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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.

CandidatesCompare by issue

Taxes & budget

  • Thad L. BenchDemocratic

    • Proposes data scraping to find untaxed short-term rentals
    • Supports making rental platforms remit the county tax

  • John T. CarrollDemocratic

    • Supports higher penalties for unregistered short-term rentals

  • Sam ShogeDemocratic

    • Supports proactive tracking of short-term rental listings

  • Ron FithianRepublican

    No documented position found.

  • Albert NickersonRepublican

    • Supports keeping software that tracks short-term rentals

  • John F. PriceRepublican

    No documented position found.

Education

  • Thad L. BenchDemocratic

    • Supports pursuing state school-construction funds for the middle school

  • John T. CarrollDemocratic

    • Supports moving ahead now with the new middle school

  • Sam ShogeDemocratic

    • Pledges to seek more state funding for the middle school

  • Ron FithianRepublican

    • Opposes spending $32 million on a new middle school
    • Proposes rehabilitating a vacant elementary school for middle schoolers

  • Albert NickersonRepublican

    • Opposes building a new middle school without more state aid

  • John F. PriceRepublican

    • Supports building the middle school without raising taxes

Housing

Government & transparency

  • Thad L. BenchDemocratic

    • Opposes expanding the board to five commissioners

  • John T. CarrollDemocratic

    • Supports five commissioners, three elected by district

  • Sam ShogeDemocratic

    • Opposes expanding to five commissioners for now

  • Ron FithianRepublican

    • Supports five commissioners elected by district

  • Albert NickersonRepublican

    • Opposes expanding the board beyond three commissioners

  • John F. PriceRepublican

    • Opposes creating commissioner districts
    • Supports letting voters decide board size by 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.