Jackson County is one of the few counties in North Carolina that elects the chair of the County Commission rather then the board appointing one of the members to the position. This year the county has two candidates representing the two parties. David Rogers won in the Republican party primaries in March ousting the present chair Mark Letson. Marcia Almond was the only candidate for County Commissioners Chair for the Democratic Party.
SCC students who organized the only commissioners forum last month mange to show what is different among the two candidates for County Commission Chair between the two candidates, Marcia Almond and David Rodgers. By law the Commission Chair candidates, Almond and Rodgers are seeking the primary authoritative position of the board of commissions. This entails special meetings of the board, declare states of emergency under the state laws governing riots and civil disorders, and engaging with broader administrative relations outside of the local scope.
So how does this tie back to student voters?
Engaging students and young adults in elections and civil engagement has been something politicians have been aiming to achieve through participating in social media trends, student-led partisan organizations, and student-based press such as The Western Carolina Journalist.
Despite advertising towards younger audiences, voter turnout amongst this demographic can still be difficult when on a campus environment. Recently WCU’s on-campus voting site has circulated substantial discourse, as the preceding UC site was moved to the Jackson County Recreation Center for the primary elections. The on-campus site has now been moved to HHS and will have voting shuttles provided by the university.
Aside from location, many students move from different counties or states–giving them the option of keeping their registration in their hometown or transferring their registration to the college’s county for a smoother voting process. When it comes to wanting a smoother process, larger races such as the presidential or congressional are likely the one’s with more consideration, but emphasis on local elections has been steadfast during this midterm season.
At the County Forum hosted by SCC, Almond and Rodgers answered questions surrounding transportation and housing that highlight issues students may run into during their time at WCU.
At the end of the forum, both were asked about the reciprocal relationship held in relation with student voting: How will they represent students, how can students be involved in this election, and how they would encourage civic engagement amongst students.
Marcia Almond
Almond has lived in Jackson County for 37 years, serving four years on the Forest Hills town council and two years as the mayor of Forest Hills. Almond is a registered nurse who has dedicated 20 years of time working at Harris hospital, and volunteering throughout the community.
On transportation
“I would like to expand our routes and hours with the Jackson County transit system…I’d like to collaborate with Western and the Eastern Band to run buses from Sylva to the Casino where people work, or where people want to gamble, where people might be staying in our Airbnb’s or our hotels, and want to have a drink and not drive back. It would be great to keep drunk drivers off the road. I want designated stops and a full-time bus system. The Eastern Band sends busses to Sylva…as far as Murphy to Asheville…why can’t we collaborate with them? Gas prices aren’t going down anytime soon… Advantages to that are getting to work in all areas of the county. If you live in Cullowhee and you work in Cashiers, there should be a bus stop that picks you up…that runs regular routes and picks you up and brings you back home.”
On housing
“In Jackson Country we’re short 2,500 homes. That means that people who work in Jackson County can’t find a place to live in Jackson County. That means that they’re working here and paying taxes somewhere else. My plan is to collaborate with the Jackson County Planning Department and implementing the 21st century ROAD to Housing Act. It limits corporate ownership of housing. It allows for grants to improve existing structures. I will establish a county housing committee that where we buy and renovate existing structures and sell or rent them at a minimal profit, where we establish safety regulations for landlords so that they don’t become slumlords. And we must adopt a short-term rental ordinance that is similar to the one adopted by the town of Sylva.”
WCU student involvement
On student voice representation she answered,
“Absolutely, I encourage people to become civic minded. I encourage you to join political science courses. Or if you can’t take political science, at least hang around with people, join the Young Democrats…go hang out with people who know things. That’s a smart thing, regardless of what age you are or what your profession is.”
On student representation:
“I’ve talked with Barrett Myers, who is over transportation for the Eastern Band, and they have buses that go all over. They go to Murphy, they go to Asheville, and every place in between. They go to Robbinsville, because there’s a good number of the tribe that have relatives in Robbinsville or live in Robbinsville. And they provide that service. So, I think we can work with them and combine our resources, so that we can serve a greater part of Western North Carolina.”
David Rogers
Rodgers, born and raised in Haywood County, has lived in Jackson County for 27 years, working locally at Hillman Family Automative—leading the service department—and coaching football at Smokey Mountain High School.
