Valencia Perry grew up in Vance County and said she is running for county commissioner so she can be a part of a “powerful team” that uses money wisely to help people.
“Spending money takes research and takes knowledge,” Perry said during a recorded interview on Monday’s TownTalk. “I want to be a part of that team.”
Perry is challenging incumbent Archie Taylor, Jr. for the District 2 seat on the Vance County Board of Commissioners.
She’s gained perspective over the years and said she will be an asset as a commissioner. “I will be a fresh set of eyes,” she said, to help make “long-needed change in Vance County.”
Perry has a background in accounting and she also is an ordained minister. She is a mother and a grandmother who said her personal and professional experiences have shaped her ideas and sharpened her focus.
She said her focus is on education, funding for schools, pursuing services for those with mental health issues and the county jail situation. “My goodness, that’s a sticking point,” she said, adding that it’s important to have a detention center that keeps inmates – and staff – safe.
For Perry, education is the key issue. Without a proper education, she said, people have a tendency to get off track, or make bad decisions that fuel the crime rate, those in detention and in mental health crisis.
Her three-word mantra is “resilience, transparency and reliability” and she said she would work hard for the people of Vance County.
Her work on the Vance County Housing Authority Board helped her realize just how critical financial responsibility is. “I had a chance to help people move forward and not stay stuck,” she said. “We’ve done a lot of great things and I feel good about it,” she said of her work with the housing authority.
Another need she sees in the county is a diversion center for those in crisis because of mental health or substance abuse issues. “It is so important,” Perry said, that people have “somewhere they can be safely cared for by professionals who know what to do.”
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