Introduce your brand

Thank you for visiting my website. I am running for Garner Town Council and would appreciate your vote on November 4, 2025. As a longtime resident, I can attest that Garner is truly a “Great Place To Be.” In that regard, I share with you a deep desire to keep Garner a great community and preserve what we have for future generations. My determination to keep Garner a “great place to be” led me to run for the Town Council. I welcome the opportunity to be your Council member and will honor the responsibility that comes with the trust you would place in me.

I will bring over 40 years of public service experience to the Town Council. My background consists of working as an Auditor, Budget Officer, Budget Director, Assistant Controller, and Chief Financial Officer. I am also a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA). During my professional career, my main objective was to serve the public to the best of my ability and always strive to make a positive difference. In 2016, I received the North Carolina Fiscal Integrity Award from the North Carolina Office of the State Controller. In 2019, I was honored to receive the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest award for state service. I promise to bring that same dedicated and disciplined work ethic to the Garner Town Council.

We currently face many challenges due to the rapid and significant residential growth our town is experiencing. I’m sure we all have thoughts and ideas on how best to manage those challenges. As a member of the Town Council, I will ask the questions that you would ask as issues come before the Council. I will be your voice and your vote on the Council. Below are concerns that influenced my decision to run:

  • Fiscal Responsibility - use our resources efficiently and directed at top priorities to maintain a reasonable tax rate. Garner has experienced significant property tax increases in the last few years. It is currrently projected the town will be required to increase property taxes the next several years. I would bring better financial planning and management to our town.

  • Public Safety - have as the top budget priority to fund, staff, and train our police, fire, and first responders. In my opinion, Garner has the top public safety departments in the county and I promise to work to maintain that exceptional standing.

  • Public Works - adequately invest to maintain a high level of essential services to our residents.

  • Residential Development - ensure development is in the best interest of Garner residents and businesses. Not all development is created equal. It must result in a positive impact on our town and not just increase population and traffic. Development projects must maintain the character of the surrounding area, our town overall, and should not negatively affect residents and local businesses. We must focus on the ramification’s development has on infrastructure, traffic, schools, housing, and town resources.

  • Commercial Development - it’s critical that the Council and Town emphasize and take action that attracts high value commercial development that (1) adds high-end amenities (grocery stores, restaurants, retail, etc.) that residents have been demanding and (2) reduces the property tax burden on residents.

  • Housing - pursue actions and partnerships that help the community address the need for affordable housing and workforce housing. Efforts should focus on programs that have a proven track record of producing successful results.

In closing, I promise to work hard, be prepared at the Town Council meetings, and bring a fresh set of eyes and ears to the Council. As stated previously, I want to be your voice and your vote on the Town Council. Together, let’s make a difference!

DID YOU KNOW?

  • GARNER HAS THE SECOND HIGHEST MUNICIPAL PROPERTY TAX RATE IN WAKE COUNTY AT 52 CENTS.

  • PROPERTY TAXES HAVE INCREASED IN SIX OF THE PAST SEVEN YEARS.

  • PROPERTY TAXES ARE PROJECTED TO INCREASE NEXT YEAR (FY27) BY 5 CENTS.

  • IN FY 25 THE TOWN COUNCIL PASSED A 19.5% (8.5 CENTS) TAX INCREASE ON TOP OF THE 54% PROPERTY REVALUATION INCREASE RESULTING IN THE AVERAGE TAX BILL INCREASING BY $441 = 28.6%.

  • IN THE PAST 7 YEARS (2019 – 2026) THE AVERAGE TAX BILL HAS INCREASED BY $1,231 = 126%.

  • GARNER’S BUDGET FROM 2020 TO 2025 INCREASED BY 99.1%.  DURING THAT SAME TIME PERIOD GARNER’S POPULATION INCREASED BY 42.3%.

  • SBI 2024 TOTAL CRIME INDEX DATA SHOWS AN INCREASE IN CRIME FOR GARNER OF 67% FROM 2020 TO 2024, THE HIGHEST OF THE 12 MUNICIPALITIES IN WAKE COUNTY DURING THAT TIME PERIOD.

  • A 2025 WALLETHUB SURVEY OF 1,300 CITIES WITH POPULATIONS BETWEEN 25,000 AND 100,000 GAVE GARNER A SAFETY RANK OF 962.  THE SAME SURVEY IN 2024 HAD A SAFETY RANK OF 845 FOR GARNER.

  • GARNER HAS THE 3rd LOWEST SINGLE-FAMILY MUNICIPAL HOME VALUES IN WAKE COUNTY.

  • GARNER HAS THE SECOND LOWEST MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF WAKE COUNTY MUNICIPALITIES.

  • APPROXIMATELY 25% OF HOUSEHOLDS IN GARNER HAVE AN INCOME OF LESS THAN $50,000 AND THE OVERALL MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN GARNER IS APPROXIMATELY $77,500.

  • FROM 2015 TO 2024 GARNER ADDED 5,586 RESIDENTIAL UNITS.  2,231 WERE MULTIFAMILY AN 87% INCREASE AND 3,256 WERE SINGLE FAMILY AN INCREASE OF  38%.

  • GARNER’S REQUEST TO EXTEND IT’S EXTRA TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION (ETJ) BY 13.84 SQUARE MILES WAS PLACED ON HOLD BY THE NC GENERAL ASSEMBLY UNTIL DECEMBER 31, 2028.

