Welcome & Ballot Basics

Amanda Benbow Lunn 0:08

Hello friends, welcome back to the NC Deep Dive. I'm your host, Amanda Benbow Lunn, and this episode features one of our candidate conversations for the 2026 general election. By my best accounting, it looks like we have 18 contested races with 46 candidates in Southern Wake, specifically in Holly Springs and Fuquay Varina. There are a few other races that have only one candidate running. We will not be covering those in this segment. 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 NC State Board of Elections. Once you get to the page, you'll fill out your information. It will populate with all of those who share your name or information that you provided. You'll scroll until you find you, click on it, verify that it is indeed your name and address, and then scroll down to see the appropriate sections you're looking for, like the jurisdiction or the sample ballot. Since there are so many races, your ballot will likely have both a front and a back, so make sure you flip it over so that you can vote for all of the races you're eligible to vote for. Keep in mind if your time is short, you can search each episode's transcripts at www.ncdeepdive.com, or you can look at the various chapter titles for each of the topics to find the ones that most interest you. For this episode, we are delving into the Wake County Board of Commissioners for the at-large race. There are four candidates running in this particular race. You will have the opportunity to vote for two of them. The candidates running in this race are Gary Dale Hartong, affiliated with the Republican Party, Mona Singh, affiliated with the Democratic Party, Christine Kushner, affiliated with the Democratic Party, and Kyle Stogoski, affiliated with the Republican Party. Without further ado, my friends, let's dive in.

Christine Kushner: Intro, Why, & Experience

Amanda Benbow Lunn 2:13

On this episode, I'm happy to be speaking with Christine Kushner. She is running for the Wake County Board of Commissioners for the at-large seat. Again, just for listeners, you will be eligible to vote for two candidates on this race. So thank you so much for joining us, Christine. If you want to take a few moments to introduce yourself and go into why you're running for this office and what experiences have prepared you to serve in this role.

Christine Kushner 2:41

Thank you so much for having me. I'm just delighted to be able to talk with your audience and share my ideas tonight and why I'm running for county commission. So again, I'm Christine Kushner and I have come to run for county commissioner because I just feel this is such a critical time in our community, in our nation. I'm very concerned about the direction of our state and could not take the news one more day and wanted to feel a way I can give back to community and preserve the community that we have. So I served on the school board for 11 years. And for the last four years, I've been on the Health and Human Service Board for Wake County. So my interests of public education, public health, social services, and the community services that the county contributes to and offers are absolutely my policy passions. And so when these two new seats came up and are being added to the county commission, as you said in your intro, I'm running for one of two at-large seats that are being added to the current seven seats on the county commission. And since there were open seats, I thought I would throw my hat in the ring and was successful in the primary.

Biggest Issue in Wake County

Amanda Benbow Lunn 3:48

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

Christine Kushner 3:54

Well, in a county of 1.2 million people, and with the current state of politics, I think there are a lot of challenges facing Wake County. We are a prosperous county. We've always been, for decades, a fast-growing and wonderful place to live, work, play, retire, raise a family. And I want to make sure we preserve our county at their services and the quality of life we have here. If I had to point to a single, you know, pressing issue, I would say it is affordability. People are feeling the effects of the national economy. They're feeling the effects of housing costs, energy costs, and it's putting a strain on our families. And one thing I'm particularly concerned about for the last five, ten years, I think our youth have really been struggling with anxiety and pressures and mental health supports that aren't as expansive in our community. So I that would be the most immediate thing I would want to address on the county commission if I'm elected is mental health supports for our youth. And I think long-term, it's affordability and quality of life in our community.

Priorities & Hopes for Accomplishment

Amanda Benbow Lunn 5:00

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

Christine Kushner 5:05

So many things, because a county does so many different things. But again, I think one of my key concerns is about the mental health and accessibility to services for young people and our most vulnerable people. I think we've seen an increase in homelessness, we've seen an increase in a lack of stability for many of our families. So I think one immediate priority would be around mental health services for both youth and vulnerable seniors and other populations that are showing a lot of strains in our community right now.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 5:35

What

What Should Be Preserved

Amanda Benbow Lunn 5:36

do you believe Wake County is doing well that should be preserved?

