November 8, 2006
HUDSON—In Tuesday’s election, Dennis A. Benfield of Hudson became one of only a few Republicans ever elected as a Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor, according to party veterans.
Bill Stone of Lenoir, former Republican county commission chairman, said he could “never remember” a Republican on that board before. Soil & Water Conservation District chairman Shawn Haigler named four other Republicans who have served as supervisors over 69 years.
Amid mixed results for Caldwell Republicans, Benfield’s victory in the seven-man Soil & Water free-for-all emerged as a bright spot for the local party, especially since he led all candidates in the race.
In unofficial returns, he polled 6,305 votes, some 830 votes more than Democrat Michael Willis and Unaffiliated incumbent Jeff Rash, who were in close contention for the second seat available in Tuesday’s election.
“I am humbled by the outcome,” Benfield said, “and particularly in gaining some credibility, by a Republican, on environmental issues. Although technically a non-partisan race, everyone knew the party affiliations of the seven candidates.”
“I expected to win, because I worked hard, I think I had a clear message, I tried to educate people about what this board does, and I had some invaluable help from my friend (school board candidate) Rob Bratcher. We also had some great workers at the polls today.”
“A major goal for me in this campaign, besides finishing first in a field of seven, was to increase my name recognition in my home county to at least 5,000 votes,” he added.
As a first-time candidate in last spring’s Republican primary election for Caldwell County commissioner, he attracted just 410 votes in an eight-person field. He felt his 35-year career, almost all in Hickory, meant that he wasn’t known in Caldwell, even though he has lived in the county for almost 32 years.
Since the spring, Benfield has been named Public Affairs Director for the Caldwell Republican Party and was elected president of the Caldwell Republican Men’s Club.
He hammered hard at two main issues: (1) his opposition to the proposed inter-basin transfer of water from the Catawba River to benefit Concord and Kannapolis and (2) his view that pollution in local streams is killing marine life “and can’t be beneficial to humans.”
He was the only one of the seven candidates who attended a hearing in Valdese in September, waiting 5½ hours to speak for two minutes opposing the Cabarrus County water transfer.
He also stated early in his campaign the importance he placed on “having plenty of clean water to attract new jobs and new communities to Caldwell County.”
A 1971 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill school of journalism, the 57-year-old Benfield has had a 23-year career in corporate and institutional public relations.
In 1976, he earned a master’s degree, summa cum laude, in political science at Appalachian State University in Boone, concentrating in public administration and minoring in junior college education.
The last 13 years, his career has been in sales, insurance and higher education. A Nationwide Insurance agent now, he’s spent about 10 years teaching part-time at Catawba Valley Community College, Lenoir-Rhyne College, Appalachian State University and Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute.
Beginning in January, he will become a political science instructor at Cleveland Community College in Shelby.
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