Behind the Candidate Conversations: Navigating Fairness in Election Coverage With Amanda Benbow Lunn
September 27, 2023 • 29 mins
Ever wondered how great podcast hosts keep discussions non-biased and fair during politically charged election seasons? Well, let me, Amanda Benbow Lunn, pull back the curtain for you. I'll be talking about my dedication to democracy, transparency, and the commitment we all have to preserve the integrity of our elections. Listen as I open up about the extensive efforts I've undertaken to connect with all candidates, ensuring a complete representation of voices.
Strap in for a candid conversation about the upcoming Fuquay Varina and Holly Springs municipal elections, with a deep-dive into exactly what items will be on your ballot and their significance for our community. As a bonus, I share some personal quirks and passions in a lightning round, underscoring my commitment to understanding the humanity behind every candidate. I believe we all need to play an active part in the election process. So, get ready for a series of honest, enlightening talks with our potential future leaders!
Campaign Finance Reports for All Candidate Committees
Voter Information
--Register to Vote
--Voter Info (Designated Polling Places, Sample Ballots, Registration Status, Voting Jurisdiction, Verify Address and Party Affiliation)
--Election Information
--Election Day Voting FAQs
--Absentee by Mail FAQs
Early Voting Locations
October 19th-November 4th
Wake County Board of Elections Office: 1200 N. New Hope Rd., Raleigh, 27610
October 28th-November 4th
--Avery Street Recreation Center: 125 Avery St., Garner, 27529
--John M. Brown Community Center: 53 Hunter St., Apex, 27502
ELECTION DAY
Tuesday, November 7th from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM
As always, if you are interested in being on or sponsoring the podcast or if you have any particular issues, thoughts, or questions you'd like explored on the podcast, please email NCDeepDive@gmail.com. Your contributions would be greatly appreciated.
Now, let's dive in!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amanda Benbow Lunn (00:11):
Hello friends, you are listening to
the Holly Springs Deep Divepodcast, soon to be called the
NC Deep Dive.
I am your host, Amanda BenbowLunn, and this episode serves as
an introduction to our 2023candidate conversation segment
for the upcoming municipalelections in Holly Springs and
Fuquay Varina.
Without further ado, my friends, let's dive in.
(00:33):
While the Holly Springs DeepDive has been in existence,
covering Holly Springs elections, for a number of years now,
this is my first foray and it'sthe first time Fuquay Varina has
been included.
Prior to two months ago, I knewabsolutely nothing about
podcasting, so I thank youimmensely for your patience and
grace.
(00:53):
While I work towards my missionof diving into local issues,
building community, sharingperspectives and keeping you
better informed, I am strivingto keep the candidate segments
and the election coverage asfair, non-biased and transparent
as possible.
I have no education norexpertise or experience in
journalism, so please bear withme and know I may fail often, as
(01:15):
I am learning something new,even if my heart is in the right
place.
Just as an FYI, I am notgetting paid for this.
Within the next five years, Ido plan to monotonize the
podcast so it can be a viablebusiness, but currently I am not
making a thing.
I have put in over 120 hours ofwork into this candidate
segment in the past month and ahalf and I have invested about
(01:36):
$1000, in addition to working onand in my other two businesses
and volunteering with thecommunity and raising my two
girls.
Why on earth am I doing this,you might ask.
It's because of responsibilityand how much I value democracy.
I feel the typicalresponsibility for myself
individually, along with theresponsibility of my family.
(01:58):
However, I also feel a largeresponsibility towards my local
communities, my state and mycountry.
I feel it is important to do myfair share in what I absolutely
can to protect our democracyand to be there for my community
.
I believe democracy demands itfrom us and that it's a team
sport.
Democracy means to me free andfair elections where people feel
(02:20):
safe and free to run for officeand voters are safe and free to
learn about the variouscandidates and to vote however
best resonates with them.
I believe in the three branchesof government and their checks
and balances.
I believe in the law of theland and our constitutions and
for our ability to adapt themthrough representative democracy
.
I believe that when we don'tvoice our opinions and take
(02:42):
action by voting, that we aredoing a disservice to ourselves,
our communities and futuregenerations.
Democracy, in my opinion, isthe foundation of all we hold
dear.
I believe in everyone having avoice, even if, and especially
if, it's different from mine.
A representative democracycreates the best atmosphere for
growth and accountability achecks and balances of sorts to
(03:04):
greed, power, ego and personalgain at the cost of the
community at large.
I describe myself as someone whois fairly naive and an optimist
who is pretty pragmatic.
I tend to be able to understandwhere people are coming from
and why they might not thinklike I do.
It leads me to understand Idon't know everything and that I
might not have all the answers,as I only have knowledge of a
(03:28):
set number of variables.
Leaning in with curiosityrather than animosity has shown
me the more people we includegives us the best chance at
making the best decisions,because we create the space to
be aware of as many variables aspossible.
Yes, I might be a Democrat,though over the past year and a
half I have had difficulty withthat label, but 99% of the
(03:50):
policies and platforms thatresonate with me fall in the
realm of liberal and a Democrat.
In this space, on this podcast,though I am first an American
and second a North Carolinianwith a tie, for the third being
a Fuquavarinian and a HollySpringser, y'all are my chosen
family.
Y'all are who I've decided toraise my family amongst.
You are my village and I hopeyou know you are part of mine as
(04:12):
well.
So in this podcast, throughoutthe election segments, it is
imperative this be a nonpartisanplace.
People mean more than politics.
I'm going to say that againPeople mean more than politics.
The issues we discuss thataffect us locally shouldn't be
partisan.
In this space, I am beholden tomy heart and soul and to you as
(04:33):
listeners and potential voters.
I am not beholden to any partygroup or party or candidate
Outside of this space.
Will I do my due diligence as acitizen and work towards
electing people who I feelresonate with what is important
to me and who I believe willserve the best interest of all
those I care about?
Yes, absolutely, and Iwholeheartedly encourage you to
(04:55):
as well.
Good candidates need all thesupport they can get and not
just passive support.
They need active support.
You could canvas phone bank,write postcards, attend events,
share social media messages,make financial contributions and
pull greet.
I will do my best to ensurethat I highlight where I stand
on a personal level in mypersonal space, but I also will
(05:17):
be honest with people.
If I know where they stand onthe political spectrum, I will
share who might be the best fitfor them.
I have friends and clients fromall walks of life and points of
view.
I have no problem sharing myknowledge and being respectful
in a helpful sort of way On mypersonal platforms.
I will also be honest when Ifeel someone is not operating in
(05:38):
the best interest of thecommunity at large.
My top core values are love andtrust, followed closely by
balance.
