Why Greg West Is Running for Cumberland County Board of Commissioners

Greg West, a general contractor and a 24-year member of the Cumberland County Board of Education, is one of four people seeking the two at-large seats on the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners.

A Republican, West faces Democratic incumbent Veronica Jones, Democratic former County Commissioner Charles Evans, and Republican community activist Ron Ross. The ballots list all four candidates as a group, and ask the voters to choose up to two of them. The two with the most votes will win.

CityView sent an electronic questionnaire to the candidates to learn more about them and gather their thoughts on issues they will face if elected. Answers have been edited for clarity and length.

West, of Fayetteville, will be 60 on Election Day. He is married to Kristie West. They have three children and one grandchild. He has served in an at-large seate on the Cumberland County Board of Education since 2002. West is an owner of RayWest DesignBuild, a commercial general contractor.

How can voters reach you? gregorywest1966@gmail.com, 910-818-9378, www.VoteGregWest.com, facebook.com/VoteGregWest

What are your top three topics or goals if elected?

My three priorities are education, infrastructure, and economic development—and underneath all three is fiscal responsibility.

I have spent 24 years on the Cumberland County Board of Education. During that time, I have worked with and helped balance a $600+ million annual budget and a workforce of 6,500 employees. I know what it means to make difficult decisions with taxpayer dollars, and I know that every dollar has to be prioritized.

Education will remain a priority. Strong schools build strong communities. We need to continue improving academic results, supporting teachers and staff, and giving students multiple pathways to success—college, career and technical education, community college, the military or directly into the workforce.

Second is infrastructure, particularly water and sewer. We need to plan ahead, increase capacity and protect the Cape Fear River, our most important natural resource.

Third is economic development. We need good jobs, a growing tax base and an environment where businesses want to invest.

I believe Cumberland County’s best days are ahead of us. My goal is to help build that future while keeping our tax burden as low as possible.

What sort of regulations do you want to see imposed on data centers in Cumberland County?

I support the current moratorium because I believe we need to slow down, study the issue and make sure we get this right for the long term. We are talking about investments that could affect our water, electrical grid, infrastructure, and natural resources for decades.

But I don’t want Cumberland County to approach data centers from a defensive position. If properly managed, data centers can be an economic-development opportunity, and we should be playing offense—not defense.

Before we establish permanent rules, I want us to understand the costs, benefits, and potential impacts and then put the right safeguards in place. If a data center requires significant upgrades to our electrical grid, water system, roads, or other infrastructure, the company should pay its way and make those investments—not leave existing taxpayers holding the bill.

We should structure these projects so they guarantee a positive impact on our community, our taxpayers and our natural resources.

I’m pro-business and pro-growth. I want Cumberland County competing for these investments. But we need to be smart about it.

If we decide to welcome the investment, make them pay their way, upgrade our infrastructure on their dime, and make sure Cumberland County is better off because they are here.

As the county’s population grows, it will need more housing, commercial areas, and industrial development. Property owners in rural areas have sought to rezone their land to meet those demands and have met resistance from neighbors who want to maintain the rural character of the community. How would you address these competing perspectives?

I believe strongly in private property rights. If someone owns a piece of property and wants to sell it, we shouldn’t tell them they can’t simply because their neighbors don’t want change.

But that doesn’t mean every development proposal is a good one.

As a general contractor and someone who has worked in commercial real estate for decades, I understand development. Growth is going to happen. The question is whether we manage it well.

We need to encourage development where our infrastructure can support it and make sure we consider traffic, water, sewer, schools, public safety, stormwater, and the character of the surrounding community.

I don’t believe the answer is to stop growth. And I don’t believe the answer is to approve everything that comes before us.

My approach would be to listen to the property owner, listen to the neighbors and look at the facts. Then make the decision that is best for Cumberland County—not simply the loudest person in the room.

We need growth. We need a growing tax base. We need places for families to live and businesses to locate. But we also need to protect the communities that make Cumberland County a great place to live.

Responsible growth is the goal.

Some people are upset by the use of automated license plate readers, such as Flock Safety brand cameras. Meanwhile, county commissioners have discussed the use of speed cameras to automate the ticketing of speeding drivers in school zones.

What are the best policies and practices in the deployment of government surveillance cameras?

I support giving law enforcement the tools they need to keep our community safe, but those tools need reasonable safeguards.

I spent 24 years on the Cumberland County Board of Education, and school safety was one of the issues we took very seriously. I have seen firsthand how technology can make our schools and communities safer.

License-plate readers, for example, can help law enforcement locate stolen vehicles, investigate crimes, and identify suspects. I support using technology like that for legitimate public-safety purposes.

But I also believe there should be clear rules about what information is collected, who can access it, how long it is retained, and how it can be shared. We should never lose sight of individual privacy and constitutional rights.

I would be more cautious about automated enforcement that simply turns cameras into a revenue-generating tool. If cameras are used in school zones, the primary purpose should be protecting children—not generating money for government.

We can be tough on crime and supportive of law enforcement while still respecting the rights of law-abiding citizens.

Public safety and individual liberty don’t have to be competing goals. Good government should protect both.

What are your thoughts on the initiative to extend public water throughout the county? And if you support the idea, what is the best way to make it happen?

I strongly support expanding reliable public water service where it makes sense, particularly in areas where residents have water-quality problems or where additional capacity is necessary for responsible growth.

Water is basic infrastructure. It is also economic development infrastructure.

But we need to be smart about how we do it. We cannot simply promise to run water everywhere without understanding the cost, the capacity and who is going to pay for it.

I would like to see Cumberland County develop a long-term water plan that looks 20 or 30 years ahead. We should prioritize the areas with the greatest need, pursue every available state and federal dollar, work with our municipal partners and make sure new development contributes appropriately to the cost of the infrastructure it requires.

And we have to protect the Cape Fear River. It is our drinking-water source, an important economic and recreational resource, and something we have a responsibility to protect for future generations.

We need to protect and maintain what we already own while building what we need for the future.

That is good stewardship—and good stewardship is something I learned through 24 years of managing public resources on the school board.

What are your thoughts on the cancellation of the Crown Event Center in downtown Fayetteville, and now the push to instead rehabilitate the Crown Theatre and Arena and pursue a “Crown Corridor” district? If you would do things differently, what would you do?

The recent debacle over the proposed downtown performing arts center wasted tens of millions of dollars and showed what can happen when we lose sight of the basic responsibility of government: taking care of what we already own.

The Crown Theatre has good bones. It should have been kept state-of-the-art and ADA compliant all along. The entire Crown Complex is an important community asset. Rather than walking away from it or continuing to chase another new facility, I support investing in the existing Crown Theatre and Arena and bringing them up to the standard our community deserves.

But I want to see that done with a clear plan, realistic budgets, and strong oversight. We should prioritize the improvements that matter most, complete them properly and make sure we can afford the long-term maintenance.

This is not just about the Crown. It is about how I believe government should operate.

Take care of what you own. Maintain it. Don’t make taxpayers build something new just because government failed to maintain what it already had.

After 24 years on the school board, I understand that stewardship. We managed hundreds of millions of dollars in public resources every year. You have to make choices and prioritize. And you have to think about what is best for Cumberland County.

Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.