| Protects | Preserves | Informs | Engages | Unites October 10, 2024 Greetings from BRCA 28605! County Commissioner Candidates for District 5 Respond BRCA recently submitted questions to Watauga County District 5 Commissioner Candidates, and we are pleased to provide the responses from Democratic candidate Sue Sweeting and Republican candidate Todd Castle. Because of the length of the responses this is the only topic covered this week. Watauga County District 5 Commissioner Election 2024: Responses from Todd Castle and Sue Sweeting For the first time, the Watauga County Commissioner election will be held by district rather than at-large. Blowing Rock, located in District 5, will be represented by one of the two candidates running for this position: Todd Castle or Sue Sweeting. The Blowing Rock Civic Association posed a series of questions to both candidates to better understand their positions on important issues affecting the community. Please be aware that questions 1-6 were asked and answered by the candidates before Hurricane Helene brought so much devastation to Watauga County and other parts of western North Carolina. We went back to the candidates with question 7 after the Hurricane. Below are the candidates’ responses to all of our questions. 1. Tell us about your background and why you feel your background makes you the most qualified candidate in this election. Todd Castle: I am a Watauga County native going back at least 5 generations. My wife is a Watauga County native also going back 5 or more generations. With my dad being from Zionville and my mom being from Foscoe, and my wife’s mother a Blowing Rock native and my wife’s father being from the Bamboo area of Boone, I feel like I have a unique perspective county-wide. My roots run deep throughout Watauga County. A majority of my family also lives in Watauga County. I talk to people all over the county and, more importantly, I listen to them. I love my hometown and I’m very proud to be from here. As you can imagine, I have seen many changes to our mountain town. I ran for Commissioner because, as I stated in articles before, I want Watauga County to be a place where I hope my kids will also want to call home. These mountains are special to me. As Commissioner, I can help guide our county in the right path. We have unchecked growth and over-developed land, all in the name of progress. Watauga County has lost 42% of its agricultural land since 2017. Most of that, as you can imagine, has been due to student housing. We simply cannot continue on this path. To me, our mountains, streams, and trees are why people want to live here. Yet every day, I see trees cut down, mountains flattened, and streams covered with pipes. I have had the pleasure to serve as County Commissioner for almost 2 years. Myself and Commissioner Braxton Eggers are in the minority on the board, but even so, we have accomplished some great things. For the first time in the county’s history, we voted down last year’s budget in an effort to get Sheriff deputies overtime pay, a higher COLA for Watauga County employees, and a real teacher stipend that they can see and use to offset their pay. We also reopened the county transfer station weekdays for citizens to use their allotted tonnage. I ask the citizens of this county to re-elect me to a 4-year term alongside Commissioner Eggers and Ronnie Marsh to really move this county in the right direction. Sue Sweeting: Living in Watauga County for 46 years has made me appreciate and feel blessed to be in such a special place. I am the daughter of a naval officer, and my mother was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. Both of my parents are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. I was raised to work hard and respect others. That has been my motto all my life. My daughters were born and raised here in Watauga County and attended our public schools and went on to receive Bachelor’s degrees at a North Carolina University. My 9-year-old grandson also is attending one of our public schools. I am a retired nurse who worked as a nurse practitioner for 38 years in Public Health, private practice, and college student health. As a nurse, I research a problem, make an assessment, and develop a solution or plan. This is the same approach I will use when I am a Commissioner. I am currently on the Watauga County Board of Adjustments, and I am active in my church with Sunday School, Vestry, and Altar Guild. My service to Watauga County includes four years on the Watauga County Commission, where I successfully worked to name the new Highway 421 “Doc Watson” Scenic Byway. No billboards are allowed to honor Doc even more. During my time on the Commission, I increased funding for special education needs in the school system. As the Fire Commissioner, I continued Fire Department supplements that are used for training and equipment. As a Blowing Rock Town Commissioner for eight years, I helped secure a $13 million bond to improve our Town infrastructure and Park and milled and paved every road in our Town. I was dedicated to completing the sidewalk from Main Street to the Bass Lake parking area, and I did. My recommendation to change our police vehicles to a Hybrid model saved the Town $40,000 in fuel costs. I am fiscally conservative and believe each taxpayer should know where and how their tax dollars are being spent. My service record is proven, not only with my family and my patients but also in public government service. For these reasons and my past experience, I know I am the most qualified in this election. 