Commissioner Darrell Frye seeks 12th term, cites ‘work to be done’

ARCHDALE — Darrell Frye has filed for his 12th four-year term on the Randolph County Board of Commissioners.

The senior member of the board is also one of North Carolina’s longest-tenured elected officials. He was elected commissioner in November 1982 and sworn in the following month. 

When the commissioners met for their Dec. 1, 2025, session, Frye began his 44th year on the board.

“I’m running again,” Frye said by phone when he filed for re-election. “There’s still work to be done.”

He listed regional wastewater issues, keeping Randolph Health financially stable, moving forward with the Eastern Randolph Development Plan and building two new public schools.

Frye, who is 80 and lives in Archdale and represents District 2 on the Board of Commissioners, said, “(Voters) know who I am, what I stand for and what I’m running on. I like Randolph County and I appreciate the county staff and the people here.”

A lifelong resident of the county, Frye could have pursued a state office but has preferred to work at the local level. 

When he came on the board in 1982, he was selected as vice chair. Then when the chairman left to fill a seat in the NC Legislature, Frye became chair.

“I’d only been a commissioner for four or five months,” he said. “I’ve been either chair or vice chair every day I’ve been in office.”

His latest term as chairman began in 2018. The commissioners select the chair and vice chair each year so that indicates the respect his fellow commissioners have for Frye.

Although he’s satisfied to be a county commissioner, Frye has long served on regional boards in the Piedmont Triad as well as the NC Board of County Commissioners.

“I went on the state board in 1984 and was president in 1990. I’ve been on the state board every year since 2002,” he said.

Working at the regional and state levels, Frye said, helps build relationships, see how other counties are doing. The state board, he said, lobbies for county issues. He called the state board “very educational.”

Public service, in general, has proven to be an education for Frye. He said, “When I went on the board (of commissioners), I didn’t know anything.” Now he’s a source of information about regional and state issues.

“I’ve been on the Piedmont Triad Regional Council ever since I was sworn in in 1982 and served three times as chair,” Frye said. He has also been involved in the Piedmont Triad Partnership and the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART).

“I was an original signer of the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority contract and am the only founding member still on the board,” Frye said. 

The county commissioners will be dealing with critical issues in the coming years. Frye said, “I want to see us start developing the Eastern Randolph Development Plan.” The plan is to find a balance between keeping the rural nature of the northeastern quadrant of the county and the foreseeable growth created by the Toyota Battery Plant west of Liberty.

In fact, Frye was on the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite Steering Committee “from Day 1.” Working with leaders from Guilford and Randolph counties, the megasite development successfully lured Toyota to build its first North American battery plant.

“I want to make sure the county is represented in a regional wastewater treatment plant, which will probably be in Randolph County,” he said. “And we have a couple of schools to build.” Those schools will replace Liberty Elementary School and Randleman High School.

During his time as commissioner, Frye said, the county has built “close to 20 schools and renovated most of the others.”

As for Randolph Health, the county commissioners provided financial support when the hospital was undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. American Healthcare Systems purchased the hospital and Frye and the commissioners are providing oversight.

One fellow commissioner wasn’t surprised that Frye is running again, saying that being a public servant is Darrell Frye’s life.