Thomas Hill wants Cabarrus County taxpayers to stop subsidizing businesses that move to town.

Hill, a Concord resident and former journeyman electrician, is the only Libertarian among seven candidates competing for three seats on the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners. Early voting begins Thursday, Oct. 15, and runs through Saturday, Oct. 31. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

His platform centers on three priorities he laid out in an Inform Cabarrus questionnaire published Aug. 27: honest taxes and spending, growth that pays its way and limited county power with real oversight.

On business recruitment, Hill wrote that the county should offer competitive tax rates, clear rules and fast permitting. He drew a line at tax abatements and incentive deals, writing that the county should not be "writing checks, long tax abatements, or deals that pick a favored firm over the shop already on the highway."

Hill also called for new development to cover more of its own infrastructure costs through fees and phased construction, rather than shifting the burden to existing homeowners.

"I do not owe a faction a vote, and I am not running to please party leaders in Raleigh or Washington," Hill wrote in the questionnaire.

On school funding, Hill wrote that he supports both proposed school bonds. Commissioners should fund safe, adequate facilities and keep bond and budget votes transparent by naming projects, costs and potential overruns in public, he wrote.

Hill described his professional background as years working as a journeyman electrician and foreman. He wrote that he volunteers with and donates monthly to You Are The Power and the Institute for Justice.

Hill wrote that he spoke publicly for accountability after Kemari died in Person County Department of Social Services custody. He also stood with Pastor Moses Colbert and Faith, Hope, and Love Enrichment Ministries in Gastonia when the city fined the church for sheltering people in cold weather.

The six other candidates are Democrats Phil Henry, Ingrid Nurse and Dan Redding, and Republicans James N. Bailey, Ian Patrick and Kristel Swayze, according to the county's candidate filing list. The Cabarrus Compass profiled Hill on Monday, Oct. 12, and all seven candidates participated in a forum at Central United Methodist Church in downtown Concord, the Compass reported.

Three of the board's five seats are on the ballot, meaning voters will choose a majority of the commission in a single election.