Welcome & Ballot Basics

Amanda Benbow Lunn 0:08

Hello, friends. I am your host, Amanda Benbow Lunn. I'm welcoming you back to the NC Deep Dive, and we will continue on with our candidate conversations for the 2026 general election. It looks like we'll have 18 contested races with 46 candidates in Southern Wake County, specifically in Holly Springs and Fuquay Varena. There are some races that have only one candidate running. We will not be including those in our NC Deep Dive. Of course, the races on your particular ballot will vary based on your address and the specific districts your residence falls within. You can always find your jurisdictions and eventually your sample ballot by searching NC Voter Search made available by the North Carolina State Board of Elections. When you get to the page, you'll fill out your information and it will populate with all those who share your name or the information that you provided. You will scroll until you find your information and you'll click on it, verify your name and address are correct. And then you can scroll down to see the appropriate sections for jurisdiction, sample ballot, your voting history. You can also track your mail-in ballot if you are voting that way. Since there are so many races, your ballot will likely have both a front and a back. So make sure you are aware of that. Make sure you flip it over so you can vote for as many races as you are eligible to do so. Keep in mind if your time is short, you can always search the episode's chapter titles for the particular questions that we're asking. So you can look and see which ones most interest you. And you can also go to www.ncdeepdive.com and check out each episode's transcripts if you would prefer to skim through those. For this episode, we are delving into the Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor Race. There are six candidates running in this race, and you will have the opportunity to vote for two of them. Now, please note this is a nonpartisan race, meaning that these candidates will not have an R or a D or an L or any party affiliation notated on your ballot when you go to vote. If this is important to you for your voting strategy, you will want to make note before you head in to fill out your ballot when you're voting. The candidates that are running for this particular race include Samantha Krop, who is affiliated with the Democratic Party, Jim White, who is affiliated with the Republican Party, Terence Thomas, who is not affiliated with any party, he is unaffiliated, CeCe Grant, who is affiliated with the Democratic Party, Beth Farrell, who is affiliated with the Republican Party, and Brian Lewis, who is affiliated with the Libertarian Party. Again, this is a nonpartisan race, so when you go to fill out your ballot, many races will have an R or a D or an L next to the candidate's name. For this race, those letters will not be there. So if it is important to you, take note. Otherwise, without further ado, my friends, let's dive in.

Samantha Krop: Intro, Why, & Experience

Amanda Benbow Lunn 3:20

On this episode, I am pleased to be speaking with Samantha Krop, who's running for the Wake Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor Seat. Welcome, Samantha. Thank you for joining me today. I invite you to tell me a little bit about yourself, and then you can go into why you're running for this office and what experiences have prepared you to serve in this role.

Samantha Krop 3:42

Yeah, well, first of all, thank you so much for having me. It's always a pleasure to get to share a little bit about the role of the Soil and Water Conservation District with community members. Again, my name is Samantha Krop. I'm one of your candidates for the Wake County Soil and Water District supervisor role. And my background is kind of at the intersection of education and environmental advocacy. I have a master's in education. I was a high school teacher and taught at the university level with a focus on environmental justice and civics. And I jumped ship from the world of education to get my hands dirty. I wanted to get more involved in environmental advocacy. So I spent over 10 years working in forest conservation, forest land conservation, and water quality. And right now I work as a river keeper on our local Noose River. And so I'm really involved in water quality monitoring and water advocacy, both on a local and a statewide level. I'm also a brand new mom. I have a three and a half month-old baby who is, of course, the joy of my life. And having him in the midst of a historic drought on June 1st this year was an awakening for me. I've been concerned about climate change. I've been concerned about resource scarcity for a long time. But seeing that there was an opening on the Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors and seeing that I know that I have experience in this, I work in this field, this is sort of the water that I swim in. I was excited to lend my name to hopefully being able to serve the county and protect our water resources and all the folks who rely on them. I'd also say, you know, in my day-to-day job, I have come face to face with a lot of the natural resource challenges that Wake County is facing, from issues like sprawl development that's converting forests and farmland and green space to impervious surfaces, sidewalks, pavement, to impacts from climate change, like flooding and drought, heat islands. Those are all things that, you know, I come face to face with in my work and have really seen the impacts of and how those affect our communities. And so to me, one of the main reasons that I'm running for this position is because I want to put a focus on climate resiliency. I want to put a focus on making sure that the conservation funds and resources and technical support is reaching community members who are experiencing those impacts most. And I really want to work with the next generation of stewards to make sure that folks have the tools they need to be part of a future solution. So that's why I'm running for this role.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 6:20

Excellent. So you mentioned being a river keeper. What is a river keeper?

