Public commenter Bobby Kemp urges property-tax reform and declares run for commissioner

At the start of the Jan. 5 public-comment period, resident Bobby Kemp addressed the Rowan County Board of Commissioners, said he has been attending meetings for about 20 months advocating for local residents, and described his outreach related to property-tax reform at the state level.

Kemp told the board he had been talking with people in Raleigh about property-tax reform and said he "likes what I've heard so far" and believes reforms could help Rowan County and other North Carolina counties. He thanked local volunteers and named Julia Howard, Warren and Grant Campbell for their work on the issue.

Kemp also said he is running for a commissioner seat to "work for the people" and help residents keep more of their earnings. "I look forward to becoming the commissioner because I wanna work for the people," Kemp said during his remarks.

The chair thanked him and invited him to share details of his plan at a later time. Kemp's remarks were part of the public-comment period and did not trigger any formal board action during the meeting.

The transcript records Kemp's remarks and his statement of candidacy but provides no formal campaign filing or further policy proposals in the public record from that appearance.