Voters can pick three of the six New Hanover County commissioner candidates. Early voting started Oct. 18, and Election Day is Nov. 6.

QUESTIONS:

1. What can the county do to improve economic efforts?

2. What do you think state lawmakers should do about N.C.’s film tax incentives?

3. What specific sectors do you think the county should focus on to grow jobs?

Jonathan Barfield Jr.

Political affiliation: Democrat

Occupation: Broker\Owner Barfield & Associates Realty

Political experience: Served 4 years as a County Commissioner 2 years as Vice Chair, 1 year as Chair, and now currently serving as Chairman

1. The 1st step was identifying Economic Development as one of our core values in our 2011 Strategic Plan. I would like to see us partner with UNCW’s Entrepreneurship Program and the City of Wilmington to develop a small business incubator, and then offer mini grants of between $1,000 and $3,000 to small businesses in the program that may need it. Small business by far is what sustains our local economy.

2. At the very least they should continue at the same level. I would survey other states to ensure that the incentives that we are offering are competitive.

3. Information Technology, Pharmaceutical Research, light manufacturing without smoke stacks, and find ways to continue to enhance the tourism industry here.

Beth Dawson

Political affiliation: Republican

Occupation: Banking – NCNB, NationsBank, Bank of America (retired), and Real Estate Broker

Political experience: Republican candidate for N.C. House, District 18. Served on the county, district, and state Republican Party executive committees, as a national RNC delegate, and on the local and state boards of the N.C. Federation of Republican Women. Active on civic boards and in community since 1986: Southeastern N.C. Regional Economic Development Commission; New Hanover Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees- 2 terms; Cape Fear Museum of History & Science Advisory Board Member; Opera House Theatre Company, former board member

1. Our economy and the need for sustainable jobs, that are compatible with our coastal environment, are the most important concerns facing our county. We should invest in infrastructure, especially water, sewer and solid waste, to meet the needs of our citizens and to encourage responsible growth with effective, efficient regulatory processes. County leaders must develop a respectable, pro-business atmosphere in order to retain and attract businesses, and evaluate the risks and return on potential public investments.

2. The film industry continues to have a tremendous economic impact … providing thousands of well paying jobs and supporting hundreds of small businesses. State lawmakers must acknowledge the film industry’s contribution to our economy, and continue to evaluate the return on potential public investments for our state and county, to be competitive in the recruitment and retention of the film industry. I will work with our legislative delegation to ensure they know New Hanover County is open for business and welcomes the film industry.

3. County leaders should support a diverse economy. We should encourage new and existing businesses to invest and remain in our region by supporting diverse and sustainable enterprises that serve local, state, national and global markets with goods and services. Our local governments must be respectable and provide predictable regulatory processes that encourage investment while protecting our environment and high quality of life.

Derrick G. Hickey

Political Affiliation: Republican

Occupation: Orthopaedic Surgeon

Political Experience: Member, New Hanover County Board of Education, 2010 to present. President New Hanover-Pender County Medical Society, 2010-2011. President, Wilmington South Rotary Club, 2011. Member, North Carolina Medical Society PAC Board of Directors and NCMS Foundation Leadership College Advisory Board

1. We must create an environment that is hospitable to investment and growth. That starts with lowering taxes and eliminating unnecessary regulations. County government must be efficient, reliable and provide a consistent infrastructure. We must continue to support UNCW, CFCC, and our outstanding public school system. This will provide an educated population that will encourage investment in our community. Finally, our beautiful natural environment makes us unique and attracts people; we must protect it.

2. As a general rule, government should not pick winners and losers through incentives that favor some enterprises at the expense of others. The NC film incentives present a unique situation, however, because of the exceptional return on investment and benefit to our community. Ultimately, the legislature should reform our tax code so that our state is competitive in all industries. But until then, I support the NC film incentives.

3. More than anything else, we need good, high paying jobs. Our 9.8% unemployment rate does not reflect the significant underemployment of college graduates working in the retail and service sectors. One area we can promote growth in is technology. UNCW is a leader in marine biology. The MARBIONC initiative to commercialize marine bio-research will serve as an incubator for marine-tech startups. We must also leverage and foster the sectors that are already here.

Robert C. Murray

Political affiliation: Democrat

Occupation: Self employed 

Political experience: None 

1. Encouraging growth in business by clarifying rules and regulations, eliminating as many restrictions to growth as possible. 

2. Tax incentives for the business section should include everybody. While the film industry spends a lot of money and is a clean industry, local businesses are here all the time.

3. I would like to see more focus on the tourist industry. We look at the amount of money that tourists spend here as a big part of our economy, but don’t seem to encourage business that caters to them. 

Robert Zapple

Political affiliation: Democrat

Occupation: builder/small business owner

Political experience: This is my first campaign for public office. I have served on several nonprofit boards including Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts, WHQR public radio, and the Cape Fear Green Building Alliance

1. The County needs to work with City and State officials to fully utilize our strengths such as our natural resources, skilled workers, varied economic base and superior quality of life. We need to make business and development rules clear and sensible and encourage businesses and industry that will protect irreplaceable assets such as our environment. We should also focus on education so that our citizens are prepared to access the jobs of the future. 

2. I hope state lawmakers extend North Carolina’s tax incentives for the film industry. We know when incentives leave, so does the industry. Film is a valuable part of our economy. It creates a skilled, tax-paying, local workforce and pumps money directly into our communities. It also raises our profile, stimulating local jobs, including retail, service and tourism. The dollars that film brings into the state reach far beyond the scope of any particular project. 

3. I support the growth of clean industry, and knowledge-based jobs that respect our unique environment. While we should continue to promote and protect traditional jobs such as tourism, agriculture and fishing, we must also prepare for the future by educating our citizens, nurturing innovative small businesses and encouraging entrepreneurs. Bio-technology, medical research, marine science and alternative energy are all emerging sectors that could serve as spurs to our economic development.

Woody White

Political affiliation: Republican

Occupation: Self-employed as an attorney at White & Hearne in Wilmington

Political experience: Former NC State Senator; appointed to fill unexpired term in 2004.

Former board member at: NH Regional Medical Center (1999-2002); Habitat for Humanity; Coastal Horizons; Active in civic affairs in Wilmington since 1995

1. We need to restore confidence in our County Government and that begins with electing experienced and qualified candidates to office. From there, it is important to build a bridge of support with ALL local municipalities, so that we speak with one voice and demonstrate to those wanting to move or expand in this area, that we are open for business.

2. The film industry is very important to our local economy and as long as the policy makers in Raleigh believe that the return on investment is worth it, then local leaders should do all they can to keep these jobs in our county. As a general proposition, incentives are unfair to other industries. However, if other states and governments are using them to recruit jobs away from us, then we must compete for every job we can.   

 3. County leaders need to lower regulations and taxes and demonstrate to business that we are serious about wanting new companies to move here, and that we want existing businesses to expand. We should do everything in our power to be seen as business-friendly. A basic purpose of government is to have good infrastructure and support to enable business to thrive and prosper.