Ernie Bowden says the Currituck County Board of Commissioners is no place for on-the-job training.

But he believes that's what it would become if any of the three candidates vying for his seat are elected.

Justin Falls/The Daily Advance (ENLARGE)

Longtime incumbent Currituck Commissioner Ernie Bowden is seeking re-election to his District 1 seat in the May 6 Democratic primary.

"You couldn't replace the entire board with people who had never served on the board and all of them would be subject to learning," said the 83-year-old Bowden, who has served three different stints on the Board of Commissioners over a 32-year span.

First elected to represent Fruitville Township in 1976, Bowden was defeated in his re-election bid four years later. In 1984, however, he won the seat back, only to lose it again when he sought re-election in 1988. Bowden regained the seat in 1992, and has won re-election three times since, in 1996, 2000 and 2004. In all, he's served 24 years as a county commissioner in Currituck.

He said that experience, as well as the contacts he has made over the years, is invaluable.

"I certainly understand all of the processes of county government, the matter of dealing with the General Assembly delegation, the matter of dealing with the congressional delegation, working with other elected officials in the county," Bowden said.

Bowden has drawn Republican opponents in previous campaigns. Indeed this year, he has two: Vance Aydlett and Keith Hill will vie for the Republican Party nomination for the newly created District 1 seat in the May 6 primary.

For the first time in a while, however, Bowden also has an opponent in the Democratic Party primary. Corolla resident Michael Cherry has challenged the longtime commissioner for his seat. In fact Cherry's father, Marshall, also a Democrat, was the last opponent to defeat Bowden, ending his second stint on the commission board in 1988. The winner of the Bowden-Cherry primary will take on the winner of the Aydlett-Hill race in the fall.

If he is re-elected to a fifth consecutive four-year term, Bowden says he would like to see several projects completed in the coming years. One is a community college campus.

"Some time in the near future, I'd like to see a college campus located in Currituck County, possibly something that COA (College of the Albemarle) would foster," he said.

Several commission candidates have said the county urgently needs to develop a recreational center for Currituck's youth. Bowden agrees, and points out that the county is well on its way to accomplishing that goal. He said land adjoining the county's new Cooperative Extension Service building has been dedicated for the project.

He said the facility is slated to have an indoor swimming pool and feature various recreational activities for men and women.

"We have set aside $14 million toward construction of a recreation facility at that site," Bowden said, adding the project is estimated to cost $20 million. "I think that's probably our next major construction project we will get involved in."

Bowden also believes his 50 years of experience in agriculture can be a plus when dealing with farming issues. Farmers have recently been requesting that their land, particularly in southern Currituck, be rezoned by the commission to allow residential development.

Bowden said he is not opposed to that.

"I don't have any problem rezoning a man's property," Bowden said. "The first thing people need to know is that you can rezone a 100-acre farm today and it probably will not be built out for 20 to 25 years. The second thing is this (rezoning) does give a man an option to do something with his property other than sit there and pay taxes" on it.

Bowden has come under fire from several of his opponents for his support of a service district for roads in the Carova area. His opponents say he has taken a stand contradictory to the will of his constituents. But Bowden said he's simply trying to get the county out of a "Catch 22" situation.

He said residents of the northern beach areas want potholes in their roads filled, but for the county to do that, there first needs to be a service district. He said the county attorney and manager have made that clear.

"These people say they don't want a service district, but want water holes filled, and ditches cleaned out," Bowden said. "Certainly, we have to have a service district to do it."

Bowden said if he were re-elected, he would continue to work to foster a better relationship between the Currituck mainland and Outer Banks residents.

"Certainly we have to maintain dialogue," he said. "If you don't, then you won't accomplish anything. We have to find a common denominator, or common denominators, both factions can relate to. Hopefully, out of that, would come a better understanding of problems that each area has to solve."

Ernie Bowden

Age: 83

Occupation: semi-retired, light contracting

Education: Two years college at Pratt Institute

Political affiliation: Democrat

Previous political campaigns/offices: Fruitville Township commissioner 1992-present; also ran successfully for the seat in 1976, 1984; lost re-election bids in 1980, 1988

Civic, community affiliations: First president, Outer Banks Civic League

Religion: Methodist

Family: One daughter