Extremes are great to help usknow the breadth of options, but
because I so value democracyand checks and balances and
understand the human potentialfor greed, power and ego, I
realize when it comes to leadingour communities, state and
(05:59):
country, extremes becomedangerous and they threaten the
voice of the diverse majority.
Hence the need in this space,during the election segment, to
be as nonpartisan, professional,respectful and nonbiased as
possible.
I know 100% of people will notagree with me on 100% of the
issues 100% of the time, andthat's okay, because I cherish
(06:21):
love, trust, balance andaccountability.
I also cherish feedback, bothgood and bad, if you think I've
been biased, if you feel I'vedone something wrong, if you
feel I'm out of line, pleasegently reach out to me.
I may not always agree and Imay not ultimately change my
course, but I will truly take aminute to hear you and think
about where you are coming fromand do a deep dive on how I may
(06:44):
best proceed Outside of thisspace.
If I speak out against someoneor some topic, it almost always
comes from a place of love.
I'm trying to protect someoneor I'm attempting to show love
by voicing how they might changeso they can better achieve
their goals or to grow as ahuman.
When I was considering takingover this podcast, I knew how
(07:04):
much Karen valued the electionsegment.
I wondered if I might be ableto do it justice.
Would candidates feelcomfortable talking with me?
Would I be able to hold spacewithout judgment to allow
candidates to feel comfortable?
There are only a couple ofcandidates who I felt might have
an issue with that based on ourpast, none of which are running
in this election.
For Holly Springs I knew twocandidates who were running both
(07:27):
very loosely and both onlysince the beginning of this year
.
In Fuquay Varina I recognizedthe name of five of the
candidates, but only know one onany sort of deeper level, and
that candidate I mostly knowonly on a professional level.
To formulate the questionswithin the candidate
conversations, I created asurvey.
Twenty people participated inthe survey.
From their emails I was able toascertain who a number of the
(07:50):
respondents were to know that Ihad achieved a relatively even
sample size between those withliberal and conservative views.
Interestingly enough, I sawpretty much the same concerns
from all those who answered.
I originally communicated withthe candidates on August 11th
via email that the candidatesprovided when they filed for
office.
From there I also called,texted the number listed when
(08:13):
they filed, emailed and ormessaged them via social media.
I attempted to make contactonce a week in the beginning and
every few days towards the end,trying to balance giving
friendly reminders about theupcoming deadlines, knowing that
people get busy and overwhelmedand that it might fall off
their radar, and I tried tobalance that with feeling like I
was nagging or being a nuisance.
(08:33):
I did not want to do that.
The original deadline wasSeptember 19th, but I did extend
the deadline to September 24th.
For the election segmentfeaturing Holly Springs.
I was able to procure five outof the nine candidate
conversations for you,specifically Chris Deshazor,
Jack Turnwald, Annie Drees,Scoop Green and Travis Groo.
(08:55):
Staci Almquist scheduled andrescheduled her conversation
three times and while I was ableto extend the deadline once to
give her grace within anemergency, I felt it wasn't fair
to voters to extend it again,since she will need time to
listen before early votingbegins on October 19th.
Staci was communicative with meeach time.
She has a lot on her plate.
(09:16):
She's taking care of her momwho is ill, is working on her
doctorate and works and runs abusiness.
She believes her schedule willcalm down in November, allowing
her the time and capability totake on a town council position.
Danielle Hewetson, Brian Dennisand Brian Norman never
responded to my emails, phonecalls and or social media
(09:36):
messages in which I was able tosee, for at least one of the
messages, that it was seen.
For the election segmentfeaturing Fuquay Varina.
I was able to procure two outof seven candidate conversations
.
I knew this may be moredifficult, since it's the first
time Fuquay Varina has ever beencovered and because the name of
the podcast is still the HollySprings Deep Dive.
(09:57):
That is why I will be switchingto the NC Deep Dive after the
election.
Originally I had five candidatesin Fuquay Varina commit to
doing a podcast.
I was successful with WilliamBill Harris and Elizabeth Parent
.
Nolan Perry responded and setup a conversation right away but
due to the tragic passing ofhis mom just beforehand, he
asked to reschedule.
(10:18):
He never ended up reschedulingand after that point did not
respond to any of my emails,calls, text or social media
messages.
Mike Ferig and I talked twiceon the phone in which he stated
he was interested and planned toschedule his conversation.
He never followed through anddid not respond to my reminder
texts, calls or email as we werenearing the deadline.
(10:38):
Charlie Adcock and Jason Wunchnever responded to any of my
calls, emails, text and orsocial media messages.
Since I noticed for the mostpart those not responding were
Republicans.
I reached out to a friend whoshared one of their websites on
a Facebook post.
They stated they didn't knowthe individual and weren't part
of their campaign team, but theygave me a contact to reach out
(11:00):
to from the Southern WakeConservative Coalition.
I had previously seen an eventor an ad where they were hosting
something featuring theRepublican candidates, so I
reached out and asked thecontact if they might be able to
act as a liaison, as I washaving a difficult time
connecting with some of thecandidates.
I was told they did reach outto those candidates and that
(11:20):
each of those candidatesdeclined to be part of the
candidate segment on the HollySprings Deep Dive podcast.
I was told they were onlyspeaking with trusted reporters
and only speaking at live eventsbecause there was a history of
their words being manipulated ortaken out of context in the
media.
I shared that I fully understoodtheir fears but that I was
truly trying to build bridgesand allow everyone's voice to be
(11:42):
heard, because I absolutelyhave listeners who would
resonate with their voices,platforms and viewpoints.
I tried to think how I might beable to meet them in the middle
somewhere.
I stated that I didn't think Icould manage a live podcast, as
I don't know if that's even apossibility and if it is I just
haven't learned how yet but thatas soon as we are done
recording, a transcript isproduced and that I could
(12:04):
immediately share thattranscript and then either edit
the podcast for sound quality,like I am doing for all the
other candidates, or I could notedit it at all and share the
file before I publish thepodcast live so that the
candidate, someone on theircampaign team or someone at the
Southern Wake ConservativeCoalition could compare the
transcript to the edited versionto make sure I didn't do
(12:26):
anything to compromise theintegrity of their voice or
message.
At which point they declinedagain on the candidates' behalf,
stating that the candidateswere pretty busy and wouldn't do
it.
They mentioned the HollySprings candidates did plan to
take part in the Holly SpringsChamber of Commerce's candidate
forum on October 5th.
They did not have informationregarding if the Fuquay Varina
(12:46):
Republican candidates would beparticipating in the Fuquay
Varina Chamber of Commercecandidate forum on Tuesday,
October 24th, at 7 pm at theFuquay Varina Arts Center.
I tried reaching out as best Icould to see how we might work
together to best serve thepeople in our communities, to
find out a way to put peopleover politics.
