Name: Kyle Stogoski
Age: 26
Party affiliation: Republican
Campaign website: https://electstogoski.wixsite.com/stogoski-for-wake
Occupation & employer: Service Coordinator @ Banfield Pet Hospital
Years lived in the area: 5
1. In your view, what are the three most pressing issues facing Wake County? If elected, what will you do to address these issues?
“The three most pressing issues facing Wake County are affordability, managing rapid growth, and ensuring local government delivers safe communities and real value for taxpayers.
First, affordability and homeownership. Wake County is becoming increasingly difficult for working and young families to afford. I will pursue zoning and permitting reform to expand starter homes and missing-middle housing, strengthen pathways from renting to ownership, give ordinary homebuyers a fairer opportunity against institutional investors, and protect established residents from displacement. Our growth should create more homeowners, not simply higher housing costs.
Second, managing growth without sacrificing what makes Wake County worth living in. We need infrastructure, transportation, housing, and economic development that keep pace with population growth without paving over farmland or encouraging endless sprawl. I will prioritize development around existing infrastructure, protect farmland and open space, support locally focused transportation investments, and attract high-quality businesses that strengthen our tax base while respecting our communities.
Third, accountable and effective government. Residents deserve safe communities and confidence that their taxes are producing results. I will support strong law enforcement and criminal-justice capacity while pushing for greater transparency, performance audits, zero-based budgeting, and sunset reviews of ineffective programs. Whether we are funding schools, transit, social services, or public safety, success should be measured by outcomes, not simply by how much government spends.
My broader philosophy is simple: Wake County’s prosperity should be broad. Growth should expand ownership, opportunity, safety, and quality of life for the people who actually call this county home.”
2. How would your experience―in politics or otherwise in your career―make you an asset to the county’s decision-making process?
My front-line experience as the average, realistic Wake County resident equips me with the tools to best understand and relate to the day-to-day issues facing us as a county. I have also accrued some degree of political experience, being a campaign manager in the past, and maintain friendships among the current Wake County political landscape, so I am also not blind to the realities of working in politics and am capable of working with those already in it. Most importantly, I am impartial when it comes to the prosperity of people, and my allegiance is to the Wake County resident before it is to any party affiliation.
3. If you are a candidate for a district seat, please identify your priorities for your district. If you are an at-large candidate, please explain how you would approach decision-making with the entire county in mind.
“An at-large commissioner represents all of Wake County, and I would approach every decision with that responsibility in mind. Raleigh’s urban neighborhoods, growing suburban communities, and the smaller towns and rural areas of Wake face different challenges, but none should be treated as an afterthought.
My approach would begin by asking three questions: Does this address a genuine need? Does it provide a reasonable benefit to the county? And can we demonstrate that the results justify the cost to taxpayers?
That means listening directly to residents and municipal leaders across Wake, examining data rather than making assumptions, and recognizing that a solution appropriate for downtown Raleigh may not make sense in Wendell, Fuquay-Varina, or rural Wake. Countywide policy should allow for those differences while pursuing shared goals like affordability, public safety, economic opportunity, responsible growth, and effective services.
I would not measure fairness by whether every community receives an identical policy or expenditure. I would measure it by whether every community has a voice, receives appropriate attention, and can see tangible value from its county government.”
4. With Wake County’s rapid growth comes challenges related to suburban sprawl, transportation, and affordable housing. What have been the county’s successes in managing this growth in recent years? What about its failures? What would you do differently?
“Wake County deserves credit for recognizing that rapid growth requires long-term planning. Some investments in schools, infrastructure, open-space and farmland preservation, and affordable-housing initiatives have helped the county respond to extraordinary population growth. The county has also moved toward more frequent property revaluations, which can prevent many years of market changes from accumulating into a single adjustment.
Where we have fallen short is ensuring that growth translates into affordability and quality of life for existing residents. Too often, housing, roads, schools, and other infrastructure are forced to catch up after development occurs. Rising land and housing costs have also made it harder for working families to share in the prosperity that growth creates.
I would shift toward a “growth pays its way” philosophy. New development should be coordinated with the infrastructure necessary to support it, while more growth is directed toward areas where that capacity already exists. I would pursue zoning and permitting reforms that encourage starter homes and missing-middle housing rather than endless low-density sprawl, while protecting farmland and environmentally valuable land.
On transportation, I would emphasize practical mobility: maintaining roads, improving high-demand bus service and microtransit, and evaluating regional transit spending based on measurable benefits to Wake County residents.
