Bill for
Oak Island
Your friend Bill Craft has served as town councilman for the past two years. It is time for reelection. I truly take pride in being called the peoples representative on the council.
I Have Made Changes,
But My Work Is Not Finished
I have made changes. I feel the town council is better because I am sitting in that seat. However, my work is not done. There is more to do. We do live in paradise and now we have the opportunity to make it even better. We are well on our way to a softer, gentler town that listens to its citizens and makes decisions in the best interest of the people of Oak Island. I intend to keep asking the questions, insisting on due diligence, and protect the citizens on every vote.
Hopefully you know me. I gave OKI the best effort I could for these past 2 years. Luckily, I know you. I know the needs of OKI, and I know the behind the scenes decisions that have been made. This election, we will vote for 60% of the town council. 3 spots. I welcome some new thinking, some new additions. We have good candidates. But, by the same token we need to maintain the knowledge that has been achieved. I am proud of the fact that I represented the taxpayers of Oki on every vote I took and every action I took was on behalf of the best interest of my neighbors. My work is not finished, I am asking for 4 more years to continue the job I have undertaken. I look forward to serving with people who are more aligned with me.
I purposely ran 2 years ago for the unexpired term vacated by Jeff Winecoff. I wanted to take a look at the job and the responsibilities, but I also wanted the people to take a look at me. Well, now, we both know what we have. Please dont assume Bill Craft is safe and doesnt need your vote. I need your vote. I was there for you I was there for the people of OKI. This campaign, I am asking the people to be there for me.
Every month, I made decisions. Every day I answered questions, responded to emails, texts, people concerns. That is my job, and I did it.
I wont exhaust you with my successes, but I do want you to be aware of what I promised 2 years ago.
I fought against the $8000 per home, $4000 per home for 4 years sand assessment. I said we needed to turn over every rock before we reached in to the pockets of OKI taxpayers. I prevailed. You did not have an assessment.
I established the Tree to Sea award to recognize our outstanding citizens. I want a softer gentler OKI.
Paid parking came up, and I insisted on protecting the OKI taxpayers at every turn. I wanted to know the specifics before I would vote for it. I wanted 600 strand accesses reserved for OKI residents. Others wanted NO preferred parking for OKI residents. Finally, it was agreed to have 350 permit spots. On a scale of 1-10 6 is better than 0. I did not want off the island sales. I wanted our people to be able to park at the beach. Our people pay the taxes, and keep the town running.
When the town took away all ROW parking, I argued that no one parks on Holly Dr and walks to the Beach. I got the council to vote to reinstall ROW parking North of OKI Drive. We needed Research. Fairness.
We need sand renourishment. We are a beach community. But, I do not believe we need to go bankrupt trying to have the biggest best beach. We need to use our accomodation tax, sand tax and not ask taxpayers for additional monies. We need to spend what we have. Spending $35,000,000 every 5 years is a risk we can not live with. We need to get jetty and groins to be part of our beach renourishment plan. This will allow us to spend less on sand in the future.
I fought and put in the budget for a new rec center. We have a pristine town hall, state of the art fire station. The plan is now in motion to build a rec center we can be proud of.
Bill Craft fights for the people of OKI. 2 years ago I asked you to give me a chance. Now, I am saying I did what I said I would do, and I deserve to go back. We are all in this together.
About Bill
I was born in to a coal mining family in Western Indiana. At age 9, we moved to Kentucky. I played baseball, basketball and football in high school, and attended Western Ky. University. Upon graduation I entered and graduated from the University of Louisville Law School. I was a criminal defense attorney for 20 years. After that I negotiated hundreds of millions of dollars of international coal contracts. I moved to Raleigh in 1992, where I led the nation in sales for Lexis Nexis Legal Publishing.
I am married to Ginger Bowen Craft, and I have a daughter and a son. They each are married and have 2 children of their own. Of all the jobs I have had, my favorite job has been being DAD.
Along the way, I became an ordained Deacon at North Cary Baptist Church, on the board of directors of the Western Ky Ecumenical Cursillo, the board of directors of the Madisonville YMCA, the area chairman for St Jude fundraising. I was the Chairman of the Oak Island Parks and Rec Advisory Board prior to being elected to council. So many good things for the town have come from the Parks and Rec department. I coached over 30 years of Little League, American Legion and Travel baseball, with at last count over 145 of the players who went through my program receiving college baseball scholarships. I do get results.
I bought my residence on Barbee Blvd in Oak Island in July, 2014. Since that time, I have watched Oak Island move from a undiscovered quiet beach town, to one of the fastest growing beach towns in North Carolina. With the growth comes a change in the personality and dynamics of our town. We are now faced with bigger decisions, and dealing with bigger responsibilities. I have witnessed the lack of due diligence in decision making, the non accountability of some town officials and leaders.
I feel it is time for all of us to take a step back, and decide which direction we want OKI to move. Difficult decisions need to be made. Crafting friendships and a working relationship with our county officials, state officials and federal officials is a must. The residents of OKI should not be asked to carry the burden for an attractive beach for the entire state. I will listen to the citizens and vote accordingly.
We also now find ourselves in the difficult situation of not keeping up our infrastructure. We are charged monthly an assessment for storm water runoff, but many of our residents cant even get down their roads or in to their driveways after a rain, Many of our streets are still waiting to be resurfaced. The rec center is deteriorating before our eyes. So much needs to be done, and those in charge of doing it, needs to be held accountable for the results or lack thereof.
Why Bill Is Running
Oak Island is my home.
Oak Island is home for me. I have come to love this little place we affectionately call paradise. I have seen many changes in the 10 years I have been here. We are no longer the sleepy little fishing and hunting getaway. With growth comes changes, and with changes comes difficult decisions. To make the best decisions for the town of Oak Island and the people of Oak Island, one must exercise due diligence, fact finding, ask many questions and decide on a positive solution.
I understand the issues.
Oak Island seems to keep having the same difficult decisions to make, and never seems to arrive at a workable solution. For years I have heard discussions on both sides concerning the best use of the town’s assets, and how to address financial burdens cast upon the town. For years, I have heard pros and cons on paid parking, beach re-nourishment, taxes, water bills.
I have solutions.
Complaining about these issues year after year has not solved them. The transparency within local government that has been promised every election still is a problem. Again, some solutions are difficult to get to, but the town council needs to get to a viable solution on so many issues that persist year after year. We are not the only town in America that has struggled to make its city golf course self sustaining. We are not the only beach town in North Carolina that has struggled with paid versus non paid parking. We are not the only town that has traded land for a building and realized the building is costing more than it is generating in income. I want to address and clean up some messes. No one can make all people happy all the time, but I will strive to address the issue, move to a form of action and get something done.
I want to represent you.
This election I am asking the voters to take a look at who I am and what I have done. I can truly stand on my record. I did what I said I would do. And for the next four years, the voters will know who I am . I will be the same guy. The guy who fights for the people of Oak Island on every vote and on every issue. I have shown that we can solve tough decisions, and that we can get to solutions that are good for our citizens. We can solve tough situations by gathering the facts, doing the homework, asking the questions, and refusing to settle for average.
Bill Craft for
Oak Island Town Council
It is time for Oak Island to investigate and agree on Jettys and Groins. Paying millions of dollars annually for sand renourishment with no other options available is not the best use of our resources. We can save so much of the sand we place on the beach. We are not doing all we can do.