Samantha Krop 6:24

Great question. It's perhaps the strangest and best job title, I think. Um a river keeper is a water quality scientist, a water advocate, and an educator. And so we wear a lot of different hats, but we work on essentially pollution investigations. So we run a hotline. I work in the entire Neuse River basin, so it's about a 6,235 square mile shape in southeastern North Carolina and the Piedmont, the coast in the Piedmont. And we run a hotline where people call in pollution concerns. It can be anything from illegal dumping to discharge coming out of an industrial pipe that doesn't seem right, to fish kills, algal blooms, and of course, sediment pollution from large-scale land clearing. So I spend a lot of time coming face to face with the impacts of land clearing and sprawl. And then, you know, we do a lot of sampling for different kinds of water quality parameters like bacteria, sediment, heavy metals, kind of you name it. And then we turn our science and findings into advocacy. So we meet with city and county elected officials, we meet with government staff, and we meet with state elected officials to try and pass and advocate for regulatory policy that can better protect our water resources. So, in that way, we are an advocate as well. And then I also spend a lot of time talking to people. I, like I mentioned, have a background in education. I loved being a teacher. And one of the reasons I love being a riverkeeper is because I still get to be a teacher. And so I spend a lot of time talking to high school and university age students. I spend a lot of time talking to adults about what is stormwater? Why is it problematic to convert a forest to a parking lot? And, you know, trying to again rope the community into the forward-thinking solutions that are going to help us be resilient.

Biggest Issue in Wake County

Amanda Benbow Lunn 8:12

Okay. What do you believe is the most important issue or challenge facing the people you would represent?

Samantha Krop 8:18

Yeah, well, I think that when we look at the landscape of challenges for the county's natural resources, there isn't just one thing that is on the horizon. There's sort of a complex landscape of challenges. And in the background of that landscape, kind of the environment that we're in is climate change. We all are aware of, you know, all the rhetoric about that, but we're already feeling the effects of climate change in Wake County. People are already experiencing flooding, especially in communities that have historically flooded, especially in communities that are rapidly growing and turning into pavement. So that community health hazard is felt already in our communities. And with climate change, we know that we're going to expect more water in shorter duration, so shorter spurts. So essentially storms that are dumping more water at a time. And when that happens, we're going to be seeing more significant flooding events. And the reason why, you know, that issue doesn't stand alone is because we can't think about the impacts of flooding and climate change if we're not also thinking about how our land is managed. So I'm a huge nerd on land use policy. I mentioned a lot of what I do is kind of looking at impacts from development. I also work a lot on engaging in different rezoning cases to make sure that we're developing smartly. I've worked with the city of Raleigh on the comprehensive plan technical assistance team to kind of think through what our future comprehensive plan should look like for land use planning. And I've also worked with the city of Durham on their unified development ordinance. And so I care a lot about how land is managed, which is weird because, you know, I'm a river keeper. So why is that? But the point I'm trying to make here is that, you know, what we do with our land impacts how our water works, impacts how flooding happens or doesn't happen. And so in places where replacing vast swaths of forest with, you know, homes, rooftops, sidewalks, concrete, we're seeing more flooding. And we're seeing hazard flooding. It's not just bothersome, it's dangerous. And with that flooding is not just, you know, danger from the floodwaters themselves, but that flood water carries pollutants. So it runs off of our streets and sidewalks and carries all of the visible litter and the invisible bacteria and you know heavy metals, contaminants with it into our surface waters. Here in Wake County, over 85% of our county drinks surface water. And so this, you know, flooding issue, stormwater runoff, polluting our surface water supplies is an issue for all of us who drink the water. So again, hard to answer the question of what is the one issue that we're facing because it's all connected. But I would say, you know, the way that we manage our land, we're not growing right now in a way that is climate smart. We're not growing in a way that is watershed-wise. We're sprawling and we're putting a lot of impervious surfaces. There was a study done on Wake County's tree canopy loss over a 10-year period. And we found that we lost over 11,000 acres of tree canopy. And that was during a time period when Wake County only grew a quarter, so 25%. What we're looking at is Wake County doubling by 2070. So if we continue along this trajectory, we're going to be losing so much tree canopy. And during that same time, we're not just losing tree canopy, we're also losing farmland. We lost over 36,000 acres of farmland over the past decade. So that loss of green space means loss of ability for our landscape to absorb flood water and to filter flood water before it gets back into our surface waterways. Every time we do that, we create more flooding downstream and more water quality pollution issues for those who need waterways. So I think that is a huge problem that we're staring down the barrel of as a county is how do we grow in a way that's watershed-wise and make sure that we're safeguarding our communities in that growth from a future of climate change?

