Wake County Board of County Commissioners, At-Large: Mona Singh

Name: Mona Singh

Age: 60

Party affiliation: Democrat

Campaign website: MonaForWake.com

Occupation and employer: Consultant, Self Employed

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

We all live in Wake County because of the quality of life it offers. We are stewards of the County and should take every care to preserve or enhance its quality of life for its current and future residents, including the most vulnerable. In my view, the three most pressing issues are education, housing, and transportation. These issues are closely interrelated and entwined with other important concerns such as the environment. Describing how I see them will give a flavor of my values and emphasis on holistic thinking.

Education: I have lived with educators all my life, as a daughter, niece, and as the wife of a university professor. I myself have taught at the University of Texas at Austin as an Instructor and my husband is a Professor. I appreciate the transformative power of education in raising the quality of life, not just of an individual but of a community, and not just in economic terms. My commitment to public education is therefore unwavering. 

Our federal and state governments are cutting support for education, and most unfortunately for special education. NC has earned the dubious distinction of being dead last among 50 states in spending on education. We have to make sure that Wake is not harmed by these cuts and moreover that we tackle inequity between the schools that serve different regions and demographics across the County. Wake County schools are already suffering from abysmal infrastructure, including leaking roofs, broken HVAC systems, and suspected mold. Such problems not only hurt education directly but can also affect student and teacher health, causing long-term harms and lost opportunities. Therefore, the County has no reasonable choice but to step up. 

I will ensure that public schools get the funding they need to provide quality education to our students, including those with special needs. I will work to find ways to provide the necessary funds for all aspects of our schools, including buildings and equipment, support (salaries, benefits, training) for WCPSS teachers and other staff.

I describe below how I will seek to address the funding challenges to ensure we meet the necessities of school infrastructure and qualified staff. Besides additional funding, one way we can combat inequity in education is by engaging the community. We have a unique opportunity in Wake County of a phenomenal pool of educated people, especially retirees, who want to give back to the community. I will work to measurably advance community participation in education by promoting programs such as Communities in Schools for mentoring students so that students whose families may lack college-educated adults can benefit from the experience and expertise of retirees, especially to enhance STEAM offerings across our schools. Besides a direct payoff in engaging kids in education, these efforts will improve the social fabric in Wake County by bridging communities across cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and even mother tongues. 

I believe that we cannot support education in isolation from other social programs. For children to be successful in school, they must be well fed and well housed. Therefore, in addition, I will work to have the County pick up the shortfall due to federal cuts, beginning from school meals but integrating with services to address housing and food insecurity, since the Trump cuts to social programs have inordinately affected families with children. 

Housing: With over 65 people moving into the County every day, the County is falling behind in housing. A deficit of over 110,000 units is projected by 2029. 

I will seek to increase the supply of affordable multi-unit homes. First, I will work to streamline the County’s planning processes, without affecting our collective objectives such as protecting the environment or building safety through improved data gathering and transparency about the process. Second, I will work to update land-use requirements such as parking minimums, which raise construction cost and lead to reduced tree cover. Third, I will work to reduce administrative fees for affordable homes. 

We can improve the quality of life by promoting higher density residences with convenient access to shared spaces such as parks. Higher density development along with pedestrian-friendly layouts would make walking more pleasant and help build community by enhancing casual interactions between neighbors, with payoffs in social capital and mental health. It would also make public transportation more viable and thus lead to a reduction of the need for single occupancy vehicles. By increasing housing stock in the right areas, we can reduce per capita traffic, which benefits everyone.

Public Transportation: An important agenda for me is to improve transit options in Wake. Transportation is essential to leading a full and fulfilling life. We need transit to get to work or school, get healthcare, shop for necessities, go to parks, and attend our children’s performances. Yet, our poor public transit options all but force residents to own private vehicles. Private vehicles are not only expensive (many low-income families, especially BIPOC, can’t afford one vehicle for each driver), they cause pollution and traffic congestion. Good transit would thus address climate, economic, and racial justice. 

Immediately necessary transit improvements include ensuring any affordable housing is well-connected to employment centers through public transit; we currently have affordable housing with inadequate connectivity, which unjustifiably constrains the opportunities for low-income residents.

Longer-term, I will support efforts to create a light rail system in the Triangle and vicinity. Such a system won’t be perfect but doesn’t need to be perfect to be useful. In addition, I will explore all options including fixed-route services of sufficient frequency and coverage with public point-to-point microtransit services for those who need them. 

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

Through my career, I have acquired important skills in understanding the needs of people at a systems level, not just in isolated parts, and in finding solutions that balance competing demands in a cost-effective manner. 

Evidence of my innovation is seen in the over 130 US patents I have invented. I have led large, diverse teams to develop and deploy products with tens of thousands of users. Evidence of my data-driven managerial skills is seen in the fact that I was responsible for a business with tens of thousands of users and annual net revenues of over $1 billion (which I raised by 33%). Along the way, I championed user research methods to understand the needs of users and formulated product visions and roadmaps for addressing those needs

My strengths include people-centered design of technologies cutting across silos, crafting key performance indicators (KPIs), monitoring them, identifying root causes where an organization falls short, and implementing changes to improve these KPIs. 

