Kristopher Vorren: 2025 Fuquay Varina Board of Commissioners Candidate

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amanda Benbow Lunn (00:09):
Hello friends, welcome back to the NC
Deep Dive Podcast.
I'm your host, Amanda BenbowLunn, and today I am honored to
be speaking withKris Vorren as part of our 2025 Municipal Election Candidate Conversations. Kris is running for the four-year seat on the Fuquay Varina
Board of Commissioners.
For this race, Kris will berunning against Nolan Perry,

(00:33):
Bryan Haynes, and Gage Cook.
These races are nonpartisan, sothere will not be any party
affiliation like an R or a Dnext to their name on your
ballot.
You will be eligible to votefor up to two of these
candidates for this seat on yourballot in this election.
The top two vote getters willjoin Fuquay Varina's Board of

(00:55):
Commissioners, Charlie Adcock,William (Bill) Harris, and
Marilyn Gardner to make up itsfive-member body.
In these candidateconversations, each candidate
will be asked the same questionsformulated by our constituent
survey, observing communitymembers in person and online,
and fine-tuning with AI to keepthem as fair, unbiased, and as

(01:17):
open-ended as possible.
Without further ado, myfriends, let's dive in.
Kristopher, tell me a littlebit about yourself, how long
you've lived in the area, andwhat's inspired you to run.

Kris Vorren (01:29):
I grew up in North Carolina.
I've lived in North Carolinaall my life.
I come from a small town in themountains called Mills River.
It's actually the way it'sgrowing is very similar to how
Fuquay Varina is growing at themoment.
I've lived in Fuquay Varinafor, let's see, we moved here in
early 2022 to buy a house.
And we wanted basically to bein Wake County, but still kind
of have that small town feel.

(01:50):
What Fuquay Varina has tooffer, I think, still offers
despite the rapid growth thatit's experiencing.
So why did I decide to run?
I just wanted to help out.
I'm really interested inpolicies and how the governance
of town, how it's been growing.
And I attend many of the townboard meetings, as many as I
can.
It's been a little difficult inthe past year because I have a
one-year-old son now, but it'svery interesting, and there's

(02:11):
people from different politicalbackgrounds, but they all work
together.
They're all interested inseeing the town run smoothly and
helping out the town.
And I like seeing that kind ofpolitics at work, or policy, it
may be even a better word thanpolitics.
So what happened was one of thecommissioners decided not to
run.
And, you know, being one of theonly people who shows up to the
meetings and sits all the waythrough who isn't required to be

(02:31):
there, I figured, you know, whynot give it a shot and take a
chance at helping out?
And I hope I have some ideasfor the town that could improve
things.

Have you been an active voter, including
in municipal elections?

Yes, I have voted in many municipal elections.
I've been a voter since Iturned 18, way back when.
You can look up my votingrecord, it's quite a long list.
I did vote in the lastmunicipal election here in
Fuquay Varina.
That was in 2023.
That was the first municipalelection in town that I was able
to vote in.
And then, of course, otherplaces throughout North Carolina
that I've lived in, I've alsovoted in their municipal
elections, such as in OrangeCounty, in Iredell County, and

(03:05):
back in the mountains inHenderson County.
So I try to vote as often as Ican because I believe in the
importance of voting.

Excellent.
What do you feel is the role ofa board commissioner?

So the town commissioners, their role is to
present a vision to the town.
Maybe the analogy would be inthe corporate world, they're
kind of like the board on acorporate body who sets the
direction and they evaluate howthe town manager is doing.
You know, they they provide ahigh-level vision for the town.
And then of course the staffand the management do the
day-to-day running of the town.
And so that vision is importantbecause it guides the future of

(03:37):
our town's growth.
So one of the problems I seethat they face is that they're
dealing with challenges theyweren't able to foresee, maybe
due to the rapid growth that wefound in the past.
And now there's a problem thatthey have to fix.
So a lot of what they're doingis fixing issues that have come
about because of maybe the rapidgrowth that weren't
anticipated.
And so the board has to bereally focused on what is
upcoming and that's in the shortterm and the long term.

(03:58):
For example, at the last boardmeeting, they were discussing
wastewater treatment in thearea, and they're thinking up to
50 years out for that.
And a board of commissioners'term is only four years long.
So you really have to show thatleadership and show the values
that you want to guide your townmoving forward.
And of course, deal with theissues of today as best as you
can, despite several constraintsthat are in place because of

(04:18):
you know working with othergoverning bodies.
The General Assembly has notbeen too friendly to
municipalities and countygovernance.
Ultimately, the board has to becreative to tackle the issues
that we're facing today and willface tomorrow and provide
guidance to the town management.

All right.
Perfect.
What is your involvement withinthe community and town
government and whatqualifications make you prepared
for this role?

Sure.
One of the ways I see givingback to the community is
actually being involved inpolitics.
I am a precinct chair for theDemocratic Party in town, and I
volunteer for things such asgetting out the boat, getting
candidates' messages out, andyou know, a whole host of other
community events that theDemocratic Party partakes in.
For example, last week we did abackpack drive for students at
Lincoln Heights ElementarySchool.

(05:02):
We had a full hatchbacktruckload full of backpacks and
school supplies that we wereable to drop off for the
students.
And so some people might bedissatisfied with this political
answer, but the reason I'dfocus on that is because you can
pick your charity ororganization of choice and
they'll do great things.
But the problem is you can geta politician in there or you
know, someone who isantagonistic to the cause that

(05:22):
you support, and they could justerode all the progress you've
made on said issue, or even beagainst it or opposed to it.
So that's why I chose politicsbecause I think it's the best
way to be able to ensure thatwhatever your focus is, it stays
in place, it gets enacted, itbecomes part of the plan for the
community.
And so what are myqualifications?
My biggest qualification, Ithink, for this role is that I

(05:44):
attend the meetings and I listento what the challenges that the
town is facing on a day-to-daybasis and going in the future
again, as I had mentioned.
But attending these meetingsand seeing how they're run and
the issues that come up and whatthey're facing and dealing
with, I think that alreadyprepares me well for this role.
But also I bring a differentperspective than many quote
unquote politicians or folks whoare in government, especially

(06:04):
on these local boards,commissioners and
municipalities, it's oftenlawyers and business folk who
are on the boards.
And I have more of a technicalbackground.
You know, I have a degree inphysics, for example, so kind of
a scientific technicalbackground.
And that's, I think I don'twant to say different, but I
think it would complement wellsome of the modes of thought
that maybe a lawyer or abusiness person brings to the

(06:25):
board.
So just to get a differentperspective, something fresh,
something new, I hope that canbe beneficial for the town.
And I hope voters would agreewith that.

