Read GOP commissioner hopefuls' pledge

As a story in today's Observer describes, Republican candidates for the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners have developed a 14-point "pledge to our citizens" outlining their collective campaign platform. You can read the text of the pledge below.

The pledge was read during a Monday press conference by the GOP candidates for the three at-large commissioner seats: Jim Pendergraph, Dan Ramirez and Corey Thompson. Ramirez said the pledge had been developed over the past few months and was approved by all the Republican commissioner candidates.

Click here to get a full list of candidates on this year's ballot. The election is Nov. 2.

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(Republican) Mecklenburg County Commission Candidates

Pledge to Our Citizens

Fiscal Accountability and Governance:
1. We pledge to govern within our means and not abuse the authority to raise and impose taxes.
2. We pledge to reinstate respect and trust in county government by being open with all commission business not restricted by law.
3. We pledge to identify and eliminate wasteful spending in every county department, to outsource any county service that can be done more efficiently and cost effectively by an outside provider, and to cease unnecessary services and duplication of services.
4. We pledge to establish better working relationships with the six municipalities within Mecklenburg County and reduce duplication of services which waste tax dollars.
5. We pledge to ensure that persons receiving non-emergency services and funding from the county are eligible for those services.
6. We pledge not to forget our Mecklenburg County veterans who have given so much to ensure all of us the liberties and freedom we enjoy daily.


Public Safety:
1. We pledge to work diligently to ensure that our citizens not only feel safe in their respective communities, but are safe.
2. We pledge to work closely with the Sheriff, police and our court system to ensure adequate resources to arrest, detain and prosecute offenders.
3. We pledge to work closely with all law enforcement agencies to identify and remove criminal illegal aliens from our county, who are primarily responsible for importing drugs and gang violence into our county.
4. We pledge, as a board, to pressure the N.C. legislature to provide adequate funding for our district attorney and court system.


Education:
1. We pledge to support our Charlotte Mecklenburg School (CMS) system by providing reasonable funding to accomplish what our citizens expect for the education of our children.
2. We pledge to support Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) in their education efforts to train and re-train our future work force.
3. We pledge, as a board, to hold the CMS Board of Education accountable for resources, provided by taxpayers, and expect positive results for the financial support provided.
4. We pledge, as a board, to continue to encourage the Board of Education to privatize segments of the CMS system, including food services, maintenance, transportation, and health services potentially resulting in huge tax dollar savings.