2. What would be your top priorities if elected? Sue Sweeting: 1. Improve the emergency response system. The EMS Advisory Committee is reviewing the current for-profit emergency system versus a county-owned system. They will need a cost analysis to see what the price tag will be. The committee is also looking at Watauga Medics transport from WMC to a tertiary care hospital. This can leave our residents without an ambulance for 3-4 hours. I would like to see an ambulance bay on the 321 corridor to serve the people in the Blue Ridge and Blowing Rock precincts. 2. Support the public school system and increase teacher supplements. At this time, through the voucher system supported by the current NC legislators, public money is being used to fund private schools. Taking this money away from the public schools means they are burdening the counties with continuing needed school programs. Recruitment of teachers could be enhanced by returning this money to the schools and using it for teacher supplements. The State Legislators also removed retirement health benefits from State employees in 2021. As a former state employee, the excellent retirement benefits offset the lower pay I received compared to private companies. We are paying beginning bachelor-prepared teachers $41,000/year. In Watauga County, with continued cost-of-living wage increases, the minimum a Cook II makes is $43,000/year. As a community, we need to remember our vote can change this disparity. 3. Find solutions to the affordable housing problem. One-third to one-half of all single-family homes in Watauga County are VRBO or short-term rentals. During the economic financial crisis of 2008, developers stopped building single-family homes. When they restarted building in 2021, they didn’t build single-family homes. Instead, they built condos and apartment buildings with more rental opportunities and income. The apartments and condos are useful for workforce housing if they can afford the rising costs. If not, the Town of Boone and the County could apply for Federal Grants to repurpose buildings/older hotels into reduced-cost housing. These apartments would be rented by the month and controlled through the employer/worker relationship. The money would go to the motel owner or back into a fund for future workforce housing. Most families prefer single-family homes. There is an organization that has promoted a project called Leasing to Locals. Financial initiatives will be shared with the owners of the VRBO to change their short-term rental into a long-term rental. Todd Castle: My top priorities are: 1. Fiscal responsibility—how “your” money is spent—and complete transparency while opening lines of communication with state representatives. 2. Making needed improvements to our schools is also a priority. The new, much-needed Valle Crucis School is great and needed replacing. However, I think all our kids deserve the best learning environment we can give them. 3. Continuing to build and expand our Emergency Services in the county is another key priority. We have new towers to build for the new Viper Radio Communications. Many areas in the county are experiencing spotty radio coverage due to the new technology that Viper brings. Those towers are in the works as we speak, and I will assure that we have every “dark” spot covered. Alongside the Emergency Services expansion, we need to expand ambulance coverage. There will be an ambulance housed in the new 911 Consolidated Dispatch Center on HWY 421 that will cover many areas in the eastern part of the county. Next, we need to add a base that covers the 321 corridor going into Blowing Rock. I am looking into a few potential sites for that base now. 3. What other county-level issues do you believe are important to Blowing Rock and its residents, and what is your position on them? Todd Castle: One of the big issues is the unchecked growth and over-developed land in Watauga County. We have lost 42% of our agricultural land since 2017, and most of that has been due to student housing. To me, our mountains, streams, and trees are why people want to live here. Yet every day, I see trees cut down, mountains flattened, and streams covered with pipes. We need to manage growth better and protect the natural beauty of this area. I will also continue to work on expanding emergency services, as previously mentioned, and ensuring fiscal responsibility for how taxpayer money is spent. Sue Sweeting: 1. Weapon violence in schools and churches: It has become increasingly apparent that anyone, in any community, can experience gun violence. As a community, we need to work together to make sure our children and citizens are safe. 2. Lack of primary medical care providers: As a nurse practitioner, I have been trained to treat acute medical conditions and chronic health problems. The use of nurse practitioners and physician assistants can augment and reduce the shortage of healthcare providers. In the State General Assembly, there is a SAVE ACT Bill that would allow nurse practitioners to treat to their highest level of training and education. It is currently stalled in the NC General Assembly. Affordable housing has also impacted attracting physicians and other healthcare providers to the High Country. 