What Soil And Water Actually Does

Samantha Krop 12:18

Okay.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 12:18

What does the Wake Soil and Water Conservation District actually do? And why should voters care about it?

Samantha Krop 12:24

It's an excellent question. Most people don't know what the Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District does at all, but it has immediate effects on everyone in the county who relies on our natural resources, which is everyone. The role of the Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors is to advise the county on conservation priorities and also investments. And so we, the county, benefits from some state and federal and local funding pots that can be used to invest in an array of conservation projects. Some of those can be on farmland that can help reduce nutrient runoff. Others can be like stream restoration in places where there's significant erosion. Others can be like putting green stormwater infrastructure in schools, in government buildings, in downtown areas and new developments like wetlands and rain gardens and cisterns to help address flooding in those urban environments. And then, of course, investing in land protection. So I've been going on about how much tree canopy we're losing and how much farmland we're losing from development. The role of the Soil and Water Conservation District is to assist the county in protecting some of those places. And that has to be strategic. We have to think about where the most important places are to protect and using the limited funding that we have to make sure that we're protecting some. I will say the farmland preservation program has a beautiful vision. The Wake County also published a one water plan recently, which has also a beautiful vision for conservation. But we are right now falling very behind the rate of development. The amount of farmland that has been preserved through the farmland preservation program has been around 1% of the amount of farmland lost in the last 10 years. And similarly with the tree canopy issue, we're not able to protect land as quickly as it's being developed. And that number, that balance needs to change a bit. We need to move to protecting more than 1%. And so that is a huge role of the conservation district is strategic land conservation, partnering with land conservancies and governments to protect the places that matter to us. I will also note that, you know, the Soil and Water Conservation District is not, the Board of Supervisors is not a regulatory body. And so we're not a body that can fine polluters or that can necessarily write policy. And we're not a body that's necessarily, you know, ultimately approving funding and expenditure. We're an advisory body. So if I were elected to this role, I would build strong relationships with those who do the regulation and those who do invest the dollars and the conservation dollars in our community to make sure that we are advising them to the best of our ability. Because that is the role of the Board of Supervisors, is to be good advisors on how we can best use conservation funding in our community to protect our community, to protect our natural resources.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 15:27

Perfect. And you mentioned green stormwater infrastructure. What is that?

Samantha Krop 15:33

It's such a good question. Such a nerdy thing for me to just throw into the conversation without an explanation. Oftentimes you'll hear it called GSI, which is even more just niche, but essentially, so to kind of explain the background of green stormwater infrastructure, the best stormwater infrastructure we have is actually just forests and wetlands, natural. Those are our original water treatment plants. They are beautiful at storing water, but also filtering water so that the downstream flow is clean. And so the best thing we can do for our waterways is to protect forests and wetlands. But in a lot of the places that have developed so quickly, we've already, that ship has sailed. And so, in order to address stormwater runoff, communities are more and more leaning toward implementing green stormwater infrastructure, which is essentially human-made replicas of natural tools. So things like floating wetlands, where we create essentially a wetland structure that does the role of a natural wetland. Rain gardens help to capture runoff. They usually are in a depressed part of the property and they capture runoff that's flowing and they help to filter it before it goes into the nearest stream with pollutants. You know, cisterns, we all know what a water cistern is. Those also are hugely helpful in reducing flooding. There's a whole sort of portfolio of innovative, science-backed infrastructure ideas that they're kind of biomimicry. They mimic natural tools, which are the best, for our urban environments. And so we do have, the county does have some cost share funding available to landowners who would like to use green stormwater infrastructure in their developments, on their property. And the city of Raleigh does as well, where I live, have a phenomenal, really forward-thinking program called Raleigh Rainwater Rewards, where anyone in the community can get up to 90% to actually there's a new piece where you can get 100% of your green stormwater infrastructure project covered depending on your economic need. And so it's something that our county could be moving toward more on a municipal level and also as a whole to really reduce urban flooding and improve water quality in our urban streams.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 17:44

Okay, and now that you've answered that, maybe let's get a little more basic. What is stormwater?

