Additional Issues

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COST OF LIVING / TAXES: We are accustomed to seeing the cost of living increase from year to year, but increased costs affect various groups of people differently. Increasing land values are a benefit to investors, but a tragedy for moderate income families trying to buy a home here. As prices for goods and services increase, the cost of government also increases, thus taxes rise-good that government continues to provide necessary services, not so good for recruiting new business, or for people on fixed incomes for whom any increase involves making hard choices about where to sacrifice.

County government must operate in a fiscally responsible manner. That means controlling expenses, but it also means making investments-building schools when they need to be built and making repairs before buildings need to be totally replaced. I am for as small a government as possible consistent with government doing those things it is supposed to do-such as public safety, education, transportation, environmental protection, public health-and doing them well! I am opposed to government collecting any more than is needed to fulfill its responsibilities; but I do believe in making capital improvements when they need to be made and investing in our people with programs that meet our needs. It's been proven time and again that thoughtful, responsible and timely spending for necessary capital improvements can save huge amounts compared to waiting for problems to become worse and then spending in the future when prices have increased.

WORKFORCE HOUSING: If we are to recruit industry to our county and make it possible for middle-class people to work and live here, we have to find a way to provide housing at costs they can afford. I agree with the proposition that successful communities consist of people with diverse backgrounds, interests and income levels. While it is certain that the county cannot underwrite the creation of moderately-priced housing, it can serve to facilitate its creation through private enterprise. We've given density bonuses to developers who protect green space-we should consider similar incentives for housing that teachers, sheriff's deputies and service workers can afford.

EDUCATION: I pledge to work closely with the School Board in addressing all school system needs. We have jointly agreed upon plans for new capital projects, but we do not have a plan to address the backlog of school maintenance issues. Repair and maintenance of school facilities must become more of a priority.

TRANSPORTATION: There is more to transportation than roads. Our focus needs to be on moving people and goods-not simply moving cars. As a recent appointee to the state's 21st Century Transportation Advisory Committee, a blue-ribbon panel charged with recommending changes as to how the state funds and plans for needed transportation improvements, and as chairman of the French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization, our regional transportation planning agency, my expertise has been recognized by my peers. I want to help us move forward with effective solutions to transportation concerns, and I believe these solutions will come about only if state, county and municipal governments work together.

WATER: This is another area in which our local governments must work together. The current drought makes clear that protecting our county's water supply must be a priority. Henderson County is blessed with high quality water, and we have sufficient water quantity. I pushed to have the county take over responsibility for enforcement of the state's soil erosion program to protect our water quality. With new state and federal mandates relating to storm water, the county should also take enforcement away from the state, so we can craft storm water regulations that are tailored to our needs.

JOBS: We should strive for a balanced job market in the county. While I am skeptical of the effectiveness of subsidies to entice industries to locate here, I've supported providing assistance when the positive economic effects offset or surpassed the cost of such assistance. I support the criteria adopted by the county to judge when assistance should be offered, and our goal should be to keep our young people from having to leave Henderson County in order to find good paying jobs.

AGING: Older people comprise 24 percent of Henderson County's population-that's twice the state's 12 percent average. What our seniors want is not much different than what other citizens want. They want recreational opportunities; they want safe neighborhoods; they want the opportunity to remain independent as long as possible. Our seniors' programs should focus on enabling them to remain at home and independent. Besides being the right thing to do, it is much less expensive to help a senior live at home than to pay for care in a facility. Meals-on-Wheels is a good example of the kind of assistance that is desperately needed, yet still underfunded. This is an area where government can play an important role in convening public and private entities concerned with serving the aging population.

RECREATION: With a wide range of capital projects behind us, recreation must become a priority. The county recently completed work on its Recreation Master Plan, and I'm committed to beginning to fund improvements to our parks and expansion of our recreation programs and to seek out "facilities partnerships" wherever possible.

PARDEE HOSPITAL: While some suggest that the county should consider selling our county hospital, I continue to believe that having a strong community-based hospital is preferable to having some large hospital corporation take over. Still there are financial concerns. I believe that Pardee Hospital must focus on its primary mission and not expand its services beyond those which reasonably can be expected to be provided by a community hospital. The hospital needs to be really good at what it does, but it must leave some range of medical services to be provided by large regional medical centers. The County Commissioners must appoint board members to the hospital board who have good business judgment and who are willing to ask hard questions of hospital management.

IMMIGRATION: It is unrealistic to think the county is able to solve the problem of illegal immigration. This is a problem that the federal government must solve. I have been to Washington to speak with our North Carolina legislators to express our concerns about the impact illegal immigration is having on our community. I have told them that Congress needs to enact effective immigrant legislation.

At the local level, however, we do have primary responsibility to deal with crime. What we can do to address the issue is to focus on deporting illegal aliens who commit crimes. I support funding the Sheriff's effort to identify and deport illegal aliens who are involved in any illegal activity.

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