I will apply these skills to improve how County services mesh with each other, finding efficiencies to enhance the benefits from our annual budget of $2.1 billion, while making sure our most vulnerable residents are protected. First, we need good data to be able to decide rationally and to track progress. Second, cross-functional integration is essential for providing a cohesive resident experience that cuts across these domains. Third, our KPIs should reflect outcomes and guide continual, iterative improvement in all aspects of County services. Fourth, for an innovation to succeed, it must obtain the staff’s buy-in. Thus, listening to the staff, training them, and accountability and transparency for all are crucial to gain their trust so they can go on to serve residents best.

My work has always focused on people. In addition to my professional background in human-centered technology management, I have volunteered for social and political goals, and have also organized teams of volunteers for these causes. For 12 years, I have built a group of people (now at 95 members) to help the homeless and refugees. Since the Obama era, I have worked to advance Democratic candidates. In 2022, I won the Wake County Democratic Party’s annual award for Top Canvasser; in 2023, their award for Top Mentor. My grassroots experience has put me in touch with people who are most often left behind, including the elderly, young families, and youth.

Lastly, as a foreign-born immigrant, my lived experiences give me an inside perspective on the language and cultural challenges faced by 15% of Wake County’s residents.

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.

I am running for an At-Large seat. My response to Question 1 describes my practical priorities, so let me use this space to describe additional concerns and values. 

One challenge that Wake County faces lies in the disparity across its municipalities in education, housing, traffic and transportation. Some of these disparities, such as poor public transit in small towns such as Zebulon, can be striking. Conversely, the newer developments would have superior school buildings and parks than older ones. I will make sure that the investments we make in improving any County service raise the minimum level of that service that we offer across the County. Doing so would necessitate finding solutions that are optimal for each part of the County. For the case of transportation, that might take the form of high-capacity transit in dense areas and microtransit in sparsely populated areas.

Another trend I have noticed in several places, not just in Wake County, is the general diminishing level of community engagement. People increasingly live their lives in their own spaces and have few casual encounters with each other. The resulting loss of social capital and trust makes it harder on each person individually with greater feelings of isolation and anxiety, and makes it harder for us to accomplish our collective goals. I will seek methods for building community through the design of our services and infrastructure. Examples of activities that the County could promote to bring people together with little financial outlay but volunteer participation are (1) community gardens, (2) projects such as to feed the hungry, and (3) arts shows and installations at our parks. Longer-term, pedestrian-friendly designs of neighborhoods would encourage physically and socially healthy activities. 

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?

Wake County has been successful in attracting high-paying jobs and a talented workforce. It faces challenges and has plenty of room for improvement with regard to housing affordability, education, transportation, among others. With the growth we need to provide residents a high quality of life while preserving our greenspaces, parks, and watersheds. With effective planning to use our financial and other resources wisely, we could continue to grow.
Based on my experience in industry, I would like us to focus, not on individual County services, but on the end-to-end experience enjoyed by residents. When we think of residents (e.g., whether they are elderly, disabled, poor, or foreign-born) according to their needs, we can see clearly what services they need and how those services mesh with each other. For example, housing must be combined with transportation, schools, healthcare, parks, libraries, broadband, and shopping centers. Rapid transit options (even express buses) between residential areas and employment centers are valuable for all as would be improvements in public transportation broadly. In lower density areas and for elderly and disabled residents, we should expand public microtransit, using technology to improve system efficiencies (e.g., through improved sharing of rides) and thus support more residents at lower expense. I will apply data-driven, qualitatively informed insights to identify such improvements to ensure these services better align with the needs of our communities. Doing so will involve identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) as well as acquiring the data and qualitative analyses so our decisions are empirically grounded.

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? 

I have been volunteering and organizing volunteers to help the homeless and refugees for over 12 years. Through this experience, I have seen first-hand the challenges of housing affordability, especially for families with children. 

Residents may live in one municipality but work in another. Planning at the larger level presumes we understand the challenges residents face, which will require both data and qualitative insights. The County’s collaboration with municipalities in Wake County and neighboring counties is key to addressing these issues. We need to plan together and execute individually. 

County programs provide support through programs like rental assistance, eviction prevention, and utility assistance. These programs are beneficial to the residents and a greater focus on expanding these will help residents in need.

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?

Increasingly, Wake County is responsible for picking up the shortfall in funding from the NC Legislature, so lowering taxes across the board would not be viable. Wake residents pay a competitive (generally lower) effective tax rate than residents of Orange, Durham, and Mecklenburg. 

Wake does have a tax assistance program and provides utility assistance (with state funds) but these programs should be expanded. The current limits are way too low and risk pricing residents, especially those who are retired, out of their homes. For example, a retired school teacher who has been living in the same house for decades may be hit with a $5,500 tax bill because their house has gone up in value. I will advocate for expanded assistance, especially for long-term owner-occupants based on their income. 

