County

County Commissioner, Forsyth County

At-large

Vote for: 1
Term: 4 years
Candidates: 2
Election: Nov 3, 2026

What this office does: A county commissioner is one of the members of the board that adopts the county budget, sets the property tax rate and oversees county government.

Candidates Compare by issue

Terri Mrazek

Republican

Businesswoman

The gist

Pledges to watch county spending and cut waste
Supports closer scrutiny of county grants to nonprofits
Supports making public safety and public health top priorities
Supports school choice and close review of school spending

More about Terri

View sources (2)

Pledges to watch county spending and cut waste
Candidates bring different views to at-large contest on county board
News coverage · Winston-Salem Journal · Oct 16, 2022 · journalnow.com
“Mrazek said she is running as a conservative who will carefully watch county spending and try to cut out any waste.”
Supports closer scrutiny of county grants to nonprofits
Candidates bring different views to at-large contest on county board
News coverage · Winston-Salem Journal · Oct 16, 2022 · journalnow.com
“The county needs to take a sharper look at how it funds nonprofit groups, she said.”
Supports making public safety and public health top priorities
Five Republicans vie for three seats in District B on the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners
News coverage · Winston-Salem Journal · Feb 23, 2024 · journalnow.com
“As a commissioner, Mrazek said her main priorities would be public safety and public health. … In public health, Mrazek called opioid addiction a major concern for the county.”
Supports school choice and close review of school spending
Candidates bring different views to at-large contest on county board
News coverage · Winston-Salem Journal · Oct 16, 2022 · journalnow.com
“looking closely at any money requests the schools make … proponent of school choice”

Dan Besse

DemocraticIncumbent

Attorney

The gist

Supports adequately funding Forsyth's public schools
Supports county partnerships to spur affordable housing
Co-introduced 2026-27 budget adding school special-education moneyIn office
Voted to deny Rural Hall data center rezoningIn office
Proposes exploring a six-month data center moratoriumIn office

In office = from the candidate's own official statements or legislation as an officeholder, not their campaign.

More about Dan

View sources (4)

Supports adequately funding Forsyth's public schools
Candidates bring different views to at-large contest on county board
News coverage · Winston-Salem Journal · Oct 16, 2022 · journalnow.com
“hammer on the necessity to adequately fund the public schools”
Supports county partnerships to spur affordable housing
Candidates bring different views to at-large contest on county board
News coverage · Winston-Salem Journal · Oct 16, 2022 · journalnow.com
“to work with the municipalities and the private sector to spur more development of affordable housing”
Co-introduced 2026-27 budget adding school special-education money
Forsyth commissioners approve 2026-27 budget: Which option did they choose?
News coverage · Winston-Salem Journal · Jun 4, 2026 · journalnow.com
“The approved budget was introduced by commissioners Dan Besse and Tonya McDaniel as an alternative to the $599.4 million budget recommendation”
Voted to deny Rural Hall data center rezoning
Forsyth commissioners vote down $3 billion Rural Hall data center request
News coverage · Winston-Salem Journal · Jul 31, 2026 · journalnow.com
“Commissioners who voted to deny the rezoning - Besse, McDaniel, Richard Linville, Gray Wilson and Malishai Woodbury”
Proposes exploring a six-month data center moratorium
Forsyth commissioners one step closer to 6-month data center moratorium
News coverage · Winston-Salem Journal · Sep 15, 2026 · journalnow.com
“asking the county staff to write a proposal for a six-month moratorium”

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; 7 issues covered in this race.