Wake County Board of County Commissioners, At-Large: Marguerite Creel

Name: Marguerite Creel

Age: 60

Party affiliation: Democrat

Campaign website: margueritenc.com

Occupation and employer: Educator – BrainTrust Tutors

1. In your view, what are the three most pressing issues facing Wake County? If elected, what will you do to address these issues?

To enhance our prosperity, I wish to address three critical countywide needs: Energy, the Elderly and Education. My proposals are life-changing and pragmatic: lower energy costs, financial protection for our elderly, and investment in our children’s education. I will work to ensure reliable and secure electrical service for Wake County. To avoid power outages and grow the energy sector, I propose increasing energy production – both clean and safe; enhancing cybersecurity to guard against foreign manipulation; working with utilities to harden transformers to protect against electromagnetic pulse events and the investment in Wake County electric grid upgrades using federal subsidies. To Improve Wake County seniors’ peace of mind, I propose to waive property taxes on primary residences for those aged 61+, offer free healthcare at county clinics for citizens aged 70+ and work with NCDOT to increase lighting on highways to facilitate evening travel. Wake County provides a substantial supplement to WCPSS to ensure we have excellent schools, but we have to prepare for the future. Many careers will become obsolete under AI. We need additional resources and flexibility to offer a more challenging, interesting and relevant curriculum that includes pathways to a variety of careers such as exists in our wonderful WakeTech Community College system.

2. How would your experience―in politics or otherwise in your career―make you an asset to the county’s decision-making process? 

Of the candidates running for Wake County Commissioner At-Large, I have the most county government experience: more than a decade working in a County Manager’s Office, Department of Finance, District Attorney’s Office and Court Administration. My master’s thesis focused on public transit and transportation demand management strategies for mitigating traffic congestion. I was a Graduate Assistant to the Department Chair whose research focused on county governance, emergency management and economic development. My doctoral thesis was in the area of municipal bonds. I am the proud owner of a 20-year small business in the Triangle – two-time winner of Nickelodeon’s ‘Best Tutoring Company’ award. My university experience includes more than 10 years teaching in the Masters of Public Administration programs at UNLV and the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government, as well as Chair of the Political Affairs program at Peace College. As the former Government Affairs Coordinator for the Nevada Power Company I have expertise in lobbying and intergovernmental coordination. I am a former county liaison to multiple town boards and a lifelong community volunteer, including memberships in the Junior League, the Assistance League and DAR.

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.

My county proposals are life-changing and pragmatic, specifically chosen to provide broad-based county support: promoting investment in our energy sector, financial protection for our elderly, and a reimagined education for our students. In terms of decision-making, I will approach with answers to these questions in mind: Is the policy proposal ethical? Legal? Supported by the community? Equal protection and due process? Doable (i.e., do we have the expertise to pull it off)? Financing? Return on Investment and the Opportunity Cost (i.e., what are we giving up)? Liability and Risk? Maintenance? Aligned with county goals? Board support? County management support? Please consider my county experience (e.g., public transit, economic development, emergency management, comprehensive planning, budgeting, municipal bonds, criminal justice administration, education) that will help inform my decision-making — areas where I hope to provide value added to the Board. 

4. With Wake County’s rapid growth come 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?

I had the recent privilege of attending RTA’s 2026 Mobility Conference and am excited about the massive investment in our airport , especially with regards to the anticipation of increased international travel; the commitment to road improvements, including the widening of Capital Boulevard , without the use of tolls; planned roadway extensions via NCDOT; and the amazing engineers and corporations who are invested in Wake County’s future. As we plan for future infrastructure improvements, my recommendation is that we take a holistic approach, though the upfront costs may be higher, to include increased electrical/gas, water/sewer, roadway and cabling/piping capacity as we develop. Once our library and parks bonds mature, we should considering reserving some bond cap allocation for capital, county-wide infrastructure needs designed to reduce traffic congestion and provide town/regional hubs for community activity. 

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 elimination of property tax for the elderly should alleviate some pressure on the shortage of communal housing for seniors, encourage inter-generational living, and set a countywide example of providing preferential treatment for the elderly (e.g., lower or no apartment annual rent increases after a certain age). Our homeless centers need additional, targeted resources to help the homeless and to especially address the needs of those suffering from mental disabilities. Homeless foreigners need to return to their nations, with the added support of county specialists who can assist with travel plans and financial incentives from the federal government. I will lobby to protect Wake County residents from electricity increases which have been passed along directly and indirectly via businesses, to help curb inflation and the overall cost of monthly housing.

