Keith D. Kidwell believes he can be an effective Beaufort County commissioner. That’s why he’s seeking a seat on the Board of Commissioners.

There are other reasons he wants a seat on the seven-member board, which he discussed when talking about his decision to run for office.

“It’s not something that just happened today. It’s a period of time of watching the politics of Beaufort County, a lot of inept decisions, decision processes,” said Kidwell, chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party. “I think what really got me was when there was an article — a matter of fact in your paper — that the most pressing issue at that time, which this is a couple of years ago, was the county jail. I feel like the most pressing issue we see in Beaufort County is probably the fact that we don’t have jobs. We’ve been bleeding out jobs in Beaufort County. I think it’s 5,500 jobs in the last decade or so. To me, that’s a far more important issue than the jail. Not that the jail is not important, not that it doesn’t need to be addressed. To me, that didn’t make sense.”

Now, the county faces the situation with the upcoming closing of Vidant Pungo Hospital in Belhaven, Kidwell said.

“We’ve got to do something down there. We have a jail that’s working; it’s functioning. We don’t have a hospital that’s working and functioning for the people down in the Pungo area,” Kidwell said.

The decision to seek a seat on the board developed over time, he said.

“It’s been, honestly, probably nearly a 10-year process of really making the decision and having the timing be appropriate in my personal life and business life, quite honestly. I just feel like this is now; this is it,” Kidwell said. “I see the fighting that goes on. It’s just amazing to me. Honestly, I guess the way I put it to me wife, I’m tired of seeing politicians ruin my county, my state and my country. I feel like I need to do something about it.”

As for the issue of building a new jail, Kidwell has publicly taken the Board of Commissioners to task for its handling of that issue. He’s discussed the jail at several board meetings.

In news release, Kidwell wrote, “Specifically, the recent decisions by the County Commission to move forward with building a jail without doing the proper research, and the fact that they violated the democratic process by not allowing the people of Beaufort County to vote on referendum when spending up to $30,000,000 (30 million dollars). I find this to be very disappointing.”

“I raised the idea that the timing of when to take on capital projects should be part of the process when considering the jail as well. Has the commission looked at what debts are retiring and maybe waiting until that happens as a way of not having to raise taxes? How about waiting until we recover from what is the worst economy in 80 years? Beaufort County citizens have seen their taxes and homeowners insurance increase unbelievably in the past few years, many now have to pay wind insurance, and who knows how much health insurance is going up? The commissioners should be considering how they can avoid raising taxes,” he continued.

Kidwell said he’s not sure what the county needs as far as a jail goes, but neither does the board because it has not performed the proper due diligence regarding the jail. Kidwell said commissioners should not be making “best guesses” when it comes to decisions affecting the county. Instead, they should be obtaining as much information as possible to make informed decisions, Kidwell said.

Kidwell is a tax accountant, having spent 11 years in management with Fortune 500 companies before returning to his family’s tax-accounting business. Kidwell serves on the board of a local pregnancy crisis center for 17 years, both as chairman and treasurer. He served as chairman of the advisory board to the business and accounting division at Beaufort County Community College.

Kidwell and his wife, Viki, have a son, Jason, who works in the family business. The Kidwells, who live in Chocowinity, have three grandchildren: April, Keith II and Julian.

The filing period for statewide and county offices begins at noon Feb. 10, 2014, ends at noon Feb. 28, 2014, according to Anita Bullock Branch, deputy director of the Beaufort County Board of Elections.