Stiles
After nine years serving on the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, Cal Stiles thinks of himself as a “seasoned commissioner,” well-suited to help address the wide variety of complex issues facing the county today.
“I’m abreast of all this stuff, and I have the business experience,” Stiles said. “You’ve got to know people, you’ve got to be able to talk to people and it takes time.
“I’m available about any time to do whatever I need to do. I’m Johnny on the spot.”
The District 1 Republican commissioner has faced a variety of attacks during the 2022 campaign. In one instance, Stiles was the target of a digital cartoon illustration that featured him kicking a can. In another, he was featured on a website that depicted him as a mafia boss.
In Stiles’ opinion, these are examples that “Washington politics” has entered Cherokee County. While he said he has no issue with Western Carolina Regional Airport, he attributes the attacks to individuals closely associated with its interests.
“They’ve always gone after me, but they’ve really gone after me this time,” Stiles said. “Now I’ve just gone ahead and identified them as the ‘Airport Special Interest Group,’ and that’s what they’ve done, they’ve gotten way out there. I hope the citizens will look (and see) that I’m just trying to protect their tax dollars.”
He said he also has been falsely accused of supporting zoning, when his only intent is to do a better job of planning for the future.
Stiles has more than 40 years of business experience, which includes time in areas such as grocery, real estate and storage units. He said he’s been called things like “cheap” and “frugal” – labels he is willing to accept. Stiles is less inclined to embrace the “kicking the can” jab, but he tries to keep a sense of humor about it all.
“I think sometimes it’s better to kick the can than to stomp the wallet of the taxpayer,” Stiles said with a smile. “However, on kicking the can, Mr. (Commissioner Gary “Hippie”) Westmoreland accused me of that at the (March 21) board meeting on (funding) the EMS station.
“But if I may quote the June 1 of 2020 minutes, ‘New business, motion was made by Commissioner Westmoreland to delay EMS Station 1 project and reject all EMS Station 1 bids. After discussion, motion passed unanimously.’ ”
Stiles said he is proud of the fact that he helped the Town of Andrews receive almost $2 million in money for water and sewer projects while he was a member of the N.C. Water Infrastructure Authority. He also is honored that he was voted Best Government Official in the Cherokee Scout’s Readers’ Choice contest in both 2019 and 2021, with an honorable mention in 2020.
Improving local internet access is important to Stiles, as is bringing in more housing to help fill critical jobs that are available. He makes it a point to attend as many local events as possible to keep his finger on the pulse of what local citizens want.
Stiles voted against the county’s 2021-22 budget because he felt like too much money was being spent.
He now sees a property tax increase as virtually unavoidable to address the county budget alone. That’s not counting funding for an already approved consolidated high school in Peachtree — which Stiles opposes — or a possible settlement for lawsuits facing the Department of Social Services.
“I see a little tax increase in order to do the budget this coming year,” Stiles said.
“Are we going to add on if something were to be worked out for the (Department of Social Services) lawsuits, then are you going to add another little tax on for a high school? At some point we’ve got to say, ‘We can only handle so much at a time, the citizens can.’ ”