Get to know County Commission Republican Candidate Kristel Swayze

The Kannapolis native highlights schools, workforce development, and restoring trust in county government.

Kristel Swayze. Photo courtesy of Kristel Swayze.

Kristel Swayze is one of eight Republicans running in the primary for three seats on the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners. Here are her answers to questions from The Cabarrus Compass.

1. Please tell us about your background and your connection to Cabarrus County. How long have you lived in the county, and what ties do you have to the community?

I grew up in local classrooms at Shady Brook Elementary, Kannapolis Middle School, and A.L. Brown High School, before heading to UNC–Chapel Hill to study sociology and history. Those years gave me both a deep respect for this community and a clear understanding of how schools and local institutions quietly shape the everyday lives of families.

After college, I began my career at Blue Cross Blue Shield, working in the Individual Policy Program. I spent my days talking with people navigating illness, uncertainty, and complicated rules written far from their kitchen tables. It was my first clear lesson in how much leadership matters; how clarity, fairness, and common sense can steady people, and how their absence can do the opposite.

In 2002, I took a leap and started my own business from my home. Over the next two decades, I grew it carefully, learning how to manage people, budgets, and long-term plans, and how to make decisions knowing others depend on you to get them right.

My husband, Ken, and I are raising our two children in Cabarrus County. Raised by an educator, I have stayed closely connected to public schools, volunteering with PTOs across the county and working alongside teachers and families.

2. What motivated you to become involved in public service and to run for the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners at this time?

I’m running for County Commission because I’ve spent a long-time paying attention to how county decisions actually land in people’s lives.

I’ve seen how choices about growth affect whether families can afford to stay. How decisions about school funding and facilities shape whether teachers feel supported and students have the space they need to learn. And how staffing and budget priorities determine whether first responders and county employees have what they need to do their jobs well.

I believe county government should be collaborative and focused on helping people thrive here at home.

3. What qualifications, skills, or experiences do you believe best prepare you to serve as a county commissioner?

As a small business owner, I know what it takes to run a budget, watch after my employees and make tough decisions. I started my business in 2002, which means my business survived the 2008 economic downturn and the 2020 COVID Pandemic.

As you can imagine, there were a lot of hard decisions and pivots made during those trying times, much the same that happened in every decision made by our Cabarrus County Commissioners and Leadership Team.

I have spent my adult life serving through Rotary, PTOs, the Cabarrus Arts Council, the CCS COVID Task Force, and local youth organizations.

By serving throughout Cabarrus County, I have had the opportunity to experience the needs of our residents firsthand.

I believe my business experience, intentional education and community engagement have prepared me to serve the residents of Cabarrus County to the best of my abilities.

4. What role do you believe county government should play — and should not play — in economic development, land use, and public-private partnerships?

One of the things that I find crucial in life is remembering your past, so you aren’t bound to repeat it. When Pillowtex shut down in June of 2003, Kannapolis and Cabarrus County learned a very hard lesson that one would hope we would never experience again.

Yet in July 2009, we were still there reeling from that when Philip Morris shut down. With the Pillowtex shutdown, 4,800 employees lost their jobs, and with the Philip Morris shutdown, 1,000 Cabarrus County employees lost their jobs.

Thankfully, RCCC, county leadership, the municipalities, workforce agencies, and business leaders pivoted in a collaborative effort to help retrain these employees. It showed the resilience of the people of Cabarrus County. The story for many of those impacted employees and their families changed their financial lives and trajectory forever.

I believe every resident of Cabarrus County should be able to make a livable wage with a job in Cabarrus County. I am fully in support of the collaborative work initiated during those tough years, which has now become workforce development within existing businesses and new corporations.

A strong workforce enables families to provide for themselves, bringing generational change and a better future. I fully support the work of the EDC, business community and our county partnership.

5. In your view, what are the most significant issues currently impacting Cabarrus County residents, and why?

Strong schools are essential to a strong county. County government plays a central role in funding school facilities and long-term capital needs, and those decisions require long-range planning rather than reaction once overcrowding becomes a crisis.

Students deserve safe, functional places to learn. Teachers deserve to feel supported enough to stay. Competitive teacher supplements matter because experience and stability matter in classrooms.

Public safety depends on preparation long before a crisis occurs. As the county grows, staffing and coordination must grow with it. First responders carry immense responsibility, and leadership owes them planning that reflects reality. Law enforcement, fire, and EMS must have the resources to do their jobs well.

Mental health is part of public safety and quality of life. I believe access improves when systems work together and services are easier to navigate. The Stephen M. Morris Building should be leveraged as a central hub for coordinated care. Strong partnerships with healthcare providers, nonprofits, schools, and public safety can reduce barriers and help people get support earlier, before situations escalate into crises that disrupt lives and strain emergency systems.