I understand that I tend to puta lot of trust into people
(13:09):
right from the start, unlessthey give me a reason personally
not to.
I also understand that it's theopposite for some.
Some will only trust once it'searned.
I asked for a foothold to gaintheir trust and was denied an
opportunity.
I did also send out anotheremail to those the
representative at the SouthernWake Conservative Coalition
spoke on behalf.
(13:29):
I wanted to make sure that whatthey spoke did truly represent
their thoughts and I said Iwould interpret a lack of a
response that what they lias onshared fully represented their
thoughts.
Only Brian Norman respondedback.
He said he wasn't trying toignore me but he was swamped and
he was choosing to decline.
Mike and Nolan I reached out totowards the end, as they had
(13:52):
both previously committed, andshared about printing the
transcripts in case they wereworried about the editing, and I
also offered to do one podcastwith both of them in case that
might make them more comfortable.
I did not receive a responsefrom either one of them.
Marilyn Gardner responded to myphone calls.
We had a couple ofconversations, one in which she
(14:12):
shared her anxiety about beingon a podcast and doing something
way outside her comfort zone,but she did state that she felt
I calmed her worries and thatshe would participate and
schedule her conversation.
Our other conversation was whenI was calling to check in and
remind her of the upcomingdeadline, by which she shared
she was too busy and she waschoosing to focus elsewhere, so
(14:33):
she did not end up schedulingher conversation.
While on some level,I feel I have failed you all, as
I am not able to deliver all 16candidate conversations.
I know I did my best to reachout to all and try to meet them
where they felt they needed tobe met.
For those that didn't respondat all, I am sad and
disappointed, but I honor thatit is within their rights to
(14:54):
decline.
They don't owe me or thispodcast anything, though I did
hope that they would feel theyowed you as voters.
I'm not wholly sure if theyindividually felt a certain sort
of way or if it was a partydirective, but at the end of the
day, I feel it's a disservicetowards voters and democracy in
general, and I hope they show upfor you in other ways.
(15:14):
As a voter, it is important tome to have responsive
politicians in office.
I want to know, when I reachout, that they may hear my voice
, that they consider my voiceand that they can communicate
respectfully and effectively.
I want to know that when youreach out, they will take the
time to hear and consider yourvoice as well.
It's concerning whenrepresentatives of people do not
(15:36):
communicate or respond withthose they are representing.
That is a major red flag to me.
As you ponder who you arevoting for, reach out to them.
Ask a different minded friendto reach out and check in to see
if they got a response.
I will list their contact infoin their individual show notes
at www.
hollyspringsdeepdive.
com within their candidateepisode.
(15:58):
While I haven't looked at thecurrent numbers, last year when
I looked, the number ofunaffiliated voters in Holly
Springs and Fuquay Varina wasalmost just as much as the total
number of Democrats andRepublicans put together.
A lot of this, from myunderstanding, is that people
are tired of the drama.
They're tired of the politics.
They just want people who aregenuine to work on their behalf,
(16:21):
to create spaces where they canthrive and continue on
complacently, without having toplace their valuable time and
resources to make surepoliticians aren't taking
advantage of them for their ownor their party's own greed,
power or ego.
Candidates and politicianswould be wise to read the room,
especially since it takesconsiderably more time and
resources to reach unaffiliatedvoters.
(16:43):
And for clarity in NorthCarolina there is no independent
party.
Sometimes people use the wordsindependent and unaffiliated
here to mean the same thing.
While the municipal electionsare non-partisan, sometimes
affiliation does matter tovoters In Holly Springs.
Staci Almquist and Scoop Greenare unaffiliated.
Brian Dennis, Danielle Hewetsonand Brian Norman are registered
(17:06):
Republicans.
Chris Deshazor, Jack Turnwaldand Annie Drees are registered
Democrats.
Travis Groo is a registeredLibertarian.
In Fuquay Varina Charlie Adcock, Mike Ferig, Nolan Perry and,
currently, Jason Wunch areregistered Republicans.
Jason did switch his partyaffiliation from Democrat to
Republican after the 2021election or sometime right
(17:29):
around then.
William Bill Harris, MarilynGardner and Elizabeth Parent are
registered Democrats.
There are no candidates withany other affiliation and none
who are unaffiliated running foroffice in Fuquay Varina.
I did not reach out to BlakeMassengill, as he's running
unopposed for the mayoral seatin Fuquay Varina.
He is also a Republican,For those who are curious.
(17:51):
Sample ballots have not beenreleased yet as of the recording
of this episode.
However, in Holly Springs, youwill have three sections you
will be voting for, the first ofwhich is the four-year seat for
the Board of Commissioners forHolly Springs.
You will be eligible to votefor up to two of the five
candidates in this section.
The second item on your ballotwill be for the unexpired
(18:14):
Commissioner seat for HollySprings, which is a two-year
seat.
This is to fill KristiBennett's seat as she resigned
midterm.
You will be able to vote foronly one of the four candidates
running for this particularoffice.
The third thing on your ballotwill be the 2023 Parks Bond,
where you will vote yes or no inauthorizing the town of Holly
(18:36):
Springs, up to seven years, totake out up to $100 million in
general obligation bonds forpark, greenway and recreation
projects, while granting themthe authority to raise property
taxes as necessary.
They are projecting up to a$0.05 property tax increase,
though they had a $20 millionpark bond pass in 2011 with a
(18:58):
five-cent potential increase inproperty taxes, and a 2018 $40
million transportation bond witha projected five-cent property
tax increase as well.
While there has been somefluctuation over the years,
overall, from 2011 to today, thenet difference has only been
just over half a cent increasefrom 41.5 cents to just over 42
(19:21):
cents per hundred dollars ofproperty valuation.
12 of the 15 municipalities inWake County have a higher tax
rate than Holly Springs.
Holly Springs is only higherthan two of them.
For more information, check outour recent podcast on
Unraveling the 2023 HollySprings Parks Bond.
If you are in Fuquay Varina, youwill have four items to vote on
(19:44):
when you are handed your ballot.
The first will be for themayoral seat, since Blake
Massengill is the only candidateunless there is some
substantial written-in candidate, he will be the winner.
The second item to vote on willbe for the board of
commissioner's seat for FuquayVaria.
This seat will be for a normalfour-year term.
You will be eligible to votefor up to three of the five
(20:04):
candidates in this section.
The third item on your ballotwill be for the unexpired term
seat for the board ofcommissioners that opened up
when Tracy Cook formerly TracyWatson stepped down.
This seat will be for atwo-year term.
You will be eligible to votefor one of the two candidates
running for this race.
Lastly, you too will have a2023 parks bond you will be
(20:26):
voting on.
