On Saturday, Bill Shahan announced he was running for NCCo Executive, creating a primary for the incumbent, Paul Clark. According to his website, Shahan currently works for the County Land Use Department, as:
Land Use Customer Information and Assistance Specialist, where he serves both individual citizens and contractors by providing information regarding some of the most complex land use issues. His experience in the Department of Land Use has provided an unparalleled perspective on how proper land use and development can maintain the quality of life and safety of our community.
If you check WDEL, there is video of Mr. Shahan’s announcement, where he made this key point:
“Together we can put an end to personal agendas, questionable ethics, political patronage and private interests being served over the needs of our citizens. Together we can put in place a government that has a high priority on providing the critical services that our citizens need and a government that stops spending our tax dollars to create non-essential positions and filling them as political favors.”
So it looks as though Shahan is taking aim directly at Clark’s major negatives and that is his focus on making sure that the development community pretty much gets what it wants at the expense of the quality of life of county residents. Given that Clark is currently doing a bunch of fundraising within the development community as well as is appointed staff, it is looking like the incumbent is making Shahan’s point for him. (Be sure to go look at Adam Taylor’s article examining Clark’s finances, it is a good one.)
Good luck to Mr. Shahan, and I am looking forward to hearing more from him. I’m sure that the DL community knows more about Mr. Shahan than I do, so weigh in and tell us what you think of this candidate, his background and his chances in the comments.