Christine Kushner 5:39

Oh, that's a great question. I think one thing that Wake County government is doing well is putting a special attention on the growth that's happening in our community. It has been, every day, 66 people move into Wake County. And that has put a great strain, not only on our housing stock and traffic and transportation, but also on environmental aspects of our community, our tree canopy. We've lost a significant amount of our tree canopy in the last 10 years, the open spaces that we have. And I think the county is drawing attention to that. There's some really great work being done on our water supply. And there's a comprehensive countywide report and planning document on called Wake One Water. And that I think is working with our municipalities to make sure that we have the water supply we need in the decades to come, given the stress of development and growth that's happening. There's a lot of great work being done on land use to make sure that we're preserving open spaces and farmland. And there's been work on the solid waste and the landfill. That's one thing I also think needs to be strengthened is our connections with our municipalities and other systems that collect our recycling and garbage to make sure that we are with the county running the landfill, making sure that we are connecting the dots, doing better recycling, keeping some of that solid waste stream out of the landfill so we can preserve and better manage our landfill. So I think that we are doing some great work at the county level on these environmental issues, and there's always room for improvement. But I think that's one thing I've been impressed by in the last year is learning more about that

What Would You Change

Christine Kushner 7:20

work.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 7:20

What county policy or practice would you change if elected?

Christine Kushner 7:24

You know, I think I've touched on the social services and public health systems that we have. There's a lot of great work that's being done on that. And there's been a lot of emphasis in the last decade in expanding collaborative work with the school system. I think that's been incredibly important to connect the county government with our school system, that there's more synergy between these very two important countywide systems that we have. One thing I would change, and I'm going back and being a bit repetitive, but we have a mental health plan that's in place. And I want to make sure that we are seeing more impacts from that. I'd like to perhaps do a lot more support in developing more providers, having more providers who look like our community so that folks who need mental health services, need therapists, need psychological supports are being able to access providers, can find a clinician, can find someone who they can relate to that it's a good match. And I think that's been a struggle at the county to support and work with private providers and also work with other nonprofit agencies to make sure that we have the clinicians that we need. And I've heard of shortages and I've heard of just difficulty with people being able to connect with those mental health services. And there are things the county can do to help people who come to the public health department who show up in crisis to get the services they need. And I think another thing I would change and would want to strengthen is our work in homelessness. I think there is a lot of wonderful work being done at Oak City Cares and with many nonprofits that partner with the county. But there's, I think, a lot of room to even improve that work and improve those connections. The county has just had a wonderful success in addressing one of the encampments that's in our community. And they were able to find permanent housing for 30 some people who were living in an encampment. And I think they are working hard to address homelessness. And I would love to see that work just continue to progress because there's such an urgent need to address the social safety net that we have to weave together in this county. And it's not for a lack of trying, it's just something that I, as a commissioner, want to be able to support and expand so that we can end homelessness in our

Infrastructure & Keeping Up with Growth

Christine Kushner 9:47

community.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 9:47

Wake County's continued growth is putting pressure on roads, schools, public safety, housing, utilities, and other county services. How should the county ensure that infrastructure and services keep pace with that growth?

Christine Kushner 10:02

That has been a challenge for decades. I mean, Wake County has been a very attractive place to live, and we have been growing for leaps and bounds. And when I served on the school board, that was absolutely a huge stressor. Before I got on the school board, we were growing by 3,000 students every year in the 2010s. It was a one year where the school system grew by 7,000 students. I mean, there are school systems in North Carolina that don't even have 7,000 students. It was like growing by a single school system in a single year. And that has caused so many pressures on our families and on our school system. And as you also, you know, said growth is impacting our traffic, just so many human systems. And I think it's always hard to keep track with this growth. And so to keep pace with that growth, I think the county's been very successful and strategic in the capital bonds that they have proposed and been able to pass for the last 25 years. Wake Tech has had successful bonds, and we have just seen an explosion in Wake Tech being able to have sites across the county. There are more than 70,000 people who access Wake Tech. And I think that's been an important part of our economic engine here in Wake County. The school system has successfully been able to partner with the county for capital bonds. And I think that is, you know, we've been building so many new schools that I think one of the challenges has been maintaining the schools that we have. And we've seen those struggles in the last year. And I think that is something that the school system and the county have improved. They've formed a core team of staff from both the county and the school system to plan better. And that has been more effective in the last 10 years than previously. But it is a huge challenge. I think we still face transit challenges. So one solution, I think, or one strategy the county should use is to think more regionally, to try to work across county lines in transit, for example, to work across county lines for some of our environmental pressures, whether it's clean water or other development strategies. How can we work with neighboring counties to make sure that there's just more collaborative work? I think this has great potential for traffic. And also for funding some of our systems, I think needs to be a regional or even a state-based strategy. So many of our issues are not confined to Wake County. People work in Wake County who live in other counties or vice versa. So how can we think more strategically across county lines to plan better and to be more responsive to the needs of the people who are living in and around Wake County?