Excellent.
What would you say is yourlong-term vision for the future
of Fuquay Varina?

A lot of my campaign so far has been about
how to maybe manage and takeadvantage of this explosive
growth that we've seen in thelast 10 years and are continuing
to see.
So, kind of at a higher level,the long-term vision is to make
sure that the community, thetown as a whole, everyone in
town benefits equitably fromthis growth that we are

(06:59):
experiencing.
So that means the benefitsdon't only go to the developers
or the newcomers or people whohave been here a long time,
people who've been here a shorttime.
Like everyone takes advantageof this growth and is not left
behind.
And so there's a lot to unpackthere, and maybe we will start
to unpack some of that.
But again, it goes back to thetown needing to come up with
creative solutions and worktogether as a board with our

(07:21):
diversity of opinions and theway we think about these issues
to ensure that we havesustainable, healthy growth into
the future that is notdetrimental to our community.

Perfect.
What would you say your topthree priorities are for
Fuquay Varina?

So I think two of my top three priorities are
going to be, I think, commonwith anyone who's running for
the board, and that's housingaffordability, dealing with the
traffic and kind of managing thegrowth in general.
And then a third priority Ihave is a priority that we can
tackle in one term as acommissioner, and that's making
our parks and our downtown andfocusing on how to keep those
spaces cooler in the summer,especially.

(07:57):
So I mentioned I'm from themountains and the summer here
in Fuquay Varina and in the sandhills and in the Piedmont, I
find the temperature and thehumidity to basically be
miserable.
But the summer is the time whenwe want to be out and about the
most.
We you know the kids are out ofschool and families have
vacation, and I like to enjoyour parks and our downtown
despite the blazing heat.
So I want to make sure we focuson ways to keep these spaces

(08:20):
cooler, and that could bethrough artificial shade,
through installation of morefans downtown just to keep the
sticky air moving around, and awhole host of other issues that
we could think about.
And I think people would agreethis is an issue that we need to
take care of.
Heat is the deadliest form ofweather that we experience,
despite it not being so oftentalked about.
Areas that have more heatgenerally also are correlated

(08:41):
with areas that with highercrime, so crime rates rise in
the summer, possibly because ofthe heat.
And our parks, you know, I liketo hang out in our parks.
I've been taking my son to thesplash pad, but there's not even
not like really adequate shadethere.
Like when you come out of thatsplash pad and you step on
concrete sidewalk, you're gonnaburn your feet because it's so
hot, and there's like oneumbrella, and of course, there's
the shelter, which helps.

(09:01):
But other than that, there'snot much shade around the area,
and it it would be a way to getcommunity out and about in town
more if you could focus on thisissue.
And then, you know, having thecommunity out and discussing the
issues also I think provides alot more benefits down the road.
So that's my short-term goal,and it's gonna be a focus in the
four years if I'm elected tothe town board.
And then, of course, I don'twant to diminish the importance

(09:22):
of the other two issues.
Housing affordability isdefinitely a big challenge that
we're facing all across NorthCarolina in the triangle.
And everyone talks abouttraffic.
I experience it too, so it's ait's another issue that we'll be
focusing on and will need verycreative solutions to deal with.

How do you define housing affordability?

Yeah, that's a that's a good question.
So there are several ways youcan define it, I think, and it
depends on how complex you wantto go into detail.
And so the simplest way I wouldsay to define it is looking at
median household costs, lookingat the medium income, like
household income, and hopingthat you find some measure,
maybe oftentimes people say 30%of your income should be about
what your housing cost is and nomore than that.

(10:01):
But that doesn't really takeinto account a whole host of
other issues.
Personally, housingaffordability is a much more
important issue when I have achild in daycare, and that's
almost the cost of a mortgagepayment per month right there.
People are going throughdifferent things throughout
their lives.
There are people on fixedincome, there are people who
aren't on fixed income who rentsare going up faster than their
income goes up.

(10:22):
But I think a better way todefine it might be to say, how
is the community as a whole, howis their cost of housing
affecting other aspects of theirlife?
Is it causing undue stress orpeople having to go in debt
because of the housing costs?
But again, then it gets verycomplex from there.
And so unfortunately, it's kindof government and you're gonna
have to go with that morequantitative definition of say

(10:42):
30%.
I think 30% is too high.
It should be maybe about 20% ofyour income.
And that would give a people alot more leeway and margin to
improve their quality of life inother aspects if they're not
spending so much onaffordability.
What I'll say is I do have someideas on how we can at least
encourage more housingaffordability and not just
through regulation, but throughthe way we plan to grow our

(11:04):
community.

Okay.
What do you feel is workingwell within the town and where
do you see room for improvement?
You've already mentioned a fewthings, but if you want to go
further.