You will vote yes or no inauthorizing the town of Fuquay
Varina, up to seven years, totake out up to $60 million in
general obligation bonds forparks and recreation projects.
They estimate an up to an 8cent property tax increase.
They recently had a 2018 parksbond with a projected 4.5 cent
(20:47):
increase that was limited to 3cents.
In actuality, since 2008,Fuquay Varina's overall net
difference has been an increaseof 7 cents, from 38.5 cents to
45.5 cents.
Currently, there are eightmunicipalities in Wake County
with higher property tax ratesand six that have lower property
tax rates.
Councilman Bryan Haynes hascommitted to doing an episode
(21:10):
delving into the 2023 FuquayVarina Parks Bond, so please be
on the lookout for that withinthe next couple of weeks.
As I postulated about thecandidate segment, knowing so
many had chosen not toprioritize to speak with you via
this medium, I decided to stillinclude an episode for each of
them, as I truly feel it isimportant for you to have as
much information as possible Intheir episodes.
(21:32):
I am merely reading off oftheir website or other
information that is easilygoogled in case this medium is
more helpful for you.
In all the episode show notesfound at www.
hollyspringsdeepdive.
com, I have included theircontact information and relevant
voting information.
All in all, though, I was ableto capture some really great
(21:53):
candidate conversations, and Iwant to take a moment to thank
the candidates who chose toparticipate.
It was such an honor to get tospeak with you and showcase a
less formal and more personableexperience.
So often, I feel, we putcandidates on some sort of
pedestal, and when we do, itremoves a level of humanity.
It's important to understandthey are humans just like us,
(22:14):
with their own strengths,weaknesses, tendencies and
quirks.
Some of those who spoke with mehad a decent amount of anxiety.
Some had some major technicalchallenges.
I'm sure some had fears abouthow their words might be edited
or used against them.
I'm sure all of them are superbusy.
They have their normal lives,which for most of us that alone
(22:34):
can be overwhelming.
But they also have chosen tostep up and run for office,
which takes busy to a whole newlevel.
Yet they chose to prioritizespeaking with you.
They took the time to respondto emails, texts and phone calls
.
They committed, they followedthrough, they showed up.
They did not give in to fear.
They did not shut down whenfaced with challenges.
(22:56):
They allowed vulnerability andeffectively communicated their
thoughts.
I have zero qualms about thembeing able to communicate with
you or show up for you if theywere to be elected.
It was such a joy seeing theauthentic glow in these
candidates radiate and tounderstand them and their
experiences in a whole new light.
As always, I am continuouslyassessing and reassessing to see
(23:18):
how I may improve.
If you have any ideas on how tobridge the scats that I may be
more successful in capturing alarger chunk of candidate voices
moving forward, I'd love tohear them.
At the moment, my best thoughtis to have someone who leans
conservative join me inconducting the election segment.
Again, if you know somebody wholeans conservative, who is also
(23:38):
open to being a pragmatic,nonpartisan voice in this space,
I'd love for you to share.
If you, by chance, live in theextra-territorial jurisdiction
also known as ETJ, you will notbe eligible to vote in this
year's election.
While you are held to townordinances, you do not pay town
taxes.
You absolutely can help shareyour voice by actively helping
(24:00):
candidates who may best resonatewith you.
I encourage those living in theETJ, as well as all of you, to
be active.
Contact candidates, share yourconcerns, see how they respond
to you, check in with yourfriends who are hopefully doing
the same, and then activelyparticipate by contributing
financially to campaigns,canvassing, calling, texting,
(24:21):
writing postcards, attendingevents, sharing emails and
social media messages, pollgreeting and by voting, if you
are at all able.
If, for some reason, you needassistance in getting to the
polls, please absolutely reachout.
I would be happy to help as Imay.
Since I include a lightninground of questions within all my
episodes, I think it's onlyfair play to play along.
(24:43):
What is my favorite book?
My absolute favorite book isthe thesaurus, followed somewhat
closely by Harry Potter.
Who is someone that I look upto and view as a role model?
It is hands down my mom.
She is an amazing woman who,after my parents divorced, she
raised us four kids working on aWalmart paycheck and I am not
(25:05):
sure how she did it, but she hasan amazing work ethic and
always shows up for those shecares about, and she has always
been kind and inclusive.
What's my favorite way to relaxand let go?
Dancing.
That is the only time, really,when my brain shuts completely
off and I can stop being sopragmatic and I can just let
loose.
What's one thing that fills myheart with joy?
(25:28):
When people share their lightand passion, being their
authentic and real selves, I seethem literally light up and
their auras are just soabsolutely beautiful.
What's my greatest weakness?
I have many of them At themoment.
I'm going to go ahead and saymy focus.
I tend to be a workaholic andstrive to be productive.
(25:49):
That cuts into family andfriend time and fun as well.
What was one thing I wished foras a kid?
I had always wanted a basegroup of friends that I had
known always from being littlekids, like everyone else seemed
to have.
This was one of the downfallsof being part of a military
family.
What's something on your bucketlist?
I don't really have a bucketlist.
(26:11):
I tend to create items in themoment and just say that I'm
putting them on my bucket listas I go to cross them off.
But if I were to say one thingright now, it would be to go
back and visit England, where Iwas born, and to continue to
push myself to learn new thingsand healthfully stretch beyond
my comfort zone.
What is my favorite thing aboutmyself?
My persistence and ability toadapt and find the silver lining
(26:34):
and good in most any situation.
I hope you find all of thisinformation helpful in this
election segment and thecandidate conversations and
again, if you have any feedback,I would absolutely love to hear
it.
Thanks so much for your timeand for just showing up for the
candidates and your communitiesand democracy in general.
I really appreciate it.
(26:55):
Democracy is at the heart ofall we hold dear.
Our local governments have theinfluence to decide our
community's priorities.
These offices have a majorimpact on our daily lives and
can have real consequences.
They create and enforce localordinances, fund our local fire
and police departments createthe structure and ambiance of
(27:18):
our communities and decide ourlocal property taxes.
Lower voter turnout in localelections means your vote has
even more of an impact.
Early voting starts October19th at the Wake County Board of
Elections and begins October28th and will run through
November 4th at the John M BrownCommunity Center in Apex and
(27:39):
the Avery Street RecreationCenter in Garner.
During early voting, you may goto any of these early voting
sites.
Election Day will be Tuesday,November 7th.
On Election Day, you have to goto your designated polling site
.
Please remember you will need avalid ID to vote.
This year, the voterregistration deadline is October
(27:59):
13th, though you may also beeligible to register at the
voting sites during the earlyvoting period.
And that brings this episode ofthe Holly Springs Deep Dive
Podcast, soon to be called theNC Deep Dive, to a close.
