The hours are ticking away and there is only a day and a half in which candidates for the three open seats on the Wake Forest Town Board can file. The filing period ends at noon on Friday, July 17.
But as of Wednesday we have four candidates: realtor Brian Pate, who announced in May and filed on Tuesday, July 7, incumbent Commissioners Greg Harrington and Anne Reeve, who both filed on Friday, July 10, and Chad Casale Sr., a newcomer to Wake Forest who filed on Monday, July 13.
There is a rumor that incumbent Commissioner Zachary Donahue, who early said he would not run for a second term, may be reconsidering and may run. He was one of the attendees at last week’s Elected Officials Campaign Training Workshop as was Mike Cole, who was a candidate two years ago, along with several people, such as Mayor Vivian Jones and Planning Board Chairman Bob Hill, who were there to observe.
Casale, 43, a retired fire fighter and fire dispatcher from Long Island, New York, moved here a year ago and lives in Traditions with his wife, Cheryl, and their two boys, 11 and 8. He said they left Long Island because the taxes were so high and there was no quality of life. The move to Wake Forest was an easy choice because her parents live in Rolesville. “This is a better environment to raise my children in.”
Casale said Tuesday he had not been to any town meetings and decided to become a candidate because of his concerns about the town’s future. “It doesn’t seem the town board and the planning board are being very smart about growth,” he said, mentioning concerns the infrastructure cannot handle the growth and overcrowding. The town may need to “take a step back and look at the plan. They need to be smart about growth.”
The nonpartisan elections for the five town commissioners and the mayor are held on a two-year staggered schedule with three seats up for election in odd-numbered years. 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. The deadline for registering to vote in the Nov. 3 election is Oct. 9.
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, or the Employment Security Commission.