So I think what's working well in town, we do have
a good sense of community forthe most part.
We have kind of two nicedowntown districts where people
can gather and get together.
We have lots of good smallbusinesses.
Our parks are amazing.
I keep finding new parks intown that I haven't been to, and
it's always impressive to seewhat the town has done for our
park system.
That being said, the way Ithink we can best improve some

(11:34):
of the town is how we organizethe growth.
We're growing outward from thecenter of the town.
So in Fuquay Varina, there'sthese two central areas, Fuquay
Springs part of downtown and theVarina part of downtown, and
then kind of Main Street, whereall the, I guess, quote unquote
stuff to do is.
So what happens is all thedevelopment that has occurred is
outlying and surrounding whereall the activity, commerce, and

(11:56):
places people want to hang outin town are.
And so what I would like to seeis we develop more activities,
more parts, more commercialareas, kind of outside of just
that main central corridor indowntown Fuquay Varina, so that,
you know, I don't necessarilyhave to get in the car and drive
and add to the traffic and be apart of the traffic for 10 or
15 minutes just to go get a cupof coffee, just to go to the

(12:16):
grocery store, to the library,or a restaurant, or anything.
For example, I live in theSouth Lakes neighborhood, and
there's probably like seven oreight hundred houses in this
neighborhood, but there'snothing, you know, we have we do
have a school nearby.
But otherwise, if I want to bea part of town community, I have
to get in my car and add to thetraffic and drive.
It would be nice if they hadincluded grocery stores when
they had developed thisneighborhood or restaurants

(12:37):
nearby, something in walkingdistance, or maybe even a mode
of public transportation, sothat I don't have to get into my
car every time go do something.
And so that's what I would liketo see.
I would like to see maybe morediversity of the way we build.
There's been a big focus onresidential in the areas that
are growing outwards, and maybenot as much in terms of
commercial or these so-calledthird spaces where you know

(12:58):
people uh want to hang out andenjoy the community.

Okay.
Do you support the current townbudget?
And where would you advocatechanges, including any
adjustments to taxes or spendingpriorities if needed for fiscal
responsibility?

Generally, I think I do support the town budget.
I think the board andespecially the management team,
they work hard to balance allthat, the revenue and uh
spending, and put together agood presentation every year.
I believe, I can't rememberoffhand, but I believe the town
budget is about $73 million.
And so, of course, that goes toa whole host of town
infrastructure, parks, and andeverything.

(13:34):
I mean, and there's not toomuch politics that goes on.
It's a management job.
The politics kind of comes inwhere do we shift our priority,
of course.
But in general, I think themanagement team has done a good
job with the budget and they'vebeen able to keep the town taxes
lower than the othermunicipalities in Wake County
and still provide all theseamazing services to the town.
Where do I want to see someshift in priority?

(13:55):
I would say in terms of thebudget, I think they're doing
all right, but I'm more focusedon how we prioritize the way we
grow in town.

What does that look like for you?

As I mentioned earlier, it's a lot about the
diversity of growth.
We had focused on residential alot, but even let's just talk
about residential for a minute.
What the town has been buildingoutward are these neighborhoods
that all look alike, the housesall kind of look the same.
And I think that we couldtackle the issue of housing
affordability somewhat bydiversifying what the
developments look like.
So almost like a diversity ofhousing density.
So instead of building asingle-family home neighborhood

(14:26):
over here and then a big bye-byeone over there, the so-called
missing middle housing somewhereelse.
I think if we mix that intogether, it would encourage
growth of the community in sucha way to encourage also
businesses, to encouragewalkability, to encourage also
if we look towards publictransit in the future.
It's much easier for publictransit to service higher
density housing.
So if we kind of have a mixtureof density, then you know there

(14:48):
would be more likely that yourneighborhood would get serviced
by public transit.
That's one of the complaintsthat people have.
And so I'd like to see thatgrowth mixed a little bit
instead of building thesingle-family home neighborhoods
separately from otherdevelopments.
Let's mix that in.
And I think that wouldencourage kind of growth in the
right direction.

What are your thoughts on building up or
the tiny homes?

Sure.
I mean, building up, especiallywe should kind of maybe do that
in our downtown area a littlebit with tiny homes.
That's an idea that I think alot of people who focus on
housing affordability like todiscuss.
I forget the technical term forit, but you put a tiny home on
your if you have excess uhproperty or land, the space for
it, and that way you can kind ofincrease the density without
too much cost and not very muchchange to regulation.

(15:28):
So lower overhead there.
If we're gonna have high rises,again, I would like to see kind
of the diversity of the way webuild, so we can have, I don't
think we need excessive highrises.
You know, there's that buildingin Durham that sticks out
because they they put like askyscraper on 15501 there.
But five by ones, I think, areare the right height, maybe
seven by ones.
So seven floors of residentialand one floor of like commercial

(15:48):
development or commercialspace.
I'm not against single familyhomes.
I personally live in a singlefamily home.
I got tired of apartmentliving, mixed seven, have single
family homes, have smallersingle-family homes, have bigger
single-family homes, but putthem together so that in in the
same area, so that you kind ofget this diversity of the way it
looks.
Again, diversity of density, sothat it kind of starts to feel
like a vibrant neighborhood,less like a development.

Sure.
Oftentimes it feels likegovernment waits until a
specific need is critical beforetaking action.
Do you support being moreproactive and how if you do and
in what ways specifically?

Generally, yes, I think government should be
proactive, but you actually thatgoes back to your budget
question.
You know, you have to balancehow proactive you can be versus
how reactive.
And that's a complicatedquestion because, for example, I
talked about technicalbackground and I want to be
data-driven.
So it's hard to prepare forrandom events that might only
occur every 10 years or 100years, such as flooding.
That's been a big issue that'scome up recently.

(16:43):
You had flooding in Chapel Hillthat I think that even breached
the 500-year, maybe even thethousand-year lines through
Chantal.
How do you prepare for that?
It gets back to where the boardneeds to be creative, really do
a deep dive into data, and it'sgonna be a balancing act on how
proactive and reactive thegovernment should be.
So, what are maybe somespecific issues?
Like we should be proactiveabout the growth in the area.

(17:05):
I think we're gonna focus onthat quite a bit in this
interview.
And it's not anyone's fault,but I think the town has been
more reactive on how to dealwith growth in that regard
because it's happened so fast,but we know what to expect now,
and going forward we should beproactive in dealing with it,
and that involves betterplanning and how we want to
structure our town.
Same with traffic, we're beingvery reactive with traffic, and

(17:26):
that's kind of problematic too.
But because traffic projectscan take four years, so that's a
term of a board ofcommissioner.
So I would like to be moreproactive on those two issues,
those are again said two of thethree key issues, and we kind of
know what to expect, and we'reseeing the trends nationwide on
where people are moving.
North Carolina is one of, ofcourse, the fastest growing
states, so we have to bereactive to deal with the

(17:47):
problems of the past andproactive to anticipate what to
expect in the future.