Make sure you check out all theother relevant candidate
episodes for the Board ofCommissioners, also known as
(28:21):
Town Council for Holly Springs,and Fuquay Varina, at www.
HollySpringsDeepDive.
com, Spotify, apple Podcasts,audible or wherever you
currently listen to yourpodcasts.
I will include helpful linksfor each candidate and voting in
general in their episode shownotes on our website.
(28:42):
If you have any thoughts ortopics you'd like to share.
You may do so through socialmedia or via email at Holly
SpringsP odcast@ gmail.
com.
Thank you for engaging intoday's episode and becoming a
more informed citizen.
Democracy is a team sport.
Together, we make democracywork and our communities a
(29:02):
better place to work, live andplay.
Your vote absolutely matters.
Your voice absolutely matters.
You, my friend, absolutelymatter.
Until next time, my friends.
Namaste, the love and light inme sees and honors the love and
light in you.
Hello friends, you are listening to
the Holly Springs Deep Divepodcast, soon to be called the
NC Deep Dive.
I am your host, Amanda BenbowLunn, and this episode serves as
an introduction to our 2023candidate conversation segment
for the upcoming municipalelections in Holly Springs and
Fuquay Varina.
Without further ado, my friends, let's dive in.
(00:33):
While the Holly Springs DeepDive has been in existence,
covering Holly Springs elections, for a number of years now,
this is my first foray and it'sthe first time Fuquay Varina has
been included.
Prior to two months ago, I knewabsolutely nothing about
podcasting, so I thank youimmensely for your patience and
grace.
(00:53):
While I work towards my missionof diving into local issues,
building community, sharingperspectives and keeping you
better informed, I am strivingto keep the candidate segments
and the election coverage asfair, non-biased and transparent
as possible.
I have no education norexpertise or experience in
journalism, so please bear withme and know I may fail often, as
(01:15):
I am learning something new,even if my heart is in the right
place.
Just as an FYI, I am notgetting paid for this.
Within the next five years, Ido plan to monotonize the
podcast so it can be a viablebusiness, but currently I am not
making a thing.
I have put in over 120 hours ofwork into this candidate
segment in the past month and ahalf and I have invested about
(01:36):
$1000, in addition to working onand in my other two businesses
and volunteering with thecommunity and raising my two
girls.
Why on earth am I doing this,you might ask.
It's because of responsibilityand how much I value democracy.
I feel the typicalresponsibility for myself
individually, along with theresponsibility of my family.
(01:58):
However, I also feel a largeresponsibility towards my local
communities, my state and mycountry.
I feel it is important to do myfair share in what I absolutely
can to protect our democracyand to be there for my community
.
I believe democracy demands itfrom us and that it's a team
sport.
Democracy means to me free andfair elections where people feel
(02:20):
safe and free to run for officeand voters are safe and free to
learn about the variouscandidates and to vote however
best resonates with them.
I believe in the three branchesof government and their checks
and balances.
I believe in the law of theland and our constitutions and
for our ability to adapt themthrough representative democracy
.
I believe that when we don'tvoice our opinions and take
(02:42):
action by voting, that we aredoing a disservice to ourselves,
our communities and futuregenerations.
Democracy, in my opinion, isthe foundation of all we hold
dear.
I believe in everyone having avoice, even if, and especially
if, it's different from mine.
A representative democracycreates the best atmosphere for
growth and accountability achecks and balances of sorts to
(03:04):
greed, power, ego and personalgain at the cost of the
community at large.
I describe myself as someone whois fairly naive and an optimist
who is pretty pragmatic.
I tend to be able to understandwhere people are coming from
and why they might not thinklike I do.
It leads me to understand Idon't know everything and that I
might not have all the answers,as I only have knowledge of a
(03:28):
set number of variables.
Leaning in with curiosityrather than animosity has shown
me the more people we includegives us the best chance at
making the best decisions,because we create the space to
be aware of as many variables aspossible.
Yes, I might be a Democrat,though over the past year and a
half I have had difficulty withthat label, but 99% of the
(03:50):
policies and platforms thatresonate with me fall in the
realm of liberal and a Democrat.
In this space, on this podcast,though I am first an American
and second a North Carolinianwith a tie, for the third being
a Fuquavarinian and a HollySpringser, y'all are my chosen
family.
Y'all are who I've decided toraise my family amongst.
You are my village and I hopeyou know you are part of mine as
(04:12):
well.
So in this podcast, throughoutthe election segments, it is
imperative this be a nonpartisanplace.
People mean more than politics.
I'm going to say that againPeople mean more than politics.
The issues we discuss thataffect us locally shouldn't be
partisan.
In this space, I am beholden tomy heart and soul and to you as
(04:33):
listeners and potential voters.
I am not beholden to any partygroup or party or candidate
Outside of this space.
Will I do my due diligence as acitizen and work towards
electing people who I feelresonate with what is important
to me and who I believe willserve the best interest of all
those I care about?
Yes, absolutely, and Iwholeheartedly encourage you to
(04:55):
as well.
Good candidates need all thesupport they can get and not
just passive support.
They need active support.
You could canvas phone bank,write postcards, attend events,
share social media messages,make financial contributions and
pull greet.
I will do my best to ensurethat I highlight where I stand
on a personal level in mypersonal space, but I also will
(05:17):
be honest with people.
If I know where they stand onthe political spectrum, I will
share who might be the best fitfor them.
I have friends and clients fromall walks of life and points of
view.
I have no problem sharing myknowledge and being respectful
in a helpful sort of way On mypersonal platforms.
I will also be honest when Ifeel someone is not operating in
(05:38):
the best interest of thecommunity at large.
My top core values are love andtrust, followed closely by
balance.
Extremes are great to help usknow the breadth of options, but
because I so value democracyand checks and balances and
understand the human potentialfor greed, power and ego, I
realize when it comes to leadingour communities, state and
(05:59):
country, extremes becomedangerous and they threaten the
voice of the diverse majority.
Hence the need in this space,during the election segment, to
be as nonpartisan, professional,respectful and nonbiased as
possible.
I know 100% of people will notagree with me on 100% of the
issues 100% of the time, andthat's okay, because I cherish
(06:21):
love, trust, balance andaccountability.
I also cherish feedback, bothgood and bad, if you think I've
been biased, if you feel I'vedone something wrong, if you
feel I'm out of line, pleasegently reach out to me.
I may not always agree and Imay not ultimately change my
course, but I will truly take aminute to hear you and think
about where you are coming fromand do a deep dive on how I may
(06:44):
best proceed Outside of thisspace.
If I speak out against someoneor some topic, it almost always
comes from a place of love.
