School Board's Egolf ready to challenge Hill for county commissioners' seat

Henderson County School Board member Jay Egolf recently announced he'll be running for a seat on the Henderson County Board of Commissioners in the March 2024 primary.

Egolf and his family own and operate the Egolf Ford and Chrysler Jeep Dodge dealership in Brevard. Egolf, 52, is a Henderson County native, graduating from Hendersonville High School in 1989 and from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1994. In the March Republican primary, Egolf will face County Commissioner David Hill for the board’s District 5 seat.

He talked about his decision with the Times-News recently, and below are his responses.

What are some of the main reasons that prompted your decision to run for county commissioner, and what are some key issues you believe need to be addressed in the county for the future?

I've always been interested in public service and decided to run for School Board in 2018, winning two elections and being the top vote receiver in 2022. Serving on the Board of Education, which is the county's largest employer, has given me a great perspective on county issues, including growth. I'm great at negotiating and have been finding win-win situations for over 30 years in my line of work. I have excellent working relationships with our current county commissioners as well as other city, municipal and other governing officials. This experience facilitates everyone working closer together and creating these win-win situations. I would bring common sense to balance growth, which is one of the key issues for the county. The population of Henderson County has doubled since 1980, and I believe careful zoning and common-sense planning are essential to keep our county having balanced growth while keeping the natural beauty intact. Finding ways to preserve farmland for landowners who no longer farm and placing denser housing on the county's underutilized five-lane roads with freeway access instead of on two-lane roads are just a few of the issues I would like to help with.

More: County commissioners adopt 2023-24 fiscal year budget and honor prep athletes

What are some issues you believe you and Hill don't agree on?

Here are a few:

• Hill voted to defund the Flat Rock Playhouse. Created in 1937, the Playhouse is a treasured asset and is responsible for a lot of business in our area, with over 56,000 patrons spending money in Henderson County to be exact.

• Hill supported the proposed asphalt plant in East Flat Rock. This could negatively affect the water supply and the value of surrounding neighbors' property along with their lifestyle, and this may be why they moved to that part of the county.

• Hill is OK with increasing the density in Etowah. This county will continue growing — we just need to grow in the right places. Putting dense housing on two-lane roads doesn't make sense. This type of development would maybe fit better on some of Henderson County's five-lane roads that are underutilized with easy highway access to Asheville and Greenville.

• While I believe someone should have the right to do what they want with their property, if that negatively affects the property value of the surrounding neighbors and lifestyle and/or could affect the quality of the air/water supply (asphalt plant), I would not be in favor. And just because someone owns a 174-acre, 18-hole golf course, if they want to sell it to someone putting 343 RV places on it or 242 homes on it might not be the best idea for a two-lane "corridor".  And I feel land conservation is what keeps people wanting to visit and live in Henderson County. Only a developer from Charlotte wouldn't agree with this. This is where zoning comes in and government does play a role. That's what makes this county the envy of WNC. Henderson County has everything, including natural beauty, business, commercial, industrial, etc. That's why we need common sense on the board to balance growth and maintain these assets.

More: Mike Edney's comments put wheels in motion to get NC's school start date law modified

Describe what it's been like working on the school board and also your relationship with the current county commissioners.

I have loved serving on the school board for the last six years. I wish our county commissioners had experience serving on this board. Again, the Board of Education is the county's largest employer and the largest single item on the yearly budget.

Successfully helping to navigate our kids' education through COVID-19 was one of the toughest things I've ever done. Balancing safety, teacher needs, staff and other faculty needs, the state, etc., and the need to continue the education of our children goes back to relationship building and working with different groups of people to find win-win situations.

Searching for and successfully finding another superb superintendent to replace Dr. Bryant was another valuable experience. Being on the Board of Commissioners, I would continue having the relationships I have cultivated over these last six years for the benefit of our children and community.

What do you think it will be like running against a fellow Republican?

It is very difficult running against a fellow Republican in a primary race. We are both on the "same team." We just differ in a few of our views but I still respect where Hill is coming from.

Egolf and his wife, Jennifer, have three children: Jace, Beck and Charlotte. Beck is a senior at Hendersonville High; Charlotte is in eighth grade at Hendersonville Middle, and Jace is a junior at the University of South Carolina majoring in broadcast journalism.

Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: School Board's Egolf running for seat on Board of Commissioners in 2024