Public Education: Balancing Needs, Funding, & School Options

Amanda Benbow Lunn 12:38

Wake County provides significant local funding for public education while the elected school board is responsible for operating the school system. What do you believe the county's financial responsibility to Wake County public schools should be, particularly as the county continues to grow?

Christine Kushner 12:55

I come to this work as a fierce advocate for public education. That's definitely one of the reasons I'm running for county commission is to advocate for our school children, our educators, and to strengthen our public school system. And I think the relationship between the county and the school system and school board have been much better in the last five, ten years than previously. And it's critically important for the county commission to respect the elected school board. As you pointed out, they're duly elected school board members and they are responsible for the decisions of the day-to-day operating of the school system. The county is wholly responsible for capital. So it's very important that we work with the school board to make sure that the county is funding the capital and physical infrastructure needs of the school system adequately. And for decades, the county has supplemented the operational budget of the school system to keep the great educators that we have. The operational monies have gone for various things, but predominantly to provide the highest teacher supplement in the state to our Wake County teachers. And increasingly, the state is underfunding and privatizing education, I think, to the detriment of our future and our present for our public schools. The county has stood in the gaps for the shrinking budgets coming from the state. The state has a constitutional duty to provide public education to our students. 80% of North Carolina young people who are school aged attend public schools. And yet the state legislature and the current majority for the last 15 years has divested of our public school system. And they have walked away from their responsibilities, in my opinion. They are siphoning off monies for for-profit charters and other charter schools that are publicly funded but privately run with not as much accountability. And they're siphoning off $700 million to $800 million this year to absolutely unaccountable private schools that are receiving tax dollars and public dollars in a way that I think is terrible policy for our public school population and for the responsibilities of state government to public education. So I think this is a huge threat to the future of our kids and the future of having strong public schools in North Carolina. We are 50th in our effort toward public education. We still have an amazing group of teachers, educators who are doing astounding work. Our public school system in North Carolina, and particularly in Wake County, are achieving record levels of success for students. The graduation rates are way up. Students come out of Wake County schools with a record number of credentials, both in career and technical education, but also in advanced placement and college level classes. Our students in public schools are outperforming their peers, and I think it's due to an effort of amazing educators and students who are knocking out of the ballpark. And yet our state is not providing the support that is needed. So the county has stood in the gaps because I do think the people in Wake County support our public school system. It's becoming frayed. It's a worrisome trend, but I think Wake County has stood by our public schools. And as a county commissioner, I will I will be an advocate for our public school system.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 16:10

Excellent. And it's not as applicable to this race, but because the county commission does help supplement the schools with funding. When we're talking about the opportunity scholarships or the vouchers or the public charter schools and private schools, are they held to the same mandates that the state legislature creates or has in place for public schools?

Christine Kushner 16:34

No. I think it is a huge threat to folks who are contributing their tax dollars and their public dollars to the state. These private school vouchers in particular are going to schools that do not have to have any standard curriculum. They're not performing any sort of evaluations or any public tests that the public can see what they're getting for their tax dollars. Very concerned about the overall financial streams that are going to private schools because there is no long-term investment. When we are investing public dollars, I believe they should go to public investments that are accountable to the taxpayers. So public schools are run by school boards, as you pointed out. And school boards are elected by the voters and they are accountable to voters or accountable to the residents of North Carolina. And if you don't like what's going on, you can tell them what you don't like and you can tell them what you do like. And school board members are required to be responsive and represent the community. Whereas the money's going to private schools are just leaving the state treasury. I don't see the accountability measures. I don't see any sort of testing results or any sort of evaluation. So we can know what the outcomes are from these schools. Many of these schools discriminate against students. They have certain requirements. They're not open to all students. They also are not open to all employees or educators. They often have very narrow requirements for both students and educators. Whereas the public schools are inclusive, they provide care or education to students who have special education needs. They provide special services. When I was on the school board, we often would hear from parents who had to return to their base school because the private school where they were enrolled told them they could not provide the services their kids needed for an IEP or any other specific need if there was other accommodations that students needed. So it's getting less education or offering fewer options for our students in a more closed environment in some of these private schools. I'm very concerned that when we have public dollars, they should be used for an inclusive manner where all students are both welcome and can thrive. And public schools, you know, they're not perfect. They have a lot of room for improvement, but they take all students. Everything shows up at the schoolhouse door. And I think that that's the magic and the power of public education is that every child has a chance to come in and get an education. And there's great challenges with that, but it's also an inclusive system for all. And I think that's the ideal that our society and our community should be grounded in.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 19:08

