Lisa McMillan wants another shot at the Guilford County Board of Commissioners’ District 7 seat. She unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2022. But with the current Commissioner Frankie T. Jones stepping down, the seat is open.
No Republicans filed, making Walter T. Johnson — McMillan’s Democratic primary opponent — all that stands in her way.
The county’s 7th district spans a large part of east and south Greensboro, stretching into Pleasant Garden, and dipping up a bit into the north. McMillan, who earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from North Carolina A&T State University, has the endorsement of the George C. Simkins Memorial PAC.
Born and raised in Greensboro, McMillan considers herself a product of Guilford County’s services. Her policy knowledge from years of partnering with local government agencies and serving on local boards has readied her for representing the district, she said.
“Even as an adult, I utilized the [county’s] services,” McMillan said. The public health department, the food, the childcare, the [Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)], the everything, because of being in extreme poverty myself.”
“I’ve gone through a myriad of experiences within the Guilford County systems, and I want to help other people be able to navigate them so that they can thrive and not just survive,” McMillan said.
Poverty didn’t stop her, she said, and her experiences with it will inform decisions she makes in office.
“I am privileged because I came from such a super impoverished community,” she said. “I had no idea that politics was even for me. I didn’t understand that I should be involved in civic engagement.”
“The problem is, there’s a disconnection,” she said, “People don’t know where they are or how to access [resources they need]. And then there’s barriers to accessing them, like transportation, like two to three jobs, childcare.”
“When the resources are out of reach, it’s discombobulating,” McMillan said. “And I can absolutely identify with that. I raised five kids alone.”
McMillan credits local government for support along the way, like the ability to buy a home for $65,000 from the city. The house was rehabilitated using Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds.
To access those opportunities, she said, people need to know they’re there.
That’s why she started Turning Everything Around, a nonprofit aimed at helping people overwhelmed by the responsibilities that can often limit their ability to secure sustainable resources. It supports individuals, families, and businesses by developing personalized steps and mentorship.
This year, the county awarded TEA $35,000 of its $1.74 million in community-based organization funding. According to the organization’s most recent tax records, obtained by ProPublica, McMillan’s reported annual salary is $15,500.
One of the challenges District 7 faces is access to thriving wages and career opportunities, McMillan said. The burden of not being able to provide hurts your mental health, she said, and can have a domino effect on your physical health.
“The community has these challenges that perpetuate the cycle of unhealthiness, so it messes with our emotional stability,” she said. “And we don’t have access to healthcare to deal with the mental health challenges of just being Black in America, and Black and impoverished in communities with no resources.”
Early childhood education is the biggest driver of educational success, McMillan said, citing Pre-K financial assistance offered by locally-based GenerationEd’s early head start program.
“Those types of resources can change the trajectory of your family,” she said.
Along with her work in the community, McMillan has invested time in learning the inner workings of the county and the city. She’s chaired both the county’s Juvenile Crime Prevention Council and the city’s Transit Advisory Commission and attended citizens’ academies for the city, county, Greensboro Police Department, and Guilford County Sheriff’s Office.
In addition to Board of Commissioners’ meetings, McMillan attends many others, she said, about subjects from tax information to neighborhood associations.
“I’m policy-informed and ready, and I speak from a place of being intimately involved,” she said.
“I honor my lived experience, and I think there’s a place for it,” she said, “But beyond that, being able to effectively and immediately weigh in on policy, that’s what means the most.”
