Mike Kondratick: 2025 Holly Springs Mayoral Candidate

Episode Transcript
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Amanda Benbow Lunn (00:09):
Hello friends, welcome back to the NC
Deep Dive Podcast.
I am your host, Amanda BenbowLunn, and today I am honored to
be speaking with Mike Kondratickas part of our 2025 Municipal
Election CandidateConversations.
Mike is running for thefour-year mayoral seat in Holly
Springs.
For this race, he will berunning against current mayor

(00:31):
Sean Mayefskie.
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 one of these candidates for
the seat on your ballot in thiselection.
In these candidateconversations, each candidate
will be asked the same questionsformulated by our constituent

(00:53):
survey, observing communitymembers in person and online,
and fine-tuning with AI to keepthem as fair, unbiased, and
open-ended as possible.
Just as a special note, MayorMayefskie never responded to our
attempts to reach him via emailand text, and as such, chose
not to participate in thesecandidate conversations.

(01:13):
Without further ado, myfriends, let's dive in.
Welcome, Mike Kondratick, tothe NC Deep Dive Podcast.
You're running for HollySprings Town Mayor.

Mike Kondratick (01:25):
So thank you very much for the opportunity.
It's good to be here.

You're welcome.
So you can take a little bitand tell me uh about yourself,
how long you've lived in thearea, and what has inspired you
to run for office.

Yeah, so lived in Holly Springs for the past 12
years.
My wife, Mandy, and I, we'veraised our three kids here in
Holly Springs.
And, you know, what HollySprings is, I think it's such a
unique moment in its history.
It's a great place to live,growing, but we still have these
challenges that we need to beable to address.

(01:56):
And to me, you know, that comesdown to questions like, are we
growing in a way that takes intoaccount our residents' needs
and their feedback?
And I think just as important,are all of our residents and
businesses in a position tobenefit from the growth that
Holly Springs is experiencing?
So I don't think it'shyperbolic to say that how we

(02:18):
answer those questions overthese next four years will
determine maybe how the the nextgeneration of Holly Springs
residents experiences this town.
So I think it is that importanta moment.
And also, too, my family is ata unique point in in just in our
growth and in our lives wherewe kind of experience all, I
think all the issues that thatprobably we'll get to talk about

(02:38):
here over the course of the ofthe podcast.
You know, we have a uh, well,by the time this this podcast
actually airs, we'll have a22-year-old daughter, uh, you
know, who my wife and I wouldlove to be able to live near us
in a couple of years and beclose.
But we also have anine-year-old at home.
So we're still very focused oneverything Holly Springs has to
offer her over the coming years,right?

(02:59):
So we get the full gamut ofHolly Springs issues in the
Kondratick household.
Yeah.
So that is really kind of whathas motivated me to jump in the
race for mayor.

Okay.
Have you been an active voter,including in local elections?

Yes.
I have voted in every municipalelection and certainly every
municipal election since we'vebeen here in Holly Springs.
As of last year, we have fourvoters in the household where
from two to four.
Last year, we are trying to getour kids in that same habit as
well.
So, yes, we we vote in everyevery election.

Perfect.
What do you feel is the role ofthe town mayor?

So good question.
I think there's a few mainroles.
I think the one that is mostimportant on the most regular
basis is the mayor's role inparticularly public meeting in
terms of shaping theconversation that happens up on
the days and that happens inpublic view.
I think the second piece of themayor's role is be always being
that advocate for residents.

(03:54):
And so I think actively shapingthe conversation in that way,
particularly on the morecontentious issues, right?
And clearly that comes down totraffic and development.
So as the council isconsidering these big decisions,
I think the mayor's role inshaping those conversations is
critically important.
So, second thing, as I said, Ithink being that town
cheerleader, making sure theresidents are well represented,

(04:15):
obviously representing the townon various boards, commissions,
our county, regional, and statepartners, all of those things.
And I think the other key pieceto being mayor is that like
you're the person who all of theanswers should fall on, right?
So as mayor, I should be aseasy to reach as your neighbor.
And if you are not gettinganswers on something or you need
something, you should feel freeto reach out to me.
I'm either going to provide youwith the answer, I'm going to

(04:37):
show you where to get thatanswer.
So to me, the mayor serves likethe glue that is kind of
binding the citizens togetherand making sure that their
municipal government is beingresponsive to them.
So yeah, I think all of thosethings combined should keep the
mayor pretty busy.
You know, most viewed as like,well, the mayor is just a
ceremonial role.
And I mean, in theory it is,you'll see that term attached to
it, but there's that level ofactive engagement, again,

(04:59):
whether it's on the days inthose meetings or whether it's
off the days on a daily basis,helping people get what they
need, that I think the mayorneeds to play a vigorous role
in.
Being the tiebreaking vote iscritically important when
somebody's out.
And again, being in a spot ofactively leading conversations
from the days when you do haveto assume that role of being the
tiebreaker vote, I think you'rein the right mind frame to be

(05:22):
casting those votes when needed,right?
As that could happen at amoment's notice, or all of a
sudden you don't think someone'sgoing to be out.
They are out, you're movingforward, and you have this
additional responsibility on anygiven night.

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

Sure.
So since we've lived in HollySprings, you know, I've had the
opportunity to volunteer withthe town, been a volunteer
coach.
Actually, both my wife and I,we've both volunteered for the
Holly Springs Food Cupboard.
I actually had a uniqueopportunity, not actually
volunteering for a townorganization, but as a board
member of my kids' swim team,had the opportunity to help
build out a swim program that isnow actively using the Sunset

(06:04):
North Pool as a year-round swimteam.
So that was a uniqueopportunity in the time that I
had served.
In terms of qualifications, onething that I've learned just
over my career, and I spent mostof my career organizing
families and communities toadvocate for state and federal
government resources to helpthem live better lives.
And through that experience,and in the now nearly 22 years
I've been blessed to be aparent, I have learned that the

(06:25):
most, I think, profound act ofservice that you can provide is
listening, right?
I think that's how people cometo understand that you care.
And that's how I've tried torun this campaign.
I've tried to show people how Iwould govern as mayor by how I
run a campaign.
I started this campaign back inMarch.
So I've been on front porchessince then listening to people's
concerns.
And so to me, I think that'sgiven me the best perspective of

(06:49):
any candidate running in anyrace this year in Holly Springs
in terms of where residents areat, what their concerns are, and
what they want us focused on asa municipal government moving
forward.
So to me, I think that's thebiggest and most important
qualification.
In terms of my professionalcareer, as I mentioned, I've
spent a lot of time, more than20 years, working with Amazon
communities.
And so, you know, it's been myjob to have a pretty detailed

(07:09):
understanding of how governmentswork, particularly state
governments.
So we've represented clients,whether it's here at the North
Carolina state legislature andother states, clients with
issues in Congress as well.
So I've gotten a lot of goodexamples.
I've seen, you know, whengovernment works well and when
it's investing its resources,helping make people's lives
better, the amazing results canbe generated.
And look, in one sentence, Ithink that's what our municipal

(07:30):
government ought to be doing,right?
It ought to be investing ourresources to help make our lives
better.
So for me, in a lot of ways,taking what I've been doing for
my entire career and applying itfor the benefit of Holly
Springs residents.
So I think that gives me aunique perspective for this
race.
Awesome.