Okay. And with your experience previously on the school board, I know there are some people who believe that the schools are getting enough money, but perhaps the money is going to the wrong places. And some people lift up the central administration being inflated and certain people's salaries being too much. With what you know, is the school board being properly funded in a way to support our students? Do you see the extra inflated costs? Do you feel they are justified in regards to the county commissioners trying to supplement the operational cost?

Christine Kushner 19:51

Well, I think you've hit on some of the reasons why the county has stood in the gaps. And that has been, as I said, decades ago, the county supplemented the school system's operational budget, particularly for salaries for our teachers, because it was more expensive to live in Wake County, and the state salary schedule was not as competitive for recruiting the best to Wake County. But to your, you know, other part of your question, when I first joined the school board, we had a superintendent who thought that central office is really bloated. So I'm going to do an outside study and make sure that we can see how central office is staffed. And that study 15 years ago came back saying, you know, your central office actually is pretty lean. You actually need, you have, you know, seven area superintendents and you really need 12. Or, you know, you and there were other places in this report that said you're not overstaffed. In fact, we can find places where you need more central office staff. Well, we did not add to central office at that time, but we got the report saying, hey, we are not a bloated central administration. Fast forward to now. There was just a report that was done by a third party that showed that the central office of the Wake County Public School System is indeed still underfunded. It is not overfunded. And there have been, you know, many studies statewide of different school systems. And Wake County always comes back as a large consolidated school system of 160,000 students covering 800 square miles of our county. This consolidated large school system we have is a huge tax advantage. For the taxpayer, it is highly efficient. If you think about economies of scale, the Wake County public school system is a great return on the tax dollar for Wake County residents. That's one of the reasons why we've been so successful. When I was on the school board and we traveled to other towns, that cities that were about the size of Raleigh in Wake County, we'd go to Austin, Texas, or Indianapolis, Indiana, or Pittsburgh. You know, these are cities that are about the size of Raleigh. And the local leaders were amazed that we had a consolidated school system. They often had fragmented systems that just were not as effective. And they were also very racial. Or socioeconomically segregated. There were, you know, pockets of suburbs that had, you know, different smaller systems. And they just were in awe of the fact that we had a consolidated system that was just highly effective. So to your point, you know, central office is not bloated. I think the best advice I give folks who wonder, and it's a big budget. The Wake's County School System has an over $2 billion budget. It's a big budget. It's a complicated budget because the state funding comes not only in dollars, but in positions. The county funding is complex. The federal funding is restricted. So my best advice for the taxpayer that wants to dig into it, and I would encourage people to do it, you can go online to the school system's website and you can see their financial audit. Every single year, the school system does a detailed audit and you can see where that money goes and you can see how much is spent on special education, how much goes to Title I schools, how much is in the child nutrition system. But 90% or more of the budget is in our school buildings. It's not in central, you know, central office. It's either in our school buildings or tied to when I was on the school, but it was like 95%. And it was just an amazing focus. I do truly believe that the school system is prioritized funding strong educators, funding strong support staff, it's funding our people because it's the people in the system that serve our students. And that's got to be the top priority.

Housing Affordability & Homelessness

Amanda Benbow Lunn 23:26

What should Wake County's role be in addressing housing affordability and homelessness?

Christine Kushner 23:30

Well, I've been campaigning for this office for more than a year. It's been a really long campaign, given the primary and now going to the general. And as I talk to voters, housing affordability is absolutely top of mind. And housing stock and availability is definitely on a lot of people's minds. And I do think that the county should continue its focus on crisis housing. So the county has truly been a leader in addressing homelessness. Working with the city of Raleigh and other municipalities, that's also very key that the county staff is working with our municipalities to make sure that we are synergistically addressing these most vulnerable people who are living in our community to make sure that we are providing the social services support, the mental health supports, the just physical supports to secure some form of stable housing for families and individuals who find themselves without stable housing. I think it's incumbent upon us to prioritize that as a county. I think there are a lot of nonprofits that are supported by county government, as well as the wonderful synergistic work that's going on at Oak City Cares, where you have that a central hub for where folks who are experiencing homelessness or who need supports can come and find connection with services that they need, whether it's having a mailbox, have getting a phone, doing their laundry, being able to access support systems so that they can find housing. I think there's some great work being done. And I think we can end homelessness with a concerted effort. And I think the county is taking a great lead in doing that.