3. Lack of retirement facilities with assisted living help: Many of my neighbors who have lived here for years are leaving Watauga County and seeking retirement homes where they can downsize and receive assisted living help if and when they need it. The Economic Development Commission and Chambers of Commerce need to encourage this type of business to come to the mountains. 4. Finding a balance between tourism and those who live here: Tourism is the income that drives Blowing Rock and Boone. When local residents can’t find a parking place or make a reservation for dinner, tourism is encroaching on the lives of the people who live here. I am not sure how to solve this issue, but I believe it needs to be discussed among the leaders of the communities. 4. How do you advise Blowing Rock residents to vote on the redistricting referendum on the ballot, and why? Sue Sweeting: For clarification, the ballot doesn’t use the word redistricting. It is instead called a Structure Change referendum. Senator Hise, who lives in Spruce Pine, changed the way the residents in Watauga County vote without talking to any of the current County Commissioners (all Commissioners are on record saying they didn’t know about the voter change). It bothers me that someone would change a system that has worked for years and tell 22,000 people that they can’t vote for a commissioner this year but will need to wait two years to vote. They have no say in choosing who will govern them. We have always had districts, and three commissioners would be elected by the entire voting public. In my opinion, Senator Hise made an effort to remove student rights to vote. Senator Hise, however, eliminated the local voters behind Earth Fare, behind the Jones House, the Junaluska residents who are many of our Black citizens, and the professionals who live in Council Oaks in downtown Boone. He also disenfranchised voters in New River 1 and 3 and part of 2 and part of the Brushy Fork community. His map was not designed by a certified mapmaker. The County Commissioners wanted all the people in the county to vote on who would represent them. Therefore, they hired a certified mapmaker who made three maps. The Commissioners voted and picked one map to represent voting districts in Watauga County. This is what the “Structure Change” referendum does. I would vote YES to allow the 22,000 voters who can’t vote for a Commissioner in 2024, to vote! Todd Castle: The simple answer is to vote NO. For years, the voice of the county voters has not been heard. Senator Ralph Hise, along with Representative Ray Pickett, listened to the voters who expressed frustration about non-property-tax-paying residents deciding who our commissioners would be. Myself and Commissioner Eggers won 16–20 precincts in 2022. We won with a combined total of 41 votes. The Democratic candidates only win 3 or 4 precincts and usually win easily. Recently, using their slight majority, the commissioners, with a 3–2 vote, decided to add a new map rendering from a map drawer from Asheville to change Senator Hise’s map and also go back to 2 at-large and 3 districts. Two commissioners would again be voted on at large, and three commissioners from districts, two of which comprise most of ASU and the town of Boone. This essentially takes the voice of the Watauga County voter away again. This is one thing I love about the new district voting. Blowing Rock will have a voice on the commission. There seems to have been a bit of a stalemate with the current leadership on the commission and Blowing Rock over the years. I have a great relationship with the Town Council, Mayor, and Town Manager. I will be responsive to the needs and concerns of the residents of Blowing Rock. 5. In what ways would you work to make Blowing Rock’s concerns a top priority for all Commissioners? Todd Castle: This is one thing I love about the new district voting. Blowing Rock will have a voice on the commission. There seems to have been a bit of a stalemate with the current leadership on the commission and Blowing Rock over the years. I have a great relationship with the Town Council, Mayor, and Town Manager. I will be responsive to the needs and concerns of the residents of Blowing Rock. Sue Sweeting: One of the concerns about people voting only for one commissioner per district is that the representative will not work with other commissioners. In addition, three commissioners could form a coalition and block any initiative that would improve the county. I am a Bridge Builder and have communication skills to work through problems and work with others. Because I live in Blowing Rock and have friends in all four of my precincts, I will work for all citizens. 