Talking

 In the October 16th issue of the Smoky Mountain Times, they ask the candidates running for Alderman seats a series of questions. I am running for a County Commissioner seat in the November 2026 election, but I will most likely be asked these or similar questions around this time next year. So, I figured I'd get the jump on things and answer them now.

Would you please introduce yourself?

I am Bradley Hall. I am from Jacksonville, FL, but moved to Bryson City in June 2017. My family is originally from the Deep Creek area, and one of my relatives, Fred Hall, has a display in the fly fishing museum. My grandfather, Jim Hall, left Bryson City to go to England after WWII where he met my grandmother. My father was born in the UK and after some traveling with the military, they ended up in Jacksonville, FL. We visited Bryson City often. So, yes, I'm a transplant to Bryson City, but I feel I am a re-transplant. I'm married, no children, but we do have one Golden Retriever.

What is your background and how does it qualify you to serve [as a county commissioner]?

I believe my background prepares me to serve Swain County in several ways. First, I have formal training in finance and hands-on experience in tax work, from preparing and reviewing returns, to representing people in an audit, skills that are directly applicable to reviewing the county budget and revenue sources to make sure we have a balanced budget. Second, I listen. I started this campaign over a year before the election because I want to give people a chance to get to know me and tell me their issues so that on day one, I will know what the people want from their commissioner. I will bring a mix of fiscal competence, administrative experience, and community engagement to this job.

I aim to make Swain County fiscally stable, transparent, and work for its citizens, not just the tourists who come, see our leaves, and then leave themselves.

Where are your favorite places to spend time in Bryson City? What do you love about this town?

I love Everett Street Diner. I enjoy taking my dog to Alarka Falls and Deep Creek and walking around the trails there. I like being able to hear the creek when everything is quiet. I plan to buy a new fishing rod eventually and see what fly fishing is all about. It really isn't a single place. This county contains multitudes. Its businesses, outdoor spaces, and the people who live here are what make it what it is.

What has your community and/or local government experience been?

The first time I attended a county commissioner meeting was in 2024. After the meeting, I was in the elevator with David Loftis, and well, you know what reputation he has, but I was so taken aback by what he said, "Bradley, did you enjoy your first county commissioner meeting?" I really did enjoy that first meeting, and while I have not attended every meeting in person after that, I do read the local paper every week and watch the meetings on YouTube. I also read both of the Rants & Raves groups on Facebook and I see the people who are having issues that the local government should be addressing. I want to be a commissioner, not for the glamor and prestige of people calling me, "The Commish," but to be a buffer between what the people are saying/needing/wanting, and the government who takes in their tax dollars and does stuff with it. I have talked ot many people, and will go on and talk to more, about what this town needs and seeing about how we can get that done.

What do you believe is the role of a [county commissioner] in this community?

In Swain County, the role of the county commissioner is to be a steward of the public trust. The county trusts the committee to create a budget and a tax rate to make sure the county is funded adequately, and that the money is spent responsibly and transparently. The county commissioners also hire and oversee the county manager, staff, and other departments and rely on reports and audits to make sure everything is flowing smoothly. The county commissioners also carry the public's voice  into county decisions, by holding regular meetings, publishing minutes, and taking the public's voice into account before making decisions. Finally, the committee provides leadership during times of crisis, partners with other towns and state agencies, and regional responders to coordinate emergency responses.

Do you think the [county] is healthy and vibrant? What changes would you make and how would you implement such changes?

Swain County has many strengths. We have the mountains, rivers, lakes, the railroad, all draw visitors year-round and provide a steady economic base for many local businesses. These attractions are important to our economy and bring in tax dollars to help us grow year-round opportunities for our residents.

At the same time, Swain County faces real, practical challenges that must be confronted. Broadband Internet service is slowly being expanded to underserved parts of our county. Like many other small communities like ours, we need more stable, year-round jobs, affordable housing, and better access to healthcare and other services. In the grand scheme of things, these are not insurmountable problems. They are places where we can focus our time and attention, where leadership and smart budgeting can make a difference.

For once, I want to be able to say, "We had a problem with [insert issue here], but, with hard work, determination, and the will to see things done, we no longer have a problem with that, we can move on to the next issue to address."

I do not like the idea of kicking the can down the road for someone else to solve whatever issues we have today, tomorrow. Why can't we solve our problems today?

If elected, my priorities will be targeted and practical. First, I would work to diversify our local economy so we are not overtly dependent on seasonal tourism, as we saw during Helene, if there's a disaster, the tourists might not show up. There are several ways this could take shape. Technical assistance, microgrants, incentives, and other possibilities. 

Second, I would like to make finishing the broadband buildout a priority. If Swain County were to be fully connected to broadband Internet, that would make people able to use that connectivity for telehealth, remote work, and education purposes possible.

So many of this county's homes are used for vacation rental purposes. One local vacation rental website lists at least 130 vacation rentals under its purview. That is one site and I am sure there are far more than that. 

We need to increase the amount of workforce housing, whether apartments or homes, so that the people who want to live here (and pay taxes here) can do that. We can increase property taxes on homes that are rental properties and use that extra income toward the purchase/creation of homes for people to rent/buy to live in. We could somehow incentivize rental property owners to sell to people to live here. There are several more things we could do as well, such as have contractors build homes or apartments and sell to people to live in.

Each of these ideas would be paired with specific, measurable milestones.

