There is a growing rift between the Union County Board of Commissioners and the Union County Board of Education. On the surface, the dispute is about an interlocal agreement and nearly $4 million in additional funding for Union County Public Schools. But underneath it is something much more important: Trust. The UCPS Board of Education […]
UCNews
Dark Money Hits a Red Wall
Despite a flood of outside money and misleading attacks, Union County Republican voters delivered a decisive verdict Tuesday night: grassroots public service still wins. In the Republican primary for the Union County Board of Commissioners, the three candidates who ran as the Conservative Red Wall — Brian W. Helms, Sam Harris, and Melissa M. Merrell […]
Dark Money in Union County Politics
A shadowy group is attempting to influence the future of Union County—not by promoting ideas, but by attacking public servants who stood up to powerful special interests. A recent television and digital ad, and a mass mailer, funded by Carolina Strong targets incumbent county commissioners Brian Helms and Melissa Merrell, accusing them of “reckless schemes,” […]
You’re the Sponge: How Developer-Driven Growth Shifts the Taxpayer Burden in Union County
If you want to put the brakes on developer-driven growth in Union County, conservative decision-makers are the answer. Lately, we are being told to absorb growth while developer-first approvals stack more demand on the same roads, the same schools, and the same public safety resources. Here’s the part that rarely gets said out loud: They […]
You’re a Bigoted NIMBY!
Conservative decision-makers are a smart hedge against developer-driven decision-making I attended a local town council retreat this past week and heard a familiar line from staff: developers will not be interested in commercial development until we have enough “rooftops.” (This means the staff is in favor of developer-driven high-density residential building!) That line sounds practical. […]
The Property Rights Lie
Debunking the Myth: Local Zoning Is Not a “Violation” of Property Rights — It’s Representative Government Across Union County and North Carolina, a false narrative is gaining traction on social media: that local control over zoning somehow infringes on property rights. This claim is not rooted in law or in the historic understanding of property […]