Q&A: New Hanover's newest commissioner talks priorities, approach to new role

It’s been just over three weeks since Dane Scalise was sworn in as the newest member of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners.

Scalise, 38, was unanimously appointed by New Hanover County’s Republican Party to fill the seat left open after the sudden death of Commissioner Deb Hays. He will serve out the rest of Hays’ term, which runs through December 2024, and has plans to run for the seat following the current term.

Scalise sat down with the StarNews to discuss his new role and his priorities for county government. His responses have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

How have your first weeks in this new role been?

They've been busy. We're in the middle of planning for the fiscal year 2024 budget, and there's a lot of work that goes into getting properly prepared for that.

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Can you talk a bit about your background?

I'm originally from Morganton, North Carolina. I went to UNC Greensboro for undergraduate and then I went to UNC Chapel Hill for law school.

In 2012, my wife and I moved to Wilmington. Since then, I've worked as a lawyer and insurance broker.

In 2016, I was appointed to serve as Deputy Commissioner of the North Carolina Industrial Commission – that’s a judge who presides over workers compensation and state tort claim act matters. In 2020, I resigned from government service so that I could return to practicing law in the private sector.

I'm married, and my wife and I have two sons together – they’re 7 and 4.

How are you approaching your new role?

My approach is shaped by a combination of factors. My professional background as a lawyer, insurance broker and small business owner means I understand the importance of earning enough money to keep yourself and your employees going and not spending any more than is necessary.

My role as a judge gave me important perspective on being fair and equitable and keeping an open mind.

Being a husband and father is part of what I bring to the equation, too. As a family, we try to be fair, equitable and supportive of one another. My kids are also growing up here, and I want there to be a good, exciting and safe future for them, as well as the other kids, in New Hanover County.

You were appointed to serve out Deb Hays' term. How has Hays affected your approach to this role?

Not only did I know Deb Hays, we were very close. We served together on Wilmington Downtown Incorporated for a lot of years.

I knew her to be an incredibly dedicated public servant. She was a really, really hard worker. She was always available for people whenever they reached out to her.

Because we had a similar approach to life, that's what I'm going to do as a commissioner, too. I'm going to be dedicated to the public's work, I'm going to be a hard worker, and I'm going to be accessible to the public.

What life or work experience has prepared you for this new role?

Everybody is a combination of everything that's happened to them up to the current moment, so the totality of my life has prepared me for this experience. It's my professional background. It's my personal background. It's the volunteer work that I've engaged in.

I'm seeing this as an extension of my public service. It's a different kind because I have an official capacity now versus a volunteer, but it's public service. I'm going to take it as seriously as I take in everything else that I've done in my life.

Before you were appointed, were you interested in running for public office?

I had intended on running for city council this fall. In fact, just about a week and a half before Deb died, I had filed a notice of intent to open my campaign. As you might expect, I'm not running for city council anymore. I intend to run for county commissioner in 2024, at the conclusion of the current term.

What are the top issues facing New Hanover County?

As a lawyer and a judge, law and order is an important issue for me. It's really important we support the women and men in law enforcement.

Fundamentally, I believe our society requires stability, and stability can only be provided through the preservation of law and order. The safety of our children and all of our citizens is of paramount importance. I want to make sure law enforcement always has the support they need, not only financial support, but moral support, vocal support, so they know they have people in the county government looking out for them as they look out for us.

Another top issue is fiscal responsibility. No one loves paying taxes, but people are okay with paying taxes if they know their taxes are going to something meaningful. It's important to me that tax dollars are being spent wisely.

How will you make sure you’re addressing issues most important to residents?

By being accessible. One of the things that I'm committed to doing is answering phone calls, returning phone calls and returning emails.

Over the last few weeks, I've endeavored in every phone call and email to respond to let folks know I cared about their perspective, that I took it under consideration and that it was informing my judgment.

I am proud of being somebody who's pretty well trained. I think that I'm a reasonably smart guy, but I don't know everything and I can't know everything. I benefit from the public keeping me posted on the things that matter to them. That gives me the ability to do a better job.

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As the county’s population climbs, how will you approach managing this growth?

You've got to keep an open mind. You can't prejudge any of the proposals because we've got a couple of competing interests.

We’ve got to make sure public infrastructure can accommodate the growth and development we're contemplating. We've also got lots of people who want to live here. We need to make sure that those folks have affordable places to live -- not everybody has the ability to buy a $300,000 home.

We've got to balance the equities to figure out where we can build so that we can provide affordable housing for folks while being cautious not to put onerous conditions on folks who already live here.

I can't give you a one-size-fits-all answer because there isn't one. We have to look at it on a case-by-case basis.

Anything else county residents should know about you?

This is a tremendous honor. Whatever I do in my life, I've worked really hard at.

I have found that if you have a good attitude, if you work hard, and you are kind to other people, usually good things happen. That's the approach I am going to bring to this.

Reporter Emma Dill can be reached at edill@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Dane Scalise outlines priorities as New Hanover County commissioner