What is your long-term vision for the future
of Holly Springs?

Yeah, that's a good question.
I think it starts with beingable to take a different path
when it comes to how the towndevelops and how we manage that
development, how we manage thetraffic that comes along with
it.
I think the growth that hashappened to this point and all
that is now still in ourpipeline, right?
Like when you look at the, Ithink it's roughly 7,000 more

(08:08):
residential units in ourpipeline, I think upwards of a
half a million square feet ofadditional commercial space, all
that's going to come online,regardless if who gets elected
mayor, regardless of if we getselected to the council, right?
But for sure, all of that isgoing to happen on top of a
transportation infrastructurethat the town is estimated
requires about $800 millionworth of investment over the
next several years.

(08:29):
And so I think residents havestarted to kind of take a look
at that and say, well, okay,that's a lot that's going on.
You know, traffic accidents areup about 18% over the last two
years in Holly Springs.
And I think their generalfeeling is it feels like
development is happening to usand not necessarily for us, is
what I've heard.
And so I've kind of taken thatfeedback and said, okay, well,

(08:50):
you know, we I think theapproach then has to be
different, right?
And so, you know, I've said inin you know, another you know,
media availabilities that, youknow, we we have to be able to
transition then from developmentat all costs to development
almost worth the cost.
And so we have to be able tochange, I think, the mindset of
how we evaluate these projects.
And I think it's the mayor'sjob moving forward and working
with the council as we evaluatedevelopment opportunities to

(09:12):
remind them that look,residents' number one priority
is the traffic impact from thesedevelopments.
And unless there is a reallygood reason, I mean, the town
needs to be getting somethingreally good in return if we're
accepting additional traffic,right?
So, so so this is not going tobe we're trading traffic for a
new turn lane anymore, right?
Like the town has to be gettingsomething we don't have, some
significant piece ofinfrastructure.

(09:32):
You know, we have to be, wehave to be achieving some big
strategic goal, uh, I think forcitizens to accept that that
continued level of of trafficand development.
So I think changing the waythat we evaluate that part of
our town is the biggest thing.
Second thing, hopefully itdoesn't take that long to
implement, but I would love tobe able to, again, change the

(09:53):
way this government isinteracting with its citizens.
I think we need to be far moreengaged.
I think we need to be far morevigorous in our efforts to get
residents feedback.
When we're on the days makingthese decisions, particularly on
these big development projects,right?
It's like, you know, you'regetting the report from the town
staff on the project, you know,you have what the developer
submits.
There should be that thirdstack of, okay, well, here's

(10:15):
what the community's feedback onthis project, right?
And so I want to make sure thatwe are making decisions with as
comprehensive a set of factsand feedback as we possibly, as
we possibly can.
I think we need to, that'sgoing to take time and
investment to be able to do.
So I want to get that startedright away.
And again, as I mentionedbefore, I should be as easy to
reach as your neighbor.
There should be no reason whyyou can't reach the mayor on

(10:37):
some issue that is important toyou.
And I can either help youdirectly or make sure that I'm
getting you to the place thatcan.
So that level of engagement, Ithink, is important.
I think affordability isextremely important moving
forward.
I think whether it's thefeedback that I've gotten from
small businesses in terms of howexpensive it is to start small
businesses in Holly Springs,whether it is the affordable

(10:58):
housing issue, I think that weneed to tackle to a much greater
degree, actually introduceaffordable housing to Holly
Springs, I think are importantissues.
And so I'd like to see the townmake more investments to help
small businesses.
And the other piece of that Ishould say, you know, we don't
operate outside what's going onat the state level and at the
national level economically,right?
So in addition to thechallenges of the expenses of

(11:20):
setting up businesses, you alsohave, look, the reality is we
are going to be in a high tariffenvironment for the next couple
of years that increases costs.
Healthcare costs are going upnext year.
The only question is how much,right?
Will ACA subsidies becontinued?
Will they not?
It doesn't look like they are,which means healthcare costs
would go up significantly.
I think it's incumbent upon theleaders of Holly Springs
municipal government to look atthis situation and say, okay,

(11:42):
well, what investments can wemake to make it more affordable
to start and operate a smallbusiness in Holly Springs as
well as to live in HollySprings?
So I think all of thosepriorities we need to be able to
tackle in order for us tocontinue to grow and attract
both residents and businesses.

Okay.
What are your top threepriorities for our community if
elected?

Yeah, so I would go back to a lot of the
answer from the previousquestion is certainly the
approach on traffic anddevelopment and making sure that
we are making the properinvestments to be able to
address that issue.
You know, Holly Springs is hometo so many innovative people,
creative people.
And look, I've talked tothousands of them, you know, at

(12:24):
this point, you know, on theirfront porches.
And it is hard to get them totalk about anything other than
some issue that is tied totraffic or development, right?
And so they are asking theirgovernment to solve this
problem, to address this issue.
And I think what they get fromtheir town leaders is we can't
do this, right?
And I think what they'relooking to vote for this year is

(12:46):
somebody that's going to comein and say, okay, how can we do
this together?
So to me, being laser focusedon what we can do
comprehensively, both with ourregional and state partners, as
well as in this town of HollySprings, what set of solutions
can we create that helps put usin a better direction when it
comes to the traffic issue?
So that to me is the startingpoint for everything.

(13:07):
And then from there, as I said,I think it's the transparency
and engagement issue, makingsure that we are, as I put on my
website and other places, Iwould have to establish a town
department who is responsiblefor being out in this community
every single day.
We're reaching every community,we're having all the key
conversations, we're getting allthe feedback, and all of that
is informing our towngovernment's decisions,
obviously, including mine.

(13:28):
And then it's the investmentsin affordability, both for small
businesses and for residents.
So for me, those are the topthree priorities.

Okay.
What is working well in thetown today?
And where do you see room forimprovement?

You know, if we're looking back particularly
here at like, let's say the lastfour years and you know, the
two councils that have beenpaneled over those four years,
you know, I think we've madeprogress in the areas of
diversifying our tax base,right?
I mean, it's it's undeniable.
You know, we are working towarda better balance of residential
and commercial.
So to me, the numbers clearlypoint in the right direction.

(14:03):
I also think you look at theinvestments that we have made in
the expansion of water andwastewater and making sure that
the resources are in place in atimely way to support the growth
of the town.
I also think we've continued tomake investments uh to continue
to maintain public safety.
And so I think, you know, ourpolice and fire departments, I

(14:25):
think they are well equipped.
I think they are fullyefficient and capable of
carrying out uh the mission thatwe're asking them to carry out.
Um, and I think we've generallybeen pretty vigilant in that
area.
So I think those are all thingsthat we look at and say, yeah,
progress.
You know, the areas that needimprovement, again, it goes back
to what I've just mentioned inthe last few questions.
It is the approach on trafficand development that I think has

(14:48):
to take the lion's share of ourattention.
I also think beyond the otherthings that I've mentioned,
there are environmentalconcerns, you know, that we need
to continue to make progresson.
I think particularly on issueslike restoring the town's tree
canopy.
I think you look at waterquality as issues that I think
we need to do better on as well.
So I would start there in termsof the areas of improvement.