Growth itself is not the enemy. Poorly managed growth is. Our objective should be a Wake County that becomes more prosperous without becoming less affordable, less mobile, or less recognizable to the people who already call it home.”
5. What should be the county’s role in addressing issues of economic inequality, such as gentrification, affordable housing, and homelessness? Do you believe the board is doing enough to help its municipalities manage Wake County’s growth in order to prevent current residents from being priced out?
“The county has an important role in addressing economic hardship, but its goal should be expanding opportunity and stability, not simply managing poverty.
This issue is personal to me. In 2023, I experienced homelessness myself and slept in my car while continuing to work. I understand how quickly someone can find themselves without stable housing, and how difficult it can be to regain your footing even when you are actively trying to move forward. That experience shapes my belief that our safety net should be strong enough to catch people in crisis while being designed to help them regain independence.
On homelessness, I would emphasize prevention, rapid intervention, coordination with effective nonprofit partners, behavioral-health resources where needed, and measurable pathways back to stable housing and employment. On affordability and displacement, the county should preserve existing homeownership, expand attainable housing, and make it easier for residents to build equity rather than remain permanently dependent on assistance.
I also believe Wake can do more to coordinate growth with its municipalities. The county cannot dictate every municipality’s zoning decisions, but it can be a stronger partner in aligning housing, infrastructure, transportation, and land-use planning across jurisdictional lines.
Economic growth means little if the people who helped build our communities can no longer afford to live in them. I want Wake County to measure prosperity not merely by how much we grow, but by how many residents have a genuine opportunity to share in that growth.”
6. Property values have risen significantly in recent years and many Wake County residents are worried about their ability to continue to afford to pay taxes on their homes. What do you believe the county commission should do to make living here more affordable? Should the county consider lowering taxes or creating new tax assistance programs? If you support cutting taxes, where would you reduce government spending?
“Rising property values should not become a backdoor tax increase that gradually prices longtime homeowners out of their own communities. When revaluation substantially expands the tax base, I believe Commissioners should seriously consider adjusting the property-tax rate downward rather than automatically collecting the full increase.
I would also make it easier for eligible seniors, disabled residents, and lower-income homeowners to access existing property-tax relief, while advocating for additional flexibility from the General Assembly where state law limits what counties can provide.
Tax relief, however, has to be paired with spending discipline. I would institute regular performance and efficiency reviews, use zero-based budgeting where appropriate, examine administrative overhead and duplicative programs, and apply sunset provisions to initiatives that cannot demonstrate results. I would prioritize core responsibilities such as public safety, schools, infrastructure, and essential services before expanding discretionary programs.
I do not believe affordability is solved by taxing residents more and then creating another program to return some of that money to them. The first question should always be whether government needs to collect that additional dollar at all.
Wake County can remain financially responsible while recognizing that taxpayers are not an unlimited source of revenue. As property values grow, residents should be able to share in that prosperity without fearing that the tax bill will eventually force them from the homes they worked to own.”
7. Where do you stand on the proposed amendment to the state constitution that would allow the legislature to limit local governments’ taxing authority?
“I support the principle behind the proposed amendment: property owners deserve protection from unchecked increases in their tax burden, particularly when rapidly rising property values can increase local revenues without residents experiencing anything resembling the same growth in their incomes.
At the same time, I believe the General Assembly should implement any resulting limits carefully. Wake County is one of the fastest-growing areas of the state, and circumstances here can be very different from those of a rural or slow-growing county. Any statewide framework should include reasonable exceptions for emergencies, voter-approved measures, and extraordinary circumstances rather than creating an inflexible mandate that prevents individual counties from providing essential services.”
8. County commissioners voted this year to increase funding for the Wake County Public School System budget by $25.3 million—the amount the district asked for, but less than they would have needed to avoid making budget cuts. Was this the right move? What is the county’s responsibility to public schools in an increasingly tight budget environment?
“I believe fully funding the $25.3 million increase requested by the Board of Education was a reasonable decision under the circumstances. The School Board itself recognized the county’s financial constraints when developing that request, even though it knew additional internal reductions would still be necessary.
Wake County has a responsibility to provide strong, reliable local support for our public schools, particularly for facilities, operations, and the local resources necessary to educate a large and growing student population. But that responsibility must be accompanied by accountability. Education funding should not be judged simply by whether the number increases every year; we should examine whether those dollars are reaching classrooms, retaining effective educators, maintaining safe facilities, and producing measurable improvements for students.
