Steve Hedrick is a retired U.S. Navy veteran, small-town conservative, and lifelong believer in servant leadership. He grew up in a rural Appalachian community in West Virginia, where hard work wasn’t optional and a handshake still meant something. Raised by a coal-miner father and a mother who devoted herself to family, Steve learned early that your word is your bond.

After high school and a few dead-end jobs, Steve joined the United States Navy—an experience that shaped his leadership style and sense of duty for life. During his 23 year naval career, he learned that real leadership means putting people first, making tough decisions, and always being accountable.

Following his retirement from the Navy, Steve and his wife Connie chose Currituck County as their home. Like many families here, they were drawn by its strong sense of community, natural beauty, and shared values. Steve quickly became involved locally, not as a politician, but as a neighbor who believes that government should be transparent, practical, and respectful of taxpayers.

Steve is running for Currituck County Commissioner to protect the rural character of the county, demand responsible infrastructure planning, support working families, and ensure growth happens with the community—not to it. He believes local government should listen more than it talks, plan before it spends, and always remember who it works for.

Steve and Connie are proud to call Currituck home and are committed to leaving it stronger, smarter, and more accountable for the next generation.

As your commissioner, these are the items I will address
The Moyock Wastewater Treatment Plant has been woefully inadequate for many years. This failure has prevented Moyock from supporting the kind of commercial growth that would help ease our residential tax burden—and its impacts are felt across the entire county.

As your Commissioner, I will not vote to allow additional residential connections to the Moyock system until capacity and reliability issues are fully resolved. Any available capacity must be prioritized for commercial uses only—uses that generate jobs, expand the tax base, and reduce the financial pressure on homeowners.

Currituck County cannot continue to grow in a way that depends solely on residential development. We must move toward self-sustaining growth, keep our money here at home, and—through careful, deliberate selection of commercial entities—bring revenue into the county from outside areas.

Responsible infrastructure first. Smart commercial growth second. That is how we strengthen Moyock and protect the entire county.

NC state law requires counties to approve development that meets the criteria in the Unified Development Ordinance, but it does not require us to write those rules to favor developers over citizens. Currituck County has a Land Use Plan that we paid for, and it should be the standard for growth—not a suggestion that can be ignored. As County Commissioner, I will work to bring our UDO back into alignment with that plan so development reflects our community’s vision, protects infrastructure, and respects the people who live here.

That means restoring the definition of “adequate public facilities” to include public safety and water capacity—not just schools—so growth is based on what our county can actually support. Before any development comes to a vote, I want to see clear, measurable data showing its impact, along with final plats that include all conditions to ensure developers follow the rules. I will push to clearly define “harmony” so it means true compatibility with our communities, not a subjective loophole, and to require larger lot sizes and lower density. Friends and neighbors, these are the reasons I am running for County Commissioner.