Democrat · pastor / former teacher
Republican · tax-protest organizer
Countywide seat. Drumwright won the March Democratic primary. Mike Perdue was named Aug. 21, 2026 after Tony Jacobelli withdrew. He is not Alan Perdue, the District 2 incumbent.
Green ✓ = closer to this concern set: revenue-neutral rate after reappraisal, no new sales-tax referendum, sheriff and jail dollars tied to filled posts, and industrial deals that do not shift costs onto the household bill.
Red ✗ = farther from that set.
Gray — = no recorded vote and no published plank.
Both may earn ✓ on the same row. Marks are not an endorsement.
| Issue | Greg Drumwright | Mike Perdue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The 2027 tax bill — 2026 values land next year | Says he would lower the multiplier as values rise but also floated a quarter-cent sales tax for teacher pay. | ✗ | Organized the reappraisal protests. Running to push the rate down so the new values are not a county windfall at homeowner expense. | ✓ |
| Revenue-neutral rate vs. service-maintenance rate | Talks balance: growth, schools, and some rate relief. Not a freeze-the-budget candidate. | Revenue-neutral is the test. If the base grows, the rate should fall. GOP and WFMY both put that as his reason for being on the ballot. | ||
| FY2027 rate already on the books — 78.95 cents | Would inherit a board that adopted 78.95¢ on June 25. Has not published a target rate for FY2028. | Treats that rate as the starting fight for the next budget, not a settled number. | ||
| Appraisal accuracy and the appeals process | Planning-board background. Has not made site-visit reform his campaign. | Public comment record challenging Tax Dept. staffing and mass-appraisal quality. | ||
| Guilford County Schools results vs. another county tax | Former GCS teacher. Wants more county money for schools and classified staff pay. Tool is the levy and quarter-cent sales tax. | Will not raise the property tax to close every GCS request. Schools are a state-and-county mix. Performance is not the same as a larger county check. | ||
| Teacher and classified supplements | Raise local supplements so GCS stops losing staff to neighboring counties — paid for by more local tax. | Pay is real. The answer is to re-order the budget, not another tax. | ||
| Another sales-tax referendum | Said he would support a quarter-cent tax for school capital and pay. | Voters have rejected sales-tax hikes. Do not put it back on the ballot. | ||
| Sheriff, jail, and EMS — the checks the board writes | Safe-schools language. Less specific on detention vacancies and OT. | Tax protest first. Public-safety dollars should follow filled posts, not blank OT. | ||
| Mental health and rural clinics | Named rural healthcare and county mental-health support as core planks. | Not his lead issue. Wants those programs inside a smaller tax take. | ||
| Housing costs and rent pass-through | Growth agenda. Housing and homelessness sit inside “Grow Guilford.” | Higher tax bills get passed to renters. That is why the rate fight is a housing fight. | ||
| Data centers and who pays for new load | No published cap on household rate-shifting. | — | No published data-center ordinance. Tax-first campaign; no posted grid-or-water rule. | — |
| Who they are on this ballot | Pastor, former teacher, planning board. | Regular at the commissioners’ podium on taxes. He is not Alan Perdue (District 2 incumbent). |
The 2027 tax bill — 2026 values land next year
Says he would lower the multiplier as values rise but also floated a quarter-cent sales tax for teacher pay.
Organized the reappraisal protests. Running to push the rate down so the new values are not a county windfall at homeowner expense.
Revenue-neutral rate vs. service-maintenance rate
Talks balance: growth, schools, and some rate relief. Not a freeze-the-budget candidate.
Revenue-neutral is the test. If the base grows, the rate should fall. GOP and WFMY both put that as his reason for being on the ballot.
FY2027 rate already on the books — 78.95 cents
Would inherit a board that adopted 78.95¢ on June 25. Has not published a target rate for FY2028.
Treats that rate as the starting fight for the next budget, not a settled number.
Appraisal accuracy and the appeals process
Planning-board background. Has not made site-visit reform his campaign.
Public comment record challenging Tax Dept. staffing and mass-appraisal quality.
Guilford County Schools results vs. another county tax
Former GCS teacher. Wants more county money for schools and classified staff pay. Tool is the levy and quarter-cent sales tax.
Will not raise the property tax to close every GCS request. Schools are a state-and-county mix. Performance is not the same as a larger county check.
Teacher and classified supplements
Raise local supplements so GCS stops losing staff to neighboring counties — paid for by more local tax.
Pay is real. The answer is to re-order the budget, not another tax.
Another sales-tax referendum
Said he would support a quarter-cent tax for school capital and pay.
Voters have rejected sales-tax hikes. Do not put it back on the ballot.
Sheriff, jail, and EMS — the checks the board writes
Safe-schools language. Less specific on detention vacancies and OT.
Tax protest first. Public-safety dollars should follow filled posts, not blank OT.
Mental health and rural clinics
Named rural healthcare and county mental-health support as core planks.
Not his lead issue. Wants those programs inside a smaller tax take.
Housing costs and rent pass-through
Growth agenda. Housing and homelessness sit inside “Grow Guilford.”
Higher tax bills get passed to renters. That is why the rate fight is a housing fight.
Data centers and who pays for new load
No published cap on household rate-shifting.
No published data-center ordinance. Tax-first campaign; no posted grid-or-water rule.
Who they are on this ballot
Pastor, former teacher, planning board.
Regular at the commissioners’ podium on taxes. He is not Alan Perdue (District 2 incumbent).
Matches the Piedmont concern set
Greg Drumwright · 1 of 11
Mike Perdue · 9 of 11
Dashes not counted. Last row not scored.
If these are your at-large priorities
This is the countywide tax-and-budget seat. The 2026 reappraisal hits the 2027 bill. The question is whether the next at-large vote treats that as a county revenue windfall or as a reason to cut the rate.
Drumwright’s case is schools, teacher pay supplements, rural healthcare, and a quarter-cent sales tax. Mike Perdue’s case is the protest record: revenue-neutral rate, no new sales-tax vote, and a smaller take before new programs. Neither man has a published data-center rule — that row is blank.
- Sources (public record)
- High Point Enterprise / WFMY on Jacobelli withdrawal and Mike Perdue nomination (Aug. 21, 2026) · NCSBE candidate list · Drumwright campaign (safe schools, teacher pay, healthcare) · Guilford FY2027 rate 78.95¢ adopted June 25, 2026 · Our Piedmont reappraisal brief
Our Piedmont Education Foundation · 301 S Elm Street, Suite 605, Greensboro, NC 27401. This page is voter education. It is not an endorsement of, or opposition to, either candidate. Draft for internal review · August 29, 2026.