Tigress McDaniel, Mecklenburg Soil and Water Conservation candidate, answers our questions

To help inform voters in the Nov. 5, 2024, election, this candidate questionnaire is available to be republished by local publications in North Carolina without any cost. Please consider subscribing to The Charlotte Observer to help make this coverage possible.

Name: Tigress Sydney Acute McDaniel

Birth date (month, day and year): 12/05/1976

Campaign website or social media page: linktr.ee/seetigressrun

Occupation: Scientist, Economist and Lawyer (pursuing license to practice law)

Education

Juris Doctor, PhD ABD in Energy & Environmental Systems & Economics, MS in AgEcon, BS in AgEd, MFA Equivalent in Theatre Arts, Diploma from James B. Dudley High School

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought or held)

Yes; please see my Ballotpedia profile

Please list your highlights of civic involvement

Please see my Ballotpedia profile

This is an office a lot of people scratch their heads over when they get to it on the ballot. In your own words, what do the Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisors do?

They should be ethically informing environmental policy as to our county’s natural resources and sustainable management thereof

What in your prior work history and expertise prepares you for this role?

I am THE only Scientist with conferred doctoral level expertise and lead national (unpublished to date in journals yet vetted via NPS, private and educational research) research in the applicable Soil, Water, and Plant Sciences to vy for this office (to boot, also a doctoral level Economist and now lawyer), and thus, if elected, would be the only one ever to serve in this seat. I possess 27 years of experience; the core of my specialization and conferred expertise is wetland bioremediation.

What are the most significant threats, in your view, facing our soil and water resources in Mecklenburg County?

Industry and developer greed; counterproductive draining of naturally occurring wetlands and replacement with constructed wetlands and poorly managed

How will you work to tackle development-related issues such as sedimentation in our waterways?

I wish I could wave a magic wand & fix all that inept elected/appointed officials have done in this seat or serving therewith, but I cannot. So, as an ethical apt Scientist, I can’t make any promises except influencing sustainability, exposing unethical development, lending my expertise to inform, strategize and implement sustainability. In that I’ve remained steadfast for over 27 years in Applied Ethical/Collaborative Science, it’s my natural habit & now serves Charlotte well if & when elected

What will your focus be, should you win this race?

Sustainability, Correcting Negative Externalities, Lending my unrivaledly unique expertise to inform, strategize and implement sustainability practices that are still yet economically advantageous and legally compliant

This story was originally published October 7, 2024 at 2:56 PM.

Josh Bergeron

The Charlotte Observer

704-412-1782

Josh Bergeron is the government editor at The Charlotte Observer. Previously, he was the editor of the Salisbury Post in Salisbury, N.C. and worked as an editor and reporter at newspapers in North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi. He’s a proud LSU alumnus — Geaux Tigers.