Samantha Krop 17:51

Yes. Well, first of all, in order to think about stormwater, we need to think about a watershed. And so, watershed is a shape. It's a topographical shape. And essentially, in that shape, every drop of water that falls from the sky and hits the ground, it ends up in some river or stream that's at the very bottom of that drainage area. And so whenever it rains, all the water collects from the high places and eventually makes its way to our rivers and streams. And so when we have a big rain, the reason we have flooding is when we have a lot of water, a huge quantity of water coming down fast. If our landscape is not full of trees and wetlands, there's no way for the ground to absorb that rain. Typically in a forest, all that rain falls on the ground and there's so many layers of vegetation and soil that it just soaks up into the groundwater. It recharges our groundwater supply, which is great, and it also filters that water from all the pollutants, bacteria, sediment, heavy metals, and eventually it ends up back into replenishing our surface water supplies. It's a water filtration cycle. But again, if we don't have those natural filtration systems in place, then that stormwater from the sky, as it's making its way down, it's rushing off of our pavement, our rooftops, our sidewalks, and collecting everything in its path. So stormwater is dirty. As a river keeper, I am often working on pollution issues after storms because that's when our surface waterways are the dirtiest, because all of the water coming off of the landscape is collecting whatever is on the ground, whatever yucky pollutants. And most people don't realize this, but we don't have filtration of storm water before it gets into our rivers and streams. Those storm drains that are always rushing with water, there's mostly not even, typically not even a litter catching device on the other end. Everything that rushes through our storm system, our storm drains goes dumps into the nearest creek and stream. And so if you go into waterway and urb in an urban environment, you'll often see tons of trash. Typically, when I talk to students, when we go and do a litter cleanup in a creek, I often ask, who's out there throwing litter directly into these waterways? What kind of evil is afoot? And the answer is there isn't typically folks out there intentionally polluting our rivers and streams. It's that stormwater carries all of this litter, all these invisible pollutants into our streams. It's a function of our urban infrastructure. And that kind of really makes people realize, oh wow, this is an infrastructure problem. This is an impervious surface problem. And so stormwater, if you are a water quality nerd like me, is a major water quality issue, especially in our urban environments. And of course, it's also a human hazard issue. It's a safety issue. And so when we talk about stormwater, it's both a water quantity issue, how much water is flowing through the landscape, and also a water quality issue having to do with how clean it is.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 21:08

Okay, and you said impervious surface. Could you explain what that is?

Samantha Krop 21:12

Yes. So sort of as I was describing the amazing power of our vegetated landscapes, forests and wetlands, those are all pervious surfaces, just meaning that when water hits the ground, it can permeate the ground and recharge the groundwater. But water can't do that on paved areas. When it's a paved area, the water isn't able to permeate or infiltrate the ground. And so we call that an impervious surface. When the water can't recharge the groundwater and be filtered by vegetation, it's impervious. So urban environments typically have far more impervious surfaces. My backyard urban creek is almost 90% impervious and it's little drainage area, it's little watershed. And that That comes with significant water quality and flooding challenges for the people who live around it.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 22:05

Okay.

Priorities & Hopes for Accomplishment

Amanda Benbow Lunn 22:06

If elected, what would you prioritize and what specifically would you hope to accomplish during your term?

