Meet Lee County Commissioner candidate Kirk Smith

Kirk Smith is running uncontested for Lee County Commissioner in District 2.

Each candidate received the same invitation and questions. Responses are published individually as they were received.

Questions for Candidates Seeking the Office of County Commissioner

Question 1. Read the following and explain your support for oversight committees.

Dr. Michael Cline, North Carolina’s state demographer, projects the state’s population will reach 11.7 million by 2030, enough to add an additional congressional seat after the 2030 Census. North Carolina is also expected to surpass Georgia and Ohio to become the seventh-largest state in the nation in the early 2030s.

Addressing growth while protecting assets and mitigating school district needs requires collaboration, and citizens demand transparency.

In city councils, school boards and county governments, developers, investors, and realtors hold offices, some with planning board members as relatives by blood or marriage.

There is no oversight to prevent facilitating urban sprawl either through tweaking land use plans, by extending infrastructure that invites future development corridors, or by allowing developments “by right,” or by denying evidence in quasi-judicial hearings.

Administrative teams, including planning boards, surrounding elected officials are their paid employees.

When citizens with security clearance volunteer on oversight committees (The three counties have bountiful military residents.), their statuses would relieve concerns about possible leaked information during real estate purchases, which are negotiated under general statutes during closed sessions.

According to general statutes, a committee may be formally adopted as part of the board to advise on real estate purchases in closed sessions.

Oversight committees working with governments would provide input without loyalty restraints because they would not be paid employees or compensated volunteers. They would keep records of the meetings for public release after transactions to show who recommended purchasing compromised property or industrial-zoned businesses into rural areas or who may facilitate working with selective organizations.

Oversight committees, selected for specific career experience and who work outside of county and municipal government, would bridge transparency, could help protect rural farmlands, and provide insight to multi-faceted issues for stronger outcomes.

Collaboration and transparency are preventative measures. Read an example here.

Answer: On its surface, I would oppose forming “oversight committees” for several reasons:

As one who respects keeping government growth at a minimum, this would clearly expand what we already have in place with our Planning Boards, Commissions and Committees (23 total) made up of citizens and appointed by following statutes or ordinances.  I have witnessed several public meetings involving various boards that did not have a quorum and therefore could not vote on a variety of government actions thus delaying the process.  To add another layer of “bureaucracy” by introducing so-called “oversight committees” stifles the governing process. How would an “oversight committee” benefit these actions?

Planning Boards (Broadway, Sanford, and Lee County) and our Technical Review Committee rule on residential and business/manufacturing developments, then present their recommendations to their respect governing bodies.  In many cases the governing bodies acknowledge whether it conforms or not to the Unified Development Ordinance.  How would an “oversight committee” benefit these actions?

Lee County is unique in that “urban sprawl” requires public sewer and water, thus empowering Sanford City to allow “voluntary” annexation of properties throughout the county (where public sewer is available).   Lee County has no say in that action, even though we requested intervention by the Legislature.  How would an “oversight committee” act in these circumstances?

Lee County now has a Conservation Easement Program to facilitate protecting agricultural/forest lands from future development.  A landowner presents their proposal to the Agriculture Advisory Board who in turn submits their recommendations to the Lee County Board of Commissioners.  How would an “oversight committee” act in these circumstances?

Once property is annexed into the City of Sanford, by the City of Sanford, then the City Planning Board recommends various zoning requests that come before them.  How would an “oversight committee” act in these circumstances?

Question 2: Public board discussions help the public learn alternative viewpoints and reveal new information, which may lead to a stronger solution than what was originally proposed as the only solution. When a dominant leader opposes differing viewpoints, communication stops, and the opportunity for growth and transparency disappears. How do you plan to negotiate with dominant board members to work for what is best for the citizens?

Answer: The Lee County Board of Commissioners as a body, openly discuss agenda items, a commissioner moves to approve or disapprove, followed by discussions and then a vote, I personally as the Chairman ask each Commissioner for their comment.  At no time has any so-called “dominant leader” stopped communication, I fully support the First Amendment right to “speak freely” and as a Board we abide by that principle. 

Our Board policy during Public Comments was restricted by previous chairs to 10 citizens limited to 3 minutes each.  As a “free speech” advocate I have made an exception to the limit on 10 people by allowing as many citizens as possible to speak and Board members have motioned to allow adding time to certain speakers to complete their comments. 

Question 3: What is your position on recent zoning decisions and land-use disputes, including those involving schools, subdivision expansion, and farmland conversion?

Answer: When a landowner chooses to sell their property for whatever reason, it is their Constitutional Right, and our involvement is to protect their property rights.  Land that is voluntarily annexed into the City of Sanford no longer falls under the direct zoning decisions of the County.  The School Board currently can go out and find property for future school construction.  The County must buy the property but note that the schools need access to public wastewater treatment (sewer) and therefore will find a site within the city limits.

Question 4: What types of businesses or industries should your county attract or avoid? Should the county hold the economic development associations financially accountable for attracting businesses with potential environmental impacts?

Answer: The types of businesses or industries that our County should attract must be compatible with our community, not competitive with our existing industries, and provide a variety of manufacturing that enhances the opportunities for our young citizens.  Industries that we should avoid are those falsely shrouded in “green energy” such as solar panels, Electric Vehicle lithium battery production, and other products whose manufacturing creates toxic fire hazards and whose end of life produces highly toxic hazardous wastes.  As for holding the Sanford Area Growth Alliance financially accountable impacts the government bodies that make up this Public-Private Partnership.  As a Board we certainly vet various industries by evaluating their environmental impact before even considering responding to a “Request for Information” about our county. Clearly you do not understand the nature of County Governments in North Carolina, we are an extension of the General Assembly, therefore we cannot supersede State Statutes as they pertain to environmental regulations or penalties.

Question 5: Do you support the state’s Rural Infrastructure Authority grant programs and similar incentives? Why or why not? (Read about the reuse programs here and the push for industrial businesses into rural areas here.)

Answer: Have you heard of the state funded boondoggle of the Global Trans Park or the railroad to nowhere?  No further comments on this topic.

Answers by Kirk Smith.

Feb. 24, 2026

Stephanie M. Sellers

Submit news tips, events and interview requests to editor@sandhills.news.

Sandhills News is plain-English local government reporting that explains how decisions affect your land, taxes, schools and rights.