Okay.
Do you support the current townbudget?
Where would you advocate forchanges, including any
adjustments to taxes or spendingpriorities if needed for fiscal
responsibility?

You know, the tax rate is, I think overall is
pretty attractive, right?
I mean, we're at the the secondlowest tax rate in Wake County.
Now, you know, the one thing Iwould caution there is the tax
rates comparison is always anapples and oranges comparison,
right?
Because not every town is doingthe same set of things, right?
So, you know, you may havetowns that have higher tax
rates, but you know, they have afully capable public

(15:40):
transportation system thatthey're funding, or they have,
you know, they have a robustaffordable housing ecosystem
that they're funding.
And so I always think thatcomparison is a little unfair to
do because you're never goingto unpack what everyone's
getting for the money thatthey're spending.
But overall, I think the budgetis pretty solid.
I look at the second biggestspending item in that budget
with some concern.
So we pay the most for publicsafety.

(16:02):
I believe that's about 38 centsof every tax dollar, but 21
cents of every tax dollar goesto debt service.
And so we spend more servicingour debt than we do to pay for
our entire general government.
And so to me, that's a sourceof concern.
You know, as it's a growingtown, I think we've got to be
able to kind of think through,okay, well, you know, we have a
roughly a half a billion dollarsworth of investments yet to
make in in water and wastewater.

(16:22):
We have hundreds of millions ofdollars, as I said, of
additional investments that wehave to make in transportation.
So all of that is coming fromthe same set of pockets, right?
So, how do we balance, youknow, the billions of dollars
worth of as you add all thesenumbers up of investments we
need to make with debt servicethat is already pretty high?
So I think that's somethingthat we need to be able to
tackle moving forward.
So spending priorities.

(16:43):
So one of the issues that Ihave is I think for various sets
of reasons that we can gothrough, you know, we are so
developer dependent, you know,when it comes to our
infrastructure and roads andobviously how that feeds back to
traffic.
I would love to see a largerpercentage of our revenue put
into a transportation lockbox,particularly as more money
begins to come in in the yearsahead from the large employers

(17:06):
that Holly Springs hasattracted.
I think having more of thatmoney allows us to be able to, I
mean, it allows us to do arange of things.
But when you go to all theseindividual communities and you
talk about particularly trafficissues, you know, for a lot of
them it boils down to the issuethat that one community has.
It's like, you know, you look,you go to Wood Creek and they're
gonna talk to you about thetraffic light that they need out
in front of their neighborhood,right?

(17:27):
And that being the biggestthing.
And traffic lights areexpensive, I think in round
numbers.
I mean, it's roughly a milliondollars to put a traffic light
in, right?
And so I want us to be in aposition to do these smaller,
and this is not small to WoodCreek, but like overall, like
putting that traffic light in,it's a relatively small thing.
But I want to be able to go andeither just be able to pay for
something like that or be ableto go to NC DOT and say, hey,
this is approved and we're gonnabring some money to the table

(17:48):
here.
Can we get this project donemore quickly?
These people really need thislight out in front of their
neighborhood, right?
So I want to be able to beresponsive to these
neighborhoods that have theseissues that mean a lot to the
quality of their day and ofcourse their overall safety, you
know, most importantly.
Of course, we are lessdependent on developers and we
have more of our own money tospend.
We also then have more money wecan take to be able to work

(18:09):
through opportunities with bothour regional and state partners.
We also then are maybe in aposition to more quickly ramp up
and expand a publictransportation network as tests
warrant, right?
So as we get started here withpublic transportation next year,
it would be nice to be able toquickly expand that if the
results warrant it.
To me, that just gives us arange of possibilities to be
more aggressive and responsive.
So that to me is the singlebiggest thing I think needs to

(18:32):
change with the budget movingforward.

Oftentimes it feels like government waits
until a specific need iscritical before taking action.
Do you support being moreproactive?
And if so, how and in what waysspecifically?

Yeah, I mean, I think again, just following
from the previous question,having money on hand to be able
to address particularly thesetraffic and development needs
that come up, I think iscritical.
You know, when it comes toenvironmental issues, I think
like back to the water qualityissue, as we expand the Sanford
plant, more of our water comesfrom the Cape Fear.

(19:07):
And I don't know that there'sbeen a lot of transparency.
I mean, I just I haven't seenthe details in terms of, you
know, what type of particularlyPFAS filtering technologies are
going to be used, how much ofthat's gonna cost to maintain.
But I do know, again, we existwithin this larger state and
federal ecosystem, and both thestate and federal governments
are pulling back quickly onestablishing what are the
reasonable levels, particularlyfor these new PFAS chemicals, to

(19:30):
be in the water, right?
So without having establishedthose levels, you know, one has
to wonder what are those levelslike over the next couple of
years?
Do we have the technology inplace to handle it?
What is that testing like?
So that's an area where I thinkwe need to be overly aggressive
in terms of making sure that wehave the latest and greatest
technology, that we're spendingthe money that we need to spend
to make sure it's up to date,that all the testing's being

(19:51):
done in a timely way, that thoseresults are being made
available to the public in atimely way.
And, you know, I made the pointearlier: being proactive is
really the underlying rationalebehind having a department of
people that are out in thecommunity every day talking to
people.
Because not only do we getfeedback on the issues that we
want to talk about as leaders orthat we know are coming down
the pike or development projectsor whatever, but we're also

(20:14):
getting proactive feedback frompeople on like, hey, here's an
issue that you may not knowabout that I would love if you
would address.
And so we're able to hopefullyfind out about these issues more
quickly and take care of them,whatever it may mean for that
particular neighborhood.
So to me, yeah, you know, it'slike the whole ethos of a
municipal government needs to bebeing as proactive as we can.

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

I think a couple of things here.
First, as we continue ourrecruitment of larger
businesses, we do have availablecommercial space, particularly
concentrated in the yield andcatalyst developments.
To me, it makes good sense forus to be aggressive in
supporting the existingbiopharma group of companies
that we recruited.

(21:00):
I mean, to me, it seems likethe supply chain for those
biopharma companies are kind ofa target, some low-hanging fruit
for us to go after, to continueto build that part of our local
economy.
I think also, too, with ourlocation, with a talent of our
workforce, I think it makessense for us to also pursue
corporate headquarters to belocated here in Holly Springs.
So I think both of those thingscontinue to then obviously

(21:23):
diversify our tax base.
Second thing on the smallbusiness side, we've covered
this in previous questions, butI think there are so many things
we can do to improve the smallbusiness environment here.
I think again, that gets backto affordable housing that
employees of small businessescan afford to live in.
I think it's all the thingsthat I talked about in terms of
helping either remove or preventcosts from coming on balance

(21:46):
sheets through, you know, aninternship program, through
helping businesses establishco-ops to the expansion of the
downtown investment grantprogram.
I think all of that puts us inbetter position to recruit and
maintain small businesses.
And also, look, I think it'sfair to say, even though I know
your question asked aboutsomething new, but I think it
also bears mention that thedowntown area development plan

(22:06):
is going to continue to moveforward.
And that whole approach to mekind of acts as glue that kind
of pulls all of these issuestogether because we're talking
about locating, you know, somany residential units downtown.
I want to say it's in excess of400, but that serves as an
engine for small businessgrowth.
And again, I know in thatdowntown area development plan,
we talked about, hey, that'sprobably a good place for some
affordable housing to belocated, right?