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

Amanda Benbow Lunn 25:10

And how would you approach the responsibilities and decision-making authority of this office?

Christine Kushner 25:15

Well, I have just always had an open door policy when I have served on boards. Certainly when I was on the school board and now on the county commission, I expect to have an open door and meeting with folks. I am a people person, and I think that's the best way for me to be the best commissioner possible is to get feedback from residents, to seek out feedback. So to intentionally be out in the community, whether it's to a festival or attending meetings or connecting with nonprofits and other folks who are in the same workspace as what the county services are offering, just listening. And I think that's absolutely critical when you serve in a public role and you're in elected office representing the community. It's critically important to keep lines of communication open. So I value that feedback and it would definitely be my priority because I'm making decisions for 1.2 million people. And that's a daunting and exciting task. And I think the more people I listen to and the more I process and explain decision making to people, I think the better, Commissioner, I will be.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 26:21

Perfect.

Balancing Taxes, Obligations, Investments, & Fiscal Responsibility

Amanda Benbow Lunn 26:22

Wake County faces pressure to fund growing demands for services and infrastructure while also keeping the property tax burden reasonable for residents. What is your philosophy on taxation at the county level? And how would you determine whether Wake County's property tax rate is appropriate and whether we can afford the reduction or expense?

Christine Kushner 26:41

That's top of mind, I think, also with many people in our community because there are a lot of unfunded mandates that are falling to the county. And one key example is our public school funding. As I think I mentioned earlier, and I will repeat again, I think the state has failed in its responsibilities to fund public education, not only in Wake County, but statewide. They have a constitutional duty that's been found with the Leandro case to fund our public schools, and they have continuously failed to fulfill that. So I think the most important thing that can happen in our state is that we elect state legislators who have the power and the control, state legislators who truly support public education. I think we hit a turning point in the state that that is absolute need for the future of our state that we have people who support public education. So the biggest unfunded mandate that the county faces is that the state is not paying their fair share of the public school budgets. I think other examples are in public safety. We don't have the same number of prosecutors and assistant district attorneys that other Mecklenburg County has as an example. There were five that were proposed in this last budget from the state and they were cut at the at the 11th hour. So we don't have the prosecutors we need to make sure that folks in Wake County have the justice that they deserve in a timely fashion. There are extra monies from the county that are having to go to house inmates that can't be transferred to state prisons because the state is not funding their prison system properly. They're not paying their prison guards enough, so they're not able to have the staff and space that they need. So these folks who should be in state prisons are in our county detention center. And that is costing the county money. There's an unfunded mandate from HR1 that Medicaid recipients have to come down to the county office now two times a year instead of just one time a year to be deemed eligible for Medicaid. And so this county had to hire twice the staff in order to do this federal mandate. Again, property tax, county dollars going to hire folks that I think is an unnecessary mandate from the federal level for this duplication of Medicaid eligibility. The foster care system's not properly funded in the state. And so the county is having to fund for emergency shelter for foster children who are not able to find stable foster placement. And so that has been a very complicated and very difficult situation for very vulnerable children who are not able to be properly cared for because the foster care system is not being funded. So there are multiple of these unfunded mandates that are rolling downhill and that the last place where they can all fall is to the county. And another concern that I have is that many of our stresses are not just Wake County stresses, but they're regional causes, whether it's folks who are coming in and migrating to our county looking for jobs and they end up in Wake County struggling and they're here in our community, but we're not getting the resources from the state or federal governments to take care of folks and have the safety net we need. And so these costs are again falling to the county. But they're not county-specific causes. So I think we have to think much more broadly. We have to start thinking regionally and statewide and federally to take care of each other in a much more effective way because people are moving around and people are crossing across state lines and federal issues are looming, and yet things are just falling to our county taxpayers. And that's just not a fair way or efficient way to fund the services that we need to take care of each other as neighbors.

