As in past years, we structured this forum around questions from WHQR, WECT, and PCD’s collective listeners, viewers, and readers, from audience members who attended our event, and from our newsrooms. WHQR’s questions, in particular, were based on our community agenda — which surveyed hundreds of community members from a diverse cross-section of backgrounds and political views. You can find more about our community agenda project here.
We've got three seats up for grabs and six candidates for this year’s commissioners’ race in New Hanover County.
There are three challengers, including Republican John Hinnant, who ran a tough race for state house two years ago, and Democrats Cassidy Santaguida, a political newcomer, and Stephanie Walker, who is wrapping up a four-year term on the New Hanover County school board.
We also have three incumbents: Democrat Jonathan Barfield, Jr., the longest serving member currently on the board, first elected in 2008; Republican Bill Rivenbark, currently the chairman, who left halfway through a term on the school board to run for commissioner in 2020; and Republican Dane Scalise, who was appointed last year to fill the seat vacated by the tragic death of Deb Hays.
And just a note here, Rivenbark and Scalise did not attend our forum. Scalise let us know he had a scheduling conflict the week before the event, but he did answer a candidate questionnaire. You can find his responses here, and responses from all the other candidates — except Rivenbark, who never responded — on our 2024 elections page.
Rivenbark told me personally he would attend, after noting some concerns about fair treatment. He didn’t offer an explanation for his absence, before or after the forum — and didn’t return phone calls asking what happened.
For more on the trend of conservative politicians doing
public engagement, here's a deep dive from Port City Daily and WHQR: From questionnaires to town halls, some Republican candidates disengage with the media
You can find the full video of the forum below:
Links:
- New Hanover High School needs upwards of $90 million in capital improvements
- A Novant Checkup – Novant’s wobbly record on honoring the contractual terms of its purchase of NHRMC
- Deep Dive: Can WAVE transit outrun its toxic past, and turn things around for public transit?
- The Dive: Nickles, Dimes and Quarter Slots – Commissioners debate options for filling budget gaps, including smaller cuts across the budget, shelving programs, raising taxes, or tapping the county’s rainy day fund
- New Hanover County commissioners approve $543-million budget in contentious 3-2 vote
- NHC school board delays budget vote again, will meet Thursday – Board members Stephanie Walker and Hugh McManus held out for a bigger budget ask
- The Dive: William Buster's abrupt exit from the New Hanover Community Endowment
- Behind the recent appointment vote, a deeper debate about the New Hanover Community Endowment’s billion-dollar future
- The post from John Hinnant, citing the so-called Jaffe memo to proactively ask, “Was PFAS part of a strategy by planned parenthood?” You can find the actual full memo here.