Okay.
What new initiatives orattractions would you champion
to boost revenue and communitypride?

There are several ways that a town raises revenue,
and most of that is throughproperty taxes.
So the best way to do that, ofcourse, is to bring in
businesses into the town.
And of course, I'm a big fan ofsmall business.
I think many folks running forthese town boards are.
They're kind of the engine ofeconomic growth in America.
And so if we had incentives,and again, part of it as we're
building out, we should focus ondeveloping neighborhoods where

(18:20):
we could attract smallbusinesses and mixed in with the
residential, with that kind ofplanning that could increase the
property tax base there.
With our parks, I think we canuse that resource and we can
hold more events that would, ofcourse, attract people from
within our community and fromoutside the community bring in
their revenue.
We have the Art Center, that'sbeen a great resource that's
relatively new.
But what I don't see very oftenis we don't seem to have very

(18:42):
many street festivals orparades.
I mean, we have the Christmasparade, of course, but in the
summer, especially, I'm notaware of like weekend festivals,
especially that could maybebring in some more revenue from
both inside and outside thetown.
We do have the Follow Me toFuquay, that's usually on
Thursdays, and I think that'sgreat.
And local vendors set up foodtrucks and beer trucks and we

(19:02):
attract a lot of people.
But during the weekends,especially when people have more
time and are more available, Ithink the town could improve
there.
For example, Knoxville,Tennessee has probably a parade
like once a month for justdifferent things, and it brings
communities together.
They have like a dog on aparade.
So there are definitely ideas,I think, what people might be
into.
Like February, of course, hasthe Black History Month and
there's a parade there, and thenJune, there's Pride Month, and

(19:25):
there are parades and activitiesassociated with that.
But in general, more eventsthat could bring the community
out, get them downtown andbuilding these so-called third
spaces where people can hang outthink would help generate
economic activity and bring inrevenue for the community.

Excellent.
Have you ever disagreedpublicly with a current town
decision or policy?
And if so, what was it and howwould you handle a similar
situation if you were elected?

Sure.
A lot of what comes before theboard hasn't been very
controversial.
The most recent controversialissue that I've seen is in
regards to these socialdistricts.
And I believe CommissionerHarris brought up a good
argument.
Part of what I think aboutgovernment is that it's a bit
responsible for public health,and that's a broad thing.
So Commissioner Harris broughtup that the town shouldn't be
kind of encouraging excessivealcohol consumption through the

(20:10):
use of social districts.
And I thought that was a verygood point.
And he also kind of brought ithome with saying that businesses
don't need alcohol necessarilyto drive their business.
And so, of course, the boardpassed that by four to one.
I'm not saying I necessarilydisagree with the social
district aspect, but I thinkthat's a good point that the
town maybe should haveconsidered a little bit better
and you know took more time tothink about.

(20:31):
And as Commissioner Harris hassaid, maybe look at the data
more.
We have our social districtnow.
How since we first starteddoing the social district, have
there been any increases indrunk driving and things like
that or problems associated withdrinking?
I don't think the town thoughtthat through as well as they
should have.
So I would say I disagree withthat.
I mean, I haven't really takena public stand on that yet.
There's a lot of issues facingthe town, but the public health

(20:53):
impact could be significantthere.
So I want to make sure that thetown gets it right.
But it passed 4-1, and so it isthe ordinance.
That's the one that comes tomind because it just happened in
the last meeting.
They're going to have a newsocial district right where kind
of the new Thai restaurant isKao Sen and the My Way Tavern.
So they just passed that.
I think.
Yeah, I'm not even saying Ifully disagree with it.
I'm just saying maybe I wouldagree with Commissioner Harris

(21:14):
that we should have thoughtabout it a little bit more.

Sure.
When you hear smart growth,what does that mean for our town
in practical terms?

So when I think of smart growth, it comes out to
what I kind of basing my wholecampaign on growth in such a way
that benefits the town andeveryone, new and old,
equitably.
And so that means as we grow,it should provide more revenue
to the town, it should providemore opportunities for the
people in the town who areliving here and who will be
moving here.
And it's about making sure thatall that benefit is spread out

(21:41):
equitably or equally and notjust going to developers, the
investors, and the people whoare trying to make their living
through development becausegrowth can have negative impacts
on residents.
Growth is not a bad problem tohave, but it still causes
challenges.
And so we want to make surethat we're not sacrificing
certain segments of ourcommunity in order for someone

(22:01):
to cash in.
I don't think of growth as away for people to make money.
I think of it as a way toexpand our community and to
expand maybe our culture and toexpand our quality of life.
And I want to make sure that,you know, especially when it
comes to quality of life, thatgrowth is increasing our quality
of life for everyone at townand not becoming a burden.

As our town is growing rapidly, it's putting
pressure on infrastructure likewater and roads, public safety,
parks and rec and housingaffordability.
If you had to prioritize onlyone of these areas this year due
to limited funding, which wouldyou choose and how would you
communicate that decision toresidents?

If we had to choose only one.
That's a tough question.
But I think what is oneveryone's mind is kind of
transportation and the roads andeverything.
And part of that is because theway we've grown focusing on
residential has really strainedour traffic system.
Our parks are good.
There's definitely fundingissues there that need to be
dealt with.
The wastewater treatment, thereis a plan, and it's that's a
very long-term plan.
But the transportationinfrastructure is probably in

(22:59):
dire need of attention.
And so I would probably focuson that because even so there's
gonna be short-term andlong-term projects and goals
that we need to work on to dealwith that.
But we need some way toalleviate the traffic, probably
now, and we're still growing,we're not gonna stop growing as
we tackle this issue, and it'sonly gonna make it worse and
it's gonna decrease the qualityof life for our residents.
So I would focus on that.
And there are, of course, ideason how to do that, both short

(23:22):
and long term.
The longer term ones are againmore about how we grow and how
we organize our communities, asI mentioned, building
residential and commercial, soplaces to live next to areas to
do stuff, quote unquote.
In the medium term, we can lookat public transit.
I really just like bus systems,and sometimes that's a hard
sell for people, but we have anexample in North Carolina of a

(23:42):
bus system that works, andthat's Chapel Hill.
Everyone rides the bus inChapel Hill.
That town is laid out similarto how Vic Way Verena is.
There's one central location,the university, where everyone
conducts their business.
The housing's all surroundingthe university.
So we can look to that exampleto see what they've done right.
And I think the bus system inChapel Hill is a great success.
Everyone rides it.
We can expand that.
We can look to those ideas andimplement them here in Fuquay.

