Zapple facing two challengers for commissioner seat in New Hanover County

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The fight for New Hanover County Commissioner includes three democrats vying for the spot. Two with previous experience as commissioners and one new to politics.

Rob Zapple was elected as a commissioner back in 2014 and says he wants to continue fighting for public education and for non-profits in the area.

“My hope is that one day, we can have every child, every three and four year old in New Hanover County has a seat waiting for them in a Pre-K program that allows them to be up to speed by the time they get in to kindergarten and also into first grade. So they have an opportunity for a successful academic career,” Zapple said.

Julia Olson-Boseman, a commissioner in the past, also has a focus on schools. But she wants to attract more businesses that are not detrimental to natural resources.

“I opposed the incentive to National Gypsum because of the pollutants it would release. So I think that we need to attract new businesses here and do that by increasing funding to education, keeping our kids safe, but also in developing an economic development department in the county. So we can attract good paying jobs back here,” Boseman said.

James Middleton is new to politics but came to the Cape Fear during the recession. He says he wants to focus on businesses so nothing like that happens again.

“I know from experience as someone who moved here when the economy was at it’s absolute worst, that it’s really hard to find work that’s meaningful and that can allow you to make a living here. I’ve lost so many friends, brilliant people, who graduated from UNCW, who wanted to have their lives here and had to move away to find well paying jobs elsewhere because they weren’t provided,” Middleton said.

All of the candidates want to focus on the GenX issue and the importance of clean drinking water.