Mike PerdueFor Guilford County Commissioner

Property taxes affect more than homeowners. They become part of the cost of providing rental housing alongside insurance, maintenance, utilities, repairs, financing, and labor — and rising costs ultimately put pressure on renters and families across Guilford County.

Mike believes taxpayers deserve answers before government asks them for more. He will push for a line-by-line examination of county spending, fight to keep the tax burden as low as possible, and protect essential services while demanding that county government tighten its belt too.

Public safety is one of government's most basic responsibilities. Residents should be able to live, work, travel, and raise their families knowing that deputies, detention officers, emergency responders, and the systems supporting them have the resources needed to respond.

Mike will work constructively with public-safety leaders while demanding accountability for taxpayer dollars. That means measuring staffing, equipment, contracts, technology, and administrative spending against the results they deliver for people in the community.

Guilford County invests enormous resources in public education, and taxpayers deserve to know whether children are learning. Mike believes the debate should move beyond simply spending more or less and focus on where education dollars are going and what outcomes they produce.

Mike wants more of the money already spent to reach students, teachers, and classrooms. He will ask hard questions about administrative overhead, consultants, contracts, programs, and organizational layers that do not directly improve teaching and learning.

Mike's experience with major public facilities, construction, contractors, equipment, maintenance, and capital improvements has shown him what happens when nobody watches the details: costs climb, deadlines slip, and taxpayers pick up the bill.

He believes every major expenditure should face basic business questions about need, alternatives, pricing, results, and responsibility. His approach is straightforward: fund what works, fix what doesn't, and stop paying for what taxpayers don't need.

County services are not abstract budget items; they serve elderly residents, disabled adults, families seeking assistance, people in crisis, abuse victims, and residents waiting for emergency care. Mike believes these essential responsibilities must come first.

When taxpayers are asked for more, essential services should improve. Mike will scrutinize overhead, duplicative programs, discretionary grants, and projects that cannot show meaningful public benefit so county government can focus on what it must do — and do it exceptionally well.