(22:28):
So it's like all these littlethings that should contribute to
more small business growth, Ithink can kind of come together
down there, combined with someof these other ideas that I've
mentioned, I think to increaseour capabilities on the small
business side as well.
So I think both those largebusiness and small business
approaches put us in a betterposition revenue-wise.

Okay.
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 elected?

So a few things there.
I think, you know, the move toour yard trash bins, I think has
been an issue.
I think part of the challengeis we're kind of reducing
service levels there, right?
And there really wasn't, Ididn't think, a full explanation
as to what the rationale was,how much money the town is
saving, you know, anything likethat was kind of just all of a

(23:16):
sudden we were using the browntrash bins.
And I've gotten so muchfeedback from people across the
town where the brown trash binjust isn't feasible, right?
Like for older folks or, youknow, people with disabilities,
you know, it's just difficultand unwieldy.
It's too heavy.
It's literally, it's hard toget to the curb.
And so, you know, there are allthese limitations for people.
And the only way that you cankind of remove the limitation

(23:37):
for the most part is throughpaying extra money, right?
Whether you're paying for extratrash bins or whether you're
paying for a personalized pickupof your trash bins or whether
your yard service is taking itaway.
I mean, if you have a truck tobe able to transport it to the
recycling center.
And so my position on that isI, you know, much like Cary does
or Wake Forest does, I wouldlove to see us allow for more
flexibility in terms of how weallow people to bring their yard

(24:01):
waste to the curb, right?
So, hey, it'd be great if wecould bundle sticks together.
It'd be great if you couldpackage yard waste in paper,
right?
So it's easier for you to carrythese smaller paper bins.
Hey, if you want to continue touse the brown trash bins,
wonderful have at it.
But I think allowing thatsimple flexibility, how you get
that yard waste to the curb, Ithink makes people's lives
significantly easier to manageover the spring and summer.

(24:22):
So that was certainly onedecision.
You know, I had questions overthe parks bond.
I have a nine-year-old.
I think investing money inparks, borrowing money for parks
is generally a good idea.
But you know, it's like back tothat question of, okay, well,
you know, but we already have800 million in transportation,
we already have another half abillion in water and wastewater.
And of course, we want tocontinue to be good stewards of
taxpayers.

(24:42):
And so when we're looking athow we're going to borrow money
for all of our priorities, couldwe more effectively balance,
right?
Could we borrow money to makethe investments in parks, but
then also save some of thatmoney, then be able to then make
more investments intransportation infrastructure?
And does that put the townoverall in a better spot?
Right.
So to be able to have bothbetter parks facilities and
again be less dependent ondevelopers when it comes to

(25:03):
building out our transportationinfrastructure and being more
responsive to what residents aredemanding.
So I think those are just twoof the decisions where I think
we just kind of needed to moreclosely consider all the
ramifications of the decisionsthat we made.

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

I think that is the most loaded of the loaded
questions, right?
Because everybody, everybodywho is running in this race is
going to use the term, right?
And usually it's a line on apalm card, you know, and we're
handing it to people.
You know, my answer to this oneis a little lengthy.
I mean, I'll just kind of gointo my definition.
I actually tend not to use theterm, you know, smart growth.

(25:43):
I'm usually saying somethingmore along the lines of are we
growing in such a way, you know,is accountable to residents.
Are we making decisions basedupon what we know their feedback
and their wishes are?
So I think when you look overthe last four years, I think
we've missed a lot ofopportunities to do that.
The pipeline four years ago,residential and commercial,
looked kind of similar to whatit looks like today, right?

(26:03):
So we so we knew, right?
But we never had theconversation, or I think a
detailed enough conversation inthe community about what the
most appropriate pace ofdevelopment was for the town.
So, I mean, that to me at baselevel, number one.
Number two, we didn't, again,knowing what was coming, we
didn't make an all-out effort toget cars off the road either,
right?
I mean, we literally juststarted.

(26:24):
I mean, we've appropriatedabout $245 million in general
fund money over the last fouryears.
We've just spent a little over$100,000 in this current budget
on public transportation or whatwe call microtransit, right?
So we've made almost no effortover these four years in the
realm of public transit.
Then there's the issue that Ijust mentioned in terms of, you

(26:44):
know, okay, well, how are weclosely considering what our
debt load is and how we areapplying that debt to our
priorities, right?
Transportation is not going tomove and traffic's not going to
move off the top of that list,right?
And so, how are we continuingto address that?
I think we needed to moreclosely consider that.
And then on top of that, wehaven't dedicated a significant
additional amount of revenue,despite some pushing from I

(27:04):
think some forward-thinkingpeople on the council, you know,
we haven't done that to a greatdegree.
NC DOT's budget that continuesto be stagnant, right?
And so, like, what does all ofthat leave us with?
Well, all of that leaves uswith what is the only reliable
source of transportation andinfrastructure growth.
It's through our developerpartners, right?
But then because we have allthe strict zoning laws here in
North Carolina, what do we get?

(27:25):
We get these hourglass roadsthat are clogged with cars,
right?
So to me, that is theantithesis, right?
That is the opposite ofwhatever that term you want to
use.
You want to use smart growth orbeing accountable, I think, to
what residents are asking us todo.
So I think residents are askingus to approach this in a
different way.
And so my definition of thatstarts with, again, what we
talked about before is changingthe rules in which we evaluate

(27:46):
these projects, right?
So if we're developing whenit's worth the cost, people are
telling me anyway, we better begetting something really good in
return.
So, Mr.
Mayor, we need you to work withthe council members to make
sure that that happens, right?
Okay, so how are we applyingthat to the evaluation of these
projects, knowing that residencetop concern is the traffic
that's going to get generatedfrom that project?
I think it is being moremindful of how these development
projects are being coordinatedwith infrastructure development

(28:09):
to ensure that roads are as safeas they can be.
To the point they were talkingbefore about the budget.
You know, how are we creatingthat transportation lockbox or
adding that additional revenuethat we can use to be less
dependent on developers, to bemore aggressive in terms of how
we pursue options with ourprojects for our regional and
state partners, hopefully beingable to be prepared quickly for
the expansion of publictransportation?
And also, too, can we makeother efforts to get cars off

(28:31):
the road?
I mean, the vast majority ofpeople in Holly Springs still
commute outside of Holly Springsto go to work, right?
I mean, can we create a carpoolapp, help people coordinate
their commute?
Most people are going kind ofin the same direction, right?
We're headed toward the RTP,headed toward Raleigh.
Can we coordinate, get cars offthe road, be more accommodating
to carpools?
Like trying the all of theabove approach to be able to

(28:52):
start to address our traffic andtransportation issues.
To me, like all of those thingskind of combine into what would
be a smart growth platform.
Now, the other thing that Ithink should get added in is the
whole affordable housing issue.
I think this is an incrediblyimportant component to get
introduced in Holly Springs.