(24:05):
It's really hard to come upwith short-term solutions to
traffic.
There's no magic wand that sayswe can want the traffic to be
better all we want, but it'sgonna take time.
Like I said, as a simpleintersection rework could take
four years when you think aboutthe planning.
That's part of why I say of thethree uh issues you mentioned,
that's why I said we need tofocus on that one because it's a
tough problem and it reallyaffects the quality of life.
And I think we have more marginon the other two issues.

(24:27):
We have more time on those.

Sure.
Do you feel we alreadyadequately meet the needs of any
of these?
The infrastructure, publicsafety, parks and recreation, or
housing affordability.

I think in terms of public safety, we definitely
meet the needs in terms ofparks.
I think we meet those needsright now.
I had mentioned for the parksmore shade, artificial, or
natural.
In terms of public safety,Fuquay Varina is been ranked, I
think, two years in a row now aslike one of the safest towns in
America.
So I think we've got that onecovered.
I think you mentionedwastewater was another the other
issue.

As part of infrastructure.

So right now, I think Fuquay Varina is doing a
good job on it.
They had actually recently justdone a study, as they mentioned
in the last town board meeting,funded by the bipartisan
infrastructure law signed byPresident Biden.
So they had just completed thatstudy and there is work to be
done, yes, and there's even someshort-term work that needs to
be done.
As I mentioned, there's there'ssome margin, there's some time
to work on it.
They have identifiedinefficiencies that can be

(25:21):
improved, I think, relativelycheaply, but there will be an
issue in the long term.
Part of that's based on, ofcourse, the expenditure growth,
and part of that is where thetown will grow, dealing with the
environmental regulations, justthe lay of the lands, it turns
out with wastewater, gravity isyour friend to get to get that
wastewater out of there at lowcost.
So there's some planning, andas I mentioned earlier, they
went 50 years out on that.

(25:41):
So it's gonna cost a lot ofmoney.
So what we need to think aboutin that time frame, you know, 50
years, I would say is a longtime.
We need to think aboutbasically how we fund that and
address that.
And part of that can be the waywe grow because the town funds
these things again throughproperty taxes, mainly.
I mean, there are other feesassociated with developments and
the like, but mainly propertytaxes.
So how we grow and at the sametime not overburdening people

(26:02):
with taxes, and we can do thatby again diversity of density.

Okay.
Now you've kind of alreadyanswered this question, but if
you want to go any further, asthe population grows, what
strategies would you prioritizeto address the roads, utilities,
and other infrastructurechallenges?

Yeah.
So part of that is, of course,how we grow.
Because the the short-terminfrastructure issues,
especially traffic, as Imentioned, there's no magic
wand.
So you have to kind of thinklonger term.
That's why having diversity ofcommercial or residential or
even slight industrial wouldhelp with traffic, but that's in
the future.
With wastewater, I thinkthere's room in the budget for
these kind of infrastructureprojects.

(26:39):
And the town is working onthem, and whoever gets elected
will work on these issues.
But at some point, we're gonnaeven have to ask a little bit
for the patience of the people.
And people understand, peopleunderstand there's no magic
wand, but it's gonna requirebetter planning.
And as we grow, we can relievethe stress on the infrastructure
we have now by growingsustainably.
And I think that will help andplanning for it, explaining to

(27:00):
the town what needs to be done.
I think the management does agood job at communicating both
to the town board and to thetown their priorities.
So let's just make sure that aswe grow into the future, we
anticipate what's coming.

Sure.
And as our town grows, farmlandfaces pressure from development
and some residents struggle toaccess fresh food.
How would you support localfarmers, protect farmland, and
help ensure everyone has accessto healthy, affordable food?

You know, if we're trying to grow and surrounding
Fuquay Varina is quite a bit offarmland, that's going to be an
issue.
So I think you identified kindof two separate issues, though.
How do we protect kind of thefarmland, especially here in
southern Wake County, isprobably the last part of Wake
County that really has muchagricultural land.
And then how do we ensure thatpeople receive fresh or local
food?
With protecting farmland,that's part of our plan to grow.

(27:44):
What I will say is that wecannot control what people do
with their land.
You know, that's prettyexplicitly something that the
board does not have power over.
And that comes into in terms oflike annexing new land for the
town, it has to all be donevoluntary.
If a farmer decides they wantto sell their land to someone
else who has an idea for it,then that's between the farmer
and whoever buys the land.

(28:05):
That being said, as the board,what we can do is we can
encourage our local farmers toproduce local foods.
We have our farmers marketevery Saturday.
We can grow that, encouragepeople to purchase local.
And it's good that people areable to use like SNAP benefits
for those things.
But the board is going to setthe vision of how we want to
grow.
And so if we want to preservesome land, then that's gonna
adjust what kind of density wegrow.

(28:26):
We grow up vertically and howwe include farmers in our
community.
So through the farmers market,encourage that.
And that would be a way toprotect the surrounding farmland
and encourage community tointeract with and do business
with them.
Now, food insecurity, I think,is another issue you mentioned,
and this is gonna be a bigproblem, I think, pretty soon.
I learned that Wake County isfacing several cuts to SNAP.