Samantha Krop 22:12

Yes. Well, I am very excited, as you might be able to tell, about all of the possibilities that are on the horizon within this role. As I mentioned, I think that the future of our county's conservation priorities really impact everyone in the county. They impact whether or not we have drinking water that's reliable in the future. They impact whether we have functional trails and green spaces to bring our uh young ones and our friends. And they impact, of course, whether we have local food systems, whether we're relying on, you know, international long-chain food networks, or we can rely on our local food networks and we have, you know, strong, vibrant local farms that are still intact. All of those things are a huge part of this role. And I think they matter to all of us. But I want to talk about environmental justice. It's a topic that I used to teach about. I'm currently a board member with a Southeast Raleigh-based organization called Partners for Environmental Justice, who think a lot about disproportionate impacts of all of the challenges I felt on different community members in our population. And so it is no secret that the challenges that I laid out, climate change, pollution issues, flooding, resource scarcity, don't affect our entire population the same. Typically, those who are disproportionately impacted are people of color and low-income communities. And those who have a little more cushion from impact tend to be more well-off historically invested in parts of our county. I want to do what's possible to address that historical injustice by ensuring that our county invests its conservation resources into the communities that need them most. Historically, this conservation district has mostly engaged with rural communities, and conservation projects tend to benefit mostly rural communities. And that is a huge piece of the puzzle. We need to invest in rural communities. We need to invest in farmland preservation and forest conservation and all of the best management practices that help protect our resources. But we also need to invest in our inner city environmental justice communities, like the community that I live right next to, whose uh Partners for Environmental Justice works on in Southeast Raleigh, which was Raleigh's two historic Black communities, which also used to be on either side of Raleigh's historic uh de facto waste treatment area. Essentially, I say treatment loosely because the city used to manage its waste by dumping it in the wetlands. And that is also the home of Raleigh's two historic, uh original historic black communities. And so that's a small microcosm just in my backyard of how environmental justice issues have played out across our county. And I'm really dedicated to addressing those injustices by directing investment to communities who have failing infrastructure, communities who suffer from flooding, communities who are surrounded by polluting industries or discharge pipes, and making sure that the projects that end up going on the ground, as my Bubby would say, the little watershed mitzvahs are dispersed across our county and not just focused on certain areas and certain groups.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 25:38

Okay.

Balancing Development with Protecting Resources

Amanda Benbow Lunn 25:39

How should Wake County balance rapid development with protecting water quality, watersheds, farmland, and natural resources?

Samantha Krop 25:46

This is a phenomenal question. I do feel like I've hit on it a few times, but I'll try and sort of summarize the key points. I did mention that I'm a huge land use policy nerd. And so I'm really interested in this question of how do we balance ensuring we have enough homes and community resources for our growing population with making sure that we're protecting the natural resources in the growth process. And I would say there's two sides to this coin. The first side is thinking strategically and smartly about the forests and farmlands on the landscape that need to be not developed. And making sure that we are protecting wildlife corridors, that we're protecting the areas around our drinking watershed, like Falls Lake and Jordan Lake, shouldn't be developing right on top of those resources, making sure that we're protecting green space in communities that have very little of it, our urban heat islands, and being strategic about conservation and funding conservation before it's too late. Because if we develop all of our forested lands, we are not able to just fix that. That's they're gone. And so that's one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is doing watershed-wise climate smart development in the places that are growing, that are developing. And so unfortunately, there is a trend. You can see it if you drive in the east. Uh now it's happening mostly on the eastern part of our county where the dominant form of development is suburban sprawl. It's, you know, huge swaths of land cleared all at the same time, replaced with row houses that all look similar and not very many trees, if any trees are left. And there's a few scraggly new ones planted in their place. And there is a tiny little buffer left around the stream in the backyard, and that's how we're growing. And then there's one road that connects that suburban area to a grocery store, maybe five, seven, 10 minutes away. That's not watershed-wise climate smart growth. I would argue that that is counterproductive to climate resiliency and to community happiness. You know, we should be growing in such a way where our communities are walkable and bikeable, where we have the resources that we need nearby, and where we're retaining tree canopy wherever possible to provide relief from heat, to provide water quality benefits that I've talked about so much, and to provide habitat and really just quality of life. We all love to be surrounded by green. I don't think anyone says, oh, I hate, you know, I hate being shaded. I hate, you know, how beautiful these birds sound. This is a genuine quality of life issue. And we should be building in a way that's smart. And I worked with waterkeepers across North Carolina to actually, I spearheaded an effort to write a gold standard set of policies for municipalities to adopt in their unified development ordinances that are thinking about things like this. How can we develop to protect our natural resources? So I'm a huge nerd on that topic, but the easiest things are leave trees in the ground, use green stormwater infrastructure where you can, protect existing natural resources, and most importantly, don't sprawl. We shouldn't be sprawling. We should be growing up. We should be growing within. We don't need to be flinging people out into the outskirts of our county where they're so disconnected from, you know, fire, EMS, all these things that it becomes sort of a safety issue, too. So those are the two sides of the development, smart development coin.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 29:24

Perfect.

