Featured photo: Forsyth County Commissioner Map
In Forsyth County, voters in District B will get to elect three members to county commission. Below are the candidates running for each race, with incumbents listed first.
Early voting is underway and runs through Nov. 2. Election Day is on Nov. 5. Voters can register to vote during the early voting period and can cast their vote at any open polling location during that time. Find places to vote early here. All voters will have to show a valid photo ID to vote this year.
On Election Day, voters are required to go to their assigned precinct. To look up your assigned polling place, learn more about the voting laws and find your sample ballot, visit nc.gov/living/voting.
District B (Vote for three)
Republican: Richard Linville (i)
No website
Linville was first elected in 1980 and was the chair of the board from 1985-86. A farm owner, Linville’s community service includes the NC Association of County Commissioners Agricultural Committee, Transportation Advisory Council and North Carolina Agricultural Steering Committee. Linville attended East Forsyth High School.
Republican: Gloria Whisenhunt (i)
Whisenhunt has been in office since 1996 and has served as chair and vice chair of the board. Before that, she was on the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education from 1990-96. Whisenhunt was previously a cosmetologist. Whisenhunt got into politics because customers in her shop used to “constantly complain about the public schools.” After her son left for college, she “decided to do something.” According to her website, she’s focused on fighting against drug and opioid addiction.
Republican: Gray Wilson (i)
Despite an unsuccessful bid for one of the three spots on the Republican ticket during March’s primary election, Wilson was selected to fill the remainder of former commissioner Dave Plyler in July.
Wilson is a US Army veteran and has practiced law in Winston-Salem for 47 years, most recently with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP. He also taught trial advocacy at Wake Forest University School of Law and authored North Carolina Civil Procedure. His priorities are community safety, economic development, housing, education and fiscal responsibility, according to his website. Wilson feels that the city’s police department and sheriff’s office are “undermanned, underpaid and overwhelmed with the spike in violent crime,” and that they need to be “supported” and offered competitive salaries.
Democrat: Valerie Brockenbrough
Read her full candidate responses here.
Valerie Brockenbrough is a mom and entrepreneur who runs Zoë b Organic and helped found Community for Public Schools, a group of parents, educators and other community members involved in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. She served as the board president of Piedmont Environmental Alliance for two years. Brockenbrough wants to invest in school buildings and push for a school bond on the ballot in 2024, “properly fund” the sheriff’s office and jail and create a “holistic plan” for housing. Brockenbrough believes that it’s “time for new leadership,” according to her candidate questionnaire. Her top three issues are public education and access to Pre-K, making sure the county has a fully staffed emergency department and preventing gun violence. She also supports tax increases in order to provide more support for public education. All three Democratic candidates favor changing the meeting times for the commission, which meets at 2 p.m. on Thursdays.
Brockenbrough attended TCB’s Winston-Salem reverse town hall.
Democrat: Curtis Fentress
Read his full candidate responses here.
Curtis Fentress is a dad, a Forsyth County native, the marketing director for Ecolab Inc. and a volunteer coach with NC Fusion Youth Soccer. He’s also a startup mentor with Winston Starts. In his candidate questionnaire, he stated that school quality and economic growth are the most important issues facing county commissioners. “We need to increase revenues for the County to be able to fund critical services,” he added. “Increasing revenues are a function of how many taxpayers exist, how much they spend, and what rate they pay. As county commissioner, my focus would be on increasing the number of taxpayers as opposed to raising rates which could have a counterproductive effect on the budget long-term.” To the question of whether he would support tax increases for school infrastructure and teacher pay, Fentress responded, “I support teacher pay and infrastructure as high priorities in the County’s next budget.” Fentress attended TCB’s Winston-Salem reverse town hall.
Democrat: Marsie West
Read her full candidate responses here.
Marsie West is a senior consultant with the Enosys Group, a business-consulting firm, and was the vice president of Wachovia Bank from 1990-94. Her previous experience as a civil servant includes serving as a town meeting member for Reading, Mass. from 2005-15 and serving as the finance committee’s chair and vice chair for several years. She was on the Reading Board of Selectmen from 2013-15.
In her TCB candidate questionnaire, West stated that “strong public education, public safety, and affordable housing are the three top issues we must focus on to attract new businesses that will help build our economy and keep the tax rate low while allowing us to continue to provide needed services to the community.” She thinks the county commission needs to do a “better job coordinating with the Winston-Salem City Council and the leadership of our other municipalities.”
West attended TCB’s Winston-Salem reverse town hall.
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