How would you ensure new development
maintains our town's characterwhile remaining affordable for
residents?

Before I get to the media that answer, I mean,
you are exposed to so much towninformation as a candidate, you
know, that you are readingthrough.
And you read the comprehensiveplan, you read the downtown area
development plan, you read thetown's strategy statement, like
our vision statement, affordableor workforce housing, depending
on the term.
It exists in all thosedocuments.

(29:35):
So that to me says the town ismaking this a priority, or the
town feels this ought to be apriority.
We, of course, also investedtens of thousands of taxpayer
dollars in an affordable housingstudy that the council pretty
soon after voted to shelve,essentially.
And here we are with pricescontinuing to rise and not one
affordable housing unit in thetown.
You know, this touches on somany, I think, both personal and

(29:58):
professional issues.
I mean, again, This is housingthat our adult children can live
in, that our parents, that ourseniors can hopefully age and
place in, that our teachers andnurses and first responders can
live in to live in thecommunities that they serve.
It's also housing that peoplewho work in our small businesses
can live in.
So to me, there's a smallbusiness development issue when
it comes to affordable housing.

(30:18):
But to the meat of yourquestion in terms of preserving
character and making it moreaffordable, you know, I think
that requires us to certainlytake a different direction.
I mean, I would love to see usbe able to approach this issue
first from the standpoint ofpublic-private partnerships,
right?
I mean, we are blessed to havelots of large employers now in
the town as a starting point.

(30:39):
I would love to sit down withthem and say, hey, can you all
as employers in the town, can weall contribute to the creation
of an investment fund that isprofessionally managed, that
attracts more capital, thatobviously grows over time, that
then becomes an economic enginethat we can use to work with
developers to create theseaffordable housing units, right?
So in that particular approach,we're able to create the

(31:01):
affordable housing withoutburdening taxpayers and coming
to developers with money.
You know, we're bringing thatto the table to help make it
happen.
I think we do need adjustmentsto our zoning laws.
I think we need new zoning lawsto be able to help govern that
process.
I also think we ought to beable to take advantage of the
affordable housing programs thatWake County has put into place,
right?
I mean, to me, it just makesgood sense.
We're sending money to Raleighevery year, and the Wake County

(31:24):
commissioners are saying, well,we're starting to give that
money back to communities in theform of these affordable
housing projects that we wouldlike to work on with municipal
partners.
And so we see our money goingto Wake Forest or Garner or
wherever.
I mean, it makes good sense.
Like, hey, if I'm sending youmoney and you want to send some
of that back to me, well, I'mgonna find a way to take that
money back and put it back intothe community of Holly Springs.

(31:44):
And so I think there are all ofthese opportunities that we
have to be able to createhousing that is more affordable,
that fits within the characterof the town and that doesn't
burden taxpayers.

All right.
Our town is growing rapidly,putting pressure on
infrastructure like water androads, public safety, parks and
recreation, 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?

Man, that's that's a really good question.
I would choose infrastructurebecause, again, I I go by what,
you know, my five months ofknocking on doors and the
thousands of conversations thatI've had with residents, I go by
what they have told me is theirbiggest challenge and their
biggest concern.
And so, as I said, I thinkthey're looking for leaders who

(32:36):
are willing to work together tosolve the problem in whatever
ways we can set this town in abetter direction with these
challenges.
And for me, the one littleflexibility I will give myself
within the bounds of your verydifficult question, you know, is
tying the issue of traffic anddevelopment together into that
infrastructure.
Cause I think those are kind oflike two sides to the same coin
type of issue.
So here's where I think ourapproach to communication needs

(32:57):
to change a little bit.
So in the future, MikeKondratick, mayor state, I'm
working with a department ofpeople who are out there all the
time.
And if we're out there all thetime talking and these changes
are being made, then this is atthe top of our agenda to be
going out and havingconversations at the doors on a
regular basis.
Again, I just think the wholeprocess is of running for office
and having these conversationsjust like once every four years

(33:19):
at the doors is kind of it'swild.
Like, why are we only doingthis once every four years?
To me, those folks, you know,they're the leading edge of
really everything I think thatwe want to do from a
communication standpoint when itcomes to what we are getting
out to our communities.
And then I think we need tosupplement from there.
It's having good relationshipswith all of the HOA chairs
across this town and making surethat we're at their meetings

(33:41):
regularly and making sure thatthey are then able to
communicate to the folks intheir neighborhoods.
And then it's, you know,everything that we're doing
through socials.
You know, I feel like theinvestments that we make in our
communications and our content,particularly through those
channels, feels like expands,you know, every year.
I think we need to continue tobe able to do that.
So to me, it is this all of theabove approach.
But I think to me, the bigcomponent that's missing is it's

(34:03):
just the number of people thatcan engage with municipal
information, you know, generallyis, you know, pretty small,
just like the number of peoplewho come out and vote in
municipal elections.
And that's for a range ofreasons that I think mostly have
to do with just people's busywork-a-day lives.
And so to me, our challengefrom a communication standpoint
is fitting our messages in in aconvenient way in their busy

(34:23):
work-a-day lives.
To me, having someone on yourfront porch handing you
something and telling you tolook at this because this is
important, I think is the mosteffective additional tactic that
we can employ to help make surethat people are getting that
message and have the opportunityto give us feedback on the
decisions that we're making.

Okay.
Do you feel we alreadyadequately meet the needs of any
of these, the infrastructure,public safety, parks and
recreation, or housingaffordability?

So, you know, there's always this room for
consistent improvement in allthe things that we do.
I feel like public safety isprobably the closest to meeting
that.
But, you know, even like publicsafety, I look at questions
around, like in particular withHolly Springs PD.
Like, I would love to see us beable to fund a program for
mental health professionals, youknow, to be able to be deployed

(35:11):
to nonviolent 911 calls to beable to help better serve
residents in mental healthcrisis.
I think there are a lot ofgreat examples for where those
types of programs already existand is making a real difference.
I think our police do anawesome job.
But it's like, where are theseadditional ways that we can
improve and expand the servicesto be able to handle these
different types of situationsthat we can fund?

(35:31):
Um, so, so yeah, so my answeris I think where we are close to
being able to say, like, hey,yeah, let's maintain is in
public safety.
But it's like another thing Imentioned before when you asked
the question about where we'vedone well, and I mentioned
public safety.
Because I also think, you know,we've been planning for the
town's growth pretty well inthat regard, right?
It's like fire station three isopen, fire station four is, you
know, is in the pipeline.
So it's like spanning theseservices in a lot of ways is

(35:54):
just allowing us to keep up withhelping our first responders
make sure that they areefficient and capable, you know,
of achieving these missionsthat we put out for them.
But I feel like we're closestto being able to maintain in
that area with some of theseadditional opportunities, I
think that we can add on to makeour service just that much
better as we go.

