Adam Hege Questionnaire Responses 2026 General

1. Please share your overall professional and personal background and explain why you are running for seat on the Watauga County Board of Commissioners.

My family and I have called Watauga County home for the past 12 years. My wife, Jennifer, and I have raised our daughter (Ellie) here, and she is currently a senior at Watauga High School. I’m proud to currently serve our community as a member of the Watauga County Board of Education, after being elected to office in 2024. It has been a true privilege to serve in that capacity; however, I see an opportunity to serve in a different way and to the needs of the community at a much broader level.

As a first-generation college graduate, I’ve dedicated my career to public service, higher education, and public health. I hold a PhD in Community Health Education from UNC Greensboro and an MPA in Local and State Government from Appalachian State University. I’m currently an Associate Dean and Professor of Public Health at Appalachian State, where I’m in my 12th year, and I have nearly 20 years of experience working in higher education and local government.

I’m running for a seat on the Watauga Board of Commissioners because I believe strongly in public education, responsible growth, and making sure families can afford to live, work, and build a future in Watauga County. I believe we need to focus on continued Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, funding and investment in early childhood development and public school teacher pay and infrastructure, expanding access to affordable workforce housing, and protection of and support of our natural resources and environmental resiliency.

I would bring a combination of experience, evidence-based decision-making, collaboration, and a genuine commitment to public service to the role of County Commissioner.

2. Candidates for County Commissioner seats this year are running to represent specific voter districts. How do you plan to bring a different and important perspective to the County Commission for your district?

My belief is that the important thing about representing District 1 is that you need someone who understands District 1, but who also understands that every decision you make as a county commissioner affects the entire county.

I would bring a diverse and important perspective because my career and personal life have been at the intersection of public education, public health, higher education, community engagement and service, and local government. Through these experiences, I’ve seen firsthand how decisions about housing, childcare, transportation, healthcare, schools, and economic development are connected and impact each other. It has taught me the importance of a systems-level examination of the issues as we think about public policy.

As a member of the Watauga Board of Education, I further understand the importance of investing in children and families and making sure our county is creating the conditions for all people to succeed—not just responding after problems become crises.

And, my education and professional background in local government gives me an appreciation for the responsibility that comes with spending taxpayers’ money. I want us as leaders to ask: What are we trying to accomplish (short and long-term)? What does the evidence tell us? What will it cost (money and beyond)? And how will we know whether it worked (continual evaluation is critical)?

District 1 includes much of Boone, by far the largest municipality in our county, but our challenges don’t stop at the district lines. Housing affordability affects employers across the county and broader High Country region. Healthcare accessibility and public health resources affect every resident and each community across the county. Hurricane recovery affects all of us. Growth and development affect our environment, our roads, our schools, and our overall quality of life, presently and as we vision for the future.

So the perspective I would bring is one that is data-informed, community-focused, and practical—a perspective that listens to District 1 and its needs, but works every day to make Watauga County and the broader High Country region stronger as a whole.

4. If elected in November, please identify the three most pressing issues you will bring to the Board for consideration and why.

If elected in November, I would seek to bring the following three pressing issues to the Watauga County Board of Commissioners: investments in public education and early childhood development and care, affordable housing, and Hurricane Helene recovery.

1. Public education and early childhood

Strong public schools and access to quality early childhood education are foundational to the future of Watauga County. As a parent, educator, and current member of the Board of Education, I have seen how education affects not only children and families, but our workforce, economy, and quality of life. We all benefit from a strong public education system. The County has an important role in supporting Watauga County Schools through local funding and in working with community partners to address childcare and early childhood needs. I would make it a priority to strengthen those partnerships and ensure that our investments in children today create opportunities for generations to come.

2. Affordable housing

Housing affordability is one of the most significant challenges facing working families, young adults, seniors, teachers, and public employees in our community and across our state and nation. Watauga County has documented significant unmet housing needs, including among both renters and homeowners. The County Commission should continue looking for practical ways to expand attainable housing, encourage responsible growth, and partner with municipalities, nonprofits, employers, and other public agencies. This is about making sure that people who work here can afford to live here—and that families who have called Watauga County home can continue to do so.

