BRUNSWICK COUNTY — Democratic candidate Jonathan Damico hopes to secure the district 5 commissioner seat in Brunswick County this election season.
READ MORE: What to expect when voting in NC during the 2024 election season
A caseworker at New Hanover County Department of Social Services and youth director at Church of the Servant Episcopal, it is Damico’s first time running for public office. However, he credits his time working for the public as a precursor to serving others on a larger platform.
“From clinical healthcare, to working in international and domestic aid and development, to now working at DSS, I feel like my entire career has been geared to ‘helping others,'” Damico said. “I am seeking the position because hearing from so many neighbors and residents of our county feeling like their voices aren’t being heard by our elected officials, really led me to this place. The position is one of advocacy for all of our neighbors, and I know is can be that.”
Rampant overdevelopment is one of his main concerns, as well as addressing clean water for all Brunswick County residents and gaining more workforce housing.
Damico faces off against Republican incumbent Frank Williams in his district.
| What Jonathan Damico is… • Listening to: What day is it?! I listen to a lot of different music, depends on activity and mood. A steady supply of indie rock, jazz, Americana etc. I also dive into podcasts occasionally, recently really liking Hometown Holler re NC politics and some other spiritual/churchy stuff. • Watching: Patiently awaiting the return of the NHL season. I had a handful of people tell me I reminded them if “Ted Lasso,” so I recently binged that and found that comparison to be incredibly kind and slightly overwhelming. • Reading: I haven’t dived into a new book in a while, but I have a few old favorites that I’ll open when the mood strikes, and I have a pile of them on my list regarding a lot of issues we are facing in our world — specifically housing and food insecurity. | |
Absentee ballots are already being mailed and early voting opens mid-October. Locations in Brunswick County include:
- Government Center Location: Brunswick County Cooperative Extension: 25 Referendum Drive NE, Building N, Bolivia
- Leland Cultural Arts Center: 1212 Magnolia Village Way, Leland
- Oak Island Moose Lodge: 4239 Long Beach Road SE, Southport
- Brunswick Center at Supply: 101 Stone Chimney Road SE, Supply
- Brunswick Center at Shallotte: 3620 Express Drive, Shallotte
- Sunset Beach Community Center: 200 Station Trail, Sunset Beach
Voters will be able to cast ballots at any of the above places and can register to vote beforehand; see all early-voting hours here.
Election Day is Nov. 5, with polls opening at 6:30 a.m. and closing at 7:30 p.m. All voters will have to go to their precinct to cast a ballot, as shown on their voter registry.
An ID must be presented to cast a ballot in the election. Acceptable forms of ID include NC drivers license or state ID, U.S. passport, college or student university ID, some state employee IDs and out-of-state drivers license or ID, as long as voter registration was done within 90 days of the election. IDs not in good standing can be expired by one year or less.
Port City Daily has compiled candidate questionnaires so voters can read up on contenders’ stances before heading to the polls this election season. All answers have been edited only for clarity; the candidates’ opinions and statements are not a reflection of Port City Daily.
The paywall is dropped on profiles to help voters make informed decisions ahead of the election.
Port City Daily: What are the top three items you’re campaigning on this season and why?
Jonathan Damico: 1.) Rampant overdevelopment: Brunswick county is growing rapidly, and growth is not a bad thing! That means we have something here that people want to be a part of. However, essentially giving carte blanche to developers to build massive developments, clearcutting trees and pumping our wetlands along the way is detrimental. And we’ve seen that as neighbors have issued a multitude of complaints regarding what is happening to their properties and roads nearby due to these developments. We need an updated unified development ordinance — yesterday.
2.) Clean water: As we have all learned over the past few years, we have a serious problem with corporate pollution of our water. Brunswick County was really ground zero for this. We have two water treatment plants: the Northwest plant and the 211 plant. The NW plant has been undergoing updates and was supposed to have been online by now but has blown past a few deadlines. (I requested an update at a commissioners meeting a few months ago and the public has not received that update, as far as I know.) Once online, that plant will be able to remove PFAS/GenX with an RO system, which is great news.
The 211 water plant unfortunately cannot filter PFAS/GenX and there is no specific plan to update it.
The biggest issue is this: The NW plant cannot provide water for the whole county especially with the rapid growth rate being experienced. When it comes online some of our southern communities will be receiving “blended” water from the NW plant and the 211 plant. So, essentially, those communities will still be receiving contaminated water. This is unacceptable and we need an immediate updated plan to aggressively address the 211 water plant.
