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Archie Taylor, Jr., the incumbent for the District 2 seat of the Vance County Board of Commissioners, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Taylor, a Democrat, is running against challenger Michael Fisher for the seat. Filing after the primary election, Fisher, a Democrat, said in an earlier interview with WIZS that he was required to run as an unaffiliated candidate and petition for voter signatures in order to add his name to the November 2020 General Election.
A retired military officer and businessman, Taylor was elected to the Board of Commissioners in 2012. He served as Chairman of the Board in 2015 and 2019 and currently serves on the Vance County Public Safety Committee.
Taylor also serves on the Board of Directors for the Vance County Department of Social Services, Maria Parham Health, McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center, Vance County Public Schools Foundation and Occoneechee Council: Boy Scouts of America.
Below is a portion of Taylor’s responses to questions asked during the Town Talk interview:
Archie Taylor, Jr., the incumbent for the District 2 seat of the Vance County Board of Commissioners. (Photo courtesy County of Vance)
Q: What does a vote for Archie Taylor mean for the future of the Vance County Fire Department, fire districts and Vance County Rescue Squad?
A: I am a strong proponent of the Vance County Fire Department; they have served the county well for over 60 years.
Now we have this element inside of the Rescue Squad – along with some others in our community- who would disband the Vance County Fire Department. Instead of eight volunteer fire departments, there would be nine because they would get rid of the Vance County Fire Department, distribute its employees and have the Rescue Squad take over firefighting in the county. I think that is absolutely a huge mistake for our county.
Mine has been the primary voice, largest voice, loudest voice of making sure we keep our Vance County Fire Department as is and build a model around something else. That’s one of the biggest differences between me and my opponent.
A vote for me is a vote to keep the Vance County Fire Department intact.
Q: How does your platform address areas of growth and concern in the community?
A: When citizens in District 2 call on me for assistance, I jump right on it and do my best to help them, whether its finding grant money to have water lines installed or cleanup of dilapidated houses in the area.
I was able to get Carver School a multi-purpose room when it was the only school in the county that didn’t have one. I was also able to help Middleburg Steakhouse reopen and am proud of the Board’s involvement in the opening of the new Vance County Animal Shelter.
Right now, I’m working on helping bring broadband internet access to our county. We [the Board of Commissioners] looked at several options and explored the most cost-effective means. We found Open Broadband to be the best solution for us. It not only provides the installation of internet throughout our county but is also good for our citizens in terms of what they’ll have to pay.
Q: What is your stance as far as using taxpayer money to fund areas such as the Vance County Rescue Squad and the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center?
A: I question why Vance County pays over $100,000 for rescue work. As pointed out in The Daily Dispatch recently, Granville County has $20,000; Franklin has $40,000; Warren has zero dollars allocated to rescue, and yet Vance County has over $102,000. So, I’ve questioned that for six months or so, and I guess we will come to some resolution on that.
McGregor Hall is a very important part of our county’s economic development; it brings our community over $2 million in revenue every year based on a study done by NC State University. We are very fortunate to have a facility of its type.
McGregor Hall is one of the only performing arts centers of its kind in the state that gets no public money at this time. I think it’s important that we figure out some way to help McGregor Hall because it provides a big economic impact to our community, and we want big economic impacts.
To hear the interview in its entirety, including additional questions and responses, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.
(This is not a paid political advertisement. Political candidates are offered equal air time/coverage on WIZS.)