Faith, Finances, and Politics

Rev. Greg Drumwright speaks in a measured tone, whether he’s in conversation, giving a sermon at Citadel Church, or leading a rally. His activism work includes the 2020 “I Am Change” march to the polls in Alamance County, which put him on the national stage, and being among the clergy who counseled the family of George Floyd following his murder in Minneapolis.

Now, Drumwright is again seeking local elected office—for the third time. As he vies for the Democratic nomination for an at-large seat on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, he’s facing competitors Rev. Toby Hedgepeth, who has been endorsed by Guilford For All, and Amy Kemp, endorsed by former U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning. Drumwright, who currently serves as an appointee on the Guilford County Planning Board, has the endorsement of Guilford County Community Political Action Committee. 

Drumwright grew up in Burlington and came to Greensboro to attend NC A&T State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and media studies. He graduated with a master’s degree from Wake Forest University’s School of Divinity in 2018. 

As a student, Drumwright was president of A&T’s Student Government Association. 

“I targeted my campaign to students who did not usually vote in student elections,” Drumwright told A&T Today for its summer 2001 edition. “To win these students, I merely had to communicate with them and make myself known. They admitted that past candidates never took the time to approach them.” 

After graduation, Drumwright kept pursuing elected office, so far unsuccessfully. 

He ran for the District 2 seat on the Guilford County Board of Education in 2018, but was defeated in the general election by Republican Anita Sharpe.

In 2022, he challenged incumbent Guilford County Commissioner Kay Cashion for the at-large seat. Cashion defeated him in the Democratic primary 53% to 47%. 

As he gives running for elected office another shot, Drumwright recently talked to The Assembly about his political ambitions and challenges.

“I’m approaching the race with the understanding, deeply embedded in me, that people are looking for the restoration of trust in political leadership,” he said. 

Drumwright was drawn to a life in the church early on.

“I was raised in a family that was very central and active in congregational ministry,” he said. “Our central figure of faith was deeply, deeply invested in the poor and bringing justice to the marginalized.”

If elected, he said, he’d fight for higher teacher wages, more affordable housing, and expand workforce training to retain youth graduating from the area’s colleges and universities—all issues he says he’s seen impact members of his congregation.

He also wants to expand access to mental health care.

“As a congregational leader, I’ve spent just as much time responding to mental health care crises as I have health crises,” he said.

“That is startling,” he said. “I’ve had to counsel and rescue people from suicide attempts. And it’s not just young people. It’s people in all generations and demographics that are grappling with mental stability.”

Drumwright founded Citadel in 2003 as a 23-year-old senior at A&T. Most of his church’s members are young, Drumwright said—85% either millennials or Gen Z. The church’s website encourages congregants to “sow and support,” and to “give cheerfully.” 

However, the financial struggles of the church, paired with Drumwright’s own personal finances, have raised questions.

At least 30 court records indicate that Drumwright was sued several times in the 2000s and early 2010s by landlords, mostly over alleged failure to pay bill sums from hundreds to several thousand dollars, which led to evictions. Those included records showing that the church was evicted in 2004 and again in 2009.

For the majority of the church’s first 15 years, Drumwright said in a statement to The Assembly, it was low on funds. Instead of “pursuing more gainful job opportunities” open to him, he said, he obeyed his “sense of calling.”

“This, combined with my being a public-school teacher during this period, precipitated deficits in the church budget and my personal financial adversities.”

Drumwright taught for Guilford County Schools for one year between 2006-07, according to Gabrielle Brown, director of media relations for Guilford County Schools. For a year before that, Drumwright taught at Alamance-Burlington Schools, and for two years as an adjunct professor for High Point University, according to his LinkedIn profile.

His experience with financial insecurity has made him a ”better steward as an adult and a better servant,” Drumwright said in his statement to The Assembly—especially to young adults, working-class people, and seniors on fixed incomes.

Drumwright’s church spent years without a permanent physical home, meeting at other local churches or in rented conference rooms at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Greensboro up until last year, according to the church’s social media.

Last year, the church announced it had finally raised enough to purchase the century-old building that formerly hosted the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant on Mendenhall Street for $675,000. 

Throughout his personal and church financial struggles, Drumwright has publicly displayed wealth that seems to be at odds with this narrative.

According to Guilford County’s property records, in 2020, Drumwright purchased an $800,000 home in Greensboro, now valued at more than $1.6 million. Property records show that’s significantly more than the homes of any of the current members of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, some of whom have been successful in private business for decades.

That same year, when Drumwright arrived at the “I am Change” march in Alamance that gave him a national profile, ProPublica reported that he did so “as part of a convoy of four white luxury vehicles, including a Maybach.” Maybachs are Mercedes-Benz-manufactured luxury vehicles with a base price of around $180,000. Drumwright also had a camera crew in tow, according to the report.

Drumwright did not directly respond to questions about the disparity between his personal lifestyle, narrative of financial struggle, and the church’s fundraising efforts. Instead, his campaign’s legal consultant, Heather Rattelade, sent a statement to The Assembly.

“Mr. Drumwright’s candidacy for County Commission is distinct from his separate role as pastor of The Citadel Church.” Rattelade wrote, “While his faith and community leadership are part of his broader background, this election concerns his qualifications, policy priorities, and vision for county governance.”

But throughout his campaign and conversations with The Assembly, Drumwright cited his founding and leadership of the church as both inspiration for his run and his strongest qualification for office.

The church has also been brought into his campaign at times. On February 11, the church canceled its Wednesday Bible study and instead encouraged congregants to attend Drumwright’s election rally that evening, according to Citadel’s website and social media.

Drumwright “does not intend to engage in questions about internal church matters or prior personal financial challenges that are unrelated to his public service or campaign platform,”  Rattelade said in the statement.

Drumwright has led a “community institution requiring oversight, planning, and accountability” for more than 20 years, Rattelade said. “Those experiences shaped his understanding of stewardship and the importance of managing resources wisely.” 

“Like many individuals, he faced financial challenges earlier in life that were resolved long ago,” Rattelade said. “Those experiences strengthened his perspective and reinforced his commitment to policies that support economic stability for families and small businesses in our county. He does not intend to revisit those personal matters further and believes his prior statements have adequately addressed the relevant questions.”

Though he declined to answer specific questions about his finances or those of his church,  Drumwright emphasized his commitment to transparency and—again—made his leadership of the church central to his appeal as a candidate.

“People are really seeking folks that will meet fear with education,” Drumwright told The Assembly, “People are looking for political leaders that offer transparency and accountability in governance. And I’m familiar with all of that as a congregational leader, those are things that I have to exude.”

His activism makes him a target for criticism, Drumwright said.

“It has helped me to understand how important it is to just keep going when you know that you are working for the people,” he said.