DARE COUNTY, N.C. — With the Nov. 3 general election approaching, at-large Dare County Board of Commissioners candidate Ervin Bateman listed stabilizing N.C. Highway 12, beach nourishment and waterway access, and work on substance abuse and workforce housing as his three highest priorities for the next four years.
Bateman said he would keep working with the N.C. Department of Transportation and state and federal agencies on Highway 12, push beach nourishment and keep inlets open for commercial fishing with the county dredge Miss Katie, and stay involved with the Saving Lives Taskforce and the Housing Taskforce that backs teachers, nurses, firefighters, restaurant workers and other essential staff.
On Hatteras Island housing, he said the county-backed taskforce of businesses, towns, nonprofits and educators recently received nonprofit status and needs private, state and county support. He noted businesses such as Sugar Creek Restaurant have bought homes to rent to employees as a workforce housing stopgap.
Bateman supports the November quarter-cent sales tax referendum for parks and recreation, saying a recent study maps needs on Hatteras and the northern beaches and that the measure could compress about ten years of upgrades into three. He also pointed to a blanket permit for pumping on Pea Island secured through cooperation among Dare County, the National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife as part of keeping Highway 12 usable after storms.
Dare County operates under a commissioner-manager form of government, with seven elected commissioners serving staggered four-year terms. The county seat is Manteo on Roanoke Island. The Dare County Board of Commissioners sits as the top political-influence employer body locally, described as seven elected members with a Republican majority, and as an institutional power center that controls a large annual budget and ultimate authority on zoning, taxes and county services.
Bateman, who said he has served seven years in the at-large seat, also cited Brightspeed fiber outages, childcare startup money for Hatteras, and a coastal-counties fishing working group led under Chairman Woodard. Voters will choose between Bateman and Aida Havel for the at-large seat on Nov. 3.
