About Dean Arp
The values of sacrifice and service were instilled early in Representative Dean Arp by his family — especially by his grandfather, who served his country in World War II. With award-wining academic and military training himself, Representative Arp is serving in his third term in the North Carolina General Assembly and represents Union County.
Representative Arp earned a Civil Engineering degree from The Citadel, the storied Military College of South Carolina. He was elected by his peers to serve on the Honor Court. Due to an accident, however, his dream of a life of military service would not become reality, but the military training he received was invaluable.
As an award-winning Company Commander at The Citadel, Representative Arp lead his company of over 110 men to receive the President’s Cup and claim the title of Honor Company. The President’s Cup is presented annually to the cadet company with the highest combined score in academic achievement, military performance, extracurricular participation, fourth-class retention, and the fewest disciplinary cases. At The Citadel, he was a member of the The Summerall Guards – The Citadel’s elite, silent drill platoon. He was also named to the Commandant List and achieved Gold Stars in Civil Engineering – one of the college’s top academic honors. Upon graduation, Representative Arp received the George W. Walker White Award for outstanding achievement in Civil Engineering.
Representative Arp is a small business owner and president of Arp Engineering in Monroe, where he is a licensed professional engineer and structural engineer licensed in forty different states. He received his Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he also serves on the Advisory Board for the William States Lee College of Engineering.
Under his leadership on the Board of Education for over twelve years, Union County Public Schools was the most successful large school district in North Carolina — ranking #1 in Adequate Yearly Progress among the fifteen largest school districts and ranking fifth in the highest graduation rate among all 115 school districts, while having the third lowest cost per graduating student. Representative Arp has also volunteered for the H.E.L.P. Crisis Pregnancy Center, Habitat for Humanity, and Operation Reach Out, an organization in Monroe to help those less fortunate. Representative Arp also volunteers extensively at his church where he has been both a teacher and a deacon. He also helped build a school in Africa.
Representative Arp was elected to a fifth term in the state House in 2020, garnering nearly two-thirds of the vote in his north Union County district.
He currently serves as Senior Chairman of the Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the Energy and Public Utilities Committee. He is also Co-Chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Energy Policy, Co-Chair of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Capital Improvements, and a member of the House Select Committee on Advancing Women in STEM and several other standing and non-standing committees.
In 2021, Representative Arp was named Legislator of the Year by the NC Values Coalition and Defender of Public Safety by the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association.
Representative Arp has been married for more than 34 years. He and his wife Anne have two married children and two grandchildren.
State representatives serve in their state's lower legislative chamber. Responsibilities include drafting and voting on state laws, representing their district's interests in the state capitol, serving on state committees, and shaping the state budget. State legislation covers areas like education, healthcare, transportation, criminal justice, and local taxation that directly affect residents' daily lives.