Thoughts on Property Tax Amendment

Amanda Benbow Lunn 30:19

And with the property tax amendment that will show up on the ballot for listeners, this allows the legislature, or at least is worded such that it allows the legislator the ability to set a property tax limit. Do you want to speak about your thoughts about that? Any worries that you may have or anything that might help to inform voters on that amendment? Yeah.

Christine Kushner 30:41

The amendments are almost a political trick. Ones on voter ID, which we already have. And all three of these amendments, the property tax, the income tax, and on voter ID, are things that should be in state statute, not in the constitution. The constitution should be rights and responsibilities that are a vision for our state. And I think all three of these, particularly the property tax cap, should not be in the constitution. And in fact, there already is a property tax cap in North Carolina. It's in state law. It is $1.50. Wake county's property taxes nowhere near that. So it's not sound policy to put these in a constitution. And the property tax cap constitutional proposal is very vague. So it's not even in the proper form that I think is responsible to put in a constitution. The other thing is it's not going to decrease your property taxes. So I would tell voters that I think these are just gimmicks that are not sound policy. So I will be voting against them. And I would urge voters to do their research and look into it, but it's not an effective way to do sound policy. I think property taxes are regressive. I would say that the state should be more responsible. The state has increasingly cut income taxes for corporations and is trying to move that corporate income tax to zero. And so this is shifting the tax burden statewide from corporations and larger systems to individuals. And I think that is a regressive way to fund the services that we all do need from the state and local level. So property taxes can be quite regressive. I think we should move toward a better and more fair tax system instead of shifting things to residential property taxpayers. So I would love to see the state take the leadership to have a more sound system so that we can be fair about how we tax our society. And I think, you know, taxes are the price we pay for civilization. And I think we all benefit from a fair system because we're all benefiting from these public systems that are so incredibly important: public education, transportation, our roads, our you know, clean water, protecting our environment, all the public systems, public safety, public health, all the things that we all rely on for success in our lives here. And I think we just need to be much more thoughtful about how we fund our systems.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 33:11

And you mentioned the current property tax limit is set at $1.50, and that I believe is per $100,000 valuation on people's properties. Where is Wake County's tax rate at now? Do you know?

Christine Kushner 33:24

It's about 54 cents, I think, 56, somewhere in there. So it's much lower than that. And again, the legislature right now has the power to set a property tax cap. The legislature has a significant amount of power. And they have one. They have a cap. And I think it's not sound policy and it's not the right way to go about making these very important decisions.

Deciding What Takes Precedence

Amanda Benbow Lunn 33:46

Okay. When priorities compete or resources are limited, how would you decide what takes precedence?

Christine Kushner 33:52

That's a difficult question. I've served on a board before, and I have to make sure that I am working with my colleagues. When we have difficult decisions, I think it's critically important for board members to not only seek the community's opinion and make sure that we're out in the community talking to folks, getting priorities, you know, just the idea of where the community's priorities are. And I think that's the power of a campaign is that you're talking to folks out in the community, and I'm getting a sense of where our community desires and our aspirations as well as our priorities are. I think it's critically important to talk to colleagues. I'll have eight colleagues on the county commission if elected, and I will value speaking across differences and trying to come to some consensus decisions together. Individually, I think I will always prioritize our most vulnerable populations. I think, you know, as I'm telling you, I need to make sure that I'm getting community input. I also have to think about people who don't have as much power to use their voice. So I think we must be very sensitive to the most vulnerable folks around us that need help and that need the county services for public safety, for public protections, for the support services can help them become as prosperous and stable and happy as we all deserve to be. You know, my priorities will be with children and vulnerable seniors and other folks who are at a crossroads in their life and how we can just promote more stability and healthful living around the county.

Working with Municipalities

Amanda Benbow Lunn 35:22

How should the county work with municipalities as they make decisions affecting countywide growth and infrastructure?

Christine Kushner 35:28

Oh, and I think that's going to be critically important. With 12 municipalities, Wake County has the most of any county in the state. And it's one of the strengths and wonders of living in Wake County. We have so many wonderful places to be and work and play and live. And I think each of the towns have their own character and strengths. And I think it's a really attractive thing about Wake County. And our unincorporated spaces too, right? I mean, still about 18%, I think, of residents in Wake County live in unincorporated Wake County. But I think the municipalities are critical partners for the county and making sure that the current plan is to really push density and growth to where there already is infrastructure. Because we do need to also balance some of our open space and the unincorporated areas and make sure that we're protecting the watershed, make sure that we're protecting our wildlife corridors, that we are making sure we protect our tree canopy and our farmland. So there's a lot of, I think, responsibilities on the county to make sure that we are just having a balanced development and making sure that folks who are newcomers to Wake County as well as those who've lived here a long time are both treated with great respect and inclusiveness so that we can continue to build our community. And growth as a stressor, but it's also a wonderful thing to have. We don't want to be a stagnant community. So growth can add a lot to our literally add a lot to all of our communities across the

Accountability: What & How

Christine Kushner 36:55

county.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 36:55

What should voters hold you accountable for if you're elected and how?