I'm trying to protect someoneor I'm attempting to show love
by voicing how they might changeso they can better achieve
their goals or to grow as ahuman.
When I was considering takingover this podcast, I knew how
(07:04):
much Karen valued the electionsegment.
I wondered if I might be ableto do it justice.
Would candidates feelcomfortable talking with me?
Would I be able to hold spacewithout judgment to allow
candidates to feel comfortable?
There are only a couple ofcandidates who I felt might have
an issue with that based on ourpast, none of which are running
in this election.
For Holly Springs I knew twocandidates who were running both
(07:27):
very loosely and both onlysince the beginning of this year
.
In Fuquay Varina I recognizedthe name of five of the
candidates, but only know one onany sort of deeper level, and
that candidate I mostly knowonly on a professional level.
To formulate the questionswithin the candidate
conversations, I created asurvey.
Twenty people participated inthe survey.
From their emails I was able toascertain who a number of the
(07:50):
respondents were to know that Ihad achieved a relatively even
sample size between those withliberal and conservative views.
Interestingly enough, I sawpretty much the same concerns
from all those who answered.
I originally communicated withthe candidates on August 11th
via email that the candidatesprovided when they filed for
office.
From there I also called,texted the number listed when
(08:13):
they filed, emailed and ormessaged them via social media.
I attempted to make contactonce a week in the beginning and
every few days towards the end,trying to balance giving
friendly reminders about theupcoming deadlines, knowing that
people get busy and overwhelmedand that it might fall off
their radar, and I tried tobalance that with feeling like I
was nagging or being a nuisance.
(08:33):
I did not want to do that.
The original deadline wasSeptember 19th, but I did extend
the deadline to September 24th.
For the election segmentfeaturing Holly Springs.
I was able to procure five outof the nine candidate
conversations for you,specifically Chris Deshazor,
Jack Turnwald, Annie Drees,Scoop Green and Travis Groo.
(08:55):
Staci Almquist scheduled andrescheduled her conversation
three times and while I was ableto extend the deadline once to
give her grace within anemergency, I felt it wasn't fair
to voters to extend it again,since she will need time to
listen before early votingbegins on October 19th.
Staci was communicative with meeach time.
She has a lot on her plate.
(09:16):
She's taking care of her momwho is ill, is working on her
doctorate and works and runs abusiness.
She believes her schedule willcalm down in November, allowing
her the time and capability totake on a town council position.
Danielle Hewetson, Brian Dennisand Brian Norman never
responded to my emails, phonecalls and or social media
(09:36):
messages in which I was able tosee, for at least one of the
messages, that it was seen.
For the election segmentfeaturing Fuquay Varina.
I was able to procure two outof seven candidate conversations
.
I knew this may be moredifficult, since it's the first
time Fuquay Varina has ever beencovered and because the name of
the podcast is still the HollySprings Deep Dive.
(09:57):
That is why I will be switchingto the NC Deep Dive after the
election.
Originally I had five candidatesin Fuquay Varina commit to
doing a podcast.
I was successful with WilliamBill Harris and Elizabeth Parent
.
Nolan Perry responded and setup a conversation right away but
due to the tragic passing ofhis mom just beforehand, he
asked to reschedule.
(10:18):
He never ended up reschedulingand after that point did not
respond to any of my emails,calls, text or social media
messages.
Mike Ferig and I talked twiceon the phone in which he stated
he was interested and planned toschedule his conversation.
He never followed through anddid not respond to my reminder
texts, calls or email as we werenearing the deadline.
(10:38):
Charlie Adcock and Jason Wunchnever responded to any of my
calls, emails, text and orsocial media messages.
Since I noticed for the mostpart those not responding were
Republicans.
I reached out to a friend whoshared one of their websites on
a Facebook post.
They stated they didn't knowthe individual and weren't part
of their campaign team, but theygave me a contact to reach out
(11:00):
to from the Southern WakeConservative Coalition.
I had previously seen an eventor an ad where they were hosting
something featuring theRepublican candidates, so I
reached out and asked thecontact if they might be able to
act as a liaison, as I washaving a difficult time
connecting with some of thecandidates.
I was told they did reach outto those candidates and that
(11:20):
each of those candidatesdeclined to be part of the
candidate segment on the HollySprings Deep Dive podcast.
I was told they were onlyspeaking with trusted reporters
and only speaking at live eventsbecause there was a history of
their words being manipulated ortaken out of context in the
media.
I shared that I fully understoodtheir fears but that I was
truly trying to build bridgesand allow everyone's voice to be
(11:42):
heard, because I absolutelyhave listeners who would
resonate with their voices,platforms and viewpoints.
I tried to think how I might beable to meet them in the middle
somewhere.
I stated that I didn't think Icould manage a live podcast, as
I don't know if that's even apossibility and if it is I just
haven't learned how yet but thatas soon as we are done
recording, a transcript isproduced and that I could
(12:04):
immediately share thattranscript and then either edit
the podcast for sound quality,like I am doing for all the
other candidates, or I could notedit it at all and share the
file before I publish thepodcast live so that the
candidate, someone on theircampaign team or someone at the
Southern Wake ConservativeCoalition could compare the
transcript to the edited versionto make sure I didn't do
(12:26):
anything to compromise theintegrity of their voice or
message.
At which point they declinedagain on the candidates' behalf,
stating that the candidateswere pretty busy and wouldn't do
it.
They mentioned the HollySprings candidates did plan to
take part in the Holly SpringsChamber of Commerce's candidate
forum on October 5th.
They did not have informationregarding if the Fuquay Varina
(12:46):
Republican candidates would beparticipating in the Fuquay
Varina Chamber of Commercecandidate forum on Tuesday,
October 24th, at 7 pm at theFuquay Varina Arts Center.
I tried reaching out as best Icould to see how we might work
together to best serve thepeople in our communities, to
find out a way to put peopleover politics.
I understand that I tend to puta lot of trust into people
(13:09):
right from the start, unlessthey give me a reason personally
not to.
I also understand that it's theopposite for some.
Some will only trust once it'searned.
I asked for a foothold to gaintheir trust and was denied an
opportunity.
I did also send out anotheremail to those the
representative at the SouthernWake Conservative Coalition
spoke on behalf.
(13:29):
I wanted to make sure that whatthey spoke did truly represent
their thoughts and I said Iwould interpret a lack of a
response that what they lias onshared fully represented their
thoughts.
Only Brian Norman respondedback.
He said he wasn't trying toignore me but he was swamped and
he was choosing to decline.
Mike and Nolan I reached out totowards the end, as they had
(13:52):
both previously committed, andshared about printing the
transcripts in case they wereworried about the editing, and I
also offered to do one podcastwith both of them in case that
might make them more comfortable.