Okay.
As population grows, whatstrategies would you prioritize
to address the roads, utilities,and other infrastructure
challenges?

So, yeah, I think in terms of particularly
our road infrastructure andtraffic, I think, as I
mentioned, that to me needs tobe an all of the above type of
strategic approach, right?
So, you know, there areopportunities and buckets of
money available with regionalpartners like with Wake Transit.
I think, particularly when youlook at in that regard, you

(36:41):
know, the amount of trafficgoing between, particularly
Holly Springs and Fuquay.
And I think the need for, youknow, particularly at the rate
that Fuquay is growing as well.
I think the need forparticularly like our two towns
to more closely coordinate ourtransportation and
infrastructure strategies.
I think that's hugely importantfor us to be able to do in
terms of being able to capturedifferent opportunities with our

(37:01):
state part.
Like I mentioned before, havingmore of our own money on hand
to be able to either fullyfinance smaller projects that
mean something to communities,putting in stoplights, or being
able to make investments or downpayments on bigger projects and
getting the moved up lists, Ithink are critical pieces.
And again, I think that comesfrom being able to manage our
budget more effectively and youknow, truly making transit and

(37:24):
transportation our number onepriority.

For those who might not be in the know,
when you talk about moving up inthe priority of the list, what
does that mean?
What does that look like if youwere to communicate that with
residents?

So, yeah, so NC DOT has a list of projects that
they have to be able to get to.
So, like particularly in thestoplight example, right?
You know they have to do astudy, then approve a stoplight
to go in, which is kind of stepnumber one.
And then as soon as it'sapproved, it's gonna kind of
take a spot on the list among,you know, all these other
projects that NC DOT hasreceived from communities across
the state, right?
And so part of what, and theyall have price tags, obviously.

(38:01):
I I just think it's chronicallyunderfunded by the state
anyway.
But then you add on all of thestress that comes from having to
focus on Western North Carolinaand all of its needs.
So you can imagine now, likeafter Helene is kind of, you
know, like on-the-flyrestructuring of what NCDOT
needed to focus its time andresources on, right?
With really good reason.
And so the projects that we mayneed, you know, we get

(38:24):
reordered.
Um, but we have opportunitiesto be able to kind of help our
priorities make it further upthose lists when we can bring
money to the table and say, hey,we can handle most of it, like
in the perfect scenario, like wecan handle all of this, like
let us go ahead and do it.
So it's it's putting ourselvesin a position to be able to
handle more of those projects onour own or get them to be a

(38:44):
little bit of a higher prioritybecause NC DOT doesn't have to
put as much, as much money intothe pot to make it reality.

Okay.

So, yeah, in that regard for infrastructure,
um, like I said, I think it hasto be in all of the above.
Hey, yes, you know, we're we'reworking with regional and state
partners, we're also doing whatwe can as the town of Holly
Springs.

Holly Springs has focused on bringing
in biomedical and science-basedbusinesses.
How would you balancesupporting these businesses and
garnering more of them with somepublic sentiment that may be
skeptical of science andvaccines?

The science all still points to vaccines being
extremely effective andultimately protecting the health
of everybody, and particularlythose who are most vulnerable to
the diseases that they areengineered to prevent.
And I think that makes itincumbent upon us as leaders to
make sure that, number one, thatwe are amplifying the correct

(39:38):
information that keeps ourresidents safe.
And I think that also jibeswith the efforts that we need to
make to be able to support thecompanies that we have
attracted.
I think that also then guidesour future business development
efforts, right?
Because I mean, to me, it makesgood sense that we have
attracted, you know, this largebiopharma sector that we can
kind of continue to supplementthat with.

(39:58):
It seems like the mostappropriate next step is okay,
well, can we get companies likewithin that biopharma supply
chain that are going to make iteasier and hopefully more
profitable for the biggercompanies that we've attracted
to continue to do business here?
So to me, those two things arekind of like perfectly in
lockstep.
I think we are protectingpublic health.
I think we are protecting ourlocal economy that we've already

(40:20):
started to build and givingourselves the best leg up in
terms of continuing to recruitcomplementary businesses.

As our town grows, farmland faces pressure
from development, and someresidents struggle to access
fresh food.
How would you support localfarmers, protect farmland, and
help ensure everyone has accessto healthy, affordable food?

I think the difficult part to that question
is the value of the land.
And so, you know, you havefarmers who look at what they
are able to get for theirproperty and make the decision
that they're going to sell.
And in many cases, that landwill get sold to developers.
And that's just the part ofwhere our community is in terms

(41:05):
of making sure that we continueour efforts to provide our
residents with access to freshfoods.
I think you know, you you lookat how the town has, I think,
consistently grown the presenceof the farmer's market and you
know, the kind of the communitymagnet that has become and the
plans that are in place, which Ithink are great.
Like when you look at thepotential for, you know,

(41:25):
something that's already reallygreat in the farmer's market,
they could expand even more withthe downtown area development
plan and public market that wecan create.
So I think it's continuing tomake investment to grow the
presence of the market, but thenalso making sure, because I
think the downtown areadevelopment plan, when you kind
of zoom out, that's also aninfrastructure challenge as well
and a traffic problem becausewe got to be able to get people

(41:46):
downtown to be able to accessit.
And so I think that comes intoour greenway infrastructure.
I think that comes into publictransportation.
Are we able to expand that?
No matter where you are or whatyour means are across LA
Springs, we need to be able toget you to where we're able to
offer that fresh produce.
And so it's incumbent upon usto think through how people from
every corner of town can get towhere we need them to go.

(42:07):
Because I'm to me, I thinkthat's where we're able to enact
policies that are moreeffective versus ultimately the
land use, which, like I said, Ithink is farmers are going to
continue to make decisions thatare in their economic interests.

Our police sometimes receive requests from
outside agencies while alsoaddressing local needs.
How would you set prioritiesfor public safety with limited
resources?

Yeah, you know, this was part of the
conversation I had.
I did ride along with uh boththe police department and fire
department earlier this summer.
And they actually talked aboutthe deployments, particularly
out to the western part of thestate after Helene.
So they did multiple tours outthere.
And to a person, you know, theyall had the same feedback,
which was, you know, how muchthey got out of it, how

(42:52):
uplifting it was.
There didn't seem to be anyissue in terms of managing
resource to make sure thateverything that we needed.
So I think our leadership ofour public service departments
had done really well in terms ofmanaging the resource.
I think in terms of what thesheriff's department's
requirements are, particularly,you know, here in the times in

(43:13):
which we live, in terms ofcooperating with ICE, you know,
the law, I think it was HB 10,you know, passed by the state
legislature, requires thesheriff's office to coordinate
with ICE.
The law for the Holly SpringsPD in particular is to be able
to enforce town, county, andstate laws.
And so I think the expectationthere is for me, is that the
police continue to follow thelaw, that the police, as they do

(43:36):
now, continue to be welltrained in terms of their
ability to properly applypeople's due process rights.
So again, as they do today, Iwould expect all that to
continue.
You know, the law makes itpretty clear in terms of how,
particularly, the lawenforcement resource is to be
used, particularly between thesheriff and HSPD.
So I would anticipate, youknow, that continues to be as

(43:57):
well managed as it has beentoday.

