Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

Virginia Mewborne Spykerman was born in Winston-Salem, NC, and grew up in High Point, NC. Her family moved to Charlotte in 1983. She graduated as a Morehead Scholar from UNC-CH in 1990 and went to work for Goldman Sachs as a financial analyst in the Investment Banking Division. She worked for Goldman in New York, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong. She left Goldman Sachs as the Treasurer of Non-Japan Asia in 1999 to chase a dream of becoming a stage actress. After many auditions she finally got a job as an actor with the A.D. Players, a repertory theatre company in Houston, TX. When not on stage, she worked in the business office and the box office for the theatre. Throughout her decade of living all over the world, Virginia always knew that she wanted to return to NC to live and work, for NC will always be home to her.

In 2002 Virginia was able to come back to NC and began a career in Treasury at Wachovia here in Charlotte. She joined Uptown Church and in her newcomers class met Mark Spykerman who would become her husband in 2003. Their first child was born in Jan 2005 and the Spykermans moved to Chapel Hill so that Mark could pursue his MBA at UNC-CH. Upon graduation, the Spykermans moved back to their home in Charlotte with two more children in tow! Mark is currently a management consultant with McKinsey and Company, and Virginia stays at home with their three children. Their oldest child will attend Collinswood Elementary this year.

The top three issues Mecklenburg County faces are: fiscal responsibility, job creation, and quality education.

Fiscal Responsibility: My main reason for running is to bring common sense to the budgeting process. This includes making reasonable revenue projections, matching revenues and expenses, and planning beyond the next year so that we can have new programs and services when needed.

Job Creation: The BOCC can partner with the Chamber of Commerce and other economic agencies such as the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority to attract new investments in the area. Given that businesses look for a stable and properly managed local government when deciding on investing in the area, I would work to bring financial stability to the county by improving the budget process at the County Commission level and by improving communication between the Commission and the other local governing bodies, specifically the Board of Education and the City Council. Additionally, corporations and individuals want to move here if the schools are good, crime is low and cost of living is affordable. Thus the Commission should focus on funding schools and public safety by cutting expenses elsewhere rather than raising property or sales taxes

Quality Education: The County Commission's role in providing a quality education is to provide adequate funding for the schools. I would work hard on the front end to come up with a real achievable budget, so that the county is not asking CMS for money back in the middle of the fiscal year. Additionally, I would volunteer to serve as a liaison between the County Commission and the Board of Education to understand better the goals, successes and challenges of CMS. With roughly half of the County's available funds going to CMS, it is vital that we improve communication and accountability between the two governing bodies.