Sara Haire Tice is retiring from the board. At the end of her term she will have served a total of 18 years in office, the second-longest tenure of any commissioner in the history of Iredell County.  Only R.H. Kennedy served longer, from 1930-1952. Tice chaired the board for 12 years, tying John Long and N.B. Mills for the longest tenure in that office.

Republican candidates

Incumbent Commissioner Godfrey Williams has served on the board since 2000. He previously was a member of the Iredell-Statesville Board of Education.

Williams is the only commissioner who lives north of I-40. He has voiced concern about the impact of the county’s rapid population growth on taxes and the quality of life. On most issues he has voted with a majority of the board. Although he voted for the recent COPS bond, he said he did so only because it would not increase taxes.

One of Williams’ strengths is that he is approachable and appears willing to talk with constituents about their concerns. Even when one strongly disagrees with him, he does not seem to take the disagreement personally.

Incumbent Commissioner Ken Robertson was elected to his first term in 2004. He previously served as Chairman of the Iredell County Republican Party.

In 2005, Robertson actively campaigned for voter approval of a school bond that required a tax increase, a stance with which many conservatives disagreed. Like Williams, he has spoken out on the need to manage growth, pointing out that building the schools needed to accommodate rapid population growth will inevitably lead to higher taxes.

One of Robertson’s strengths is that he has a keen intellect, does his homework, and takes a logical and analytical approach to issues.

Gene Houpe is a business owner and former Statesville Police officer who has run unsuccessfully for commissioner in the past. Houpe takes conservative positions on the issues, and is known to tell it as he sees it. “I’m not the kind of person who will waver on the issues,” he said at a recent candidate forum.

Houpe says the voters should have been allowed to decide on the recently approved COPS bonds, “any expenditure that large should have voter approval.” He maintains he would have voted against the recent rezoning for the biodiesel plant.

Brad Howard is a Mooresville businessman associated with the Langtree Group. He ran unsuccessfully for commissioner in 2006, and has been preparing for another run ever since. Howard has been active in local affairs and attends most county commissioner meetings.

Howard is the son of Richard (Rick) Howard, a well-known businessman and developer of Langtree At The Lake, a mammoth residential and commercial community. He cites his experience working in the family businesses, pledging that he will endeavor to run county government like a business. Howard is the only commissioner candidate to receive financial support from SPACE, the political action committee of the Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition (REBIC).

Scott Keadle’s name should be familiar to Iredell voters, even though he is the only Republican candidate who has not previously run for Iredell County Commissioner. A former resident of Rowan County, he ran for N.C. Senate in a district that included Iredell, and in 1998 was the Republican nominee for Congress against ultra-liberal Democrat Mel Watt.

Keadle may take the most strongly conservative stance of any of the candidates. His campaign signs read “It’s your money,” and he says that, while government must do certain things, he agrees with Ronald Reagan that “Government is not the solution, it’s the problem.”

The candidates had a lively discussion about high-density residential zoning and light rail at a recent candidate forum sponsored by the Iredell Republican Men’s Club. (All five GOP candidates attended the event, in contrast to N.C. House candidate Karen Ray, who skipped a previous forum sponsored by the club.)

Williams said high density residential development would create a need for even more school buildings, causing higher taxes. He said the commissioners should stop routinely releasing zoning jurisdiction to Mooresville and Statesville.

Houpe also took a dim view of high density residential zoning. “We have got to allow our infrastructure to catch up with the building and the growth.”

Keadle said commuter rail would result in high-density residential development near the stations. He said such development, sometimes called “Smart Growth,” has lead to higher taxes everywhere it has been tried.

Howard took issue with Keadle, asserting that “Smart Growth” had many benefits. He added that commercial and industrial development was needed to generate the tax revenue to pay the expenses caused by residential growth.

Democrat Candidates

This is the first election since 1992 for which there has been a Democrat primary for County Commissioner.

Chuck Gallyon, the retired Iredell County Fire Marshal, is by far the best known of the Democrat candidates. Gallyon made an unsuccessful bid for commissioner two years ago.

Fred Coggins, a Mooresville resident who describes himself as an “Independent Democrat,” is making his first bid for elective office. A prolific writer of letters-to-the editor, he has been extremely critical of the current board of commissioners, particularly for their failure to control rapid residential growth.

Coggins sometimes makes a valid point, but frequently appears to be ignorant of the facts. In a recent letter-to-the editor, he lambasted the county commissioners for failing to approve an asphalt plant in Statesville. The fact is that this matter was voted on by the Statesville City Council—the county commissioners had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Eugene Shuffler is a North Iredell  veterinarian. Barbara Orr is a Mooresville accountant. Mark Vanek is a Statesville resident. All three are making their first bid for public office.