If you need proof that elections matter, look no further than the respective 2024-2025 budgets passed by New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington. The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners has a 3-2 Republican majority. The Wilmington City Council has a 5-2 Democrat majority. Any guess as to which budget raised taxes and wasteful spending?

The budget passed by our Republican majority on the County Commission was the model of good government. Instead of raising taxes, they cut spending. The tax cut achieved in last year’s budget was preserved. Spending prioritized core government services like first responders and public schools instead of wasteful government programs or private organizations that shouldn’t be on the government’s payroll. Disastrous experiments like Port City United were defunded. Funds were allocated to make sure that future development doesn’t threaten our county’s single-family neighborhoods and natural beauty.

While the county scores win after win for the taxpayer, the strengthened Democrat majority on City Council has adopted the policy playbook that is dooming blue cities around the country. It raised taxes. It imposed burdensome regulations on local businesses. Its credit rating was downgraded. It rejected a proposal by Republican Councilman Luke Waddell to protect downtown businesses and customers from being harassed by homeless people at night. It funded liberal pet projects. And it continued to greenlight development project after development project.

Of course, you’d never know any of this based on most local media coverage. For a particularly flagrant example, see Port City Daily’s coverage of the County’s budget compared to the City’s.

These major policy victories at the county level were possible only because we elected Bill Rivenbark, LeAnn Pierce, and Deb Hayes, and appointed Dane Scalise to replace Deb after her passing. Future victories will be possible only if we vote for Bill and Dane this November. And because our current 3-2 majority leaves no margin for error, it is equally imperative to add John Hinnant to the Commission to make it a 4-1 majority.

The city’s downward turn reflects our failure to win at the ballot box. Wilmington Republicans didn’t vote last November. We stayed home, leaving the outcome to be decided by Democrats and Unaffiliateds. We were grumpy about issues like over-development, so we didn’t believe it was worthwhile to elect our candidates. As these two budgets demonstrate, ever were we wrong.

The lesson is clear: Republicans govern more responsibly than Democrats. No matter our internal differences, we must vote Republican. We are a principled people, which means we are prone to good-faith debate and disagreement. That is a good thing! However, our passions must be directed not at Republicans who disagree with us some of the time, but at Democrats who disagree with us ALL of the time. May this recent episode in local government be motivation for us to get the job done come November.