Candidate Profile: Don Kingston (Duck, NC Council)

Don Kingston is a candidate for the Town of Duck, North Carolina Council. His name will appear on the ballot on November 7, 2023.

There are six candidates running for five open seats on council.

10 On Your Side reached out to all of the candidates running in this race. If you do not see the candidate listed with a profile, we did not receive one.

Name: Donald P. Kingston

Age: 81

Race: Town of Duck, North Carolina Council Member

Biography: I am the Current Mayor of Duck serving in my sixth term; first elected as Mayor in 2011. I served as the Mayor Pro Tempore during in my first term on the Duck Town Council elected in 2009. I was a Member of the Duck Planning Board in 2009. I have been active Town volunteer since moving here permanently in 2007. I currently represent Duck on the Dare County Senior Advisory Group and have served as the Council Liaison to the Duck Civic and Business Association (DCBA). In 2017 I was elected to the North Carolina League of Municipalities Board of Directors, serving four and one half years through 2022. I also served on NCLM Board of Directors Executive and Finance Committees. In 2021 I was appointed to the Board and elected President of the NC Local Leadership Foundation, serving for two years. I am a member of the North Carolina Mayors Association.

Education: I hold undergraduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business from the Rochester Institute of Technology and an MBA degree from the University of Rochester, Simon School, Rochester, NY. Graduate of the Xerox Executive Development Program, Harvard University

Occupation(s): Retired in 2007 after a forty five year business career included twenty two years with a major US copier corporation. Five years as a founder/business owner and seven years in Regional Management with two firms in the IT systems development and staffing industry. The last eleven years I served as an Officer and Vice President of a major US staffing solutions corporation

Why are you running for this office?

I am once again running for the Duck Town Council to continue to serve in the management and controlled growth of the Town. The greatest attributes that qualify me as candidate and to be reelected to the Duck Town Council: are my extensive leadership skills as exemplified by the last twelve years as Mayor and my fourteen years as active member of the Duck Town Council, my detailed knowledge of the Town of Duck and Town Council proceedings, my educational achievements, my varied business background and experiences having worked for large corporations, industry leaders and founded a small business and I am fiscally conservative and responsible in addressing Town issues. I am ethical, fair and honest individual and share with the several Councils and Staff a proven record of Success.

What is the most important issue facing the community, and what is your position on it?

There are several important issues facing the Town of Duck as we continue to mature as a Town. If re-elected as a Council Member (or as re-appointed Mayor selected by Council), I would hope to accomplish the following major priorities: maintain fiscal stability and responsibility controlling operating growth and taxes of the Town, build new or renovate the Public Safety Building, complete the FEMA BRIC project including raising a segment of Duck Road, building the west side Phase Four sidewalk and creating a Living Shoreline in the Currituck Sound, continue to address traffic congestion issues (and support to the Mid-Currituck Bridge), continue to explore additional Town parking opportunities in the Village, continue to support reasonable ordinances and regulations to ensure a balance between residents, non-residents and businesses, ensure open communications are always available to residents, non-residents, businesses and visitors, continue improvements of the existing multi use path and initiate a new west side multi use path on the south side of Town and address issues of public importance including but not limited to resiliency, wastewater, housing, ambulance services, trash, climate change and sea level rise.

What it the top challenge facing your constituents, and how would you address it?

Some of the top challenges effecting our constituents, recognizing we are a resort community, continue to be summer time traffic congestion, escalating economic issues, affordable housing, trash collections, tents on the beach and environmental challenges of the ocean and sound. The Town of Duck is close to being fully built with few building lots remaining. Current activity is high with replacement of smaller homes with larger homes and expansion through renovations. Therefore, our density and occupancy are reaching record levels, especially in the summer months and post the COVID pandemic. We are a ‘victim of our own success in Duck’, which has created significant workforce and traffic issues in our Town. As in the past, I will continue to address these issues with other members of the Town Council, Town Staff, the other coastal Towns, County, State and Federal officials as required.

How will you still value constituents and politicians with whom you disagree?

The reality of actions are that occasionally not everyone will agree, whether it is the Council Members, Staff or our constitutes, I always respect and value the opinions of others and will always strive for agreeable or reasonable decisions on all actions.