(28:48):
So the supplemental,nutritional, I guess what is
colloquially known as foodstamps.
And so, you know, I've beenthinking about this a little
bit.
We're gonna have to work withour partners in the community,
and actually that goes back tothe farmers, but other
charitable organizations in theshort term.
We do have Commissioner Haynes,uh, just held an event last
Saturday and he provided a listof resources in our community
for people who may be foodinsecure to get some food, and

(29:11):
that's been you know through acombination of I think
businesses and churches who havebeen helping with that.
Whoever's on the board has tothink about right now.
I did actually have one otheridea because I had been thinking
about this a little bit.
So when you think about how youfeed a large group of people,
usually the most efficient wayyou do that is like a cafeteria
style, save the economies ofscale by producing food in bulk

(29:32):
for folks.
So almost even like we build anew cafeteria with very low cost
food or even free food forpeople who need it, and that
would be a way for people whoare food insecure to have access
to food, and it would alsobring community, I think,
together, having a place wherethey can come and interact.
You know, that might not be sopopular with the restaurants in
town, right?
So again, it's it's aboutgetting creative and how do you

(29:52):
balance those um maybeconflicting interests.

Our police sometimes receives requests from
outside agencies.
While also addressing localneeds, how would you set
priorities for public safetywith limited resources?

The Fuquay Town Police, I think, should
prioritize the town, right?
It's our taxes who pay fortheir services, right?
That being said, I think ingeneral, if outside agencies
need assistance, as far as I'maware, there's some compensation
for that from that outsideagency.
So an issue I can think of islike in Chapel Hill, when
there's a big basketball gamesuch as Duke UNC, they solicit

(30:27):
services from agencies allthroughout the triangle, really,
to come and help deal with themassive crowds that are going to
go rush Franklin Street.
And I think that Chapel Hillpays for that, and probably the
university helps pay for that aswell.
So there is always limitedresources for any service that
the town provides.
And so therefore the townshould focus on itself when
using our own funding.
But if the police chief and ifothers who are overseeing the

(30:50):
police feel that they have theresources and are able to, and
if they can receive some sort ofcompensation for assisting with
other agencies, then great,that would be fine.
And I'm thinking more prettyfurther outside.
If you look at Fuquay Varina onGoogle Maps and look at the
map, you know, there's a lot ofareas where it's sometimes hard
to tell whether it's the countyjurisdiction or the town
jurisdiction.
So, like if Wake County needsassistance nearby, then sure,

(31:13):
that makes sense.
I don't think we need to thinktoo much about that.
But again, I would sayprioritize the town because the
town's paying for it ultimately.

Okay.
How can the town better supportsmall businesses and connect
with their needs?

The town board should really be encouraging
people to visit our smallbusinesses and do business with
them.
And we can do that in a numberof ways.
A lot of that goes back to thestreet festivals, just getting
people downtown where thebusinesses are.
And the town has that likeFollow Me to Fuquay series.
Another thing I've thought ofto encourage small businesses,
and this already happens alittle bit, is just the town
leaders, such as the mayor andthe town board, need to be

(31:45):
visiting these businesses, kindof advertising.
Let's say if I were elected, Iwould be interested in holding
office hours, for example, atone of the local coffee shops.
Or any kind of celebration orachievement by locals within the
community, we could celebrateat a bar, restaurant, or have
town events.
Just anything that gets peopledowntown would support the local
businesses.

(32:06):
Another thing, and I think someof the local magazines help
with this, but spotlightingbusinesses from time to time,
and you can do that by uhissuing awards for best pizza,
best best place to get ahaircut.
I think the Suburban LivingMagazine does some of that.
Members of the town board againcan get out and about and
partake in these, do businesswith our small businesses, kind
of set an example, because astown leaders, that's part of our
job, right?
To set an example for the townand just identify our businesses

(32:28):
and encourage them to come toour meetings too and work with
us.
And part of the point of themeetings is for us to listen to
their challenges and theirconcerns so that we may address
them.

What approaches would you take to
foster understanding andcollaboration among residents
with differing perspectives?

I definitely thought about this because we do
have a pretty diverse communityhere in Fuquay Varina.
It is kind of disappointingsometimes when I'm at the town
board meetings and there's notmuch participation from the
community.
So the best way I think is tomeet people where they're at.
And again, it goes back tohosting community events.
I think so.
There's like a barbecue that Imissed it this year, every July.
That's a fun one.
But bringing food, I think, isan excellent way to bring people

(33:06):
together.
As our community is growing, weare getting more diversity of
cultures and everything.
And so, food festivals,cultural festivals, getting
people downtown.
Part of my initiative forincreased shading and cooling in
town, just so that people aremore likely to get downtown, I
think, would help with that.
And for the board, is just comeup with creative ways to bring
the community together so thatwe can talk.
And you know, part of that iswe need to be not so afraid to

(33:27):
discuss politics.
Sometimes that's talkingpolitics or talking policy is
like a taboo thing because itcan be controversial.
But you know, we may need to,it's this is a political
campaign to some extent.
We may need to be politiciansand discuss politics and policy
when we are at these events,just to educate the community
and bring people together.

How will you ensure diverse voices and those
most impacted are not onlyincluded but truly embraced in
decision making?

Again, it goes back to meeting people where they're
at.
It can be tough.
As we do have a diversecommunities here in
Fuquay Varina again, and we needto reach out to community
leaders of different people whomay be impacted in different
ways and encourage them toeither attend our meetings or
let us discuss with them, visitwith them, hold office hours so
that everyone feels included.
It can sometimes be toughreaching out if there's

(34:11):
communities that feelmarginalized or whatnot.
It can be tough reaching outbecause they may not want to.
There may be a lack of trust,right?
And so we have to build thattrust.
There are plenty of ways, Ithink, to do that.
But again, I think it reallyjust comes down to meeting
people where they're at, right?
Keeping the door openfiguratively so that everyone
feels comfortable and welcomeand encouraged to discuss.
We need to be good listeners asleaders in the community to

(34:31):
address any issue becauseespecially as we are a growing
town, right?

Mm-hmm.
Do you support anon-discrimination ordinance or
policy?
Why or why not?

Yes.
So Wake County has a prettystrong non-discrimination
ordinance, and that affectscountywide.
And so I think this is a veryimportant issue, especially
today, that you know, we passedthis ordinance.
I don't see a reason why notto.

