Making a Difference.
Wake is #1 Best County for Business in NC and
the #3 Best Place to Live in the United States.
-US News & World Report, 2023
Viability for the Next Decade
Since Wake County has been one of the fasted growing counties in the nation, Greg was instrumental in the approval of PlanWake, a multiyear effort to update the County's land use plan through the lens of priorities established by an extensive resident engagement effort. The result is managed and guided growth along transit corridors, infrastructure commitments, environmental protection and best practices in urban, suburban and rural planning. A master plan for expanding parks, greenways and open space guides future land preservation efforts and a plentiful clean water supply for years to come.
Housing Affordability & Community Revitalization
Starting with Greg's vote toward establishing an Affordable Housing department in 2016, Wake County has since staffed a nationally recognized department that has leveraged public-private partnerships, voter-approved bonds, and federal grant programs to create and preserve over 2,200 affordable housing units. In tandem with the City of Raleigh, Wake opened Oak City Cares, a state-of-the-art, one-stop hub of multiple services for residents experiencing homelessness in the city of Raleigh.
A Diversified & Robust Economy
By maintaining a high quality of life, excellent schools, a robust talent pipeline and combined local/state grants and incentives, Wake County has added thousands of diverse jobs across all sectors, including technology, life sciences and cleantech. Here, NC Governor Roy Cooper welcomes Microsoft to the Capitol County. Google, Amazon, Apple and others would soon build major campuses in Wake, adding thousands of jobs and over $7B to the local economy.
An Environment Preserved for Future Generations
Greg advocated for the successful passage of the voter-approved Parks, Greenways and Open Space bond referendum in 2018. In total, Greg voted to allocate over $180million for new and expanding parks, expanding Wake's celebrated greenway system, land banking, waterway and watershed protection. Farm preservation and protection of Wake's rural areas was paramount.
A World-Class Public School System
As the first educator on the BCC in decades, Greg led the effort to allocate substantial increases in the county's supplemental funding to WCPSS every budget cycle, resulting in a total of $594million in annual recurring funds upon leaving office. The result was much-needed additional school nurses, psychologists, social workers and counselors; higher salaries for teachers and support staff; accelerated construction and renovations; and investments in technology and innovative programming.
Representation Matters
When first elected in 2016, Greg was one of just 11 out LGBT elected officials in the state of North Carolina. Just two years later, the BCC elected him Vice Chair, and in 2019, again as Chair - making Greg the first LGBT county chairman in North Carolina's history. In 2018, Greg was instrumental in passing an ordinance recognizing June as Pride Month for the first time in the Capitol County, and helped pass broad nondiscrimination ordinances into law, including a mandate that any business that the county contracts with must have nondiscrimination policies in place.
A Strong Advocate for Mental Health
Greg helped facilitate the creation and passage of Wake County's first comprehensive behavioral health plan, the result countywide summit of healthcare experts, public health and safety professionals and practitioners. Since then, Wake has an award-winning service model focused on emergency response, coordinated care and related services such as shelter and food security for residents in crisis.
Investments in Community Libraries
Through his work on the Library Commission, Greg facilitated the opening, renovation or expansion of 7 regional and community libraries; the implementation of Sunday hours; investments in additional staff and security; additional programming for children, families and seniors; and the 2019 implementation of a fine-free policy.
