2026 North Carolina General Election

Matt Buchanan

Buket Urgen

Matt's campaign for Gaston County commissioner is his first time running for public office.

Supports employers who train workers and pay living wages.

Supports expanding apprenticeships and trade pipelines.

Supports speeding up permits and inspections for small businesses.

Economy

Supports expanding mobile clinics for mental health, addiction, and primary care.

Supports using county purchasing power to reduce costs for residents.

Supports investing in childcare to enable parents to work.

Public Services

Supports using surplus county land for mixed-income housing.

Supports allowing duplexes, triplexes, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in areas with existing services.

Plans to audit county rules to remove unnecessary delays.

Supports limiting discretionary vetoes that delay projects.

Supports addressing addiction and homelessness as health and housing issues.

Housing & Urban Development

As of January 5, 2026, Matt Buchanan’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Public Safety

Supports prioritizing improvements to intersections, turn lanes, and traffic signal timing.

Supports improving bus frequency and reliability.

Supports requiring new developments to contribute to mobility solutions.

Supports coordinating county and city projects to prevent duplication and delays.

Transportation & Infrastructure

Supports expediting clean energy initiatives on county property.

Energy & the Environment

Cathy Cloninger

- County Commissioners create and pass laws at the county-level. These laws show up in very tangible ways, such as determining how much you pay property and sales tax rates, public transportation, and maintaining infrastructure.
- County Commissioners are responsible for preparing and passing the county budget. The budget determines how much funding goes to various public services, such as public transportation, law enforcement, repairing roads, and maintaining infrastructure.
- County Commissioners oversee the administrative duties of your county’s government to ensure the safety, comfort, and well-being of county residents.
- County Commissioners can create, change, or abolish offices, positions, departments that are not required by law. 
- County Commissioners are elected to 4-year terms, with no term limits. Typically, you only vote for the County Commissioner that represents your county commission district.