(35:04):
So yes, let's do that.
The why is because we have inthis day of politics, say in the
last 10 years, we have toreally write down policies that
we want.
There's no more kind ofagreements.
The best way to say it is thatcertain political factions have
kind of been trying to takeadvantage of softer, unwritten
rules and almost overturn themto acquire power and

(35:24):
disadvantage folks and enrichthemselves.
And so just even down to basicfundamental constitutional
rights or perceived rights, ifthey're not written down, then
they're being taken away.
You can see that by opening anews article.
There are national guards in DCright now.
Like what happened to, I thinkthis is the Third Amendment
where no soldiers in peacetime,right?
So that's a long way of sayingwhy do we need the
non-discrimination ordinance?

(35:45):
Because we need it explicitlyspelled out that we support
these things so that they maynot be eroded and forced.
Because yeah, we're in a timenow where I think we're going
backwards in terms of, well,just for an example, DEI or
diversity, equity, inclusion iskind of like a bad word in
certain media landscapes, andthat's crazy to me.
So it is important that thesethings get written down and the
town defends it and encouragesit and strongly supports it.

(36:08):
So that's kind of the why.

Have you gained any endorsements thus
far?
And if you gain more, wheremight voters find that
information?

So I have been endorsed by the W ake County
Democratic Party that just camethrough.
I'm looking into otherendorsements, but the folks who
have reached out to endorse me,I haven't really researched who
they are.
So to put it plainly, theseendorsement processes I think
are nice and it gives peoplekind of an idea of what you
stand for.
But there's a catch too.
The endorsements are notunconditional, right?
Maybe nor should they be.

(36:36):
So there's been severalorganizations who have reached
out, such as like Home BuildersAssociation and NCE Association
of Realtors.
I've had Habitat for Humanityreach out to me, and they all
have different visions of whatthey want to see, how they want
to see the town grow.
And so I haven't really had achance to read over their
endorsement process or what theystand for.
And honestly, part of it is Idon't want to be beholden to too

(36:57):
many organizations becausereally this election is about
Fuquay Varina and the town andthe people living here, and to
some extent the people who comeand visit and work here.
So I've been kind of selectingcarefully who I go through the
process of endorsement for,where to find those
endorsements.
I do have a website, but Ihaven't listed them yet.
So far, I think the DemocraticParty is the only group that's
endorsed me.

(37:17):
And again, part of that is justbecause they're the only people
I ask.

Su re.
Where can listeners connect withyou and learn more about your
platform, upcoming events, andways to get involved?

I do have my website, uh KrisVoren.com.
This is a municipal campaign.
In that regard, the advantagethere is it's a small campaign.
So I try to be out and aboutnow.
I have my contact info on mywebsite.

And just to clarify, it's Kris with a
K-R-I-S Vorren-v-o-r-r-en.com.

That's right.
Thank you.
Yes.
So I have my contact info on mywebsite.
I encourage people to reach outto me.
I have received emails fromseveral people in town already.
I asked a simple question.
I try to get back to them asquickly as I can.
I'll just say is as soon as Ifell for candidacy, the phone
started ringing and the emailsstarted coming in and the
mailbox started getting builtup.
So it is hard to keep up withthat.
I do try and prioritizequestions from individuals in

(38:06):
the community.
I try to get out in thecommunity myself a lot.
I even carry around a littlesign that says, hi, I'm K
ris Vorren running for Board ofCommissioners.
The simple question of likewhat improvements would you like
to see in the town?
So I would encourage peoplejust to come up and talk to me.
I try to get out and about asmuch as possible.
Like I said, my contact info isavailable.
We are going to have somecampaign-related events coming
up, and I didn't really want tostart with that until later

(38:27):
September or October.
And the reason actually isbecause I don't like the heat.
I'm not going to ask volunteersto go out and knock on doors
for me if I'm not going to do itin the 90 degree, 95 degree.
So once it cools off, we'regoing to be doing those kind of
activities and we'll beencouraging people to reach out.
The Democratic Party is goingto be helping out with that.
This is a non-partisancampaign.
Running the town isn't apartisan thing.
Which party associate with,yeah, will shape your ideas a

(38:49):
little bit, but ultimatelyeveryone's trying to increase
your quality of life.
So I've been a Democrat all mylife.
We're going to be working withthem to help, you know, organize
volunteering events for thecampaign.
So be on the lookout.
I should also mention I do havea Facebook group, Kristopher
Vorren for Fuquay Varin a Boardof Commissioners.
And so that's going to be a wayto keep up with the campaign as
well.

All right, perfect.
Do you have any final thoughtsyou'd like to share with those
voting in the upcoming election?

For those who are already planning to vote, thank
you.
I thank you for being involvedin the community.
And for everyone else, Idefinitely encourage a research
all the candidates, research theissues and go vote.
And this is 2025, it's an oddyear, so it oftentimes people
aren't you know thinking aboutpolitics.
But as the cliche is allpolitics is local, the town
board, its local politics andpolicies will probably have more

(39:34):
of an impact on your life thannational politics, and even
though that's covered more inthe media.
But come be a part of thecommunity, come listen to the
ideas.
There's also a candidate form,I believe, at the Arts Center on
September 25th, 6:30.
There's four Board ofCommissioners candidates and two
mayoral candidates.
So we'll have a lot of ideas todiscuss there.
So I would encourage everyoneto participate in that uh and

(39:54):
come see what we have to say.

Perfect.
So now we've finished all thehard questions.

Okay.

I like to have a little bit of like a
lightning round, something to bea little fun, bring some
humanity in.
So these can be things that youjust think of off the top of
your head.
You don't have to be seriousabout it.
What's something you do thathelps you recharge?

Oh, I go out to the forest.
I'm from the mountains.
I go out just to get away intothat peace and solace and
everything.
Oh, and that's how I recharge.
And other than that, just a cupof coffee, a cup of tea.

What's a hobby talent or fun fact about
you that most people don't know?

I don't know.
I just enjoy being out about,friendly and easygoing.
Like I said, I'm not ahomebody, so I'm not gonna be
interested in sitting andwatching Netflix all day.
So I just I like to be out inthe community and try and meet
people and talk with people.
That's even relaxing for me ina way.

What's something that's difficult for
you?
You may have just answered thatas well.

