Burlington businessman Sam Powell seemed to be in his element this week when he was formally installed as the newest member of Alamance County’s board of commissioners.
A one-time member of Burlington’s city council who also did a turn as a county commissioner more than two decades ago, Powell returned to the dais on Monday to succeed the late John Paisley, Jr., who passed away in February with nearly three years to go in his term on the county’s governing board.
Having been personally recruited by Paisley before his death, Powell went on to receive a nod from the local Republican leadership to fill Paisley’s old seat until November’s general election. The GOP’s leaders have also anointed him as their nominee for a special, two-year position that will be up for grabs in the fall to complete the remaining two years of Paisley’s unexpired term.
Also in contention for these two appointments was Jeff Throneburg, an area homebuilder who placed third in this month’s GOP’s primary for the two four-year terms on the board of commissioners. A majority of the party’s executive committee ultimately chose Powell over Throneburg when they convened a closed-door confab on Saturday to determine Paisley’s immediate successor as well as the party’s choice for November’s ballot.
Powell has tried to validate the GOP’s faith in his candidacy by absorbing himself in the county’s finances in preparation for his formal oath of office on Monday. He went on to assemble an arsenal of tables and notes, which he hauled in to the county’s meeting chambers that evening. He also displayed his mastery of this material to the rest of the board, whose members were statutorily obligated to accept him as the GOP’s choice to replace Paisley.
“One of the goals that I have for serving on the commissioner board is supporting public education,” the newly-installed commissioner told the rest of the board. “But the budget this year is going to be challenging…It is going to be difficult for us to throw money at a situation without some boundaries.”
Prior to Monday night’s meeting, Powell told The Alamance News that he’d favor a new voter referendum on a 1/4-cent hike in the local sales tax – an idea has been rejected in four previous votes despite its promotion as an alternative to raising property taxes to generate more funds for public schools. Powell added that he’s less inclined to support a property tax increase in the county’s next budget. He also counts himself skeptical of a recent request from the Alamance-Burlington school system for a 23 percent bump in the county’s contribution to its operations.
“I have not had a chance to look at the budget,” he added, “but 23 percent seems like a lot, and it’s only for their operations.”
Aside from public education, Powell told The Alamance News that his personal list of priorities also features public safety and economic development as his second and third areas of emphasis.
[Story continues below photos of Sam Powell.]
A 12-year-veteran of Burlington’s city council, Powell had previously served on the board of commissioners from 1998 until 2002. Since then, he has done turns as a trustee for Alamance Community College and as a member of the North Carolina state board of community colleges.
In his professional life, Powell presently serves as the CEO of Burington-based Powell Enterprises, and he had once been CEO of MEDTOX Diagnostics, which was bought out by another company in 1986. A graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, the Burlington native went on to obtain a master’s degree from Old Dominion before he received a PhD in biochemistry from Loyola University in 1982.
In addition to his professional interests, Powell is an active member of the Sons of the American Revolution and makes frequent appearances in a period uniform to promote local history.
