Early voting for the Primary Election ends Saturday, March 2. There are two early voting sites: Robert Carpenter Community Building (1288 Georgia Rd.) in Franklin and the Highlands Civic Center (600 N. 4th St.). Hours are 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. thru Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
As of Tuesday morning, 1,858 people had voted during early, one-stop voting according to the Macon County Board of Elections.
“I don’t think that voters are aware of how important this election is to Macon County,” said Board of Elections Director Melanie Thibault. “This election will decide your next two commissioners since there will be no opposition in the November election. I encourage voters to cast their ballot in this election.”
Primary Election Day
On Primary Election Day, Tuesday, March 5, all precincts will be open for voting. Poll hours are 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. As a reminder, this is the first countywide election that voters will need photo identification as now required by state law. For most people, a valid North Carolina driver’s license will serve as their identification. If you do not have a driver’s license or one of the other approved voter ID cards, free id cards are available at the Macon County Board of Elections office, located on the first floor of the Macon County Courthouse, and at the local DMV office at 16 S. Patton Ave.
More information about voter identification and sample ballots are available on the Macon County Board of Elections website, maconnc.org/board-of-elections.
District 2 candidates: Young and Browning
The Primary Election will determine the two seats up for election on the Macon County Board of Commissioners. No Democratic candidates filed to run, meaning the board will continue to be made up of all Republicans.
Incumbent Josh Young is running against challenger Chris Browning for the District 2 seat. In District 3, incumbent Paul Higdon and Barry Breeden are running for that seat. The Feb. 22 edition of The Highlander included interviews with Higdon and Breeden.
All candidates were asked the same questions during an in-person interview and were given the opportunity to submit a 100-word statement about why they want to serve on the Board of Commissioners.
Josh Young
Josh Young was elected to his first term on the Macon County Board of Commissioners in 2020. He is owner/operator of Young Tree Services, Inc. and Young Brothers Contracting, Inc. He has been married to his high school sweetheart, Whitney, for almost 15 years and has five children.
Why do you want to serve on the Macon County Board of Commissioners? I am running for re-election to help preserve our way of life, our heritage and implement a strong trades program for the next generation of Macon County. I would like to see these kids off their electronic devices and back playing outside like it used to be. I promise to use Macon County tax dollars in a very careful, delicate manor.
Chris Browning
Chris Browning is owner and CEO of C&S Enterprises Inc. and Browning Well. He is a 1993 graduate of Victory Christian Academy and served as a satellite commander in the U.S. Air Force. He is a member of Windy Gap Baptist Church. He has a daughter, Emma Browning, and is the son of Eunice Browning and L.C. Browning, and brother of Scott Browning,
Why do you want to serve on the Macon County Board of Commissioners? I am a lifelong resident of Macon County. I am running to be your next county commissioner to move Macon County forward and to serve the citizens with honesty, integrity and transparency. I firmly pledge to keep taxes low and ensure that taxpayer money is spent wisely. We have great county employees and a wonderful lifestyle here. However, there are multiple challenges ahead of us. Macon County requires leadership that understands these issues while standing up for taxpayers. I will always defend our constitution and defend faith, family and freedom. I will answer directly to the Macon County taxpayers.
Browning declined to be interviewed for this article. Young sat for an in-person interview with The Franklin Press on Feb. 5; his responses are as follows.
Why are you running for county commissioner?
I’m running because I love Macon County. I love our heritage. I love this small community which we call home. I want to make sure Macon County moves in the right direction fiscally, responsibly. And I want to make sure that we have the correct oversight to stay on budget, stay on task, and to be able to plan for the future. I’m a fifth generation Maconian, and I hope to see my kids grow roots here. At the end of the day, selfishly, I want this place to flourish. And I want this special place we call home to be protected.
Macon County recently got $62 million from the state to go toward construction of a new Franklin High School, and construction documents are almost finished. How do you feel about this project?
I’ve been involved in this project for almost four years, and it would probably take a three-week article to go over all the pros and cons. But at the end of the day, $62 million was just handed to Macon County’s economy, and we need to use that money for its intended purpose. Franklin High School has served its purpose, and with the correct amount of planning and being able to utilize a lot of the CTE programs, a lot of our…tying our heritage, tying our culture, tying our way of life into this new school, this new project is one of my strongest goals.
We have designed a Franklin High School based on trades, based on a curriculum that we as a community see fit: construction, welding, automotive, agriculture, horticulture, culinary. And we try to tie this new school into our heritage, our way of life, our local economy.
All in all, it makes me sick to think about the amount of money that this could cost the county. But at the end of the day, it is a worthy project, and if we take the adequate time and consideration to make sure all the boxes are checked, I think it will serve this community well and for years to come.
In 2023, Macon County lowered its property tax rate from $0.40 to $0.27 after its once every four years revaluation saw an average property value increase of 50 plus percent. With no revaluation for most of this four-year term, what are your thoughts on the current tax rate?
Taxes can never be low enough. There is a delicate balance within our society that covers our cost to do business. And when I talk about our cost to do business, I’m talking about our law enforcement, our EMS, our county maintenance staff. I feel like it’s important to hold your leaders and your council accountable. It’s our job to trim the fat, to go through the budgets and to make sure our money is being spent and spent well.
I feel like it’s a little misleading with the opinion of our county tax rate being dropped 25% when all the assessed values were heavily increased. Again, I feel like taxes are dangerous, and as long as the money is being spent like it’s our own money, and officials are accountable for the funds we do spend, it’s a necessary evil.
What do you hope for the future of the relationship between Macon County and the Fontana Regional Library?
I feel like all partnerships have contracts, just like with all our volunteer fire departments, with a lot of our other nonprofits, it’s business. I feel like it is worthy and may be positive to network with other communities in our region here. I feel like every so many years we need to have contract negotiations, just as if we would in our own private lives. New officials are constantly revolving and contracts should reflect that. I would like to see us stay with Fontana Regional Library, with a contract that we can all support and we can all get behind.
What is the biggest issue coming to Macon County and how would you as commissioner face that issue?
The biggest issue I see right now is money. That’s our primary role as commissioners in Macon County is to oversee money. There is a huge demand for a lot of our local infrastructure, schools are only a small token, but a very large item. A lot of our schools haven’t been touched or maintained in 20 to 30 years. Escalation in general of all our employee wages. I guess the rising cost of inflation scares me with our current budget. We budget very, very, very fiscally responsible right now with all the effects of COVID and all the outlying years we’ve currently experienced.
At the end of the day, our job as commissioners, in my opinion, is to balance the budget, to make sure that we can maintain our assets, and to make sure we can move into the future without hurting the people of Macon County. We have lots and lots of natural resources and infrastructure that I feel are being underutilized. As commissioner, I feel we need to double down on maintaining more of our assets and making sure we are living within our means.
Why should people vote for you as county commissioner?
Because what you see is what you get. I’m not a flashy person, I don’t pretend to be someone I’m not. I go to work every single day; I feel like I’m in touch with the pulse of the community. I feel I have strong networking skills and the ability to get things done.
In my professional atmosphere, my job is to primarily problem solve and manage. Those same characteristics carry over into my political world. Remember, commissioners act as a board of directors, we’re not county employees and we’re not the CEO of the county, we are the board of directors.
At the end of the day, we essentially steer the ship, I feel like that’s our role and it’s important not to overreach. There’s a very delicate balance, in my opinion, of power and government overreach is bad, and it’s prevalent. At the end of the day, my role as commissioner is to look after and take care and make sure my decisions are in the best interest of Macon County.