WILMINGTON — When Dennis Dixon decided to leave Maryland in 2014, he scouted a few towns and then ended up in Wilmington — where he saw a wealth of opportunities for political action — despite him having no connections to the area.
A statistician, Dixon, 76, had retired from a career in the National Institute of Health, where he worked under Dr. Anthony Fauci, and was looking to elevate local Democrats in a purple state. Upon moving, he started out by gathering enough residents to formalize his precinct at county party meetings, then quickly became entrenched within the New Hanover County Democratic Party. He was the treasurer for Kevin O’Grady’s 2017 City Council campaign, and then again in 2018 for Rob Zapple’s County Commissioner campaign.
Zapple called him a significant player in the background of local politics, and O’Grady said Dixon fills a valuable supporting role in any campaign he’s involved in.
These days, Dixon serves as the secretary for the NHC Democratic Party, but his financial influence is also pronounced. Since he moved to Wilmington, Dixon has contributed upwards of fifty thousand dollars to Democratic candidates, mostly to local politicians.
“In North Carolina, it was pretty clear that I could make a difference, and I get satisfaction out of that,” Dixon said.
Financial contributions
In New Hanover County campaigns, candidates might be lucky to receive one or two four-figure contributions in a quarter. According to Board of Elections filings, from mid-February until the end of June, in the County Commission race, the three Republican candidates averaged $2,844 in total contributions while the three Democrats averaged $5,143.
In the same time period, Dixon alone has contributed at least $5,330 to races throughout the county and state.
“When he decides that you’re a person that he wants to support, or a project, or a concept even, he’s all in,” Rob Zapple said of Dixon.
One candidate Dixon is aggressively backing this year is Democrat Leslie Cohen.
“This morning I was out walking the Pine Valley neighborhood with literature to hang on doors, and that was for a candidate that I’m not supporting in any other substantial way,” he said last week about Cohen.
Dixon’s total contributions to Cohen, combining those in her current run for County Commissioner and in her unsuccessful state legislature run in 2018, amount to nearly $11,000.
Local campaign finances
On the Republican side, there are donors who breach the four-figure threshold. Like Hank Estep — president of an insurance group and husband of NHC School Board chairwoman Lisa Estep — who has given over $1,000 to both Bill Rivenbark and Deb Hays for their County Commission campaigns; and Timothy Milam, the president of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage, who gave Rivenbark $1,000 for his run. The third Republican in the County race, Skip Watkins, has a $2,000 backing from William David Lynch, the owner-operator of the Mayfaire Chick-fil-a.
[Editor’s note: Lynch’s full name and actual occupation are listed on the 48-hour notice form, required for all donations over $1,000. On Watkins’ 2nd Quarter report, the name is given as ‘David Lynch’ and the occupation as ‘Film Maker,’ apparently a joking reference to the acclaimed director, whose 1986 film “Blue Velvet” was shot in Wilmington.]
Jonathan Barfield (D) has at least four contributors who have recently given in the $1,000-or-more range; he also got a $3,000 boost from the N.C. Realtors PAC in February.
Private donations
But it’s uncommon to see a private citizen offer more than $10,000 in reported election contributions to a local county candidate, as Dixon has done for Cohen.
“Leslie was a candidate for the state legislature two years ago. It was unsuccessful but she showed a real aptitude for conducting a campaign. So it was not difficult to decide to help her in this new campaign,” Dixon said. “She’s self-motivated, so she was anxious to run for office. She actually came close in the 2018 campaign, although not close enough. So I think there’s some aspect of campaigning that she really likes.”
Cohen said that in her 2018 run, many of her donors jumped ship to Gary Shipman after he entered the primary, but Dixon stayed with her. Dixon and Cohen bonded over the water quality issue, which Holly Grange, the Republican candidate in the general election, was deflecting attention away from, Cohen said.
Dixon has put $1,250 toward Kyle Horton’s County Commission campaign in 2020, and since 2017 has contributed nearly $6,000 to Rob Zapple.
“I’m in the situation where I don’t have any dependents, I don’t have anybody that’s depending on me to pay their way to college,” he said. “I’ve got nice retirement programs, so I’m in a position to direct some of my resources to support candidates who are running for office.”
Governor Roy Cooper has received more than $10,000 from Dixon, combining contributions from this year’s race and the one in 2016, and Dixon said he sometimes gets calls from the Cooper campaign asking for more money. He met Cooper once at a fundraiser in a Figure Eight Island beach house.
One of the few Democrats in New Hanover County who hasn’t seen a contribution from Dixon is Mayor Bill Saffo.
“I’ve considered that he’s a well-established incumbent without so much challenge of winning the next election,” Dixon said. “If I had the sense that he was going to have a tough race, I certainly would provide some support.”
Wearing either a suit or a Leslie Cohen shirt, depending on who you ask
In Dixon’s Wilmington home, the bookshelf in his living room is split into different sections — like books about the presidents, fiction, and books about Thomas Jefferson. He bought the Mueller Report on Amazon and read the whole thing.
Democratic politicians in Wilmington and New Hanover County see Dixon as the rare type of contributor who gives money to candidates and then doesn’t interject themselves into campaign operations.
“When you’re running for office everybody you know comes to you and says ‘I want to help,’ and what most of them mean is ‘I want to tell you how to run your campaign.’ That’s what help means,” Cohen said. “Dennis is not really hands-on or demanding. He doesn’t ask for something in return.”
“He wants to be an influence. He is a great influence, because he supports the people he agrees with,” City Councilman Kevin O’Grady said.
The perception of Dixon on the Republican side, however, is less rosy.
“I see a man who represents the left, and is a representative of how the far left has unfortunately in my mind, sadly, taken over the local Democratic Party,” New Hanover County Republican Party Chairman Will Knecht said.
Zapple said Dixon shows up to events in suits and stands in the back of the room. Knecht said, “you rarely see him at a political meeting without a Leslie Cohen shirt on.”
Knecht’s counterpart for the Democrats, Chairman Richard Poole, said Dixon uses his talents as a statistician to conduct “under the hood” tasks for the New Hanover County Democratic Party, like data management and maintaining the Listserv.
“He’s got a collection of skillsets that have just proved useful. I’m glad he’s on our team,” Poole said.
Despite his standing as a contributor in local races, he underplays his value and presents himself modestly.
“As substantial as my contributions are in some of these campaigns, they’re still a drop in the bucket compared to what a candidate has to raise. I may set them up so that they don’t have to scrounge as much for smaller donations,” Dixon said. “I think I’m probably considered a good source of contributions, but not anything beyond that.”
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