When Jackson County commissioners halted the controversial rewrite of the steep slope development rules earlier this year, critics were both pleased and skeptical.

Pleased that a rollback of the county’s steep slope rules wouldn’t be pushed to the finish line before November’s election, but skeptical that the sitting commissioners would really stop work on the rollback. Instead, many thought the incumbents were trying to save their own re-election chances and would pick up where they left off after November.

Controlling mountainside development is a universal issue grappled with across Western North Carolina.

But Jackson County’s residents have wrestled more passionately, more vocally, more extensively and more heatedly over mountainside development than almost any other county in the region.

Stories from the 2014 midterm election:

Property Revaluations

The hurt is coming. All the candidates agree, it won’t be pretty. In 2016, Jackson County will preform a property revaluation, in which the values of properties on the tax role — currently listed with values tethered to the high times of the housing boom — will be squared up with the values actually reflected in the current real estate market. 

No one really knows how the Jackson County commissioner races are going to pan out. Incumbent Republican Commissioner Charles Elders has no idea. 

“It’s hard to say,” Elders said. “Straight party voting, that’s a thing of the past. They’re gonna study, they’re gonna look.”

Up to now, the mood at many of the Cullowhee planning meetings and public forums was upbeat and positive — full of rah-rah and optimism. 

Occasionally a naysayer would need to be hushed — Cullowhee property owner Mike Clark has been a consistent and vocal critic — but in general the consensus seemed to be that Cullowhee needs development standards.

The past four years have been the first in recent memory that Democrats haven’t held a majority on the Jackson County board.

But likewise, Republicans haven’t had the majority either — a point Chairman Jack Debnam is quick to point out, and points out often.

Debnam is an independent, ascribing to neither party. It was a historical anomaly not just in the mountains but the entire state when Debnam won a county commissioner seat as an unaffiliated candidate four years ago.

But he has been criticized by Democrats for really being a conservative at heart — his independent status merely a ruse to help his election chances with a Democratic-heavy electorate.

But in defense, Debnam pointed to his voting record.

“I voted with the Democrats 95 percent of the time. I also voted with the Republicans. That’s because 95 percent of our votes were unanimous,” Debnam said.

Out of 586 votes by county commissioners over the past four years, 95.06 percent of them — to be exact — were unanimous. Only 24 — or 4.1 percent — were split votes.

But Brian McMahan, the Democratic challenger for chairman, questioned that bragging point. Most of the

“Of the 586, most are routine, procedural agenda items that pretty much are non-debatable,” McMahan said.

Things like approving the minutes, ratifying department head reports, approving budget amendments.

“Those are not a Democratic or Republican issue,” McMahan said. “Those that were split votes were of significance. Those 24 represent real issues where there is a difference of opinion.”

Debnam said Jackson is the only county in the state where neither party has the majority on the county board, and he believes it has brought balance.

“A split board has made things better in Jackson County,” he said. “We have done good things with two Democrats, two Republicans and myself.”

Debnam said it isn’t easy to run as an independent. To get on the ballot four years ago and again this time, he has to collect a passel of petition signatures — he gathered 1,100 in all this time.

Running as a team has posed a conundrum for Debnam. On one hand, aligning with the Republican commissioners could hurt his chances. It certainly won’t gain him any Republican votes. There’s no bona fide Republican running for chairman — it’s just Debnam and Democrat Brian McMahan on the ticket — so Debnam is likely the most palatable choice for conservative voters, regardless of official staking himself out with the Republican candidate camp.

But buddying up with Republican running mates could hurt his chances with swing voters and moderates who question how independent Debnam really is if he is running as a team with Republicans.

At the forum, Debnam addressed the apparent incongruity of running as a team with Republicans on the one hand, despite his partisan independence. A split board is in Debnam’s interest. He needs the two Republican commissioners to win to balance out the two sitting Democrats not up for election this time.

Without a split board, Debnam couldn’t lead from the center.

The other two Republicans likewise touted their ability to work with Democrats and avoid split votes.

“Since we are a mixed board of two Democrats and two Republicans and an independent chairman, we have had to work together to get these things done,” Commissioner Doug Cody, a Republican running for re-election, said.

Still, McMahan questions how genuine it is to use the unanimous voting record as a litmus test of cooperation.

“The chair has so strictly controlled the agenda the more controversial votes have been denied access to the agenda in the first place,” McMahan said.

Some issues get decided by majority consensus without having a formal vote, like whether to give the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad a economic development loan. Regardless, the course has been different than it would have been under a Democratic majority.

“This election is about a vision for the future and where we are going,” Democratic challenger Brian McMahan said in his closing remarks. “We are at a crossroads. Now is the time to grab ahold of the reigns and to lay the foundation. We cannot afford to stumble.”

Chip Hall, D, 46

Qualifications: Chief deputy at Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. Twenty-five years at Jackson County Sheriff’s Department in a variety of positions.  

Reason to run: “I want to reach out to be active in everything that goes on in our community, to have a relationship with our citizens beyond anything we’ve ever had.”

Philosophy: “Community involvement is the key to a functioning sheriff’s office and a good community response.”

Favorite fruit: apples  

Curtis Lambert, R, 44

Qualifications: Former officer at Sylva Police Department. Fourteen years in law enforcement, including service with the Sylva Police Department and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office; former vice president of payroll service. 

Reason to run: “I have a combination of law enforcement and business experience, and that’s what it takes nowadays to be an effective sheriff.” 

Philosophy: “An effective leader will be someone that will have an open-door policy and an open-department policy to where they’re not trying to hide things that are going on.”

Favorite vacation: history tour of Charleston, S.C. 

Jackson commissioner chairman

• Jack Debnam, the current commissioner chairman and a Realtor. As an unaffiliated candidate, he belongs to neither party. 

• Brian McMahan, a Democrat, previously served as commissioner chairman but lost to Debnam in 2010. The 39-year-old chief of security at Balsam Mountain Preserve is now seeking a rematch.

Jackson commissioner: district that spans from Dillsboro to Qualla 

• Charles Elders, a Republican and sitting commissioner, is the owner/operator of Elder’s Superette. 

• Joe Ward, a Democrat and farmer, is retired from CSX Transportation. 

Jackson commissioner: district that includes Sylva and Scotts Creek

• Doug Cody, a Republican and sitting commissioner, has worked in the insurance industry for 29 years.

• Boyce Deitz, a Democrat, is a retired teacher and football coach. He coached former U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler as a high school quarterback, and later went to work for the congressman. 

Following multiple anti-fracking resolutions passed by local governments around the region, Jackson County commissioners have now taken an action of their own. While their resolution never specifically mentions “fracking” or “hydraulic fracturing,” the board — or at least three of its members — seemed satisfied that it afforded them protection against the natural gas exploration method green-lighted for North Carolina by state legislators this year.