On transportation
“I do not think we need to expand transportation. Here’s why: 37% increase in county spending for that service this past year. $1.2 million, it costs the county transportation system. What that tells me is I’ve got constituents who can’t even afford their taxes, and I’m telling them, a kid getting to school or somebody going to casino to drink, or going somewhere to gamble or going to somebody’s house and drink a beer and can’t drive home, is more important than them paying for their house? No thank you. No, there’s some things that I’m very serious about. One thing I’m very serious about is making sure that a family that has had a farm for 100 years can afford to keep their farm and their family’s business. I have been there. I have went to Cashiers. I have talked to these people that are fixing to lose their homes because they can’t afford their taxes. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. So, transportation does mean a lot to me—I’m willing to work and do everything I can to make it better, but I will not spend a dime on it.”
On a shout out comment from an audience member, he said that he will not extend the transportation for the elderly to go to hospital. He said no if that means increasing the budget for the service.
On housing
“So the first thing I want to tell you is there is a project called Webster Village, and it’s supposed to bring 220 homes for that main reason that you’re talking about…that is a partner the county has with WCU. Something I think that will fix that is a couple of things. As a commissioner I think that we can go in and number one is cut our budget. And when we cut our budget, I was in management at Andy Shaw Ford, when I run them, it was called performance based budgeting. And what you do is you find ways to cut things and reward the people who cut it. And it’s amazing how that works, because just as soon as you start putting pressure on things that are going wrong and illegal or to waste, they don’t happen no more because you got that many more people balled in. I think I can bring that to our budget. The other thing I want to tell you about that is when you cut the budget, number one is you can cut how much the taxpayers are paying. And then on top of that, they can afford better homes. We have a robust tax base. What I mean by that is 67% of the taxes are coming from Cashiers. That being said, where do you think a lot of homes are being built? A lot of homes are being built in Cashiers. So that type of home being built in Cashiers cannot be built here in, in our county down in Sylva, and be competitive. So one of the things I want to do is I know several local contractors that have a lot of experience in this–I do not, I’m willing to reach out to them and ask for help. Ask them how we can lower that, how we can get affordable rent. I know rent right now [is somewhere of] $2,000, might touch rent for a nice home and that’s ridiculous.”
WCU student involvement
On student voice representation he answered,
“That is something I’m learning honestly. I don’t think that people realize the magnitude of students. I am really involved with the baseball, the football, and the basketball programs. They all come into my shop. Each one of those sports goer meetings come to my shop at Hillmans. So, I get to talk to them daily and ask them their struggles and things like that.”
On engagement with voting on Western’s campus he answered,
“I’ve got three people that are actually going out to Western to start putting up tents and letting the Western students know they can vote. They can register to vote here because they are a temporary resident. So, we’re trying to engage and I’ve got three people involved in the Republican Party, the College Republican Party, Reagan Bunch, and then I’m working on some other people, some of the football players, some of the cheerleaders, some of the basketball players, to get a tent set up to let them know, hey, we’re not here for Republicans, we’re here to say you can vote.”
Learn more about local elections and to find your ballot visit the BOE at and the Elections tab at WCJ.
Important dates and information:
Jackson County has 5 polling locations:
- Two in Cullowhee: Cullowhee Rec Center (88 Cullowhee Mountain Road) and WCU Health & Human Sciences Building (4121 Little Savannah Road, Cullowhee).
- In Sylva: Skyland Service Center (876 Skyland Drive-Suite 1).
- In Cashiers: Cashiers Rec Center (355 Frank Allen Road).
- Qualla Community Building in Witthier (181 Shoal Creek Church Loop Road).
Here are some important reminders as Election Day approaches:
- Early Voting (and same day registration) starts Oct. 15 through Oct. 31.
- The deadline to request an Absentee Ballot has passed on Oct. 20 so if you want to vote you better get to the polls by Nov. 3.
- Absentee Ballots must arrive to the Board of Elections in the county you are registered by the closing of polls on Election Day, Nov. 3. You can track your ballot to see if it will get at the BOE in your county or state on time by the closing of polls on Election Day.
- Election Day is Nov. 3 and you can vote only in your precinct. Jackson county has 13 precincts on Election Day. Cullowhee voters will go in the new Election Day site at the HHS Building on Little Savannah Road.
- Open weekdays 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
