Mebane councilman Sean C. Ewing is announcing today that he’ll make a bid for Alamance County’s board of commissioners in 2026.
A registered Democrat, Ewing presently serves as a member of Mebane’s non-partisan city council, which he originally joined six years ago. Although his current term on the council doesn’t expire until 2027, Ewing insists that he can make an even more valuable contribution as part of the board of commissioners, which will have two of its five seats up for grabs in the fall of 2026.
“As a Mebane city councilman, I’ve worked with an incredible team to help turn Mebane into one of the most desirable communities in North Carolina,” the aspiring commissioner adds in his campaign announcement. “I’ve seen what’s possible because I’ve helped build it…and we did it all without constantly raising taxes.”
A native of Elyria, Ohio, Ewing’s life journey took a number of twists and turns before he wound up a member of Mebane’s elected leadership. In 1999, the now 44-year-old politico launched a six-year stint in the U.S. Air Force, where he worked as an avionics craftsman on F-16 fighters. In 2005, Ewing transferred his expertise to the Air National Guard, where he continued to serve until 2014.
During his time in the service, Ewing obtained an associate’s degree in avionics systems technology, and in 2011, he acquired his bachelor’s of science in electrical and computer engineering. Since his discharge from the military, he has put these skills to use as an electrical hardware engineer for Volvo Group Trucks in Greensboro.
In between his occupational duties, Ewing became involved in local government, leading to his successful candidacy for Mebane’s city council in 2019. In 2022, Ewing made a foray into the partisan sphere as a Democratic challenger to Republican state senator Amy Scott Galey.
Despite his failure to unseat the incumbent state senator, Ewing hasn’t lost his enthusiasm for the cut-and-thrust of partisan politics.
Earlier this year, the Mebane councilman was one of many area residents on hand who watched Alamance County’s commissioners wrangled over an especially contentious spending plan that they had received from the county manager.
The manager’s proposed budget proved particularly vexing for supporters of the Alamance-Burlington school system, who objected to its suggested reductions to the county’s contribution to the school system’s operations. The debate over the budget also mobilized members of the Alamance County Rescue Squad to resist potential cuts in their own yearly allowance. Meanwhile, patrons of the county’s library system turned out in droves in response to stinging rebukes of the libraries from two members of the county’s governing board.
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Ewing recalls that the plight of these three organizations ultimately inflamed his own concerns about the financial priorities of Alamance County’s leaders.
“When I heard serious discussions about limiting funds for the Alamance County Rescue Squad, I couldn’t stay quiet,” he goes on to elaborate. “Then, came talk about limiting funding and handing off our public libraries to individual municipalities…And when I saw our Alamance-Burlington school system continuing to be underfunded, I knew we were headed down a dangerous path.”
In the end, a majority of the commissioners decided not to cut funds to either the rescue squad or the library system. In the meantime, a threat from the local school board to call for state-sanctioned mediation, prompted the commissioners to amend the budget they had approved to include millions of additional dollars for the operation of area schools.
Since the battle over the budget reached its conclusion, Ewing has dipped a tentative toe into the county’s affairs with a public call to the commissioner for a referendum on a potential sales tax increase. Although this 1/4-cent hike has already been slapped down four times by the local electorate, it continues to draw support from some county officials who insist it would offset the need for future property tax increases
Ewing, for his part, offered fans of this measure an entirely novel argument when he appeared before the commissioners over the summer to pitch the prospective referendum. The city councilman pointed out that, under the current fractional sales tax rate, the state ends up pocketing the difference when merchants round up the sales tax to the nearest dollar.
Ewing insists that, if the county’s voters elevate him to the board of commissioners, he’ll do his part to keep property taxes within reason by supporting policies that ensure growth and development pays for itself. He is also emphatic that he’ll use his position to protect the programs and services that matter the most to area residents.
“That’s why I’m running for Alamance County commissioner,” he adds: “to stand up for people and our future.” Heaven.”
