Attorney Anna Blood is running for a seat on the Union County Board of Commissioners. Though she identifies herself as a Republican who tends toward the conservative end of the spectrum, she is not your typical political aspirant. Unlike virtually all of those who have occupied the office in the past, Ms. Blood is young, the mother of two boys, and an active volunteer. She is also, in her words, “driven by a desire to serve the community in ways that make a difference.”
Having grown up in Waxhaw, she has a close affinity for the area and an awareness of its challenges that only a life-long resident can attain. If elected, Anna will be the only attorney on the board and the fifth woman to hold a seat in the one hundred, fifty year history of the commission. She believes that both of these points give her a fresh perspective and will prove to be assets.
Asked to identify her priorities should she be elected commissioner, Ms. Blood took no time to cite what she considers to be the most important. Clearly she has considered this question previously. “being able to help the community by focusing on fiscal responsibility, education and taxes.
“Education is very important to me. I want to establish a close working relationship between the board of education and the board of commissioners.” Of course, an exemplary school system is important to every parent with children in Union County school system. For Blood, though, concern for this issue is further demonstrated by her association with the Apprentice Academy High School of North Carolina, on which she serves as vice chair, and as a volunteer with Kids First of the Carolinas which works to help needy children in Charlotte’s less privileged communities.
Also important on her priority list, is the development and implementation of an agenda that establishes a more equitable distribution of the tax burned between the county’s residential and commercial sectors. She believes that too must is currently carried by homeowners. “It is important to balance the existing tax structure,” she says. “We have to find ways to make it more fair.”
In Waxhaw, she envisions a thriving downtown area and growing awareness of the small town amenities that it has to offer, by encouraging the participation of new business. This is not a new goal for the town, but to date, little in terms of viable plans for achieving it have been offered. Blood believes that she is up to the challenge. Being married to an exp professional wrestler and the daughter-in-law of another has taught her something about how to be tough; and she is.
Ms. Blood is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association. She has an undergraduate degree in international studies from St. Leo University and obtained her law degree from the Charlotte School of Law where she was the Executive Editor of the Property Law Journal, and writer for the Charlotte Law Docket. Practicing for ten years, she has experience in both the public and private sector.
