Voters in District 1 will choose between two men to represent them on the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors.

On the Democratic ticket is the Rev. Jerry Wilson, an incumbent candidate who is serving as president of the board. The Republican candidate is Dwayne Gill, a Navy veteran who serves as the county’s veteran service officer.

Wilson and Gill will be on the ballots for the primary, but their race won’t be decided until the general election Nov 5.

The candidates for District 1 Supervisor — listed below in alphabetical order — emailed their responses to three questions.

Dwayne Gill, 49, veteran service officer for Lincoln County and an operator of Southern Sanitation Service

Experience for the District 1 Supervisor seat: Over 20 years in US Navy from Norfolk to San Diego and places in between. I have seen the good and bad of those places. I think my life and work experience will serve me well as a district supervisor. During my military service, I have been at several different commands as a chief petty officer where I was involved in establishing safety/welfare programs for our sailors. I was in charge of a travel budget for a submarine rescue exercise that was over $200,000 and I was able to accomplish that under budget. I am a graduate of our local sheriffs academy. These are small parts of a much larger life experience that will assist me in serving as the District 1 supervisor for Lincoln County.

What steps will you take as supervisor to ensure that the people of Lincoln County have a voice at public meetings and that the county’s business will be conducted in a transparent manner?

We already have established rules and regulations that are in place for our county business meetings and we should be held accountable to follow them. Transparency should not even be an issue. I would absolutely listen to our citizens of the county that have issues and work with them to find a resolution even if that requires modification to the rules. Being transparent to the people we serve should never be an issue within the established rules. This helps us as a board when someone can see something and point out a possible error because there is transparency rather than auditors coming in years later and finding it. Transparency is a win-win.

Based on the budget you are provided, how do you intend to not only maintain, but improve infrastructure without raising taxes?

Priorities — you must establish them not just for your district but for the county as a whole. We should be a county and then a district. Infrastructure improvements require spending money. We have to work with the people we serve to figure out what, where and how those improvements will happen and if we are going to spend more, where does more come from? We already know there is not enough money in the budget. As supervisors, we have to seek out the best reasonable solutions and present it to our county and make hard decisions that has the best results for our taxpayers.

What do you believe are the three most important duties of a county supervisor — ranked in order of importance — and what experience do you have to fulfill those duties?

Right now, I believe these duties are very important.

1. Making decisions that directly impact public safety and welfare of county citizens. We need a safe community now and in the future.

2. Authority over our county roads, bridges and county law enforcement. We must have improvement in these areas.

3. Impacting economic development by guiding and establishing policy for complex multi-dollar budgets of county government. Doing this correctly should always be a priority.

Jerry Wilson, 59, Lincoln County District 1 supervisor.

Experience for the District 1 Supervisor seat:  Served as a Brookhaven alderman for six years.

What steps will you take as supervisor to ensure that the people of Lincoln County have a voice at public meetings and that the county’s business will be conducted in a transparent manner?

All meetings are open to the public and everyone has an opportunity to speak. The only time it is not open to the public is during executive sessions, when the subjects discussed are legal matters, personnel and industrial and retail development.

Based on the budget you are provided, how do you intend to not only maintain, but improve infrastructure without raising taxes?

Always trying to find state and federal grants to give us more money for infrastructure without raising taxes.

What do you believe are the three most important duties of a county supervisor — ranked in order of importance — and what experience do you have to fulfill those duties?

Roads and bridges, budget, being available to my bosses in District 1 of Lincoln County to tend to their needs.

Voting information

Election Day for primaries is Aug. 6 with a runoff, if needed, set for Aug. 27. General Election Day is Nov. 5.

Absentee voting is underway through Aug. 3 at noon at the Lincoln County Circuit Clerk’s office, which is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mail ballots can be requested, but the law requires they be returned by mail only by Aug. 5. Mailed ballots cannot be returned in person at the office, said Lincoln County Circuit Clerk Dustin Bairfield.

People may vote absentee for several reasons, including if they will be out of town on election day, if they are temporarily or permanently disabled or if they are 65 or older, Bairfield said.

To see sample primary ballots, visit www.lincolncircuitcourt.com and click on “elections.”