And beyond this, we need leadership who will publicly hold polluters accountable and make sure they pay for the damage that has been done over decades of corporate malfeasance.
3.) Workforce Housing: With a rapidly growing county and a population that is still largely a retired population, we will need workers to meet the needs of our county — teachers, fire, EMS, police, social service staff, etc. Even with an incredible amount of building occurring, BrunsCo has a higher-than-average vacancy rate and a lot of our working families are forced to drive from other communities and even counties to work here in BrunsCo.
Here’s an example: Recent reports have indicated that we will need to build multiple new schools, which we badly need. Who will staff them? How will we recruit teachers who have a set pay structure, which isn’t great, to want to come and live and work in BrunsCo if they cannot afford to live here? There are counties across NC solving this by working in conjunction with SECU and other organizations to provide affordable housing opportunities for these types of workers. And it works! There are other organizations nationally working on this issue, so it’s really just going to take some folks willing to find options that work, and be committed to making it happen.
PCD: Name an issue you struggle to find a solution for that affects your district and how have/would you go about determining a path forward? If you have a personal anecdote to share that has helped guide you in deciding how to move forward, please, share.
JD: We have some big problems with our infrastructure. Our wastewater treatment is need of serious expansion, our roads, even lack of healthcare services — these are big issues that have many moving parts that certainly have players involved well above county commissioner level (state funding, legislative involvement, etc.). But the work needs to be brought to light.
Brunswick County has historically been left to eat the scraps from the state budget (even the threat of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge becoming tolled is part of this) and we need leadership to begin advocating for these needs and getting plans in motion.
PCD: Residents, organizations and nonprofits have raised concerns that low-income and minority communities throughout Brunswick County have inadequate access to water and wastewater infrastructure. Will you advocate for policies or strategies to increase water and wastewater utilities connectivity to low-income and minority communities throughout the county? How?
JD: As stated, our water situation is at a crisis level. Currently, as we stand today, I live in the only community that gets clean safe water in their home because I live in Leland. Access to clean safe water should not be address-dependent. The NC State Constitution says that every NC resident has a right to clean water and clean air. Every community, regardless of location in BrunsCo, should have access to clean safe water.
I would approach this as what it is: a public health crisis. This is going to involve extensive advocacy and development of a plan to get people access to clean water or units to clean the water coming into their homes, to include people on wells if they want to keep their well water but their well is contaminated, make sure they have access to a home RO unit as well.
PCD: Some residents have expressed concerns that Brunswick County’s planning board has too much authority over the development and rezoning approval process. Do you support giving commissioners more authority or amending the process in any way? Explain.
JD: Even quick research into this process in BrunsCo will reveal this is not normal. Planning boards should be making recommendations and elected officials should be making decisions. I would advocate on day one to fix this. If we want transparent government that represents the people, we cannot have unelected individuals who do not have to make any declaration of conflict of interest with each vote the way that elected officials do. Whether there is impropriety or not, this can quickly be perceived as unethical.
PCD: A local nonprofit recently called for a moratorium on new development in the county to ensure wastewater infrastructure has sufficient capacity to handle new projects. Recently, there has been outcry on clearcutting and overdevelopment with worries about flooding, as experienced by the recent tropical storm. Do you believe the county should consider this proposal, why? What other actions should be taken to guarantee infrastructure keeps apace with new development? Explain.
[Ed. note: This question was devised before Chairman Randy Thompson proposed commissioners explore a moratorium after the potential tropical cyclone eight brought historic rainfall to the region, collapsing roadways and leaving folks stranded.]
JD: These calls have been issued for some time. We have neighbors whose lives are being destroyed due to improper development — clearcutting and burning, pumping out and building on wetlands, and over-burdening our roads that are not prepared for the developments being approved and built. Moratoria are a funny thing — there are lots of thoughts about them, but the ones I’ve researched and found that stuck involved the health and or safety of the general public.
Between wastewater dumps into our rivers and streams (over 1 million gallons since February), poisoned water supply, lack of appropriate healthcare systems and a fragile infrastructure which, if we had a storm requiring evacuation or a nuclear disaster at our plant today, we would be in some serious trouble. We are absolutely in the midst of a public health and safety crisis, and for those reasons I would absolutely support a moratorium.
