Iredell County Commission Candidate Scott Keadle responds

Here are Mooresville resident Scott Keadle's responses to your questions:

1. What is your position on the CATS 83X bus line and specifically the need for the county to contribute funding to help support this service for the residents of Mooresville/South Iredell?

I am against it.

2. What proposed funding solutions do you have to address overall traffic issues in Mooresville/South Iredell?

The state and federal governments, who take a whole lot more of your money than the county does, have not been sending back nearly as much as you send to them. Unfortunately, the county would not have the resources to devote funding to transportation no matter how high they made the tax rate.

3. What is your funding solution and solutions in general for bringing commuter rail into Mooresville/South Iredell? Just as a side note, I am very tired of generic, divisive and non-definitive answers - they are no longer acceptable – we need solutions now.

Anyone who wants to bring commuter rail to Mooresville (I assume you mean from Charlotte?) will have my blessing, including you. I doubt that you will have enough customers interested to make a profit, but I wish you well and promise not to stifle your business plan with excessive government taxes or regulation. If you are proposing that taxpayers (I assume you are one) in Iredell County be forced to pay for other people’s transportation, I am opposed to that, as are the great majority of the people who pay the bills in Iredell County. I hope that wasn’t too generic, divisive, or non-definitive, although something tells me that you and I have a “divide” when it comes to this issue.

4. What is your position on our school districts in Mooresville/Iredell County? We currently have two. Do you support keeping both districts? Why or why not?

Iredell County schools are among the very best in the state. It is difficult to argue with success. Unless I see a clear need to change the current structure, and at present, I do not, I would not favor a restructuring.

5. Provide your definition of quality of life for Iredell County residents. Is it different for those in Mooresville/South Iredell vs. the rest of the county?

My definition of quality of life is different from yours, and both will be different from the next person who reads this blog. There are undoubtedly some things that you and I, and North and South, have in common, and there are also definite demographic differences that coincide with the geographic differences. I think it would take about 10,000 words to cover this subject, and I’m not sure Jaime has the room on her hard drive. I will say that while some people like an urban atmosphere, others prefer rural or suburban, and some prefer agricultural. I doubt that any of us like traffic, pollution, or crime. I’m sure these things are known to you, but at least now you know that I know them as well.

6. Do you believe transportation issues have an impact on the quality of life for Mooresville/Iredell County residents? If so, what are your proposed solutions?

Absolutely yes. Population and commercial growth has outpaced infrastructure, particularly in the south end of our county, for some time now. County commissioners do not have the financial resources to build roads or address transportation needs directly. Having said that, there is no reason why we cannot use our “bully pulpit” to lobby the state and federal government to get back our fair share of the money we send away for transportation. In addition, we can help the growth problem by discouraging high density development, which has been shown in multiple studies to produce more congestion and pollution.

7. How would you go about facilitating a more collaborative and productive working relationship with the Town of Mooresville? What you would do to ensure this is a results-driven relationship? Please be specific in your recommendations.

Obviously, communication between various government entities is very important, and finding common areas of interest is the key to any relationship. As far as “results-driven”, I cannot be specific in my recommendations unless you are more specific in which results you seek. I can assure you, however, that when the interests of the city and the county are coincidental, I will be on the phone facilitating the deal and bringing interested parties together.

8. Why should a resident of south Iredell vote for you? What makes you different from the existing commissioners, and how will you represent the interest of the residents of Mooresville/South Iredell?

I will represent all of Iredell county if elected, including south Iredell and Mooresville residents. A south Iredell resident should vote for me for the same reason a north Iredell resident should vote for me: I am a reasonably intelligent, reasonably successful person, and I am a conservative who believes in limited government, market solutions, and the ability of the individual to thrive when given the freedom and liberty to do so.

9. Who do you support for N.C. governor?

Any of the Republican candidates would make an excellent governor, especially compared with the current governor or the current Democratic nominees, who will continue to punish Iredell County for its success by withholding funding for education and transportation.

10. Should the County partner with other entities such as municipalities like Mooresville & Charlotte (CATS) to provide for Regional Transportation Initiatives such as Commuter Rail and 83X (Commuter Vans). Why or why not, & which is a priority?

No. I discussed this elsewhere in the blog.

11. Should the county release ETJ (Extra Territorial Jurisdiction) to municipalities such as Mooresville, Troutman, & Statesville so that their more “urban” planning codes can control the rapid growth, especially in southern Iredell? Why or why not? What is your position on releasing ETJ of the Highway corridors such as NC Highways 115, 21, 150, 801, 70, 90, etc so that the county’s municipalities can more effectively manage the growth and traffic patterns leading to our urban centers?

No, “urban” planning is part of the problem that we are currently experiencing with our transportation, education, and the erosion of our tax base. “Urban” planning, or so-called “Smart Growth”, has been a dismal failure everywhere it has been implemented. As a case study, look up the Portland, Oregon area, where “Smart Growth” has resulted in more traffic, more pollution, and multiple crooked deals that have enriched developers (friends and family of government officials) at the expense of taxpayers.

12. How can the county best partner to meet regional recreational needs such as parks, programs, etc.? Are there effective partnering opportunities with municipalities? If so, what are they?

Again, anywhere there are common interests, there are partnering opportunities. The county can best take advantage of these opportunities by electing commissioners who can envision the mutual interests, bring the interested parties to the table, and effectively negotiate a win-win deal. The recreational department is certainly a place where this can be achieved.

13. Do you support the county’s current 2 School system, or should the Mooresville Graded School System be eliminated and rolled into the Iredell-Statesville School System?

In the interest of space, please see question number four.

14. What are you going to do to deal with the near gridlock traffic conditions?

Please see question number three.

15. How do you plan to control the rampant over-development of our area?

We do not have over-development, we have improper development, failure to timely plan for development, and failure to provide timely infrastructure for the development that has occurred. Please see the rest of my answers for insight into my plans.

16. Taxes continue to rise. Where does it stop?

With my election.

17. What will you do to get our area our fair share of transportation dollars? (Am I the only one who wonders why there are 6-lane highways in BFE North Carolina but not in Mooresville-Davidson-Cornelius?)

No, you are not the only one who pretends to wonder the answer to that question. Of course, you know the answer is that there are crooks in Raleigh who take your money and give it to their rich developer friends in other parts of the state. Please see my previous answers for insight as to what I will do, and please vote Republican this November to help end the Democratic reign of terror in Raleigh.