Progressive or differential tax rates are disallowed by the NC Constitution (see NC Constitution – Article 5 – North Carolina General Assembly. I will continue to fight for more rational laws but it’s not going to be a quick process. 

Thus, the big challenge is how to serve our increasing population without proportionally increasing costs. I will investigate how to raise the funds we need from improved County operations and new bond referendums. I will invest into upskilling our staff and introducing technology, where appropriate, as a way to improve operations. The power of well-trained employees saving public funds was demonstrated by BART (the metro system of the San Francisco Bay Area) lowering costs by 15% on a major project. This article recognizes the value of BART’s staff in this project. 

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? 

I think we can agree that the fault lies with our Republican-dominated legislature, not with the County. The Leandro ruling from 1994 established that the state must fund a “sound, basic education” for every child and the legislature is flagrantly violating the NC constitution. 

However, we must fund education to the extent needed so our upcoming generations can thrive. Therefore, I would prioritize education at the Commission even though, in a rational world, the legislature would be doing its job.

Given the bad situation we are in, we should investigate efficiencies and better outcomes by thinking about students (like all residents) holistically. For example, exposure to mold in schools is not just an education issue, but also a healthcare issue; addressing it in schools may save funds in other County services. Likewise, the lack of stable living conditions for children is not just a housing issue but also an education issue. 

My 30 years of experience in the corporate sector leads me to the view that there are always gains to be made by holistic thinking. I will continue to apply that philosophy along with data-driven management, as I described above.

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 believe that the arts are crucial to any society and I support funding arts. The new arts spending plan lays out some good ways to enhance and sustain the arts sector. Municipal partnerships are great ways to fund arts and to do so equitably across the municipalities. 

Partnerships with the private sector not only provide funds but also a pathway to employment. Partnerships with local foundations would help reduce costs and maximize public engagement.
We can enhance the arts by partnering with communities of various ethnic backgrounds for arts activities that reflect their culture. In particular, collaboration with immigrant communities may help expose the whole County to our varied cultures, which will help strengthen our mutual understanding and social capital. 

Wake County has a burgeoning travel and tourism industry. Besides visitors who come purely for personal reasons, such as to attend sports and music events or graduations, we get visitors for various professional reasons, such as scientific and technical conferences and expos. I think there’s an opportunity to promote the arts along with travel and tourism that we haven’t fully tapped. For example, where feasible, we could include an arts component with every medium or large event and disseminate information about enjoying the arts through relevant organizations and event planners.

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?

Yes, I would like Wake County to get out from under such excessive control by the legislature. I am in favor of local control and self-determination by our County (and other counties).

We ought to ensure that Wake County and its municipalities (as well as adjacent counties, which include parts of our municipalities) have cohesive plans or else we would risk disrupting the lives of our residents. 

In my professional career, I have often had to work with diverse stakeholders to reach consensus about joint goals and plans, and to institute processes to build and sustain collaborations. I will begin, as with my other work, by making sure that voices from across the County are heard and relevant data is gathered and analyzed, along with qualitative insights based on people’s lived experiences. The resulting understanding will help us (the Commission plus state legislators, mayors, and municipal council members) identify specific concerns and creative win-win solutions for them, and make sure that our proposals are practical, equitable, and implementable with the least bureaucratic burden.

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

Wake County’s tree canopy and waterways are significant to our quality of life. The County is working to protect natural resources through its Open Space and Greenway program. Its main goal is to preserve 30% of the county as open space. 

Wake County has a Farmland Preservation program. These programs help us maintain natural resources. There are a lot of pressures on the county to use land for development, e.g., in Wake Forest. Such development would negatively impact our natural resources. I think the county and the municipalities should continue to guard our natural resources because these are irreplaceable. 

One point of improvement would be to adopt native vegetation and wild plants where possible on county lands, such as road verges, as well as use rain gardens where possible. Such improvements would not be more sustainable, they would also reduce potential flooding, which is a major risk for the County.

Additional potential improvements would be in composting (by making it more convenient for residents) and recycling (expand the products that are accepted).

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.

As others have commented, I had assumed that the immigrants who didn’t participate in the electoral process were those whose English language skills were limited. Through my grassroots voter contact in several elections, I came to realize that proficiency in English was only a small factor. Even professionals with graduate degrees seem to hesitate from participation. I realized that one aspect is that they lack the confidence to navigate the civic process because they haven’t grown up in the US: they aren’t sure how they would choose and if their choice would make a difference. Therefore, I realized that voter education in small, informal settings is more effective than merely dropping campaign literature.

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

We should not think of this position in isolation. The question voters should ask themselves is which set of nine people will form the best Commission we can get. The current Commission has a lot of talent and experience from our school board and town councils. Two additional commissioners with similar backgrounds won’t move the needle. In contrast, I am the only candidate whose expertise and experience will complement the other eight. As one of nine members, I will bring new thinking to the Commission and take our collective decision making to the next level.