PCD: PFAS and 1,4-dioxane contamination in the region has been a major concern for residents in recent years. Would you advocate the county to lobby for any specific legislation or regulation on this issue, such as the Department of Environmental Quality’s proposals to enact surface and groundwater standards for eight PFAS compounds? Would you support efforts to expand local authority of environmental regulation, or advocate any other county action on this issue?
JD: I would loudly express support for such proposed guidelines. The appropriate amount of PFAS that should be allowed to be knowingly dumped into our source water is 0. Full stop. This is inexcusable at this point, as we find out more and more the danger and harm this causes to our community.
I have been endorsed by Clean Cape Fear, a local group of heroes — normal everyday people who believe our future deserves better — and I would be honored to work with them and others in making a path towards clean safe water for everyone. Until that can be accomplished (which sadly may take time due to the knowledge that billion-dollar corporations seem to have a strangle hold on our existence), we need to get the 211 water plant also updated ASAP.
PCD: Discussions about the replacement of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge continue with the NCDOT assessing three options: a 135-foot, a 100-foot or a 65-foot span. Also, a federal grant of $242 million has been received to cover part of the costs, with more grants having been applied for. However, the WMPO voted to consider all funding options, including a toll. Though nothing has been voted on or solidified, where do you stand on the bridge size and the funding of it, including a toll? Explain.
JD: I am not a bridge engineer, so I won’t pretend to know the best size of bridge for what we need, but I will say to that regard, we should not destroy neighborhoods on the New Hanover side to accomplish this. That is unacceptable. A toll is a regressive tax on working class people, those on fixed incomes and the economy of Brunswick and New Hanover counties.
Commissioner Williams was quoted as saying: “I would rather have a toll bridge, than no bridge.” I do not understand where that thinking would reflect reality — the bridge is a requirement for port operations and is a carotid artery to the economy of our region. A toll would punish all of our residents, possibly costing a worker who has to travel across the bridge daily for work upwards of $1,000 a year (at the suggested $2 per trip fee) and this doesn’t consider any additional trips over the bridge.
At the end of the day, this is an existing structure, and the state/NCDOT is responsible for it.
PCD: Fentanyl became the greatest risk for overdose deaths in Brunswick County over the last decade. What policies and actions should be considered outside of the actions taken by the Brunswick County Opioid Addiction Task Force?
JD: I know the sheriffs department recently launched a new initiatives for treatment options within the prison (ARROW program) which should assist with some recidivism. Beyond that, we just need to expand these types of programs and offer more evidence-based treatments and programs in our county.
PCD: According to the North Carolina Housing Coalition’s 2024 Housing Need Survey, 49% of renters and 23% of homeowners in Brunswick County are cost-burdened. What new policies or strategies would you advocate for to encourage affordable housing in the county?
JD: We have a housing crisis in our nation and it’s certainly active in BrunsCo. I detailed my thoughts regarding this in question 2.3. But we need to develop a tool box. Many people advocate for just building massive quantities of housing units to drive down cost. Interestingly, the national average vacancy rate in the U.S. is about 11%, in BrunsCo according to data we are over 30%.
Additionally, simply building things without an appropriate UDO update will only benefit one group and that’s developers. We need to think outside the box, and develop a tool box that includes the previously mentioned workforce housing as well as an updated UDO that has some stipulation in housing developments for workforce housing units.
PCD: Do you think the county is funding the schools enough? If not, what areas would you like to see improved upon?
JD: We do have pretty good funding going to our schools, some uses of that money has occurred (a massive storage building for data and old furniture), but our schools are also reaching mass capacity and we will need teachers, staff, and buildings soon. I wish these things were addressed sooner, so that task will be at hand.
PCD: Take us through your process to decide whether taxes should be increased on constituents.
JD: We are going to be facing some challenges financially, for sure. Plans to build multiple schools are coming down the pipe, along with infrastructure needs. I would not consider raising taxes callously — because as much as the next guy, I also don’t want my taxes to go up! Unfortunately, many things have not been addressed in recent years that will need to be. That being said, we have an incredibly good county staff who has done some great work with the budget, finding ways to fund things and keep our taxes one of the lowest in the state. I think we can do some work with the budget and see where we end up.
It is unfortunate that the legislature has not reimplemented impact fees on developers could really help a county like ours. At the end of the day, I know that Bob Fulton, Tom Simmons and I will do our very best to represent the people — all of our neighbors — of Brunswick County and that is why we are running.
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