Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of profiles of candidates in this year’s race for the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners.
This year’s race for New Hanover County commissioner sees a dozen people vying for two seats on the board—a field that will shrink considerably after next month’s primaries, which will see 10 Republicans narrowed down to two.
Because there are only two seats up for grabs—those currently filled by Brian Berger and Tom Wolfe, neither of whom are seeking re-election—the field’s two Democrats, Patricia Spear and Rob Zapple, will not need to battle it out in a primary.
Zapple is one of several names who may be familiar to voters, having come in fifth place in a six-way race for three seats on the board in 2012. Jonathan Barfield, Beth Dawson and Woody White won those seats, and with Barfield and White seeking the 7th Congressional District seat currently filled by U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, there’s a chance a third seat on the board could become available after the November general elections.
Other names familiar to voters include Republicans Derrick Hickey, the first runner-up in that six-way race and currently a member of the New Hanover County school board; Skip Watkins, who was the first runner-up in last year’s race for Wilmington City Council; and Ricky Meeks, who has sought local office multiple times before, though this is his first attempt for county commissioner.
Here is a look at those four candidates, with profiles of the rest to follow in the coming weeks:
Skip Watkins
A close runner-up in last year’s race for Wilmington City Council, coming up short by 470 votes, or about 2 percent of total votes cast, Watkins is betting on his name recognition to pay off in the primary, which he noted would be reverse-order on the ballot, meaning his name will be at the top of the list of Republicans.
“But of course that’s not going to win a race,” he said, noting as well that he is not relying on name recognition alone.
A 30-year resident and UNCW grad, Watkins, an independent financial advisor with Capital Investment Group, has served the past 15 years as manager of the Cape Fear Fair & Expo.
While he said last year he’d be back in two years to try city council again, Watkins said he is running for commissioner because he was asked to do so by supporters.
Watkins said Woody White had not yet declared he would run for Congress, and Tom Wolfe had said he would not seek re-election. While he did not intend to run for both boards, Watkins said he agreed there would be a need for candidates who consider themselves fiscally conservative.
“The reason they asked me to run is because we were number-one and number-two in every precinct except downtown,” Watkins said, referring to last year’s city council race. “They felt my political capital was strong.
“I was the first person to put my name out there because people were asking me to,” he said. Without Wolfe on the board, Watkins added: “I knew there was going to be a fiscal void.”
Where he had sought to bring that fiscal mindset to city council, Watkins said he is now trying to maintain that mindset on the county board.
Watkins said he would use his financial background to help grow the county’s tax base, and he said other priorities include reducing the crime rate.
“We’ve got to bring in quality jobs that’ll complement the community, and we still have to address crime. Crime was a biggie for me (last year); it still is now,” Watkins said.
More information on Watkins is available on his campaign website, skipwatkins4commission.com.
Rob Zapple
Zapple, who is making his second attempt for a commissioner seat, will not appear on a primary ballot but will face off against the two Republicans who make it to the general election in November.
A small business owner, of custom-building firm Rob Zapple Design and Build, Zapple said he has a unique perspective from other candidates in that he has gone through the process of doing business in the county, describing himself as a user of the county’s services.
Zapple said the county’s economy is driven by small business, adding to its diversity. With his participation in several area nonprofits, including the boards for Thalian Hall and the Children’s Museum of Wilmington, Zapple said his perspective combines the building community with the cultural community.
Planning for the future, targeting economic development and protecting the area’s quality of life are priorities, Zapple said, as are supporting the education system and promoting environmental stewardship. Zapple said he also wants to put a focus on supporting the film industry, which he said could “explode” given the right circumstances.
“I love the quality of life that we have here. It’s what brought many of us here and is what keeps us here,” he said. “I would like to preserve and protect that quality of life.
“I recognize that we have a unique environment here in New Hanover County, but it has to be protected. Things like our beaches, certainly our river, our historic district and what little land we have left, as far as development, needs to be thought through carefully of how we want to develop,” he said.
