County

County Commissioner, Kent County

Vote for: 3
Term: 4 years
Candidates: 6
Election: Nov 3, 2026

What this office does: A county commissioner is one of the board members who pass the county budget, set tax rates, adopt local ordinances and oversee county government.

Candidates Compare by issue

Thad L. Bench

Democratic

Business adviser

The gist

Opposes expanding the board to five commissioners
Supports pursuing state school-construction funds for the middle school
Proposes data scraping to find untaxed short-term rentals
Supports making rental platforms remit the county tax

More about Thad

View sources (1)

Opposes expanding the board to five commissioners
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“I am not in favor of increasing the number of commissioners”
Supports pursuing state school-construction funds for the middle school
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“There are at least three buckets we can muster beyond county capital budget/bonds. We must fight for these resources.”
Proposes data scraping to find untaxed short-term rentals
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“Utilize data-scraping approach cross-referencing platform listings against tax filings to identify discrepancies.”
Supports making rental platforms remit the county tax
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“Push for state legislation requiring STR platforms to remit the county tax directly.”

John T. Carroll

Democratic

The gist

Supports five commissioners, three elected by district
Supports moving ahead now with the new middle school
Supports higher penalties for unregistered short-term rentals

More about John

View sources (1)

Supports five commissioners, three elected by district
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“Yes, I support the expansion of commissioners from three to five. … I would favor an approach with three commissioners elected by district and, two at-large”
Supports moving ahead now with the new middle school
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“It's time for the county to move forward and make investments in our education infrastructure.”
Supports higher penalties for unregistered short-term rentals
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“I would also support increasing penalties for those who do not register their STR with the county in a timely fashion.”

Sam Shoge

Democratic

The gist

Opposes expanding to five commissioners for now
Pledges to seek more state funding for the middle school
Supports proactive tracking of short-term rental listings
Opposes letting too much housing shift to short-term rentals

More about Sam

View sources (1)

Opposes expanding to five commissioners for now
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“The case for expanding to five commissioners is inconclusive, so I don't support a change right now.”
Pledges to seek more state funding for the middle school
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“My focus is securing additional state funding, then ensuring the school is built on time and on budget.”
Supports proactive tracking of short-term rental listings
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“We should proactively track listings, cross-check registrations, and ensure compliance.”
Opposes letting too much housing shift to short-term rentals
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“we can't let too much housing shift to short-term use.”

Ron Fithian

RepublicanIncumbent

The gist

Opposes spending $32 million on a new middle school
Proposes rehabilitating a vacant elementary school for middle schoolers
Supports five commissioners elected by district

More about Ron

View sources (1)

Opposes spending $32 million on a new middle school
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“I will not vote to spend $32 million dollars to build a new middle school”
Proposes rehabilitating a vacant elementary school for middle schoolers
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“we have a vacant elementary school located right next to the Kent County High School that we could completely rehab”
Supports five commissioners elected by district
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“I would be agreeable to expanding the number of Commissioner's from 3 to 5.”

Albert Nickerson

RepublicanIncumbent

Contractor

The gist

Opposes expanding the board beyond three commissioners
Opposes building a new middle school without more state aid
Supports keeping software that tracks short-term rentals

More about Albert

View sources (1)

Opposes expanding the board beyond three commissioners
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“I am in favor of maintaining the current structure of the Kent County Board of Commissioners with three elected members.”
Opposes building a new middle school without more state aid
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“As it stands right now, we simply cannot afford to build a new middle school.”
Supports keeping software that tracks short-term rentals
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“I believe the continuation of the use of this new software is key to the resolution of this issue.”

John F. Price

RepublicanIncumbent

The gist

Supports building the middle school without raising taxes
Opposes creating commissioner districts
Supports letting voters decide board size by referendum

More about John

View sources (1)

Supports building the middle school without raising taxes
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“Kent County is in a good position to make this project a reality without raising tax.”
Opposes creating commissioner districts
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“Creating districts will be counterproductive, less efficient, and more costly.”
Supports letting voters decide board size by referendum
VOTE411 Voter Guide: Kent County Commissioner
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund · onyourballot.vote411.org
“This issue may best be resolved by the people through a referendum.”

Challengers are listed first and incumbents last; otherwise candidates appear in ballot order. The Gist does not rank, rate or endorse candidates. Only positions backed by a cited source are shown; 4 issues covered in this race.