6. Property valuations 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?

I am proposing the elimination of property taxes for the elderly population in Wake County so they can retire without fear of losing their homes – an issue I hear consistently as I talk to constituents across the economic spectrum. As a public budgeting and finance professional, I will work with the Board and county management to make this happen with Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with our 12 municipalities to eliminate duplication or gain efficiencies in service delivery; vastly increase intergovernmental revenue; return statewide functions to the state for funding; more efficient budgeting of the General Fund; the hiring and investment in the best public servants for effective resource management; increased sales tax revenue due to economic growth and seniors’ disposable income; and a new citizen donation program to drive accountability. Wake County, as the most populous county and seat of our North Carolina state government, must better leverage its assets.

7. The county board of commissioners voted this year to increase the Wake County Public School System budget by $40 million, which fell short of the school system’s stated need by about $20 million. Was this the right move? What is the county’s responsibility to public schools in an increasingly tight budget environment? 

Education is extremely important to the health and well-being of our community and its children. Schools need the resources and flexibility to offer a challenging, interesting and relevant curriculum. Careers of the early 21st century may not be viable careers in the mid and late 21st century; some job opportunities will be reduced with the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI). On the other hand, many service industry or healthcare jobs (hands on jobs) not only will increase in demand, but pay, and often do not require a 4-year degree. Wake County provides a substantial WCPSS supplement. To ensure we have excellent schools we need more investment in curriculum: on-line, year-round courses for advanced, accelerated learning; in-person, summertime, low teacher-pupil ratios for struggling students; Trade School and STEM pathways from middle school to professional licensure; and more electives – Robotics, Shop, Horticulture, Cooking, Business, Computers, Theater, Painting, Orchestra, Baseball, Finance, Chinese, Spanish, Textiles, Dance, Health.

8. At 41¢ per capita arts funding, Wake County spends much less than peer counties in North Carolina and regionally. A new arts spending plan lays out some ways to bridge those funding gaps, but many arts leaders believe the county should spend more. Do you agree Wake County should spend more on the arts? If so, what are some ways you think the county could finance that spending?

I agree that Wake County should spend more on public art. As an artist myself, I consider our Wake County museums as some of our greatest public treasures. We need both public funding and private investment. Wake County could host a public competition for a public arts piece. More broadly, we need to provide WCPSS funding for arts electives and career pathways in artistic fields; court media companies to locate in the Triangle; encourage high school foreign exchange programs; better highlight resident artists; leverage assets of our amazing university network; encourage private sector companies to invest in architectural detail, gardens and campus art; and work with the NC Museum of Art to help secure the best, worldwide traveling art exhibitions. Have you seen my Mondrian-inspired yard signs? 

9. 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 agree with the general concept of “Dillon Rule.” There are specific, limited areas where the state legislature might want to consider granting “Home Rule” to its counties and municipalities. That said, the North Carolina General Assembly needs to cease enacting unfunded mandates on its lower jurisdictions. For political reasons, a substantial amount of collected tax and fee revenue has been dedicated to specific constituencies. It would be immensely helpful if the legislature would revoke some of its fees or devolve a portion of the collected revenue to counties and municipalities so there is greater funding flexibility for the less sexy, but very important functions of the General Fund.

10. Is the county doing enough to protect, preserve, and maintain its natural resources, including parks, waterways, and green spaces?

Yes, Wake County does an excellent job protecting, preserving, and maintaining its natural resources, including parks, waterways, and green spaces. However, the county cannot rest on its laurels and must be vigilant in continued preservation of green space as development ensues with increasing population. Wake County is a lovely place to live because of minimum billboard/signage on right-of-ways, its amazing forested areas, and the beautiful reservoirs of the Falls and Jordan lakes. Wake County can do a better job ticketing violations in county parks for littering. The Board of Commissioners needs to guard against the approval of commercial and high density housing adjacent to single family neighborhoods to retain balance.

11. Give an example of an opinion, policy, vote, or action you changed based on constituent feedback. If you have not yet held elected office, describe a time when you changed your position on an issue after listening to those affected by it.

I enacted a mandatory office uniform for the Traffic Counter as a Court Administrator that I rescinded and made optional due to the desires of longtime employees who like to dress up!

12. If there is anything else you would like to address, please do so here.

County government is my jam! Please consider voting for me as one of your two choices for County Commissioner At-Large. I pledge to listen to your issues and to fight boldly to secure Wake County’s future.