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

Yeah.
So again, the the feedback thatI received most frequently from
small businesses isparticularly the cost of
starting a business here inHolly Springs.
And so I think that challenge,along with, you know, again, we
we don't operate, you know, in abubble, right?
We we have to deal with what'sgoing on in the state of North
Carolina, we have to deal withwhat's going on in the national
economy.

(44:26):
And I think the nationaleconomy in particular point to
higher costs.
I think like we're just goingto be in a higher tariff
environment for a while.
And also, you know, the rate ofincrease of healthcare costs, I
think next year is going to besubstantial, especially if, as
it appears, you know, Congressis not going to extend ACA
subsidies.
Yeah, that makes healthcare,you know, an even bigger expense
than usual.

(44:46):
And so I think it's incumbenton our leaders in Holly Springs
here at the municipal level tohave conversations about how we
can help our small businesses bemore profitable in this more
difficult environment.
And so what I would like to seeus do is talk about doing
things like being able to expandwhat is now the downtown

(45:08):
investment grant program.
I personally don't care whereyou want to establish your
business in the town of HollySprings.
I want you to have this moneyavailable for you to apply for
to help establish your business.
Second thing, I would like tosee the town make resources
available, like the expertise, Ithink, particularly financial
and legal expertise to helpbusinesses establish purchasing
co-ops.
Again, particularly to be ableto purchase things like

(45:30):
healthcare at lower rates.
And finally, I'd like to seethe town facilitate and fund an
internship program that canmatch talent in our high schools
as well as Wake Tech with oursmall businesses who can use
that talent.
And the town is then investingthe money to pay the interns
that work in our smallbusinesses.
So I think these are allsensible and frankly, relatively

(45:52):
small investments that the towncan make help small businesses
start to move costs off of thoseearly prevent costs from going
on there.
So I think all of those thingscan help make our small
businesses more competitive.

Okay.
What approaches would you taketo foster understanding and
collaboration amongst residentswith differing perspectives?

Yeah, so that's that's a lot of hard work to be
able to do that.
And I do think the answerstarts with what I mentioned
before in terms of having a towndepartment whose job it is to
be out there talking toresidents on a regular basis,
because I think, you know,getting at the answer to your
question, Amanda, requires us tofirst understand what the
differing perspectives are, ormaybe even that issues exist

(46:34):
that aren't, you know, thathaven't risen to the, you know,
onto the radar screen of electedofficials yet that we can know
about sooner.
And so to me, a lot of thatwork I think is most effectively
done face to face.
I typically think it is notbest done through online spaces
where you know it's just easierfor people to not be as invested
when when you don't have to doit face to face.
Yeah, not everyone has accessto all the technology that's

(46:56):
needed to do it anyway.
So to me, being able to getpeople together in a third space
where they are comfortablehaving a conversation and feel
supported and have us there andhave you know some baseline
understanding of of what thechallenges are, to me, I think
is the necessary first step tohave people come to a
resolution.

(47:16):
And, you know, look, I mean,that's why I've been critical of
the mayor's approach on hisquarterly chats, because to me,
it is a static solution to whatare dynamic sets of issues and
problems and conversations thatneed to be happening all the
time.
So it's incumbent, I think,upon us as elected officials to
find ways to make sure that ishappening and that we are coming

(47:39):
to a resolution as quickly andfairly as we can.
But that face-to-faceinteraction to me is where all
that starts.

Okay.
You touched on it a little bit,but for those who might not be
aware, what are third spaces?

So a third space is usually like a
community gathering space.
You know, maybe for somecommunities it's their church,
for other communities, maybeit's a community center, like
someplace where they arecomfortable gathering to be a
part of their community.
I think again, it's coming uponus as elected officials to
understand where those thirdspaces are and be willing to
make the time and be flexible tobe there.

(48:11):
Again, this kind of goes backto that same thing, right?
It's like typically those arethings we do during campaigns
and we're showing up at thesethird spaces.
Well, as elected officials, Imean, that approach needs to
continue, you know, to thisquestion or becomes a place
where hopefully people feel morecomfortable having more
difficult conversations becausethey feel that additional level
of support.

Okay.
How will you ensure diversevoices and those most impacted
are not only included but trulyembraced in decision making?

Yeah, so two important things there.
I think the first is to me, itmakes good sense that the town's
boards and commissions looklike the town.
And so, you know, myexpectation is no matter what
board or commission that we'relooking at, that we are figuring
out a way for that diversity tobe there and to make sure that
their voices are heard andhelping the town make important
decisions.

(49:01):
Now, I think part of that is Ithink we've talked about now in
the answer to a couple differentquestions, is this constant all
the time, always on communityoutreach effort?
Because the reality is that wehave to be in these various
communities and at thesepeople's doors consistently
enough so that we can earn theirtrust, right?
So again, not unlike what we'retrying to do now as candidates,

(49:23):
right?
So I'm at a door, I'm I'mhaving a conversation with you.
It is all, you know, meinvesting the time to listen, to
understand, to earn your trustand to earn your vote.
Well, I need to do the samething and we need to do the same
thing as town employees andelected officials to earn that
feedback from people.
And to me, once we get goingwith that though, then we kind
of create this virtuous cycle,right?

(49:44):
We're out in these communities,every corner of Holly Springs,
we're getting the feedback.
I think once people providefeedback and they see that the
town has actually done somethingwith the feedback, right?
Like we have done something tohelp address a problem or a
challenge or something that youwould like to see done.
I think that just naturallygets people more excited and
interested in what is going onin their municipal government.

(50:04):
And once we've reached thatlevel, well, shoot, like then we
have a much better chance.
And we go on to that communityand say, hey, we have openings
on these boards and commissions,and we would really love for
people in this community toapply, but now you have reason
to go and apply because you'veinteracted with us and you've
seen the feedback that we give,you've seen what we do with your
feedback to help make change inyour community, and you I think

(50:27):
more naturally want to be apart of that, right?
And and want to turn in yourapplications, and then we just
naturally get a more diverse setof candidates for these boards
and commissions.
So all of that has been, youknow, an area that Holly Springs
um can do much, much betterwith uh moving forward.

