Party Affiliation is important for local candidates

At the Belville Founders Day celebration no May 7, 2022 volunteers of Cape Fear Voices and The Teen Scene conducted a public opinion survey. The numbers are small and not significant to be a credible predictor of outcomes or issues. However, there were some interesting findings.

The most significant finding was that 68% of those surveyed could not identify a candidate for the State House of Representatives without knowing party affiliation. In that survey question, incumbent Frank Iler and his challenger Eric Terashima both received 16% of the vote. The remaining percent included those who, as one person commented, “if you can tell me which party they are in, I can’t tell you who I’m voting for.”

In the race for the U. S. House of Representatives, the story was similar. Congressman Rouser received 26.3% of the vote. Challengers, Evans and Miller, both received 10.5% of the vote. Here again, the, “I am not sure who I will vote for without knowing which party they are in” was very important. It was interesting to note that people could not identify two state representatives who have been in office for over 12 years, without knowing party affiliation.

One lady commented that, “everyone complains about their elected representatives and then people like me, who don’t know any of the candidates, keep sending the same one’s back.”

Other findings in our very small but very random survey found:

• that 55.5% of those surveyed thought the current rate of rate of growth in our area is “too much.”
• On a scale of 1-10, “quality of education in Brunswick County” received a 5.89. There were many comments about the good and not so good but zero comments on any school political issues. On the positive side, people complimented the quality of teachers, the communications with parents and the opportunities the schools offer. On the negative side, comments centered around teacher pay, discipline and one principal.
• Harris Teeter in Waterford received the highest rating of 8.6 out of 10 rating among major grocers in our area based on “cleanliness, prices, and overall quality.” Lowe’s Food in Brunswick Forest was second with a 7.88 rating. Other stores in the survey included Food Lion, Piggly Wiggly and WalMart. Several people responded they thought Piggly Wiggly is the most improved store in the area over the last year or so.

Lastly, we discovered that 74% of those surveyed preferred to get their news “ONLINE” and not in the beautifully printed copy, such as Cape Fear Voices and The Teen Scene.  Go figure!!