District Role Managing Stormwater Erosion & Water Quality

Amanda Benbow Lunn 29:25

What role should the district play in helping farmers, landowners, developers, and communities manage stormwater erosion and water quality?

Samantha Krop 29:33

Well, the district works closely with all of the bodies that you just named. The district only works with voluntary participants. So that's important. I mentioned that it's not a regulatory body. And so it's really whatever landowners, so whether that be farmers, school districts, local governments, or private landowners or developers, essentially working with them to implement conservation projects that make sense for their specific place and that are, you know, going to have a broader community benefit or a broader environmental benefit. And so, in order to have willing volunteers, the district supervisors need to build relationships and educate those people about why you would even want to, you know, do a conservation project on your land. What are the benefits for you, for your community? And so the district board of supervisors is really responsible for being the face of these resources, these technical trainings, these cost share programs, and saying, here's why you should be thinking about this. Here's why you should volunteer to be part of the solution. So that is a huge part of our role. And then the other part is, you know, not just getting them engaged, but implementation. And so once we have a willing volunteer to engage in a project, it's our job to find the funding and to support them in implementing that project on the ground, to really see it through. The conservation district staff with the county are amazing. They are out there doing this work hands-on. And it's the role of the Board of Supervisors to sort of ensure that they have the resources they need to do their job.

Approach to the Responsibilities and Decision-Making Authority of this Office

Amanda Benbow Lunn 31:06

Okay. How would you approach the responsibilities and decision-making authority of this particular office?

Samantha Krop 31:12

I would approach this office with a lens, my educator lens. So always thinking about, again, how do we communicate the value and the benefits and the resources to people so that they think about them and know about them? I would also approach this with my environmental justice lens, thinking about who's benefiting and who's suffering first and worst from the impacts of climate change and the impacts of sprawl and how do we get them resources. And I would approach this with a lens of climate resiliency, thinking about the future. As a new mom, I'm always thinking about the future now and wanting to make sure that our future is one of resource security and vibrant green spaces and thriving communities. And so I would have a view toward what will be good for future generations. And I'm really interested with that lens in approaching this role with some questions and curiosity around how we can engage more people in becoming part of our future climate solution? How can we grow a green workforce? How can we create more job opportunities in the solutions that are going to sustain us? So those are the lenses that I would bring to this role.

Adapting Conservation Efforts for Growth

Amanda Benbow Lunn 32:28

Excellent. How should conservation efforts adapt to Wake County's continued population growth?

Samantha Krop 32:34

Well, conservation efforts need to meet the moment. And that's another reason why I have decided to run for this role. We are in a unique moment of rapid growth. I mentioned that our population is expected to double by 2070 and our water demand will also double by that time. All of our municipal water treatment plants will require upgrades. And with the growing population, we will also have a growing food demand. We'll have a growing demand on our infrastructure. And so, really, we need to re-envision our entire county. You know, there are actively conversations going on now about the future of our water supply. Um, that, you know, there's recognition that we need to conservation minds need to think about where we're going to get water from in the future. But in the same lens, conservation minds need to be thinking about where we need to protect in the, you know, future of continued growth and development. Where are the places that need to be conserved and how can we do that quick before they go away? And, you know, conservation minds in the context of growth need to be thinking about updating infrastructure. We unfortunately still have a lot of old and outdated infrastructure in this county. And that applies to both municipal infrastructure like sewer lines and water lines and individual septic systems and wells. A lot of community members are vulnerable. And as more people come online essentially into our sewer and water infrastructure, we need to be thinking about upgrading those systems and making sure that they have capacity to manage all of that additional demand. And so, really, every element of our conservation planning is affected by population growth. Um, and, you know, as I argued in previous answers, I think we need to be thinking about growth and planning our growth in the context of, you know, limited resources and continued resource challenges.