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

I do support a non-discrimination ordinance.
So a few reasons.
I mean, you know, the first onestarts with the town's strategy
statement, or I kind of look atthat as more of like the town's
vision, you know, for HollySprings.
And one component of that iswhat we call vibrant community.
And I wrote down verbatim, partof what is included under that
vibrant community, which is tocultivate a creative and

(51:12):
friendly atmosphere that iswelcoming for all cultures and
the diversity of our residentsand visitors.
So to me, thenon-discrimination ordinance
directly supports what we aresaying as a town, this strategic
priority.
That's kind of the first reasonwhy I struggle with why the
non-discrimination ordinancehasn't been passed.
The second piece of it to me istalking to people in the

(51:33):
communities that would becovered by the NDO almost
unanimously say that they feelthe NDO is necessary.
So to me, that's an importanttestimony to take into account.
But finally, the impact of theNDO is no longer theoretical.
You know, when we were havingthis conversation, I think most
intently, probably almost threeyears ago now, the reasons why
we didn't move forward with theNDO were all based on questions

(51:56):
around how it would beimplemented and particularly
what the impact would be onsmall businesses.
Well, we're past all the theorynow.
So we're into year three ofimplementation.
It's being implemented in 10 of13 incorporated towns in Wake
County.
And you know, I think it's fairto say a lot of the assumptions
that we went through back thenhave not held in reality.
And so part of my frustrationis just the unwillingness to,

(52:18):
again, in the in the face ofreality and and all this
empirical evidence, I think it'sincumbent upon us now to look
back and say, well, hey, youknow what?
You know, we made someassumptions three years ago,
they haven't held.
We should revisit this now.
That to me is the startingpoint on the NDO because I think
it's been implemented, I thinkto say fairly, I think it's been
implemented flawlessly hereover these first almost three
years.

Okay.
Have you gained anyendorsements thus far?
And if you gain more, wheremight voters find that
information?

Yeah, so the main endorsement that went out
via press release was uh myendorsement from the Democratic
Party.
And so still working throughinterviews with various
organizations that ought to bemaking decisions here, you know,
in the next little bit, but allthat information will be
available either on my websiteor through social media.

Okay.
Where can listeners connectwith you and learn more about
your platform, upcoming events,and ways to get involved?

First, my website, which is Mike4 F O R H
S, Mike4H S dot com, andsocials, which is Facebook and
Instagram on both platforms,Mike Kondratick for Mayor.

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

You know, I've been focused on having
conversations on people's frontporches for five months now.
You know, we've knocked onseveral thousand doors, we've
had thousands of conversations.
And so, you know, what I havedone my best to do here in this
campaign is develop a platformthat I think accurate reflects
where residents are and whatresidents need moving forward.

(53:47):
My ask of voters would be toevaluate me and my campaign
based on our focus areas ofcreating community that's
affordable for all of ourfamilies, for our kids, our
parents, our seniors to be ableto safely age in place for our
teachers, for our nurses, forour first responders.
I'd love for all of them to beable to live in the community

(54:07):
that they serve.
I want all the residents to beconfident and know that their
leaders are going to invest thetime to go out and proactively
get their feedback.
I want them to be confidentthat that feedback is going to
be listened to.
And I want them to be able tosee it reflected in their
leaders' decisions.
I want our small businesses toknow that their town government
is willing to push boundaries inorder to help ensure their

(54:27):
profitability.
And ultimately, again, I wantevery citizen, whether you're a
native or a newcomer, whether,you know, it's from Sunset Oaks
in the east, Stonemont in theWest, I want everyone to feel
confident that their mayor istheir champion.
And most importantly, again, Ithink it comes down to the
issues of traffic anddevelopment.
And I mean, again, we have sowe have so many people who are
creative, they're innovators,they're go-getters.

(54:49):
I want them to elect leaderswho look at our traffic and
development problem.
And rather than saying we can'tdo this, have the courage to
say, how can we do thistogether?
And I think I'm the candidateto do that.
And so that is my pitch to earnresidents' votes in this
election.

Okay.
So now we're gonna go into alightning round.
It's a little way to bring somefun into it to get to know you
more on a personal level.
It doesn't really have anythingto do with Holly Springs or
politics.
What's something you do thathelps you to recharge?

Definitely reading.

What's a hobby, talent, or fun fact about
you that most people don'tknow?

So, fun fact my wife and I met in high school.
So we actually have beentogether since the age of 15.

Oh, wow.
What's something that'sdifficult for you?

Particularly in these times in which I find
myself with campaign, full-timework, and family, it is always
time management to make surethat I am adequately getting to
all of those priorities.

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

And I will ask for a small bit of flexibility
on this because we just finishedit, but show would definitely
be the season four, which Ithink is the final season of The
Bear.

Okay.
Who's your favorite superhero?

Batman.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever
received?

This advice was so profound.
I got it tattooed on my arm.
It is the simple Buddhistwisdom of know thyself.

Awesome.
What's one guilty pleasure yousecretly enjoy?

So it's really any any type of cheesy 80s
music.
You know, we're not even gonnaget down to artists because it's
like all the genres of cheesy80s music.

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

So, all right, so so my mom, her favorite movie
when we were growing up, so wewere my sister and I, we were
children of the 80s, and herfavorite actor was John Candy.
Her favorite movie was thismovie called Summer Rental.
And so she made us like wewatch this movie like hundreds
of times at this point.
We know every scene.
And so at random times, forreasons that I don't know, like

(56:58):
I can't connect, like I'll thinkof a scene from the movie and
I'll start chuckling, you know.
And then of course, whoever'snear me is gonna ask me why I'm
laughing.
And I, you know, I'm not inthis form where I can explain
all this backstory about whylike why this like random movie
that like a fair number ofpeople have never heard of uh is
making me laugh for some forsome random reason.
So, but yeah, it is that moviethat kind of randomly makes me

(57:21):
laugh.

Coffee or tea?

All right.
So look, honestly, I did mylevel best to make the switch of
tea.
It did not work.
Coffee is really the only thingthat again helps me manage the
is it just went through thefamily campaign full-time work
thing.
The only, yeah, the only thingI can rely on.

Morning person or night owl?

Yeah, okay.
So this actually could havebeen the fun fact in retrospect.
So definitely morning person,but I get up at 3 30 every
morning.
Oh goodness, which is my effortto it's like so the bit of time
between like 3 30 and 6 is theonly time where I can kind of
like uninterrupt, I can getmyself together, get out, get to
the gym, get back, and then youknow, kind of get the day

(58:00):
started.
So waking up at 3 30 is theonly way that I can do that.
So definitely morning person.

Wow.
Mountains or beach?

Uh definitely beach on that one.
Beach people.

Book or podcast.

I would err on the side of book there.

Dogs or cats.

We are a dog family.
We have two dogs, Haley andMaggie.
So yes, so we are definitely onthe dog side.

Awesome.
Well, that brings thiscandidate conversation to a
close.
Thank you so much, Mike, forparticipating, for trusting me
enough to put this all togetherfor you, to get your words out,
and just for taking the time tobe here to connect with
listeners and voters and to run.
So thank you for all thatyou're doing, and I wish you the
best of luck in your campaign.

Well, thank you, Amanda, and thank you for
investing the time to come upwith all of the hard questions
that all the candidates shouldhave to answer.
I know this is no smallinvestment of your time and
effort in serving uh thecommunity of Holly Springs.
So I appreciate you inviting meand letting me be a part of the
process.
So thank you.

Absolutely.
Local elections are wheredemocracy lives closest to home.
The decisions and actions ofour mayors, the Holly Springs
Town Council, and the FuquaVarina Board of Commissioners
influence the services we relyon each day, the safety of our
streets, the character of ourneighborhoods, and even the
future direction of ourcommunities.

(59:23):
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.

(59:44):
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

(01:00:06):
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,

(01:00:29):
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,

(01:00:50):
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.

(01:01:11):
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

(01:01:34):
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

(01:01:58):
you.

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