3. Hurricane Helene recovery

Recovery from Hurricane Helene must remain a priority until our communities, families, infrastructure, and economy have fully recovered. The County reported that more than 1,000 homes were damaged, including approximately 148 homes destroyed and 470 with major damage. This ongoing recovery, which will take years, also requires attention to infrastructure, waterways, roads, public facilities, and the long-term resilience of our communities. I would bring a focus on making sure recovery resources reach the people who need them, that we rebuild stronger and more resilient, and that we use the lessons of Helene to better prepare Watauga County for future disasters.

These three priorities are connected. Investing in children builds informed citizens and workforce. Affordable housing allows that workforce to live here. And a thoughtful, resilient recovery protects the people, places, and communities that make Watauga County home.

4. If you could eliminate or substantially reduce one line item in Watauga County’s budget, what would it be and why?

If I could eliminate or substantially reduce one area of the county budget, honestly, I don’t think there is much room to do so responsibly. We already have a relatively tight and lean county budget, and with Raleigh cutting us short in so many ways through decisions made by the state legislature, I would be hesitant to make substantial reductions to essential county services.

At the same time, I believe the use of our tax dollars should have to demonstrate a clear public return. I would continually scrutinize the budget for expenditures that are not providing a meaningful benefit to the public good.

We have significant needs in front of us—particularly public education and early childhood, affordable housing, and Hurricane Helene recovery. I would rather redirect dollars from lower-priority discretionary expenditures toward investments that directly improve the lives of families and strengthen our community’s long-term resilience.

That means asking tough questions during every budget cycle: What is the measurable benefit? Is this a core county responsibility? Are there other sources of funding? And could these dollars produce a greater public benefit somewhere else?

For me, responsible budgeting isn’t simply about spending less. It’s about making sure we’re spending public dollars where they matter most. We need good jobs, a strong local economy, thoughtful growth, and investments that give the next generation a stronger future. That requires discipline, but it also requires being willing to invest where those investments will make a real difference.

5. Do you support or oppose the County’s distribution of sales tax revenue to the County municipalities based on an “ad valorem” versus “per capita” formula? Please explain.

As a County Commissioner candidate running to represent District 1 and a large portion of the Town of Boone community, I oppose distributing Watauga County’s sales-tax revenue to municipalities using the ad valorem formula. I believe a per-capita formula is a more equitable way to distribute this revenue because sales taxes are generated by consumers, not by the assessed value of real estate. There is no doubt that consumption occurs at a much larger proportion within the Town of Boone and that Boone serves as a critical economic engine for the County and High Country region.

Key statistics from the NC Department of Revenue reflect the inequity:

• What Boone Generates: The Town of Boone serves as the economic hub of the county and generates approximately 25% of Watauga County’s total sales tax revenue.
• What Boone Receives: Because the ad valorem method distributes money based on property tax values rather than population or where the sales occur, Boone only receives about 12% of the distributed revenue
• As a result of this disparity, multiple reports have shown that the Town of Boone has lost roughly $2 million to $4.6 million annually since the Watauga County Board of Commissioners voted to switch the method. Over the long term, this has resulted in a cumulative revenue loss for Boone exceeding $49 million.

Under an ad valorem system, municipalities such as those found in Blowing Rock and Beech Mountain, with higher property values receive a larger share of the sales-tax distribution, even though the sales tax itself is paid when people purchase goods and services. That creates a disconnect between the source of the revenue and how it is distributed.

A per-capita approach is simpler and more transparent: each municipality receives its share based on the number of people it serves. It also avoids effectively rewarding municipalities simply because they have a larger or more valuable property-tax base.

I recognize that the municipalities have different property values, tourism activity, infrastructure demands and service responsibilities. Those differences should certainly be considered when setting local taxes and budgets. But I don’t believe they are sufficient justification for using property valuation as the basis for distributing a countywide sales tax.

For me, the basic principle is that a sales tax should be distributed based on the people being served rather than the value of the property located within a municipality. I therefore support returning Watauga County to a per-capita distribution formula.