Deciding What Takes Precedence

Amanda Benbow Lunn 34:32

And that brings us directly to the next question. When priorities compete or resources are limited, how would you decide what takes precedence?

Samantha Krop 34:40

The conservation district, you know, has its own process of prioritizing projects and its own, you know, ranking systems depending on what pot of money is being used. So if it's a farmland preservation project or if it's a water quality project. I, you know, as I mentioned, bring a lens of environmental justice and climate resiliency. And so I would want to make sure that we are prioritizing projects that benefit communities who, let's say, show up on the Department of Environmental Quality's map of disadvantaged communities. They run a map of communities that have historically been underinvested in or who are disadvantaged according to population demographics. Um, I would want to look at that when considering investment to make sure we're getting resources to people who need them. Um I'm very interested in protecting flood-prone communities. So I think from a safety mindset, and you know, as someone who believes in climate change and believes in science, um, I want to make sure that we're investing in places that are going to flood. And so that ranks as a high priority for me. And I mentioned our urban environments. I think we need to be thoughtful about the history of investment from the district and the future and make sure that we are investing in both our urban and rural environments because historically it is our rural environments who have benefited most from this funding. And so I would be interested in thinking critically about how projects are prioritized with the support from the district staff who are the experts, you know, in the projects that they oversee. And to make sure that we are prioritizing, yeah, things that I just said, climate, environmental justice, and sort of our urban environments as well as rural environments.

Accountability: What & How

Amanda Benbow Lunn 36:24

All right. What should voters hold you accountable for if you are elected and how?

Samantha Krop 36:29

That's a great question. I really believe in accountability and I believe in transparency as a person who works personally in my job on holding polluters accountable in my day job. I think accountability is huge. And so the things that I'm committing to overseeing and to pushing through as a district supervisor are being a person who is available to the community, being a person who is able to show up at a local school, at a local farm, have boots on the ground, bring my face to meet people in person and build those relationships. I don't want the conservation district to be this, you know, obscure body that's in a closet somewhere in Wake County's, you know, nether world. I want us to be out and talking to people and meeting people where they are. I'd like people to hold me accountable to that, invite me to things, have me show up at your festival or your event, and I'd love to be present where the community is. Also, I think numbers matter. I'd like to think that I'm a science-minded person and I am interested in advancing, you know, science-back solutions. And so I think numbers matter. And I'd like to oversee broader conservation investment so that those numbers, that 1% of farms that were protected, 1% of those destroyed by development, that number is bigger. We need 25%. We need more farms protected. I want similarly folks to be able to see more land conserved and more conservation projects on the ground, more parks, more green spaces that have co-benefits, and just a greater understanding from the community of what the conservation district does. And so, again, holding me accountable to kind of demystifying this role. So I don't want to claim that the conservation district has ultimate power to fix all the problems that I've laid out in this conversation, but certainly being a voice for our voiceless environment and all of the community members who rely on it, who are not voiceless and who are out there saying, you know, here's what we need. We need investment in our futures.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 38:42

And

What Should Be Preserved & What Should Be Changed

Amanda Benbow Lunn 38:43

you've answered this, but what do you think the office is doing right? And what would you like to see changed?

Samantha Krop 38:49

I think that the office is doing a lot of things right. I'll start by saying that. I am very inspired whenever I hear updates from the conservation district staff. I think that the conservation projects that are happening on the ground, from protecting forests and buying farmland to working with farmers to implement best management practices and green stormwater infrastructure, those are amazing things. One program that I hadn't mentioned yet is the county's Big Sweep program, which is a litter reduction program that essentially targets places that are heavily impacted by dumping and litter and works with community members, organizations, schools, the public to clean them up. And every year there's a huge big sweep event where tons of litter is removed from across our county. And this is just one way in which the conservation district makes their work public and also builds relationships with people who are interested in protecting our natural resources. And so I am a huge fan of the Big Sweep program. In my day job, I do a lot of litter cleanup work and so understand the effort and the sweat that goes into efforts like that, but also just how lovely it is to work with community members on some kind of hands-on mitzvah that helps, you know, people feel like they're a part of a solution. And so I think the conservation district is doing a beautiful job with that. In terms of the things that I would improve, I, you know, have mentioned that I think we need to invest more in our urban environments. I think the conservation district should seek more funding pools for more land conservation. We need to protect more forests, we need to protect more farmland, and we need to do it strategically around, you know, our drinking watersheds, around places that are quickly losing green space, and we need to safeguard it. And I think we need to be more forward thinking. A lot of the, you know, best management practices, and I would use, you know, scare quotes around that term because a lot of best management practices that used to be forward-thinking are no longer forward thinking. Things like doing baseline protection of a 50-foot riparian buffer, that's no longer sufficient for a future of climate change. And with the context of so much growth, we need to be thinking in a more forward-thinking way and more creatively. And so I would, you know, shift some of our funding away from some of the old practices that are not serving us hugely and direct that towards practices that have been proven to advance climate resiliency. So I would want to think critically about what's considered a best management practice in the context of growth and climate change and make sure that we're directing funding to the things that have the most benefit on the landscape.

