacy and educational partnerships for the NC Coastal Pines chapter for Girl Scouts NC, is now a full-time commissioner. She said spending more on schools and services is “not a yes or no question.” She said more money will be needed to address what she calls “historical underfunding” of Wake County’s public schools. She noted that the county is slated to build five new schools and renovate seven others in the next five years.

Arthur views the county’s homelessness problem “as a city/town issue,” and thinks the best thing the commissioners can do is “work to reduce spending and taxes, which contribute to rising housing prices.” He also said he thinks “charities and private groups are better suited to deal with homelessness than the government.”

Thomas thinks the commissioners have a role in addressing homelessness. County commissioners this year approved a $33 million increase for the county’s affordable housing development program. “Our goal,” Thomas said, ”is to create and preserve 2,500 affordable housing units in the next five years.”

Both Arthur and Thomas think public safety is of paramount importance.

“The safety and well-being of Wake County residents is the first responsibility of the commissioners,” Arthur said.

Thomas agrees. “Public safety really is the foundation of the work we do.,” she said. “None of the other great improvements in Wake County matter if people don’t feel safe in their homes and businesses.”

Beyond supporting public safety, Arthur said his priorities are reducing county residents’ tax burden and reducing spending levels.

“I am extremely concerned about the high property tax rate,” he said. He pointed to older citizens who own their homes but may not be able to stay in them because of a rising tax bill. The property taxes hurt renters, too, he said, because landlords have to raise rents to pay taxes.

Among Thomas’ priorities is closing the “digital divide” for the 25,000 Wake County homes that still don’t have access to the internet. She cited a county-led “digital inclusion plan” and partnerships with the state and internet service providers to connect more than 4,000 homes and businesses over the next two years.

With residents across the nation, state and county feeling the fiscal squeeze, Arthur’s desire to cut wastefulness and hold the line on taxes is understandable. But with the growth sparked by Wake’s unparalleled popularity, pinching pennies could cost the area millions, if not billions.

Given the county’s needs, none of the spending approved by the commissioners is profligate or wasteful.

We recommend Shinica Thomas for reelection.