I believe in short, measurable wins, alongside longer-term work. In the first six months after taking office, I would prioritize listening sessions, send me a a message, drop by, whatever. I would want to hear from you. We have work to do. I will see it be done.

What are some key issues facing Swain County?

I think I have touched on a few of those already. But some other key issues are the drug problem. We also have a homeless problem. Another problem that might become bigger if the government shutdown continues much longer are things we relied on the federal government for, such as SNAP benefits for, I believe, around 14% of households in Swain County. That is a large number of people who need nutritional assistance.

How would I address these issues?

For those issues, I believe, we, as a community would need to come together and solve the SNAP issue (if it gets there) through food vouchers, increasing the stock in local food pantries, and reaching out to the state government for emergency funds for SNAP benefits, not just for our county, but for the state as well. I think if the shutdown continues much longer, we would need to partner with Graham, Macon, and Jackson counties to help with the things we would normally rely on the federal governent for. As for the drugs and homeless issues, we need to not just arrest the people caught using the drugs, but the people who are selling and bringing it to our communities in the first place. Punishing just the users does nothing if it keeps getting distributed. As for the homeless, I am certain each person's situation is different and we would need to find a way to work with these people to get them the help they need.

How would you evaluate a proposal to build a new piece of publi infrastructure (streets, housing, etc).

Infrastructure is important to any community. When it comes to building roads and bridges, I would want the infrastructure to not just solve the problem that it is being built to solve, but that it would continue to solve that problem many years down the road. I've seen road projects that were short-sighted, only solved the issue that was there at the time the ground was broke on the project. Then, one, two, three years later, once it was done, the community had grown up enough that this new solution was just as bad as the problem that necessitated its building in the first place. That is a waste of taxpayer money, time, and effort to take on a task that will need to be taken on again in just a few short years. For housing, we have a dire need to house people who want to live and work here. I've heard stories of people working in our gas stations that live in Waynesville. That's a long drive for a gas station. Odds are if they are able to get a job in Waynesville, they will take it. We need to solve the housing issue in a way where once the houses are built, they cannot be used for vacation rentals. We already have a lot of vacation rental properties, we need properties for people who want to live and work here. A town where no one lives in the town that works in it isn't a town, it's Main Street USA at Disney World.

How would you plan to engage residents in community decision making?

I have an email address. I have a phone number. I have a Facebook page. If elected, I will have an email address for county business. There will be at least two county commissioner meetings each month. I ask everyone who lives here in Swain County to contact me, let me know what you want, attend the meetings. Even if nothing on the agenda affects you personally, I feel it's beneficial to everyone to see how the sausage gets made.

If elected, what steps would you implemet to help make [Swain County] financially stable?

Great question. I feel there are two Swain Counties when it comes to this question. The first is the people who live here, the second is the county itself. For the first (the people), I would seek out more job opportunites for the people who live here. Part of that would be the expansion of broadband Internet so we can have people work remote here. I would also reach out to different businesses and ask them to bring business here. We rely on tourism to bring in a lot of this county's revenue. That's great, but we need revenue we can count on when the tourists don't come. Helene showed us that tourism is low when we're hurting. If some other natural disaster came, we would likewise not have the tourists.

For the second point, the county itself. I would like to do an audit of the county's income and expenses and see what we don't need. I was at a county commissioner meeting the other night and one of the points that came up is that we have an animal control officer, have had him and an assisstant for two years, at a combined rate of pay of around $93,000, despite there being talk that no such position would be filled until the new animal control building was complete, which as of today, is not. Nothing against the people doing that job, but it wasn't supposed to exist. I would love to be in a position where I can go over the county's income and expenses and see what should be changed, altered, or gotten rid of.

If you received a $1 million grant to use for the [county], what would you do with it and why?

A million dollars, when it comes to construction and maintanence projects in a county isn't a lot of money. I would like to split that up into a few chunks to help several areas. I would like to use some to help expand broadband Internet. Another portion should be used for substance abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery. Another amount should go to affordable housing. Some should go to education and workforce development. Some should be saved in a bank account that will draw interest. Our downtown looks beautiful, the the streets just off from the downtown area are run down and in need of cleaning.

Basically, I would want that hypothetical million dollars to go toward things that would benefit the people of Swain County.

Why do you want to serve [as a county commissioner]?

I want to serve as a county commissioner in Swain County because I love this place and I believe my skills can make a real, practical difference for my neighbors. This county is built on community. I want to protect that quality of life, while also working to make the county government smarter more accountable, and more effective. My background in finance and tax work gives me the tools to oversee budgets carefully, pursue sensible investments, and turn community input into measurable results.

I am driven by three concret goals:

1. Responsible stewardship of county finances

2. Rebuilding public trust

3. Expanding opportunity so more residents can live and work here year-round.

As a commissioner, I would use my experience to ask the right questions about priortiies and long-term costs, and to make sure dollars are spent transparently and with measurable outcomes. Recent leadership and law-enforcement controversies have made it clear that restoring trust and insisting on stronger oversight must be a priority going forward. I want our residents to feel that their government is fair, competent, and accountable.

I do not want to kick the can down the road to the next set of county commissioners. I want to solve problems that stay solved. 

If elected, my promise is simple. I will bring fiscal discipline, a commitment to transparency, and relentless follow-through to Swain County's people.

Thank you.

Bradley Hall