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Before the presidential campaign even started, we witnessed gridlock on Capitol Hill that, at one point, quite literally shut down the government. During this presidential election season, we’ve watched month after month of political surprises and levels of division that pundits declare unprecedented. Books are written on the battle of ideologies and willingness to compromise is positioned as weakness. One well-known NPR political commentator compared the heightened vitriol to pre-Civil War era dialogue.

Democrat Jonathan Barfield is seeking reelection for a third term on the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners.  In the past six years, New Hanover County voters have approved bonds to fund improvements to the parks system, public schools, and Cape Fear Community College.  To pay off that bond debt, the Republican incumbent who voted against the tax increase suggested dipping into the county’s fund balance, but Jonathan Barfield says that would jeopardize the county’s Triple-A bond rating: 

New Hanover County voters will choose three out of six candidates to represent them on the Board of Commissioners for the next four years.  Woody White is completing his first term, but he says he undertook some soul-searching before deciding to run again.

New Hanover County Commission candidate Nelson Beaulieu is an Army veteran who now teaches history and political science at Cape Fear Community College.  This is the Democrat’s first time running for political office.  Beaulieu wants to serve on the Board of Commissioners to help the county prepare for the projected population influx.    

Democrat Julia Boseman was a New Hanover County commissioner before serving three terms in the North Carolina Senate. She’s been out of the political sphere for about five years, but now she’s back, running again for New Hanover County Board of Commissioners. Job creation is one of Boseman’s main goals, if elected.   

Six people are competing for three open seats on New Hanover County’s Board of Education.  The one Republican candidate who is a newcomer to politics is also a lawyer, the father of two small children, and a graduate of New Hanover High School.

Shifting the Spanish Immersion program from Forest Hills Elementary over to Gregory was evidence to David Wortman of the lack of consideration given to parents in the school district.  If elected to the School Board, Wortman says he’ll make sure those voices are heard. 

Three open seats on New Hanover County’s Board of Education this year mean voters will decide among two incumbents and four political newcomers.  One of those incumbents, Republican Jeannette Nichols, is seeking her fifth four-year term.

New Hanover County’s Board of Commissioners has three open seats this year.  On an earlier edition of CoastLine Candidate Interviews, we met the Republicans.  On this edition, we meet the Democrats vying for those spots – which carry four-year terms.  

As of last year, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated New Hanover County’s population to be a little over 220,000.