Currently holds the office of North Carolina State Senate - District 13 until December 31, 2024.
Candidate for North Carolina State Senate - District 13 in 2024 North Carolina General Election.
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Get StartedThe promise of Roe was never fully realized for those for whom geography or poverty made access to abortion illusory. But overturning Roe has signaled a retreat from equal rights. It is up to us to step in. Learn more
The North Carolina General Assembly makes the laws for our state. Our focus should be improving the lives of North Carolinians, especially those who struggle with access to basic things like healthcare, housing, and living wages. One key to making progress on these issues is protecting the right to vote. Learn more
Our budget should reflect our priorities. A just 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. Vacancy rates in critical government services are the result of the failure to invest in the people who deliver government services. Learn more
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.'' Learn more
Teachers are working harder than ever and getting less respect. We have to equip our schools to meet students’ needs, and that includes treating and paying teachers like the professionals that they are. Learn more
We can do better. And we have to. The Leandro plan is designed to make sure we fix our education system. We know what needs to be done; we just need to put the plan into action. Learn more
Healthcare and public education have suffered because that’s what happens when you starve systems of the funding they need and treat people as less important than profit. Learn more
The climate crisis calls for bold and immediate action. Faced with a complex problem that we have to solve, we must work 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 should be at the forefront of innovation. Learn more
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. Learn more
Improving healthcare includes addressing unmet needs in our state’s behavioral healthcare system for those with mental illness, developmental disabilities, or substance use disorders. Learn more
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. Learn more
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 discourages the use of housing stock as an investment vehicle. Learn more
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. Learn more
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