The candidates’ responses are presented without edits (except for formatting).
Below are the responses from Republican Commissioner Dane Scalise, who was appointed last year to replace Deb Hayes.
What plans do you have to address the need for more affordable housing?
The County is currently investing $15 million dollars over five years to support workforce and affordable housing. These investments are already bearing fruit. But the County cannot do this work alone. We need to continue to coordinate our efforts alongside our municipal, nonprofit, and private sector partners. Additionally, I have and will continue to advocate for the Endowment to provide direct, meaningful assistance. After all, the Endowment was created with the people’s money. And, thankfully, the Endowment is now beginning to do so. The Endowment recently announced its plan to invest $19.5 million dollars in affordable housing initiatives. But, independent of all these substantial investments, we must be mindful about where and how we build. The solution isn’t as simple as building an apartment complex on every corner. We need affordable housing, but we also need to protect our community’s beauty, charm, and character and not unintentionally undermine the reasons why people enjoy living here.
Related, what efforts would you make to address homelessness?
The most important thing we can do is make sure all our resources and services are working together properly and efficiently. We recently heard from people experiencing homelessness in our community that they know about available services but find them difficult to access. That needs to be fixed immediately. We need to first make efforts to streamline and simplify existing services before adding new ones. More money is not always the answer. We also need to set clear metrics for how to measure our future successes or setbacks in addressing this issue. We owe it to those experiencing homelessness as well as the taxpayers. Finally, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to this issue. For instance, we can and should do a better job identifying whether mental health issues or drug use is the root cause of someone’s lack of housing. For those individuals, our strategy should be focused on short-term shelters alongside mental health and substance-use treatment.
What is your plan to manage development, balancing concerns over the environmental and traffic impact with a rapidly growing region’s need for more housing?
Development is not an all or nothing issue – it’s when, where, and how. Expanded development on the western bank of the Cape Fear River – which I stopped – was an example of development at the wrong place, at the wrong time. We don’t need to develop every square inch of New Hanover County, but, at the same time, our vibrant workforce has to live somewhere. We are the second smallest county geographically in North Carolina, and much of our workforce already commutes from Brunswick and Pender. New Hanover can’t be expected to bear the full weight of all new housing for this region. We must look to our partners in neighboring counties to help. I will also continue to utilize my relationships with federal and state partners to secure large-scale investments into road and bridge infrastructure. Finally, I recently voted to create the County's new Sustainability Manager position. This new employee is specifically tasked with helping Commissioners to identify sensible ways to create a more resilient and sustainable future.
How would you help promote economic development (and what kind of development would you like to see)?
Continue keeping our community safe and our government operating sensibly. Continue expanding clean, safe water throughout the County. Continue advocating for federal and state funding for major infrastructure, traffic remediation, and job training. Keeping bureaucrats out of the way of small businesses doing what they do best. Our citizens are entrepreneurial beyond belief, and Commissioners have a duty to make it easier, not harder, for new and existing businesses to succeed. I can’t and don’t want to tell you how to run your life or your business. Also, I will continue supporting our outstanding local schools, including CFCC and UNCW. They produce top-tier talent, and we want graduates to stay here once they finish their education. As far as what kind of economic development I’d like to see: we have a diverse local economy that includes film, medicine, industrial, retail, tourism, etc. I love and support them all.
What are your plans for funding public education, and would you support placing a school bond on the ballot?
I will continue listening to students, parents, and teachers, and providing our schools with the resources they need to prepare our kids for success. The County’s most recent budget provides more towards public education funding than we ever have before. We are delivering a record $140 million dollars to K-12 schools and CFCC, including $9.5 million new dollars in school investment. Furthermore, when parents and students told me that they would rather see New Hanover High restored rather than demolished, I voted to fund a study to figure out how to get that done. I also led the successful effort to save the Career Readiness Academy at Mosley, which serves some of our County’s most in need children, from being closed. I support placing a school bond on the ballot and giving the voters of New Hanover the opportunity to make their voices heard on this important subject.
What financial role do you think the county should have in supporting WAVE’s public transportation system?
I support investing in the County’s infrastructure, which includes investing in public transportation. Indeed, the County’s latest budget substantially increased funding to Wave Transit by approximately $1 million dollars. I further support the efforts that Wave Transit is currently making to reimagine and improve our bus lines as well as in pursuing creative solutions like RideMICRO. In sum, public transportation is valuable and needs to be carefully and continually tailored to the modern day needs of our workforce and commuters.
What are your views on the county’s Diversity and Equity Office work inside the county government and in the community?
Each and every citizen of New Hanover deserves full, equal access to County services, and I will continue to be Commissioner for all of our citizens. In light of recent lawsuits and court decisions around the country regarding similar offices, we need to ensure that the County is in compliance with the law and not exposed to liability.