Who is Amanda Dumas, Huntersville Board of Commissioners candidate? [The Charlotte Observer]

Name: Amanda Dumas

Age: 42

Campaign website or social media page: electamandadumas.com

Occupation: Product Manager

Education: Bachelors of Fine Arts

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought):

Precinct Political Chair

Please list your highlights of civic involvement.

Member and Presenter, PFLAG Healthcare Outreach and Allyship in the Workplace Campaigns, 2018-Present

Chair, LLGProud Employee Resource Group (ERG), 2021-Present

Founding Member, LL Global ERGs for the LGBTQ Community & Social Justice, 2020

Fearless Leader Graduate, 2022

Presenter, Recruiting to Win: How Diversity Drives Results, LIMRA Distribution

Conference 2022

Conference Committee Member, International Disability Insurance Society, 2014

Board Member at Large, International Disability Insurance Society, 2014

Subject Matter Expert, cited in Everything You Need to Know About How to Market

Disability Income Products (Michael J. Eskra, 2014) and “Why DI?” (Protector Press Article, 2014)

Member, Toastmasters, 2014 – 2015

Talent Coach, 89 Models and Talent, 2009 – 2011

Director & Board Member, The Newington Children’s Theatre Company (originally Parks and Rec turned non-profit), 2003 – 2007

What one professional or political accomplishment are you most proud of?

As the Member Solutions Director at LIMRA and LOMA, I collaborated with industry leaders in Insurance and Financial Services to boost engagement and employee confidence. My contributions led to increased recruitment efforts and the introduction of effective onboarding programs, resulting in higher retention rates and empowering individuals to embark on successful career journeys. Through my leadership, these organizations have become more successful, inclusive, and adept at attracting and retaining dedicated, motivated, and productive talent. It brings me great joy to hear from individuals who have benefited from the opportunities my work has provided.

Traffic is an issue in Huntersville while a few critical road projects, such as the widening of N.C. 73, have been delayed by NCDOT. How would you tackle the town’s traffic problem?

I have several strategic priorities in mind to address the traffic challenges in Huntersville, NC:

1. **Thoughtful Development:** We must carefully consider rezoning and development approvals within our town. Ensuring that new developments are planned with traffic in mind can help alleviate congestion.

2. **Enhancing Walkability:** To reduce traffic, we should focus on making our town more walkable. This includes expanding greenways, sidewalks, and fostering unique businesses in downtown that encourage foot traffic and connect to local amenities.

3. **Reevaluate the Dillon Rule:** While a long-term goal, reconsidering North Carolina’s Dillon Rule is worth exploring. Transitioning to a Home rule state could grant municipalities more control, enabling our commissioners to require comprehensive road plans from developers and potentially implement impact fees to support infrastructure improvements.

By addressing these priorities, we can work toward a more efficient and sustainable traffic solution for Huntersville, benefiting both residents and businesses.

What are your ideas about how the town should recruit and retain more police officers specifically? And all town employees more broadly?

1. Competitive Compensation - We need to enhance our competitiveness in terms of pay for all town employees. It’s essential to ensure that our salaries are competitive with neighboring towns to prevent our employees from becoming a training group for other municipalities.

2. Police Force Efficiency - We should continue to seek ways to reduce administrative burdens for our officers. We recently added victim advocates to our town force which is a great start. By streamlining administrative tasks and providing necessary resources, we can enable our officers to focus more on fieldwork and community engagement.

3. Workforce Housing - Only 10% of our police now live in Huntersville, vs. 70% years ago. We need to require any new development to include workforce housing for those who devote their lives to making our town as safe as it is.

Huntersville has experienced rapid population growth over the last few decades with the approval of hundreds of new homes. Do you think the town should control growth in some way or keep expanding? Why?

I’m not someone who believes in raising the drawbridge. I moved here 11 years ago and my life is better for it and I believe others deserve to have that opportunity as well. That being said, we need to be more strategic and thoughtful as we grow so we can focus on improving infrastructure. Commissioners don’t have the full authority to completely stop development based on state law and zoning but we could take more advantage of the 2040 plan available when considering rezoning.

Why should voters choose you over others who are in the race?

I’m a service leader. I’m most actualized and productive when I’m serving and driving positivity in a community. My kids grew up in Huntersville, and now that they are older, it’s time to give back to THIS community. I’ve heard many express concern over the rate of development in Huntersville and how it might alter the character of our town. We have struggled to keep up with the growth of this community in terms of roads, schools, city services, and affordable housing. We need new ideas, new opinions, and new leaders in Huntersville. My professional career and advocacy work have prepared me to serve our town by uplifting the voices of our community and providing positive outcomes for our town.