Ron Ross on Data Centers, Clean Water and Every Tax Dollar

Welcome back to the Carolina Cabinet. Host Peter Pappas sits down with Ron Ross, a Gray's Creek resident who spent 56 years with the Boys and Girls Clubs and the Republican candidate in a four-way race for two at-large seats on the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners. Ross says running a nonprofit taught him not to waste a dollar, and he points to the canceled downtown event center as the waste he's running against. He lives with PFAS-contaminated well water and argues Chemours should pay to run water lines across the county, connection fees included. He and Peter dig into why many tax bills went up even after the rate came down. Peter presses him on data centers ("until they're environmentally friendly, the answer is no"), putting speed cameras and license-plate readers on the ballot, smart growth in rural Cumberland, and the Crown. Peter discloses his seat on the Civic Center Commission before the Crown question. Early voting runs through October 31, and Election Day is November 3. Learn more at ronrosscc.com, and find all of our candidate conversations at thecarolinacabinet.com.