6. What one word best describes why voters should elect you to the Watauga County Board of Commissioners? Sue Sweeting: Committed Todd Castle: Family 7. What sentiments regarding the aftermath of Hurricane Helene would you like to share with our county residents? Todd Castle: I have lived in these mountains all my life and I have witnessed the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and of course the infamous blizzard in 1993. I have never witnessed the sheer devastation Helene brought to our mountains. Many would compare this storm to the 1940 flood that changed the landscape of this community forever, including our railroad system that was never replaced. As I have been out in the community over the past week, one thing has really stood out to me and that is neighborly love. Often, when tragedy strikes our lives we turn to the church for comfort and understanding. In the aftermath of this storm, I have witnessed the “church” provide just that. When I say the church, I mean the people of faith who put their trust and hope in the Lord and have embraced those who have lost so much, including loved ones. Our local churches have been a place where people have come for supplies, hot meals and encouragement from people who just want to show love and compassion. I haven’t really seen the government on the ground, clearing trees, shoveling mud and tarping roofs. I have witnessed God’s people being the hands and feet of Jesus. This is why I love living here. A national guard member told me yesterday, “I’m moving here, I’ve never met so many friendly people”. That really sums up what makes this county so special and makes me proud to call Watauga County home. Sue Sweeting: The people in Watauga County have stepped up to help others in need. Neighbors and volunteers are checking on each other, sharing generators, offering shelter and food to those less fortunate. THANK YOU! This is what community fellowship and love is all about. Electric crew volunteers, FEMA workers, fire and sheriff departments, Watauga County Schools and County employees, National Guard are all working tirelessly to assist our community. THANK YOU! Samaritan’s Purse resources set up generators and offered water to WMC so health care professionals could treat and care for patients. Their volunteers, along with other area Churches, are clearing driveways, removing trees from homes and helping neighbors clean off debris. THANK YOU! Neighbors and local restaurants are cooking food for others, some on grills, because they have no power. Community leaders and businesses have set up food, water and supply distribution areas and handled donations. Shout out to Lowes Hardware, who the day after the hurricane, had one door open to customers and the other door pushing the mud out of the building! THANK YOU ALL! As a nurse, I stand in awe of the nursing community. Not only the nurses who are delivering medicine, welfare checks and care on foot, horseback and 4-wheelers, but those who are helping at shelters and area hospitals. The UNC nurses who left their homes down the mountain and added extra hands to the staff at the hospital. Nurses are a force to be reckoned with!! THANK YOU! My Commissioner campaign seems insignificant to the suffering, loss and displacement around me. As a politician, I am helping in small ways with volunteer work, helping friends move out of their condemned homes, donations and opening my home for showers, dishwashing and laundry services. Politicians who are spreading misinformation, lies and creating fear within our devastated community should be ashamed. I am pleased with the accurate information coming our of Watauga County Emergency Service, Town managers, our local electric Co-op, our State Government leaders, the Federal Division of FEMA and the White House. THANK YOU!! The Blowing Rock Civic Association thanks each of the candidates for their responses to our questions. We encourage all Blowing Rock voters to take advantage of this and other opportunities to get to know the candidates and their priorities. We know that for some in our County, issues caused by Hurricane Helene will be top of mind currently and for a long time to come. This is heartbreaking and we are all putting forth best efforts to improve what we can. However, we think it is also important for us to take time to focus on the 2024 election since it also will have long term impacts on us at the federal, state and Watauga County levels. Early voting begins October 17, and Election Day is November 5. Details regarding voter registration, photo ID requirements, absentee ballots, and in-person voting locations, as well as sample ballots, are available on the Watauga County Board of Elections website at: https://wataugacounty.org/App_pages/Dept/BOE/home.aspx. 2024 Election Calendar October 11th – Voter Registration Deadline at 5:00 pm 17th – Early Voting Begins 29th – Last Day to Request Absentee Ballot by Mail November 2nd – Early Voting Ends at 3:00pm 5th – Statewide General Election 5th – Deadline for Absentee by Mail ballots to be received at office is 7:30 pm 15th – General Election Canvass On behalf of all of us at BRCA we sincerely appreciate your financial support and your ongoing engagement. Thank you for following us. We also want to welcome our new members and viewers; we welcome you to BRCA. 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