I did not receive a responsefrom either one of them.
Marilyn Gardner responded to myphone calls.
We had a couple ofconversations, one in which she
(14:12):
shared her anxiety about beingon a podcast and doing something
way outside her comfort zone,but she did state that she felt
I calmed her worries and thatshe would participate and
schedule her conversation.
Our other conversation was whenI was calling to check in and
remind her of the upcomingdeadline, by which she shared
she was too busy and she waschoosing to focus elsewhere, so
(14:33):
she did not end up schedulingher conversation.
While on some level,I feel I have failed you all, as
I am not able to deliver all 16candidate conversations.
I know I did my best to reachout to all and try to meet them
where they felt they needed tobe met.
For those that didn't respondat all, I am sad and
disappointed, but I honor thatit is within their rights to
(14:54):
decline.
They don't owe me or thispodcast anything, though I did
hope that they would feel theyowed you as voters.
I'm not wholly sure if theyindividually felt a certain sort
of way or if it was a partydirective, but at the end of the
day, I feel it's a disservicetowards voters and democracy in
general, and I hope they show upfor you in other ways.
(15:14):
As a voter, it is important tome to have responsive
politicians in office.
I want to know, when I reachout, that they may hear my voice
, that they consider my voiceand that they can communicate
respectfully and effectively.
I want to know that when youreach out, they will take the
time to hear and consider yourvoice as well.
It's concerning whenrepresentatives of people do not
(15:36):
communicate or respond withthose they are representing.
That is a major red flag to me.
As you ponder who you arevoting for, reach out to them.
Ask a different minded friendto reach out and check in to see
if they got a response.
I will list their contact infoin their individual show notes
at www.
hollyspringsdeepdive.
com within their candidateepisode.
(15:58):
While I haven't looked at thecurrent numbers, last year when
I looked, the number ofunaffiliated voters in Holly
Springs and Fuquay Varina wasalmost just as much as the total
number of Democrats andRepublicans put together.
A lot of this, from myunderstanding, is that people
are tired of the drama.
They're tired of the politics.
They just want people who aregenuine to work on their behalf,
(16:21):
to create spaces where they canthrive and continue on
complacently, without having toplace their valuable time and
resources to make surepoliticians aren't taking
advantage of them for their ownor their party's own greed,
power or ego.
Candidates and politicianswould be wise to read the room,
especially since it takesconsiderably more time and
resources to reach unaffiliatedvoters.
(16:43):
And for clarity in NorthCarolina there is no independent
party.
Sometimes people use the wordsindependent and unaffiliated
here to mean the same thing.
While the municipal electionsare non-partisan, sometimes
affiliation does matter tovoters In Holly Springs.
Staci Almquist and Scoop Greenare unaffiliated.
Brian Dennis, Danielle Hewetsonand Brian Norman are registered
(17:06):
Republicans.
Chris Deshazor, Jack Turnwaldand Annie Drees are registered
Democrats.
Travis Groo is a registeredLibertarian.
In Fuquay Varina Charlie Adcock, Mike Ferig, Nolan Perry and,
currently, Jason Wunch areregistered Republicans.
Jason did switch his partyaffiliation from Democrat to
Republican after the 2021election or sometime right
(17:29):
around then.
William Bill Harris, MarilynGardner and Elizabeth Parent are
registered Democrats.
There are no candidates withany other affiliation and none
who are unaffiliated running foroffice in Fuquay Varina.
I did not reach out to BlakeMassengill, as he's running
unopposed for the mayoral seatin Fuquay Varina.
He is also a Republican,For those who are curious.
(17:51):
Sample ballots have not beenreleased yet as of the recording
of this episode.
However, in Holly Springs, youwill have three sections you
will be voting for, the first ofwhich is the four-year seat for
the Board of Commissioners forHolly Springs.
You will be eligible to votefor up to two of the five
candidates in this section.
The second item on your ballotwill be for the unexpired
(18:14):
Commissioner seat for HollySprings, which is a two-year
seat.
This is to fill KristiBennett's seat as she resigned
midterm.
You will be able to vote foronly one of the four candidates
running for this particularoffice.
The third thing on your ballotwill be the 2023 Parks Bond,
where you will vote yes or no inauthorizing the town of Holly
(18:36):
Springs, up to seven years, totake out up to $100 million in
general obligation bonds forpark, greenway and recreation
projects, while granting themthe authority to raise property
taxes as necessary.
They are projecting up to a$0.05 property tax increase,
though they had a $20 millionpark bond pass in 2011 with a
(18:58):
five-cent potential increase inproperty taxes, and a 2018 $40
million transportation bond witha projected five-cent property
tax increase as well.
While there has been somefluctuation over the years,
overall, from 2011 to today, thenet difference has only been
just over half a cent increasefrom 41.5 cents to just over 42
(19:21):
cents per hundred dollars ofproperty valuation.
12 of the 15 municipalities inWake County have a higher tax
rate than Holly Springs.
Holly Springs is only higherthan two of them.
For more information, check outour recent podcast on
Unraveling the 2023 HollySprings Parks Bond.
If you are in Fuquay Varina, youwill have four items to vote on
(19:44):
when you are handed your ballot.
The first will be for themayoral seat, since Blake
Massengill is the only candidateunless there is some
substantial written-in candidate, he will be the winner.
The second item to vote on willbe for the board of
commissioner's seat for FuquayVaria.
This seat will be for a normalfour-year term.
You will be eligible to votefor up to three of the five
(20:04):
candidates in this section.
The third item on your ballotwill be for the unexpired term
seat for the board ofcommissioners that opened up
when Tracy Cook formerly TracyWatson stepped down.
This seat will be for atwo-year term.
You will be eligible to votefor one of the two candidates
running for this race.
Lastly, you too will have a2023 parks bond you will be
(20:26):
voting on.
You will vote yes or no inauthorizing the town of Fuquay
Varina, up to seven years, totake out up to $60 million in
general obligation bonds forparks and recreation projects.
They estimate an up to an 8cent property tax increase.
They recently had a 2018 parksbond with a projected 4.5 cent
(20:47):
increase that was limited to 3cents.
In actuality, since 2008,Fuquay Varina's overall net
difference has been an increaseof 7 cents, from 38.5 cents to
45.5 cents.
Currently, there are eightmunicipalities in Wake County
with higher property tax ratesand six that have lower property
tax rates.
Councilman Bryan Haynes hascommitted to doing an episode
(21:10):
delving into the 2023 FuquayVarina Parks Bond, so please be
on the lookout for that withinthe next couple of weeks.
As I postulated about thecandidate segment, knowing so
many had chosen not toprioritize to speak with you via
this medium, I decided to stillinclude an episode for each of
them, as I truly feel it isimportant for you to have as
much information as possible Intheir episodes.
