ECONOMY
A productive and fair economy requires living wages, safe working conditions, and fair tax policies. Our state’s policies for the last ten years have been harmful to workers and our economy and have failed to fund critical public goods like healthcare and education. The majority in the General Assembly has refused to raise wages adequately for government employees, resulting in high vacancy rates in critical government services.
Our wages have not kept up with the cost of living, and the state’s anti-union laws undermine the ability of workers to organize for better conditions and wages.
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North Carolina’s economy has grown dramatically in recent years, particularly in Southern Wake County. Big businesses that benefit from North Carolina’s workforce and quality of life should pay what they owe in taxes.
HEALTHCARE AND REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM
Medicaid Expansion
North Carolina has some of the best healthcare facilities in the country. But not everyone has had access to healthcare. For years, our state failed to approve Medicaid expansion. As a result, 600,000 people went without affordable healthcare, the state lost out on billions of dollars in federal funding, and too many hospitals and medical providers in rural areas closed or reduced capacity.
This was a wholly avoidable tragedy. After years of relentless efforts by Governor Cooper and Democrats in the General Assembly, Medicaid Expansion went into effect on December 1, 2023. Hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians have been able to access coverage with Medicaid expansion, and I’m proud to have been part of the fight.
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Behavioral Healthcare
Improving healthcare includes addressing unmet needs in our state’s behavioral healthcare system for those with mental illness, developmental disabilities, or substance use disorders.
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My work as a disability rights attorney has included helping people access behavioral healthcare services and making sure they are able to live and work in their communities. I have seen firsthand that lack of access to behavioral healthcare keeps people out of the social and economic mainstream of the community. The human toll is incalculable. We must allocate funding for behavioral health programs and ensure that North Carolinians have access to both physical and behavioral healthcare.
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Reproductive Freedom
Overturning Roe signaled a retreat from equal rights. It is up to us to step in.
We have come too far to accept losing the right to control our own bodies and make our own healthcare decisions.
As President of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys and the Women’s Forum of North Carolina, I worked with advocates across North Carolina who are determined to move our state forward. My earliest cases as a lawyer involved sexual harassment and gender discrimination. I represented those who refused to back down in the face of power. I’ve spent years fighting on behalf of North Carolina’s women, and I will continue to fight back.
We will have a healthier and more equitable community when we protect the right to abortion and reproductive freedom.
VOTING RIGHTS
Our power to have a say in our government has been eroded by extreme gerrymandering and efforts to make it more difficult to vote. There are three core values that should drive our system of elections:
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Voters should choose their representatives – not the other way around. We need a non-partisan redistricting commission to prevent gerrymandering and ensure that all citizens have an equal say in elections that impact our daily lives.
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All voters should have ample opportunities to cast their vote, both in person and by absentee ballot.
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Our electoral system must be fully funded so we have strong processes and adequate staffing at every level and in all locations.
EDUCATION
Our state does not fully meet its obligation to provide kids with a basic education. We have known this since 2002, when the North Carolina Supreme Court found in the Leandro case that the state was violating students’ rights by not providing them with a “sound, basic education.”
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We can do better. And we have to.
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Teachers are working harder than ever and getting less respect. The current system of providing inadequate teacher pay, cutting funding for our public schools, and having teachers dig into their own pockets for school supplies is not sustainable for North Carolina teachers or their students. We have to equip our schools with the funding and resources they need to help students reach their full potential. This includes increasing pay for teachers who work tirelessly each and every day to ensure North Carolina’s students succeed.
HOUSING
Housing prices are all over the news – and on many people’s minds. Recent reports confirm what everyone knows: the affordability gap is growing rapidly in Wake County and around the state.
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When people talk about affordable housing, they may mean one of two related issues: affordable housing (typically thought of as subsidized or other housing support for low-income families) or the increase in housing prices and rents for those who have generally paid market rates for housing.
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The housing crisis is complex, and it will not be solved overnight, but there are concrete steps we can take. In addition to long-term investment in a variety of housing options, we can and should expand access to housing support for low income families. This includes restoring the depleted North Carolina Housing Trust Fund, which provides support for affordable housing options. It should also include increasing access to housing vouchers and subsidies and incentives for the development of affordable housing units.
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On housing affordability, costs have been driven up by demand. But some of the pent-up demand for single family homes is caused by investment firms buying up properties. When investors own a significant part of the single family housing stock, first-time home buyers are quickly priced out of the market. While the development and use of housing is controlled at the local level, we can discourage the depletion of local housing options through policies that discourage the use of housing stock as an investment vehicle.
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The other side of the ledger when it comes to housing affordability is that income has simply not kept pace with the increase in home prices and rents. Wages are up slightly – but not nearly enough to meet the nearly 30% increase in median home prices in the Raleigh area. Access to housing, for many, depends on raising wages.
ENVIRONMENT
The climate crisis calls for bold and immediate action. Faced with a complex problem that we must solve, we have to implement as many known and innovative solutions as possible. At the state level, we should be investing more in renewable energy, including making solar a greater energy source used by governments.
We should incentivize the shift to solar in the private sector, including reinstating the Renewable Energy Investment Tax Credit. Developing our public transit systems will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly if we invest in transit that is built on clean energy. North Carolina is already a leader in the technology industry. We should be at the forefront of clean energy innovation, too.
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Environmental issues are also racial justice issues. Communities of color have endured disproportionate exposure to pollutants. We have been too willing to accept environmental harms when they are largely enacted on marginalized people. Environmental justice is a key component of addressing the climate crisis.
LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY
First responders are of utmost importance in our community, with duties ranging from stopping violent crime to protecting our schools to saving lives in medical emergencies. In order for our community to be safe and protected, we must support local law enforcement. I believe our police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel should be equipped with the funding, resources, and training they need to safely and effectively protect our community. The services provided by first responders are essential and it is imperative they be treated as such.