  • THE FY26 (CURRENT) BUDGET CONTAINED A $1.3M DOLLAR ERROR.  EXPENDITURES WERE OVERSTATED BY $1.3M.  I AND COUNCILMAN SINGLETON IDENTIFIED THE ERROR.  THIS RESULTED IN A $1.3M SAVINGS.  THE COUNCIL THEN VOTED TO SPEND THOSE FUNDS RATHER THAN SAVE THE MONEY FOR FUTURE NEEDS OR TO OFFSET FUTURE TAX INCEASES.

  • GARNER PAID $55,000 FOR A CONSULTANT TO PREPARE A COST OF SERVICES ANALYSIS.  AFTER TWO DRAFT REPORTS AND A THIRD FINAL REPORT IT WAS SHOWN THAT THE REPORT CONTAINED SIGNIFICANT ERRORSTHE REPORT HAD TO BE REMOVED FROM TOWN’S WEBSITE.

  • GARNER PAID $65K FOR THE TOWN REBRANDING PROJECT.  THE VENDOR SELECTED WAS RANKED #6 OUT OF 8 SUBMITTED BIDS.  THE 2ND RANKED VENDOR SUBMITTED A BID OF $25K.

  • HOME PRESERVATION FUNDING IN THE CURRENT FY26 BUDGET WAS INCREASED BY 100% NOT 50% AS STATED IN BUDGET MATERIALS.

  • IN APRIL 2025 TOWN COUNCIL APPROVED/AUTHORIZED THE ISSUANCE OF $2M IN GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS THAT DID NOT REQUIRE VOTER APPROVAL.

  • THE 2 CENTS TAX INCREASE VOTERS APPROVED FOR THE 2021 BOND REFERENDUM WAS IMPLEMENTED TWICE…2 CENTS IN 2023 AND 2 CENTS AGAIN IN 2024 FOR A TOTAL OF 4 CENTS.

  • GARNER HAD $10M IN AVAILABLE TOWN REVENUES DUE TO RECEIVING FEDERAL AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT (ARP) FUNDS.  APPROXIMATELY $6.5M HAS BEEN SPENT AND $3.5M IS STILL AVAILABLE.  DO YOU KNOW HOW THE $6.5M WAS SPENT?

  • APPROXIMATELY $4M IN DEBT FUNDS WERE USED FOR NON-DEBT PURPOSES.  ABOUT $2M RECURRING AND $2M ONE TIME.

MY CAMPAIGN

  • I WILL BRING NEW IDEAS AND THINKING TO THE TOWN COUNCIL

  • MY PRIORITIES ARE:

    (1) PUBLIC SAFETY

    (2) FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

    (3) RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT THAT ADDS VALUE TO THE TOWN NOT JUST PEOPLE AND TRAFFIC

    (4) COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT THAT BRINGS AMENITIES SUCH AS RESTAURANTS, GROCERY STORES, AND GOOD PAYING JOBS WHILE ALSO REDUCING THE TAX BURDEN ON RESIDENTS.

  • I HAVE 40 YEARS FINANCIAL EXPERIENCE AS AN AUDITOR, BUDGET OFFICER, BUDGET DIRECTOR, ASSISTANT CONTROLLER, AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.  I AM ALSO A CPA.

  • MY CAMPAIGN IS BUILT ON A GRASS ROOTS, WORD OF MOUTH APPROACH.  I PRINT MY OWN CAMPAIGN MATERIALS, CREATED MY WEBSITE, AND FACEBOOK PAGE.

  • I ACCEPT NO DONATIONS.  MY ONLY OBLIGATION IS TO YOU THE RESIDENTS.

OUR PATH FORWARD

  • LET’S CREATE A GARNER WHERE RESIDENTS CAN LIVE, WORK, AND PLAY.

  • I WILL LISTEN TO RESIDENTS AND ACT ACCORDINGLY NOT BASED ON “RECOMMENDATIONS” FROM PAID CONSULTANTS AND OTHER “EXPERTS”.

  • WE SHOULD MAKE WISE INVESTMENTS WITH THE RESIDENT’S MONEY THAT THEY HAVE ENTRUSTED US TO MANAGE.

  • WE SHOULD REQUIRE/EXPECT MORE FROM DEVELOPMENT OF OUR TOWN.  WE ARE CURRENTLY SATISFIED WITH PROJECTS THAT ONLY OFFER THE MINIMUM REQUIRED.

  • GARNER IS A GOLD MINE AND A TREASURE; WE SHOULD TREAT IT ACCORDINGLY.

  • I WILL WORK WITH DEVELOPERS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE TOWN CAN DO BETTER SO THAT THEY CAN DO BETTER.

  • WE ARE CURRENTLY IN A “POPULATION FASCINATION” MINDSET…. JUST INCREASING THE TOWN’S POPULATION AT THE EXPENSE OF IT’S CURRENT RESIDENTS IS NOT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT.

  • DEVELOPMENT DECISIONS AND COUNCIL DECISIONS MADE HASTILY AND/OR BASED ON INACCURATE INFORMATION WILL LAST FOR YEARS INTO THE FUTURE AND THEY IMPACT:

    ·     OUR QUALITY OF LIFE

    ·     PUBLIC SAFETY

    ·     CRIME

    ·     POLICE

    ·     FIRE AND FIRST RESPONDERS

    ·     PUBLIC WORKS

    ·     SCHOOLS

    ·     ROADS

    ·     TRAFFIC

    ·     HOUSING

    ·     STORM WATER

    ·     PROPERTY TAXES

    ·     ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

    · FUTURE GENERATIONS

Sample Ballot Garner Town Council Election 2025

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