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Eric has never been afraid to challenge the status quo at Huntersville town hall (the current one, not the proposed #Tajmatownhall) or to ask tough questions about how town staff is spending our tax dollars, and he will continue to hold both elected officials and town staff accountable to Huntersville residents if elected. Eric has had a dedicated interest in local government and local issues for many years now because of the major impact local government has on our lives. He has honed that interest and gained valuable experience by serving on a number of different boards and committee: the Huntersville Board of Adjustment from 2015-2018 and was elected vice-chair; the Huntersville Educational Options Study Commission and the Huntersville 2040 Plan Steering Committee where he also served as vice-chair for both until their dissolution; and prior to moving to Huntersville, Eric also served from 2013-2016 as a member of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Access Corporation and served as chair for one term. This service has given him insight into the workings of town government and has put him in a position to be ready to serve Huntersville on day one.
Eric previously wrote a regular column for the local paper in Huntersville with an emphasis on local government and has continued to keep Huntersville residents informed about local issues since 2017 through his website and the Huntersville Politics group on social media. His efforts at increasing transparency in Huntersville lead to him being named the recipient of the 2021 Sunshine Award from the Sunshine Center of the NC Open Government Coalition.
Eric Rowell is a native of North Carolina and has been a resident of Huntersville since moving here with his family in 2013. He is a graduate of NC State University and an attorney licensed in NC and SC working both in the public and private sector. He is currently the Director of Risk Management for a large, national company. When not working, Eric can be found on the softball field with his daughters and helping support his wife who coaches for LKN Little League. In his remaining spare time he continues to try to make a dent in the unread books in his used book collection.
I strongly believe that the public records and information compiled by the agencies of government in NC are the property of the people – as set forth in our state’s public records statute. In the past I advocated for greater transparency in a number of different areas, including encouraging the newly elected town board in 2015 to finally start live-streaming town board meetings, regularly publishing town board agendas and town board meeting notices in a public forum for review and discussion since 2017, pushing to abolish the secret and unethical practice of town board members holding “3-on-3” meetings to avoid open meeting laws, calling for greater transparency at the Huntersville Police Department – including release of the 913-page, $150K investigative report into HPD that the town continues to suppress, and I have also called for greater transparency at the Huntersville Fire Department, Inc. regarding their budget requests and how they spend taxpayer dollars.
If elected, I will continue to push for greater transparency in all aspects of government in Huntersville by advocating for:
– A Transparency section on the town’s website that would include an Open Checkbook detailing all payments made by the town, similar to what Buncombe County is already doing.
– An amendment to the Huntersville Fire Department, Inc. contract requiring greater transparency and accountability similar to language found in other FD contracts throughout the state.
– Abolishing the practice of holding closed-door “3-on-3” meetings to avoid requirements of the open meeting laws, or at least requiring such meetings be live-streamed or minutes kept.
– Greater transparency surrounding the growing surveillance capabilities of HPD, including adoption of a new surveillance oversight policy.
I have spent the past few years attempting to hold elected officials in Huntersville accountable for their votes and how they spend our money and I will continue to do so if elected to the town board. Whether that means pointing out when our elected officials aren’t following open meetings law when going into closed session, questioning the use of town-owned resources for personal use by town employees, bringing attention to plans by our elected officials to charge residents for public records requests, or even bringing to light that our town received notices of violations from the county related to demolition work being done by a former town board member who was being awarded town contracts after leaving office, I have always been willing to ask the tough questions of our elected officials and town staff.
Huntersville needs someone on the town board who is going to publicly challenge the status quo. Your elected officials should always have to answer for their votes and I plan to continue to push for answers from behind the dais in the same way that I have been pushing for answers from behind the scenes for years.
14316 Reese Blvd. West
B-910
Huntersville, NC 28078
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We had an incredible experience working with Landify and were impressed they made such a big difference in only three weeks. Our team is so grateful for the wonderful improvements they made and their ability to get familiar with the concept so quickly.