In a tight budget environment, I would prioritize classroom instruction, teachers, school safety, and essential operations while scrutinizing administrative bloat, duplicative initiatives, and programs that cannot demonstrate results. I would also push the state to fully fund responsibilities it places on local school systems rather than continually shifting costs onto county taxpayers.
Strong schools are a core necessity, but good stewardship requires both adequate funding and the willingness to ask difficult questions about how every dollar is being used.”
9. Do you support WakeMed’s combination with Atrium Health given that the terms of the deal substantially weaken local control over the county’s nonprofit “safety net” hospital system? Why or why not?
“I oppose the merger entirely. WakeMed is one of Wake County’s most important public-serving institutions, and I do not believe we should surrender meaningful local control of our nonprofit safety-net hospital system to a massive healthcare organization that isn’t even headquartered in our own county.
The promised investment is substantial, but money alone does not resolve my concerns. WakeMed’s independence, local accountability, and responsibility to this community have value that cannot simply be assigned a dollar amount. Under this agreement, Atrium would become the sole corporate member of the nonprofit operating WakeMed. That represents a fundamental shift in who ultimately controls an institution Wake residents have spent generations building and supporting.
I am also deeply skeptical of further consolidation in health care. Bigger does not automatically mean better, more affordable, or more accountable. Once WakeMed’s independence is surrendered, reversing that decision would be extraordinarily difficult.
To summarize for those who are tired of reading my paragraphs at this point: I would have voted against this deal in a heartbeat with no second thought. WakeMed should remain WakeMed: locally rooted, locally accountable, and focused first and foremost on serving the people of Wake County.”
10. North Carolina is a “Dillon Rule” state, meaning that the only powers municipal and county governments have are the ones granted to them by the legislature. Would you like to see this changed? How would you work with state legislators from Wake County, as well as mayors and council members from the city’s municipalities, to ensure that Wake County, its municipalities, and the state are on the same page regarding policies that affect residents of Wake?
I would like to see North Carolina give counties and municipalities greater flexibility to address genuinely local issues. The state should establish appropriate statewide standards, but communities should have more authority to respond to their own challenges in areas like housing, growth, and transportation.
11. Is the county doing enough to protect, preserve, and maintain its natural resources, including parks, waterways, and green spaces?
“Wake County has made meaningful investments in parks, open space, and conservation, but rapid growth means we cannot become complacent. Once farmland, forests, and natural areas are lost to development, they are extremely difficult to recover.
I would prioritize preserving environmentally valuable land, waterways, and farmland while directing more development toward areas where infrastructure already exists. I support conservation easements, partnerships with landowners and conservation organizations, responsible watershed protection, and continued investment in well-maintained parks and greenways.
I do not believe protecting our natural resources and supporting economic growth are opposing goals. Good planning should allow Wake County to grow without sacrificing the land and quality of life that make people want to live here in the first place.”
12. Identify and explain one principled stand you would be willing to take if elected that you suspect might cost you some points with voters.
“I would be willing to oppose the WakeMed-Atrium combination even if doing so meant walking away from substantial promised investment in Wake County.
I understand why a multibillion-dollar commitment is attractive, particularly as our county continues to grow. But I do not believe every important community asset should be consolidated into a larger institution simply because the financial offer is compelling. WakeMed has a unique responsibility to this county, and preserving meaningful local control and accountability over our nonprofit safety-net hospital system is more important to me than the promise of greater scale.
That position may frustrate residents who understandably see the proposed investment as too valuable to pass up. But one of my core principles is that economic growth should not require surrendering local ownership and control to increasingly concentrated institutions.
If I believe a short-term financial benefit comes at too great a long-term cost to Wake County’s independence, I am willing to say no, even when saying yes would be easier.”
13. If there is anything else you would like to address, please do so here.
“If there is one idea I would leave readers with, it is that Wake County’s success should be measured not simply by how fast we grow, but by how broadly the benefits of that growth are shared.
I know what it is like to work, pay bills, and still struggle to get ahead. I have experienced homelessness and watched the cost of establishing a stable life in this county become increasingly difficult. That perspective is a major reason I am running.
My philosophy is one of broad prosperity: more families owning homes and building equity, more small businesses competing and succeeding, safe communities, responsible growth, preserved green space, and a government that can demonstrate that taxpayers are receiving value for what they pay.
I will not agree with every resident on every single issue, nor should anyone expect that from an elected official. What I can promise is that I will approach decisions independently, explain my reasoning openly, and remember that public office belongs to the public.
Wake County has tremendous opportunity ahead of it. My priority is making sure the people who already call it home have the opportunity to share in that future.”
