The election is six months away, the filing period does not begin until July 6, but there is already one announced candidate for the three seats on the Wake Forest Board of Commissioners that will be decided in November. One current commissioner, Zachary Donahue, sent an email Tuesday saying he will not be a candidate.
Earlier on Tuesday Brian Pate, who is well known in Wake Forest as a former DJ and a longtime realtor, released a statement saying, “I am very excited to announce my intent today to run and look forward to serving this great town if elected. With the significant growth that has occurred over the last 15 years, we need to be very careful about the balance of maintaining the small town appeal of Wake Forest that draws so many people here as a destination, while still allowing for planned growth.”
The three seats are currently held by Donahue, Greg Harrington and Anne Reeve. When asked about their intentions last week, both Harrington and Reeve said they are considering running again but had not decided.
Harrington, the former town police chief who retired at the close of 2009, was elected in 2011 to his first term. Reeve was first elected to the board in 2007 and won re-election in 2011. She is a retired association executive. Donahue was elected to his first term in 2011.
Pate, 45, has been a resident of Wake Forest since 1998 and has extensive experience with business locally. As a small business owner, he has been heavily involved with the Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce, serving on the Board of Directors for a total of 14 years and serving as chairman of the Government Affairs Committee for four years.
“I feel like my experience on the Chamber’s GAC has helped me understand how to be an effective leader on sensitive subjects while also learning the value of small business and larger chains coexisting in this growing area,” Pate said.
The nonpartisan elections for town commissioners and the mayor are held on a two-year staggered schedule with three seats up for election in odd-numbered years. The filing fee for town commissioner candidates is $15, and the filing period runs from July 6 through July 17. Each commissioner and the mayor serve four-year terms. Wake Forest commissioners are paid $515.85 each month, or $6,190 annually.
Because there are no districts, the three candidates with the most votes are elected.
The election on Nov. 3 will be conducted by the Wake County Board of Elections. If you want to make sure you can vote in this important election for the town – all town elections are important – make sure you are registered to vote. If you are not registered, you may do so easily online at www.wakegov.com, or at any library, the Wake County Board of Elections office in Raleigh, any public high school or college admissions office, and at any state Department of Motor Vehicles office, any department of social services or public health, vocational rehabilitation office, services for the blind and the deaf and hard of hearing, mental health, and the Employment Security Commission.
