It's Almost Over!

Ocracoke's poll workers host three voting events on the island. Ocracoke residents will finally get a chance to vote early right here at home on Wednesday, November 2nd and Thursday, November 3rd. Cast your ballot at the Fire Hall; early voting hours are 9am–5pm. (Early voting started October 20th on the mainland - islanders can vote there, too.) (A certain septuagenarian that's connected to the Current rode the ferry to Swan Quarter to vote over a week ago. He says that at his age, he can't take any chances.)  

On Tuesday, November 8th, the Fire Hall will welcome citizens from 6:30am–7:30pm. 

The Current expects Ocracoke to be a little island of blue, again in this presidential race. (You can read about the 2012 election results, when Ocracoke voted overwhelmingly for O'Bama [sic] here.) Based on the absolutely not scientific canvassing of my Facebook feed, Ocracoke will also try to rid the governor's mansion of Pat McCrory, and support both Deborah Ross (U.S. Senate), Brownie Futrell (N.C. Senate), and Warren Judge (N.C. House). Blue, blue, blue, blue. 

I could be wrong (I was way off on my primary predictions). In just a week, we'll know! 

In local races, Tom Pahl is running unopposed for Ocracoke's seat on the Hyde County Board of Commissioners, so it doesn't take Nate Silver to predict his win. Ocracoke also gets to vote for the Lake Landing seat on the BoC; I predict Earl Pugh will win. Earl's a good guy, lots of people know him, and he recently built a house on Ocracoke so he's over here a lot. His challenger, Thomas Midgette, is not as well known on the island, though he gave a compelling stump speech about the need for his community to have a voice on the BoC at Candidates Night. Earl's the Republican and Thomas is the Democrat, in case that matters to you.   

On October 24th, Ocracoke Civic and Business Association held a Candidates Night, which had been postponed from an earlier date due to Hurricane Matthew. Justin LeBlanc moderated and let the candidates know when they had used up all their allotted time and then some. 

Tom Pahl (Democrat, running unopposed for Ocracoke's seat on the Hyde BoC) said that he was "very grateful for the support in the March primary." He went on to thank all the people on Ocracoke who serve on boards and committees (elected, appointed, volunteer) and to say he has "great respect" for their efforts. He also asked for a round of applause for lame duck commissioner John Fletcher, whom Tom will replace. 

Tom promised to focus on good working relationships between the county and its state and federal partners (ferry division, National Park Service, etc.). He also spoke about the vitality of Ocracoke's economy. "It's important that we work on maintaining on Ocracoke what makes this place a great place to visit. It's unique. it's special. We've got to work as a community and a county to keep and preserve those things that make us special," he said.

Tom also plans to appoint an advisory committee to help select people to appoint to other committees and boards. "I don't know everybody," he said. He wants to reach out to a broader group of Ocracokers for guidance.

Earl Pugh spoke next. He is the incumbent commissioner in the Lake Landing township seat. He spoke about the hurricane, and the rebuilding efforts on the mainland (more acres of farmland were underwater in Matthew than ever before.) He said the county needs a flood plan to save the farmland. If it becomes un-farmable wetlands, "it goes off the tax rolls." 

As for Ocracoke, Earl says he will always be against tolling on the Hatteras ferry, and against residents having to pay for priority passes. He'd like to see Hatteras Inlet stabilized, and will work with state and federal agencies to help that happen. Earl is happy with the BoC's current open relationship the Park Service and the opening of more soundside beach access. He also spoke of the importance of supporting commercial fishing and the Board of Education. 

Thomas Midgette stressed that he was not running against Earl Pugh, he's just running for the same seat. He said that the county should take care to support all of its industries: farming, fishing, and tourism. "We can't them against each other," he said. He would like to promote more tourism on the mainland to help bring more jobs to the county. 

Thomas explained that there should be somebody on the BoC who doesn't have a big bank account (him), and who understands the needs of the common people of Hyde County. Thomas was born in Hyde County and worked there since age 7, when he starting picking cucumbers. He worked at Hyde County Schools and now works at the Hyde Head Start Center. 

He says the commissioners need to make themselves more available and listen to the people. "I can't tell you my goals [as commissioner] until I understand your needs," he said. He's eager to visit Ocracoke more often and get to know islanders and what our needs are from the county. He's also interested in being "a voice for the people."

"The commissioners don't have an ear in every segment of the community," he said. "They go to the same church, belong to the same clubs, but it's not my church, not my clubs, not my community."

All three commissioners expressed concern for Lake Mattamuskeet (it's really sick). Developing Mattamuskeet Lodge as a destination and making the lake healthy again are ideas they all agreed on. They also all three want to support youth programs, and promote educational opportunities in the county. 

Scott Bradley also spoke about his role on the Sanitary District board. He and Regina O'Neal are running and you can vote for them both. There's no reason you shouldn't. Scott provided lots of great information about what the Sanitary District is and does, but that's a subject for another article someday.

Be prepare and check out the sample ballots below. Happy voting!