Rockingham county commission and clerk races focus on public safety, taxes and experience

Multiple Rockingham County candidates for county commission and for clerk of court outlined priorities during the forum.

Commission candidates Kevin Southern, Greg Ziegler and Paul Wilson stressed public-safety funding, emergency services, and county-employee pay as top responsibilities. Southern and Ziegler urged revenue-neutral budgeting and reinstituting benefits to improve recruitment and retention for public-safety staff. Wilson, who works in substance-abuse recovery, prioritized county-employee wages and transitional housing and recovery supports.

On the casino question, several candidates said no; they cited community impact and poor transparency during earlier rezoning efforts. Kevin Southern urged a revenue-neutral approach to taxes, and Greg Ziegler suggested a voter referendum for any countywide decision on a casino to ensure popular consent.

Kelly Stanfield Carter, a 29-year clerk's office veteran running for Rockingham County Clerk of Superior Court, described the clerk role as record-keeper for traffic citations, criminal cases, estates and adoptions and discussed new Tyler/Odyssey technology in use at the office. Carter emphasized continuity and experience as reasons voters should support a candidate for clerk; she said technology should increase accuracy but must be implemented with careful training.

Candidates framed religious faith as an important personal guide but described the county-level role as operational and constituent-focused; several pledged to take concerns to prayer while also committing to serve constituents of all parties.

Voters will evaluate commission candidates on budget stances and transparency, and the clerk race on experience managing sensitive records and new court software.