6. According to the U.S. Census, Cabarrus County’s population has grown from approximately 178,000 in 2010 to about 250,000 today. How would you approach managing continued growth while preserving quality of life for residents?

Growth is here, and I believe it should be planned, coordinated, and negotiated in the public’s interest. There is always room for a better deal when leaders are clear about priorities and willing to ask harder questions.

Development should align with infrastructure, school capacity, and county services. Growth should help support the demands it creates, rather than shifting those costs onto residents. Decisions made by municipalities should be coordinated with county planning so one choice does not create problems somewhere else.

7. What do you see as the county’s most urgent infrastructure or capital needs over the next several years, and how should these needs be addressed?

As a product of the Kannapolis City School system, I know the value of quality education for every child. We have seen many schools be placed on the 10-year capital plan, only to see those schools moved a few years down in priority, because of growth in our county.

As your county commissioner, I will work to ensure our students are provided with a safe place to learn, while working with RCCC, CCS and KCS to prioritize and work to ensure we are looking 20 to 30 years down the road to assist with deferred maintenance and all of our capital needs.

8. If elected, which area or function of county government would you prioritize for increased attention, and what specifically would you hope to improve?

Over the last year, our commissioners have been more focused on political theatre than the business of running the county. Their political shenanigans caused two lawsuits that cost the taxpayers of Cabarrus County over $512,000.

When our commissioners fired our county manager out of political spite and then tried to illegally seat an incoming county commissioner, it impacted the reputation of our county government and morale of our county employees.

Our residents need to know their leaders are leading and our employees need to know they are valued and not up next to the chopping block. I will make every decision based on what is right, fair and unbiased for all taxpayers and county employees to restore dignity and overall wellbeing back to our local government.

9. What is one decision or action taken by the current Board of Commissioners that you believe was handled well, and one area where the board should improve?

In the past year, the only decision I felt was good by this current board was keeping Kelly Sifford as acting county manager. That decision gave staff stability in uncertain times.

In the last month, it was brought to public attention that this board is acting without transparency. When 3 commissioners are making decisions, while keeping the remaining 2 commissioners out of the loop, it gives the appearance that backdoor deals are being made. There are 5 sitting commissioners, and all 5 need to be in the discussion making process that affects taxpayers and employees. Our residents and employees deserve transparency.

At the last commission meeting, in a 3-2 vote the insurance broker was changed without fully seeing the impact that it would have on county employees. It was then mentioned there were talks of outsourcing our Infrastructure and Asset Management Department, including fleet services. We can clearly see from this past weekend’s snowstorm how valuable IAM is to our county facilities and first responders.

The question is, have these commissioners taken the time to talk with department heads and employees? You can take a chainsaw to the budget, but have they evaluated the impacts these decisions will have on taxpayers and employees.

10. Do you support maintaining current tax rates, lowering them, or making changes to the county’s tax structure? Please explain your position.

As a county commissioner, I will always evaluate our budget aiming to keep our tax rate as low as possible, while keeping in mind the needs and services of our county taxpayers and residents.

We should all support lower tax rates, but that must come within the realm of fiscal responsibility. Suggestions of cutting tax rates without plan or purpose is disingenuous.

The County tax structure is a function of state law. Proposing changes at the county level demonstrates a lack of knowledge about our system, both how and why it works.

11. County budgeting involves difficult trade-offs, and projections show a roughly $13.7 million deficit in FY 2027. If elected, how would you approach setting spending priorities, evaluating potential reductions or revenue options, and closing the projected deficit while maintaining essential county services?

Every dollar the county spends represents hard-earned money people choose to invest back in their community. I believe fiscal responsibility and care for people are not opposing ideas. We can stretch dollars, negotiate better outcomes, and manage resources wisely without making short-term, short-sighted cuts that simply shift costs somewhere else. Cuts that burn out first responders, drive out longtime employees, or weaken essential services often cost more in the long run.

Budgets should be built with creativity and discipline, with every dollar stretched, negotiated, and accounted for. At the same time, responsible budgeting does not mean short-term cuts that weaken services or push costs elsewhere. Sustainable decisions protect both taxpayers and the people who keep Cabarrus County running.

12. If elected, what would be your top priorities during your first year in office, and how would they align with your approach to budgeting and financial management?

My approach to leadership and my priorities are simple:

Remember who you serve.

Work together to solve problems.

Negotiate for better outcomes.

Plan ahead with people in mind.

I am ready to serve with care, accountability, and steady leadership.