Where to Learn More

Amanda Benbow Lunn 41:30

Okay. For voters who want to learn more about you, your platform, your campaign, endorsements, and priorities, where can they go to find that information?

Samantha Krop 41:38

Folks can go to my website, Krop4wake.com, and I've got a ton of information up there, including ways to volunteer and donate, which I would greatly appreciate as a very down ballot candidate. I'm kind of a one-woman show, and so appreciate all the support that I can get from folks who are able to help. And then I also am on Instagram and Facebook. You can find me at Krop4 Wake.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 42:01

Okay, and that is K-R-O-P, the number four.

Samantha Krop 42:05

Number four and wake. Yes. Thank you for clarifying. K R O P 4 W A K E.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 42:12

Perfect. Well, thank you so much, Samantha, for coming on and speaking to voters directly, educating us all on what the Wake Soil and Water Conservation District does. I appreciate your time, and I wish you the best of luck with your campaign.

Samantha Krop 42:26

Well, thank you so much, Amanda. I really appreciate the great questions and look forward to hearing the podcast.

Closing Reflections & Voting Info

Amanda Benbow Lunn 42:32

Democracy is built on participation. Politics can sometimes feel distant or abstract, but the decisions made by our elected officials at the county, state, and federal levels have a profound effect on the communities we call home and the way we live our lives. From the roads we drive on and the schools our children attend to public safety, parks and recreation, housing, health care, taxes, the economy, and the many other services and amenities that make up our communities, government plays a role in shaping both our everyday experience and our future. That makes taking the time to understand the choices on your ballot and the people asking for your vote an important part of being an engaged member of your community. Early voting for the 2026 midterm election begins October 15th and runs through October 31st. In southern Wake County, there will be early voting locations at the Hunt Center in Holly Springs, the Hilltop Needmoor Town Park Clubhouse in Fuquay Varina, Beech Bluff County Park, and Southern Wake Tech Campus close by. Election Day is November 3rd. A general reminder that you will need a valid photo ID to vote, the regular voter registration deadline is October 9th, although you may still register when you vote during the early voting period. Please note that you cannot register to vote on Election Day itself, and that that day you will absolutely have to vote at your designated precinct location to have access to your full ballot. And because there are so many races and ballot measures this year, your ballot will likely be double-sided. It can be helpful to start on the back so that you don't accidentally overlook anything. You'll vote for the races that apply to your jurisdiction along with statewide amendments and for Southern Wake County voters, local Wake County bond referenda. Voting is one of the ways we take part in the communities we share. You don't have to agree with your neighbors or even with the candidates you've heard here to recognize that our communities are shaped by the people who show up, ask questions, learn about the choices before them, and cast their ballots. So please take the time to get informed, make your voice heard, and encourage the people around you to do the same. Your vote matters. Your voice matters. And you absolutely matter, my friend. And with that, this episode of the NC Deep Dive has come to an end. Please feel free to check out this episode's show notes at ncdeepdive.com for further information and relevant links for this candidate along with general election information. As always, if you have any topics or thoughts you'd like to share, you can find us on social media or email us at ncdeepdive at gmail.com. If you found value in this episode, I'd love for you to subscribe, rate, and share it so that others may more easily be informed. Please make sure to stay tuned for all the relevant candidate, amendment, and referenda episodes for the 2026 midterm election by visiting ncdeepdive.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, or wherever you currently listen to your podcast. Until next time, my friends, Namaste: The Love and Light in Me sees and honors the love and light in you.