“What I love about the film industry is we have people that come into our community with—using the image—a suitcase full of cash. They open that suitcase and they put that right smack into our community, feeding all the small businesses that are here as well as the footprint of EUE/Screen Gems and over 2,000 individuals who make their living directly or indirectly through the film industry.
“They do their work, they make the film product. They pack up that suitcase, which is now empty, hop on a plane, fly away, and no smokestacks when they leave,” he said. “That is what I call clean industry.”
A resident here since 1997, when he moved to Wilmington from the West Coast, having previously grown up in northern Virginia, Zapple is married to Michele, his wife of 31 years, with whom he has three grown children who he noted all went through New Hanover County Schools and North Carolina universities. Zapple’s campaign website is electrobzapple.com.
Derrick Hickey
Hickey, who serves on the New Hanover County Board of Education, was the first runner-up in the six-way race for county commissioner in 2012.
Despite that result, he was denied appointment to a vacant board seat would instead become Wolfe’s, even though he had won the nomination of the county GOP, which backed him over Wolfe. (The party’s nominating committee had previously picked Wolfe, but the party’s recommendation would ultimately go to Hickey.)
An orthopedic surgeon and founder of Port City Orthopedics, Hickey, a Yale graduate, served six years on the county parks and recreation advisory board, from 2006 to 2012. He is also a member and past president of the Wilmington South Rotary Club, according to his website.
Hickey did not return messages left on his campaign voicemail in time for this story.
Hickey’s website states his priorities include fiscal responsibility and decision-making based on a “comprehensive strategic operational plan.” He also supports economic development through further investment in UNCW and Cape Fear Community College, and he says more can be done to support the film industry and encourage entrepreneurs.
Protecting the environment and improving public schools are also priorities. More information is available on Hickey’s website, derrickhickey.com.
Ricky Meeks
A familiar face at city and county meetings and events, Meeks has run for local office multiple times over the years: three times for city council, once for county school board and once for Wilmington mayor, coming up short in each attempt.
This is the first attempt at commissioner for Meeks, who said he decided to run after asking Brian Berger to step down from the board last year. Meeks’ request, which was made in public comments during one of the board’s meetings, preceded commissioners’ subsequent pursuit of Berger’s removal through a process called amotion—an action that was later reversed by a judge.
Meeks said he wanted to avoid the expense of the amotion proceeding, reiterating calls by commissioners and others for Berger to step down voluntarily. Meeks said those events also made him aware of divisiveness that he hopes to avoid.
“I think sometimes on the county commission there’s a big diversity of people who get along. I get along with everybody,” Meeks said.
“It would be nice to have someone show up for meetings,” Meeks said, referring to Berger’s habitual tardiness and absences that continue to this day.
Like Watkins, Meeks said he also expects name recognition to work in his favor. “I’ve run before; my name’s out there,” he said.
A former Democrat, Meeks switched parties after losing his bid for county school board, which he said garnered more than 17,000 votes. Meeks said he considered himself a conservative Democrat and now describes himself as a “down-the-middle” Republican.
“I always had respect for Ronald Reagan,” Meeks said.
A Wilmington native, Meeks said the county has changed a lot in recent years, further prompting him to run. He said he wants to settle the debate of the county’s role in funding public transportation, such as Wave Transit. He said he also wants a committee formed to establish train service between Wilmington and Raleigh and Charleston, S.C.
Meeks said he doesn’t support merging the county’s health and social services departments, and he said he does support restoring supplements for teachers based on years worked and college degrees earned.
More on Meeks can be found on his site, rickymeeks.com.
Upcoming profiles: Dave Conklin, John Dismukes, Campbell Dodd, Chuck Kays, Charles Kuebler, Patricia Spear, Frank Roberts, Hank Thomas.
Jonathan Spiers is a reporter for Port City Daily. He can be reached at (910) 772-6313 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @jrspiers
