Jerry Wright isn't pleased with Currituck County commissioners' land-use decisions over the past year. He's so displeased, the former commissioner is seeking to return to the commission board after more than a decade's absence.

Wright, who served on the commission board for one term in the 1990s, is one of two Democrats seeking their party's nomination for the board's new District 2 seat. He faces Roy Lee Etheridge in the May 6th Democratic primary and the winner will take on Republican John David Rorer in the November general election.

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Jerry Wright is a Democratic candidate for the District 2 seat on the Currituck Board of Commissioners.

Wright notes that since the current commission board's first meeting in December 2006, more than 1,700 acres of agricultural property in Currituck has been rezoned to either residential, mixed residential, commercial or general business use. That pace of development has some of the board's critics — Wright included — alarmed.

"We're rushing to develop our county," Wright said. "Everyone wants it done in the next five years. We have to have steady growth that is sustainable, and (that) will provide jobs for the next 25 to 30 to 50 years."

Wright believes the board of commissioners needs what he calls "a more balanced approach to zoning and development."

"Right now, (the board is) pretty pro-development," he says.

Wright said he is not anti-growth; he supports a growth pattern that won't alter the county's heritage and allure.

"I'm concerned Currituck may lose its rural nature," he said.

Wright also believes the current "rush" to develop could have negative consequences in the future.

"It seems to me if you get in a hurry doing things, sometimes we make mistakes," he said. "There is not a long, thought-out process about how it impacts our communities."

Wright believes the county needs to adopt "Smart Growth" policies that are designed to protect open space.

"We need to try and use that policy," he said. "We can have growth, but we've got to make sure growth doesn't impact the things we live here for, like water quality and wildlife. You can have both. (Smart Growth) can have significant value over normal growth — if you do it right."

Wright, 59, believes the experience he has gained from a lifetime of public service would be an asset in land-use planning and decisions.

"I feel like that I have an advantage, maybe, in providing help to the board," he said. "We're going to have growth, yes. The big thing is that we make sure growth has a positive influence on our community and doesn't ruin the lifestyle."

On other issues, Wright said he favors the proposed mid-county bridge that is slated to tie the Currituck mainland to the Outer Banks. If all goes as planned, the seven-mile span is slated to open in 2013.

"But we need to be starting to address secondary impacts the bridge will bring in terms of mainland and the Outer Banks," Wright said.

Wright, whose family owns The Cotton Gin in Jarvisburg, said the commission also needs to refocus on developing a major recreational facility for county residents.

At one time the county had plans to build a YMCA-type facility next to the new Cooperative Extension Service center, Wright said. The facility was never built.

Wright wants the plans revisited.

The candidate also believes commissioners need to focus on providing infrastructure in the northern end of the Currituck mainland.

"We need to address concerns about sewer for commercial and economic growth (there)," he said.

Wright said the commission should also consider connecting water supplies from the Currituck Outer Banks to the mainland via a pipe hooked up to the new mid-county bridge.

He said by interconnecting the systems, the water plant serving the mainland in an emergency could provide water for the Outer Banks, and vice versa.

"The planning for this (interconnection) needs to be taking place right now," he said.