Yeah, well, in terms of this campaign, it's a
little difficult, I think,because I have a one-year-old
and I am prioritizing my family,of course.
And so there's some difficultythere, like you know, balancing
the family life and andeverything.
And so I have to be verythankful to my wife, Lindsay,
for supporting me in this.
Because it, you know, having aone-year-old is hard.
It's fun, it's great, it'samazing.

What book, podcast, or TV show are you
enjoying right now?

Oh, right now.
Yeah, that's it.
That's actually an interestingquestion.
I'm reading an old book, it's abiography on Peter the Great,
actually.
I do prefer like kind ofnonfiction history when I'm
reading.
I had picked that up, found itat a used bookstore.
I read the first page, and Iwas like, oh, this looks pretty
good.
Just kept going with it.

Excellent.
Who's your favorite superhero?

Ooh, my favorite superhero.
You know what?
He's not a superhero, but I'vealways been a big fan of Barack
Obama.

There you go.

He's good at being chill, down to earth, and
explaining things very well.
Like that about him.

Okay.
What's the best piece of adviceyou've ever received?

Probably just go for it.
You know?
Life is short, so go for it.
I guess everyone has a littlebit of fear of missing out or
FOMO, as they say.
So if you have the means andwhatever you're trying to do in
life, take a chance.

What's one guilty pleasure you secretly
enjoy?

Oh gosh.
I eat out way too much,sometimes three times a day,
four times a day.
Because here in Fuquay we haveso many good little shops, and I
just want to try everything,and so I have to hold myself
back from that.
But yeah, that's probablydefinitely it.

What's a simple thing that always makes
you laugh or smile?

I got my son, of course, my wife and my family.
They never fails, even in thetough moments.
But honestly, just gettingoutside in the fresh air, that
does it for me.
Even if I'm about to like go ona run or something, and I'm
dreading taking that first fewsteps on the run.
The fresh air being out beingoutside really does it for me.

Awesome.
So this is a this or that.
Are you coffee or tea?

Oh, that's a controversial question.
But I'm actually I'm actuallytea is the answer.
I guess anyone at the coffeeshops in town will tell you
that, because I always order thechai latte.

Oh, that's one of my favorites.
Morning person or night owl?

Morning person, for sure.
Uh, not by choice necessarily,but I can't stay up late, I'll
fall asleep.
Once once I put the kid to bedand sit on the couch, then I'm
passed out.

Mountains or beach?

Mountains.
Easy.
I'm from the mountains, so Idon't like the heat, as we
discussed.
Mountains all the way.

Book or podcast?

Book.
I've never really gotten intothe podcast thing.
I don't know.
Even though I do technicalstuff for work and everything.
I think book is more relaxing.
I like it better.

Perfect.
Dogs or cats.

Oh, can I say both?
So we have a cat, and this cathas the most personality I've
ever seen.
He's a great cat, but I've hadsome great dogs too.
It really depends on thepersonality of them.
I can't just pick one.

All right, fair enough.
Well, that brings this episodeand candidate conversation to a
close.
I really thank you, Chris, fortrusting me to have this
conversation and taking thetime.
May you have the best of luckin your election.

Appreciate it.
Yeah.
Thank you so much.
It was a pleasure.

Anytime.
Local elections are wheredemocracy lives closest to home.
The decisions and actions ofour mayors, the Holly Springs
Town Council, and theFuquay Varina Board of
Commissioners influence theservices we rely on each day,
the safety of our streets, thecharacter of our neighborhoods,
and even the future direction ofour communities.

(44:14):
Democracy is at the heart ofall we hold dear.
Our local governments setpriorities that touch everyday
life.
They pass ordinances, fund ourfire and police departments, set
property tax structures, andshape the look and feel of our
towns.
Because turnout is often lowerin municipal elections, every
ballot cast carries even greaterweight.

(44:35):
Here's what you need to knowfor 2025.
The voter registration deadlineis October 10th, unless you
register at an early votingsite.
Early voting begins October16th at the Wake County Board of
Elections office in Raleigh.
Additional sites open onOctober 25th, including the John
M.
Brown Community Center in Apexand the Avery Street Recreation

(44:57):
Center in Garner.
Those two will be the closestto us in Holly Springs
and Fuquay Varina.
Early voting concludes onSaturday, November 1st.
Please note that this year onlyincludes two Saturdays, October
25th and November 1st, and oneSunday, October 26th.
The last day to request amail-in absentee ballot is
October 21st, and election dayitself is Tuesday, November 4th,

(45:20):
where you'll need to cast yourvote at your assigned precinct.
Please remember you will need aballot ID to vote.
That wraps up another NC DeepDive candidate conversation.
You can find all of our 2025municipal election interviews at
www.ncdeepdive.com, as well ason Spotify, Apple Podcasts,

(45:41):
Audible, or wherever youcurrently listen to podcasts.
Show notes will include linksto candidates, voter resources,
and election information.
If you find these conversationshelpful, please subscribe,
share them with friends orfamily, and consider leaving a
rating or review.
Spreading the word in yourlocal spaces helps strengthen
informed participation acrossour communities.

(46:02):
If you have thoughts or topicsyou'd like us to explore, reach
out on social media or email usanytime at ncdeepdive at
gmail.com.
I'm grateful you spent thistime with me today.
Staying informed is how weshape communities worth calling
home.
Your choices matter, yourperspective matters, and you
matter.
Your ballot is your voice, andboth carry more power than you

(46:25):
might imagine.
Democracy isn't passive.
It only works when we each showup.
Thank you for helping me tomake it thrive.
May we continue to worktogether to build stronger, more
vibrant communities to live,work, and play in.
Ones we can all be proud tocall home.
Until next time, my friends,Namaste.
The love and light in me seesand honors the love and light in

(46:49):
you.

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Crime Junkie

Stuff You Should Know

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Kristopher Vorren: 2025 Fuquay Varina Board of Commissioners Candidate

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Crime Junkie

Stuff You Should Know

All Episodes

Kristopher Vorren: 2025 Fuquay Varina Board of Commissioners Candidate

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang