Oct. 12—HUDSON — Four candidates are vying for three seats on the Hudson Board of Commissioners.

In short, one candidate is trying to unseat one of three incumbents. Newcomer Austin Fox is taking aim at Barry Mitchell, Jim Egelman, and Rick Shew

Engelman, Sr. has lived in Caldwell county for the last 33 years.

"I opened a business in Hudson eight years ago and moved to Hudson two years ago because of my love for this town," he said. "I raised two sons, and enjoy spoiling my five grandchildren. My youngest granddaughter attends Hudson elementary where she is in the third grade."

Engelman said for the past eight years, his focus has been on the growth of Hudson.

"I started a Hudson rotary club four years ago, and also serve on the board of directors of the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce," Engelman said. "I am also on the HUB Station (Hudson Uptown Building) steering committee and am part of the Hudson Community Development Association. All of these appointments help me focus on growing small businesses in Hudson as well as attracting large companies to our town."

Engelman said his focus in the next two years will be to help create a Hudson Heritage Committee to improve Hudson's historical roots for the future generations to come.

Mitchell, a Kansas native, came to North Carolina in 1985 after orders from the Marine Corps brought him to Camp Lejeune.

"I retired after 22 years of service in 1990, achieving the highest enlisted rank of Master Gunnery Sergeant (E-9.)," Mitchell said.

After retirement, Mitchell went on to teach at South Caldwell High School.

"I have been married since 1970, with five children," he said.

Mitchell said his personal interests surround church reading, golfing, hunting, and fishing.

"Having taught students the importance of being an involved citizen, I ran in the 2017 Town of Hudson Commissioners election to use my knowledge of municipal government," Mitchell said. "Each town has its own concerns and vision of how they will meet the needs of their community."

"I have seen first-hand the hard work of Hudson's local citizens, town employees and current commissioners, to utilize all that Hudson has to offer, including our holiday traditions and festivals, improvement to the Optimist Park, tremendous vision and upgrading of the HUB Station (Hudson Uptown Building) Arts and Business Center, WI-FI in the downtown of Hudson, and maintaining quality parks and recreation," he added.

Mitchell said with citizen support through the Hudson Community Development Association and staff seeking out grants, Hudson has not increased local taxes during his four years as a town commissioner.

"It has been an honor to serve and work side-by-side with the incredible employees of the town of Hudson," he added, "I look forward to seeing projects and goals under development come to fruition."

Shew, who has previously owned and operated a security system business in the town of Hudson, and currently works as an economic and workforce development professional with CCC&TI.

"Serving the town of Hudson, as a commissioner, has been a great honor. Hudson is a great place to live, raise a family, go to church and do business with local businesses," Shew said.

"Over my last term, I have proven to be a strong conservative leader for the residents of the town of Hudson. I have an understanding of how things work and how to get things done," he added.

Shew said his passion rests in seeing Hudson hold on to traditional small town values, while being progressive in the pursuit of the amenities of residents.

"I am running for reelection because I want to be a part of the exciting things that have already begun," he added, "With my background, I feel I bring a lot of experiences and knowledge to the table."

Fox says he is a Hudson native, born and raised.

"I am a devoted Christian, I serve an almighty king above everything that I do," he added, "I am a strong conservative Republican, I am pro God, pro life and pro gun. I heavily believe, support and defend the 2nd amendment to keep and bear arms that it shall never be infringed."

"I support the thin blue line and am a huge supporter of our military," Fox continued. "I pray daily for our military service members and their families for the sacrifices they make each and every day to keep us safe and to protect our freedoms."

Fox said he is running for Hudson town commissioner because, "I want to be a light for a new generation, I want to be a better voice for a better tomorrow."

"I'm not running for the money or fame but to give back to a community that has given so much to me, I am running a donation free campaign," he said. "I just want to work for you to make Hudson a better place."

Fox intends on ushering in a new era of young strong like minded people to run towns and cities, "and that starts with me," he said.

"I plan on putting the rights of the people of Hudson first and I plan on fighting for you each and every day. May God bless you and may God bless the Great United States of America."

Reporter Candice Simmons can be reached at (828)610-8721

Reporter Candice Simmons can be reached at (828)610-8721