NEW HANOVER COUNTY — The New Hanover County Commissioners had the swearing-in of its new members Monday, while also recognizing the work of an exiting member who has served for 16 years.
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Jonthan Barfield Jr. — a commissioner since 2008 who lost his re-bid this year’s election — received an appreciation of honor for his service to the county’s citizens. But the long-time leader said he isn’t ready to retire yet.
“I’m too young, have too much knowledge and wisdom, too much institutional knowledge, to sit on the shelf,” Barfield said to a crowded audience. “There are other public offices that I’ve been thinking about and looking at.”
The commissioner didn’t elaborate on specific roles but said he’s seen doors open; he shared he spent the day in Raleigh serving on Gov. Josh Stein’s transition team.
Barfield added one of the greatest moments of his commissioner career was the two terms he served as chair, one in which he helped facilitate the county’s first strategic plan. He said he was proud of his voting record; the commissioner received some heat this election cycle as the only sitting commissioner that voted for the sale of the county’s public hospital to Novant Health (Rob Zapple was the only other member at the time, who voted against it).
Chair Bill Rivenbark thanked Barfield for his service.
“I’ve learned more from him than anybody so far,” Rivenbark said.
Barfield entered politics following in the footsteps of his father, for whom he is named after, who took the position in 1980. The two Black men have been the only people of color to serve as New Hanover County commissioner (since the Wilmington Coup of 1898), a note Barfield made during his farewell address.
Locally, there has been turnover among the county’s Black leaders in the last few months. Earlier this year, Superintendent Charles Foust was fired from the top position at New Hanover County Schools. William Buster and the New Hanover Community Endowment separated under unknown circumstances in February, six months after county commissioners replaced Hannah Gage and Virginia Adams from the endowment board with former commissioners Woody White and Pat Kusek. Adams was the only person of color on the board, which oversees the distribution of its $1.3 billion pot to local organizations.
Most recently, Wilmington Police Chief Donny Williams has been accused of running a toxic work environment, prompting an investigation facilitated by the city manager. The New Hanover County NAACP spoke out two weeks ago, describing it as racially motivated.
Though Barfield said he knew his departure would one day come, he said he trusted it was part of God’s plan.
“When one door closes, he always has doors open,” Barfield said.
Stephanie Walker, transitioning from county’s school board to commissioner, will be taking Barfield’s place.
She was sworn in alongside her fellow newly elected commissioners Dane Scalise and Bill Rivenbark, both Republican incumbents. Neither Walker nor Rivenbark made a speech at this point, though Scalise did say a few words.
“It’s an honor for me to be here and I want to thank the people that are here in this room to be with us here today,” Scalise said. “I also want to thank the voters of New Hanover County for putting trust in me for the service that I’m going to provide over these next four years.”
Walker spoke with Port City Daily ahead of Monday’s meeting. She said her first few weeks would be focused on immersing herself in the technicalities of the new job but was excited to get to tackle the pillars of her campaign — school funding, smart development and environmental sustainability.
“I definitely ran on the things that I thought were important and thought people cared about,” Walker said.
Walker is looking forward to county budget discussions and potentially early engagement regarding a school bond. The school board and commissioners floated the idea of a bond over the last year, but it did not gain enough traction to make it in front of voters in 2024. The next chance to get one on the ballot will be in 2026.
“I think we have to,” she said, noting New Hanover High School renovations was top of mind.
The 102-year-old school is undergoing the second phase of million-dollar foundational repairs, booting some students to some trailers during the fall semester. The aging, though structurally sound building has lately faced scrutiny from commissioners who question the value of continuing to upfit the school versus building a new one.
Walker said she didn’t have a number in mind when it came to tapping out of investments into the historic school and instead pointed to the commissioner-funded facility master plan survey that will finish up mid-2025.
Not only should the school be brought up to livable standard, but Walker said she would like to see it stop being “overlooked” and be on par with the other, newer high schools.
The school district and commissioners have been criticized for neglecting needed repairs to the school, while prioritizing new facilities for other schools as NHHS undergoes renovations.
While the high schools received a relatively even amount of funding in the 2014 school bond, the money tends not to stretch as far at NHHS. It is almost guaranteed the school will need millions more in repairs than its counterparts, but until the study results come in, there are a lot of unknowns about that number.
“It needs an overhaul,” Walker said.
Walker said she would also like to explore more solutions for the county’s quickly filling landfill and was looking forward to getting involved in development decisions.
[Editor’s Note: A portion of Dane Scalise’s quote has been updated from saying “with you today” to “us here today.” PCD regrets the error.]
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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