{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Wyatt Dunn","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Matthew Wyatt Dunn is a registered voter in Union County, North Carolina, registered since 1996 (30 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Matthew Wyatt Dunn's year of birth as 1957; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 18 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Matthew Wyatt Dunn can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"Matthew","lastname":"Dunn","middlename":"Wyatt","suffix":null,"token":"e817cb0c2ceb464b"},"token":"i9uY0SgsU5kR_UPh"},{"candidatename":"Patrick Tyson","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Patrick Carol Tyson is a registered voter in Union County, North Carolina, registered since 1992 (34 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Patrick Carol Tyson's year of birth as 1972; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 11 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Patrick Carol Tyson can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"Patrick","lastname":"Tyson","middlename":"Carol","suffix":null,"token":"489e13586d131ff4"},"token":"F4UXqT8_s3nx-Cg2"},{"candidatename":"Elizabeth Lee","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nElizabeth Ann Lee is a candidate for Alamance County Board Of Commissioners in Union County, North Carolina in the 2026 election cycle. The North Carolina primary is scheduled for March 3, 2026, with the general election on November 3, 2026.\n\nNo additional biographical information is currently available for this candidate. Voters seeking more information are encouraged to contact local news sources, the county Board of Elections, or the candidate's campaign directly.\n","firstname":"Elizabeth","lastname":"Lee","middlename":"Ann","suffix":null,"token":"a7dce5b98d3b8d77"},"token":"beiOguJcwtyeK-PL"},{"candidatename":"Sam Harris","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Samuel Franklin Harris is a registered voter in Union County, North Carolina, registered since 2010 (16 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Samuel Franklin Harris's year of birth as 1992; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 11 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Samuel Franklin Harris can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"Samuel","lastname":"Harris","middlename":"Franklin","suffix":null,"token":"c551d235152ff87d"},"token":"Ja3DhXg0MckqfkLM"},{"candidatename":"Brian W. Helms","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"Brian Wood Helms is the Republican incumbent seeking re\u2011election to the Union County Board of Commissioners in North Carolina, with the November 3, 2026 election. The Board of Commissioners serves as the chief legislative and executive body for the county, responsible for setting policy, adopting the annual budget, overseeing public safety, infrastructure, land\u2011use planning, and other services that affect residents\u2019 daily lives.\n\nHelms was first elected to the Board in December 2022. The campaign website does not provide details about his education or prior professional experience, so those aspects of his background are not publicly documented in the sources provided.\n\nSince taking office, Helms has emphasized responsible growth and fiscal restraint. He notes that Union County approved only 159 new residential units after his election, contrasting with neighboring municipalities that approved thousands, and he helped pass a policy requiring a General Obligation Bond referendum for any new wastewater facility, which passed 3\u20111 [12]. He also supported reversing a planned large\u2011scale wastewater project (Site B) that would have accommodated about 28,000 homes, preventing a projected 50% utility rate increase, again passing 3\u20111 [12]. In 2025, Helms opposed state\u2011level legislation (HB765 and SB205) that would have mandated high\u2011density housing without local input, supporting a unanimous county resolution against it [12].\n\nOn public safety, Helms backed the expansion of the Sheriff\u2019s Office, including establishing the county\u2019s first on\u2011site crime lab, and advocated for a tiered EMS response system to improve response times. He voted for a 1\u2011to\u20111 ratio of School Resource Officers (SROs) in Union County Public Schools, achieving full funding for an SRO at each of the 53 schools by 2025 [12]. He also supported multiple salary increases for deputy sheriffs and related staff, with the most recent 2025 raises ranging from 3% to 6% depending on rank [12].\n\nHelms positions himself as a low\u2011tax advocate. Amid rising property values in 2025, he says the Board worked to keep the tax rate revenue\u2011neutral, reducing the overall tax rate from 58.8 to 43.4 cents per $100 of assessed value\u2014the largest reduction among local governments in the county. The Board also limited the additional tax burden from voter\u2011approved school bonds to 1.82 cents over revenue\u2011neutral, buying down $10\u202fmillion of bond debt and cutting expenses by about $18\u202fmillion [12].\n\nOverall, Helms\u2019 record as presented focuses on limiting residential over\u2011development, maintaining public safety resources, and lowering the property tax rate while funding essential services and school safety initiatives.\n\n## Sources\n- [11] [Brian Helms for Union County Commissioner](https://www.brianhelmsforbocc.com/)\n- [12] [On the Issues - Brian Helms for Union County Commissioner](https://www.brianhelmsforbocc.com/issues)","firstname":"Brian","lastname":"Helms","middlename":"Wood","suffix":null,"token":"886984676bc303ef"},"token":"hmGelc6VqJEKxHsi"},{"candidatename":"Melissa M. Merrell","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Melissa Manning Merrell is a registered voter in Union County, North Carolina, registered since 2006 (20 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Melissa Manning Merrell's year of birth as 1969; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 17 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Melissa Manning Merrell can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"Melissa","lastname":"Merrell","middlename":"Manning","suffix":null,"token":"ad1f8da326ef6e72"},"token":"qJ5kn22sxKaSr5k1"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":"county_commission","office":"county_commission","officedescription":"A county commissioner is a member of the county's legislative body. The commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, authorizes borrowing, and passes county resolutions and ordinances. Commissioners are elected from districts (or at-large seats) to represent constituents on countywide policy.","officequalities":"- Policy judgment on countywide matters \u2014 budget, taxes, land use, services, and intergovernmental issues \u2014 within Tennessee county-government law.\n- Budget literacy: the commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, and authorizes multi-year bond issues.\n- Legislative process: drafting, amending, and voting on resolutions and ordinances; committee work that pre-screens items.\n- Constituent relations in the district \u2014 case-work and community issues flow through the commissioner's office.\n- Willingness to complete the state-required annual continuing education through UT CTAS.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"County Commissioner","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":3,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Union County Board Of Commissioners"}