There are only about three weeks before candidates for mayor and town board in Wake Forest have to file with the Wake County Board of Elections – July 2 through July 16 – and have a statement of organization and a finance committee chairman ready to go.
So, we know that Mayor Vivian Jones plans to run for her sixth four-year term, Commissioner Liz Simpers says she will run for her second four-year term, and we understand that Commissioner Bridget Wall-Lennon also plans to run, though the Gazette does not have formal notice of that.
Where are the other candidates? By this time in the election season that comes every two years, the Wake Forest Gazette would have heard from at least three or four. This year? Nada.
Now, being a mayor or a commissioner is not an easy parttime job. You get the complaints because your telephone numbers and email address are public information. You have to attend orientation sessions at UNC-Chapel Hill as soon as possible. People will stop you in the grocery store or when you are in a restaurant having dinner with friends. You have to be current on all the town projects and plans and wade through pages – reams, even – of information about each meeting.
Before you can get to be a mayor or a commissioner, you have the daunting task of being a candidate. You have to raise money for your campaign, enlist or cajole volunteers to help you, and then you may lose. Altogether, being a commissioner or a candidate is a lot of work. But people still sign up for it. Oh, the other part is that few Wake Forest voters make it to the polls for town elections and even fewer seem to know who their elected officials are.
But if you are ready to undergo all of the above, town board candidates have to pay $15 to file for office – cash or check – and the mayoral candidates have to pay $50. For that the successful commissioners have an annual salary of $8,000 while the mayor is paid $10,000.
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3 Responses
With the many unfounded and unproven accusations that people make in person, on the phone and on social media, it may be that very few people are willing to put themselves in the line of fire.
I remember people telling me, “I voted for you so you should vote for my opinion.”
I would respond and say, “What about the other person that has the opposite opinion who voted for me?”
It is not an easy job and for very little pay.
I applaud those that put themselves on the line to run and thank them for being willing to serve.
Want to run for the Wake Forest Town Board of Commussioners? Email us at keepitopen27587@gmail.com
We will be interviewing candidates who wish to run for election who believe what former Commissioner Frank Drake once said … something to effect of “Wake Forest is prettiest girl at dance so does not need to settle for anything less than the best.”
If you believe Wake Forest needs to preserve its Open Space, Protect it’s water supply, Have the infrastructure and open spaces to support the developments being presented to staff, then you are our candidates – even if currently serving. Talk to us about the future. We want to hear from you!
There seems to be a disconnect. Growth for the sake of growth is meanibgless. Smart, sustainable growth that includes infrastructure improvements is the Rx for what ails us.
I certainly hope that someone who wants to control residential growth steps up. Someone who is willing to propose to increase impact fees and encourage the board to co sister resining for higher density. The more people coming into town, the more services will be required. I see what is happening now here is what happened in my hometown in Jersey in the early 80’s. I once tried asking our former Planning Director Chip Russell a couple of questions and his response “ you are not from here so you can’t ask questions”. Our elected officials really did not seem to care that I was spoken to that way as that was par for the course. Ironically they sat Jersey people are rude.
I also would like to see someone run who will try to hold the line on local government spending and especially not have the government get into things it does not need to. I’m still waiting to see what is going on with the Sun Trust on White Street. It has been three years.