Christine Kushner 36:59

Ah, they should hold me accountable for everything. I think that's part of the signing up for a public job like this. I welcome feedback, whether it's through an email or meeting up in a community event, or I want to be an open county commissioner. I definitely will approach the job that way. So I think we have to hold each other accountable. You know, all of our leaders and community members need to be held accountable. I think that's what we all should do as community members. But definitely as a county commissioner, I want to be held accountable for doing my job, for being open and transparent, for having good governance. I think that's going to be critically important and something I hope to bring with my experience on the school board. We were definitely under a microscope on a school board, and I expect that being on the county level, and I definitely want to get feedback from folks and make sure that I'm doing the best job I can.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 37:48

As

Last Thoughts

Amanda Benbow Lunn 37:49

we wrap up, any last thoughts? Is there anything we haven't discussed that you would like voters to know or anything from our conversation that you'd like to expand upon or clarify?

Christine Kushner 37:58

The county just does so many different things. I think it's always difficult to talk about what the county commissioner does. I mean, from public education, public health, social services, but also, you know, we do zoning in the unincorporated areas and mentioned the landfill and environmental stresses and the restaurant inspections and making sure we're safe. There's just so many things to talk about. I think the biggest need I think I we should do as county commissioners is just talk about the different levels of government. You know, you've touched on the school board's responsibilities versus municipalities and what they do and the county and their responsibilities. And I think the greatest thing I would love to, you know, just have more conversations about is how all these systems can work better together, how we can have more synergy, how we can get more effective outcomes for residents. You know, if we're working better with someone's town, you know, the county can figure out some solutions. The residents of that town are going to have a better outcome. So I think that's a really incumbent upon us at the county level to work with our state leaders, to work with our federal delegation to make sure that we are all looking out for our community, but also just trying to maximize, you know, the impacts we can have on everybody who lives in Wake County. It's a great place to live. It's truly, I just such an honor to be running for this job and to want to do this work. I'm really ready to do this work to continue to build our community and protect it from the headwinds that I feel are coming our way because I do value where we live and how we have built these places that that are part of Wake County. So I'm definitely going to be an advocate and a defender of all that we have here.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 39:42

Thank you.

Where to Learn More

Amanda Benbow Lunn 39:43

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

Christine Kushner 39:51

Oh, you can go to Christine for Wake.com, and I've got lots of information on my positions, on endorsements, on events coming up. I'm excited as we come into the last weeks of this campaign. There's just a lot on people's minds. And I hope that everyone will make a plan to vote and find the information that they need, not just on my candidacy, but everyone on your ballot. Early voting starts October 15th. So pick a day, whether it's on November 3rd or someday in early voting, um, make a plan to vote. And and because your vote is your voice, and it's critically important now more than ever to use your voice and have impact in our community. So the more people that vote, the better decisions our community will make together.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 40:40

Perfect. And you mentioned your website was Christine for Wake. Is that the number for or spelled out for?

Christine Kushner 40:46

Yeah, Christineforwake.com. And I'm on Facebook and Instagram. I have not managed TikTok yet, but and on LinkedIn for more of my professional background. I had worked in public health and in healthcare access early on. So have a little bit of that on LinkedIn. Just excited to keep on the campaign trail now till November 3rd. We'll be out there. So I would love for folks to connect with me on social media, come to an event. There are forums that are coming up and just to talk about Wake County.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 41:19

Excellent. Well, it's been lovely to speak with you, Christine. Thank you so much for joining us and for choosing to spend your time speaking directly to voters. I know I appreciate it. And I wish you the best of luck on your campaign.

Christine Kushner 41:32

Thank you so much, Amanda. Thank you for the service you do, getting our stories out and allowing us the chance to talk directly to your listeners. Thanks so much for all

Closing Reflections & Voting Info

Christine Kushner 41:41

you do.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 41:41

You're welcome. 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 Needmore 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.