(21:32):
I am merely reading off oftheir website or other
information that is easilygoogled in case this medium is
more helpful for you.
In all the episode show notesfound at www.
hollyspringsdeepdive.
com, I have included theircontact information and relevant
voting information.
All in all, though, I was ableto capture some really great
(21:53):
candidate conversations, and Iwant to take a moment to thank
the candidates who chose toparticipate.
It was such an honor to get tospeak with you and showcase a
less formal and more personableexperience.
So often, I feel, we putcandidates on some sort of
pedestal, and when we do, itremoves a level of humanity.
It's important to understandthey are humans just like us,
(22:14):
with their own strengths,weaknesses, tendencies and
quirks.
Some of those who spoke with mehad a decent amount of anxiety.
Some had some major technicalchallenges.
I'm sure some had fears abouthow their words might be edited
or used against them.
I'm sure all of them are superbusy.
They have their normal lives,which for most of us that alone
(22:34):
can be overwhelming.
But they also have chosen tostep up and run for office,
which takes busy to a whole newlevel.
Yet they chose to prioritizespeaking with you.
They took the time to respondto emails, texts and phone calls
.
They committed, they followedthrough, they showed up.
They did not give in to fear.
They did not shut down whenfaced with challenges.
(22:56):
They allowed vulnerability andeffectively communicated their
thoughts.
I have zero qualms about thembeing able to communicate with
you or show up for you if theywere to be elected.
It was such a joy seeing theauthentic glow in these
candidates radiate and tounderstand them and their
experiences in a whole new light.
As always, I am continuouslyassessing and reassessing to see
(23:18):
how I may improve.
If you have any ideas on how tobridge the scats that I may be
more successful in capturing alarger chunk of candidate voices
moving forward, I'd love tohear them.
At the moment, my best thoughtis to have someone who leans
conservative join me inconducting the election segment.
Again, if you know somebody wholeans conservative, who is also
(23:38):
open to being a pragmatic,nonpartisan voice in this space,
I'd love for you to share.
If you, by chance, live in theextra-territorial jurisdiction
also known as ETJ, you will notbe eligible to vote in this
year's election.
While you are held to townordinances, you do not pay town
taxes.
You absolutely can help shareyour voice by actively helping
(24:00):
candidates who may best resonatewith you.
I encourage those living in theETJ, as well as all of you, to
be active.
Contact candidates, share yourconcerns, see how they respond
to you, check in with yourfriends who are hopefully doing
the same, and then activelyparticipate by contributing
financially to campaigns,canvassing, calling, texting,
(24:21):
writing postcards, attendingevents, sharing emails and
social media messages, pollgreeting and by voting, if you
are at all able.
If, for some reason, you needassistance in getting to the
polls, please absolutely reachout.
I would be happy to help as Imay.
Since I include a lightninground of questions within all my
episodes, I think it's onlyfair play to play along.
(24:43):
What is my favorite book?
My absolute favorite book isthe thesaurus, followed somewhat
closely by Harry Potter.
Who is someone that I look upto and view as a role model?
It is hands down my mom.
She is an amazing woman who,after my parents divorced, she
raised us four kids working on aWalmart paycheck and I am not
(25:05):
sure how she did it, but she hasan amazing work ethic and
always shows up for those shecares about, and she has always
been kind and inclusive.
What's my favorite way to relaxand let go?
Dancing.
That is the only time, really,when my brain shuts completely
off and I can stop being sopragmatic and I can just let
loose.
What's one thing that fills myheart with joy?
(25:28):
When people share their lightand passion, being their
authentic and real selves, I seethem literally light up and
their auras are just soabsolutely beautiful.
What's my greatest weakness?
I have many of them At themoment.
I'm going to go ahead and saymy focus.
I tend to be a workaholic andstrive to be productive.
(25:49):
That cuts into family andfriend time and fun as well.
What was one thing I wished foras a kid?
I had always wanted a basegroup of friends that I had
known always from being littlekids, like everyone else seemed
to have.
This was one of the downfallsof being part of a military
family.
What's something on your bucketlist?
I don't really have a bucketlist.
(26:11):
I tend to create items in themoment and just say that I'm
putting them on my bucket listas I go to cross them off.
But if I were to say one thingright now, it would be to go
back and visit England, where Iwas born, and to continue to
push myself to learn new thingsand healthfully stretch beyond
my comfort zone.
What is my favorite thing aboutmyself?
My persistence and ability toadapt and find the silver lining
(26:34):
and good in most any situation.
I hope you find all of thisinformation helpful in this
election segment and thecandidate conversations and
again, if you have any feedback,I would absolutely love to hear
it.
Thanks so much for your timeand for just showing up for the
candidates and your communitiesand democracy in general.
I really appreciate it.
(26:55):
Democracy is at the heart ofall we hold dear.
Our local governments have theinfluence to decide our
community's priorities.
These offices have a majorimpact on our daily lives and
can have real consequences.
They create and enforce localordinances, fund our local fire
and police departments createthe structure and ambiance of
(27:18):
our communities and decide ourlocal property taxes.
Lower voter turnout in localelections means your vote has
even more of an impact.
Early voting starts October19th at the Wake County Board of
Elections and begins October28th and will run through
November 4th at the John M BrownCommunity Center in Apex and
(27:39):
the Avery Street RecreationCenter in Garner.
During early voting, you may goto any of these early voting
sites.
Election Day will be Tuesday,November 7th.
On Election Day, you have to goto your designated polling site
.
Please remember you will need avalid ID to vote.
This year, the voterregistration deadline is October
(27:59):
13th, though you may also beeligible to register at the
voting sites during the earlyvoting period.
And that brings this episode ofthe Holly Springs Deep Dive
Podcast, soon to be called theNC Deep Dive, to a close.
Make sure you check out all theother relevant candidate
episodes for the Board ofCommissioners, also known as
(28:21):
Town Council for Holly Springs,and Fuquay Varina, at www.
HollySpringsDeepDive.
com, Spotify, apple Podcasts,audible or wherever you
currently listen to yourpodcasts.
I will include helpful linksfor each candidate and voting in
general in their episode shownotes on our website.
(28:42):
If you have any thoughts ortopics you'd like to share.
You may do so through socialmedia or via email at Holly
SpringsP odcast@ gmail.
com.
Thank you for engaging intoday's episode and becoming a
more informed citizen.
Democracy is a team sport.
Together, we make democracywork and our communities a
(29:02):
better place to work, live andplay.
Your vote absolutely matters.
Your voice absolutely matters.
You, my friend, absolutelymatter.
Until next time, my friends.
Namaste, the love and light inme sees and honors the love and
light in you.
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