The Appalachian 2020 Voter Guide

2020

VOTER GUIDE

SPECIAL SECTION: 2020 VOTER GUIDE

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS All candidate questions and answers can be found online at www.theappalachianonline.com

Moss Brennan | Political Editor Abi Pepin | Senior Political Correspondent

DISTRICT 1 CARRINGTON

PERTALION (D)

Provided bio: My name is familiar to many: I have been providing health care to women in Watauga County for more than 25 years as a public health nurse, as an owner of a private medical practice, and now as an Advanced Practice Nurse at Harmony Center for Women. I have retired from obstetrics after delivering more than 1,500 babies and now continue to provide gynecological, contraceptive and prenatal needs to women across their lifespan. In health care, you learn the importance of listening, viewing facts and circumstances, understanding options and seeking possible solutions. In working with others, a plan is developed, making adjustments when necessary. Much like any group or committee, these skills can be invaluable. As a candidate for County Commission, I hope to serve more people in my community utilizing the skills I have learned as a health care provider in our county.

DISTRICT 2 JOHN

WELCH (D)

TODD

CASTLE (R)

Provided bio: My name is Todd Castle and I am running for Watauga County Commissioner. I have been married to my wife, Anissa, for 27 years. We are both multigenerational Watauga County natives. My family and I are members of Mount Vernon Baptist Church, where I have served as a deacon for 22 years. I also teach an adult Sunday school class. We have two sons: Hamilton, a senior finance major at Appalachian State University, who will graduate in December; Anderson is a freshman and is playing football for the Mountaineers and plans to major in business. I have been employed at Appalachian State University for the past 22 years as a network technician for the department of Information Technology and Infrastructure Systems.

Prior to my employment at Appalachian State University I was employed by Samaritan’s Purse as a Biomedical Equipment Technician for the World Medical Mission. For the past eight years I have had the pleasure of serving on the Watauga County Planning Board. The Watauga County Planning Board is made up of seven members appointed by the County Commissioners. We make recommendations regarding the development of comprehensive planning programs in the unincorporated area of the County, including implementation and revision of land use regulations. The Planning Board also acts as the review board for subdivision plat approval. I believe my experience with the Watauga County Planning board uniquely qualifies me for County Commissioner.

DISTRICT 5 CHARLIE

WALLIN (D)

Provided bio: I am a native of Watauga County and have worked for App State Athletics since 2001. I earned degrees from Wingate University, the United States Sports Academy and App State. I am married to Christy, a school counselor at a local elementary school, and have a 15-year old daughter, Madison, and 8-year old son, Cameron. I was elected to the Watauga County Board of Education in 2010 and the Watauga County Board of Commissioners in 2012 and 2016. I have been honored to serve as the chairman of the board since 2016. Anyone can contact me at John. welch@watgov.org.

BART KELLER

(R)

Provided bio: No bio provided.

BOARD OF EDUCATION Provided bio: I am a current Watauga County Commissioner. I have lived in the High Country for 30 years. I am married and have a 12-year-old daughter. We are members of Grace Lutheran Church, where I have entered my second term on church council. I work in Campus Dining at Appalachian and I was a political science major many years ago. I’m on numerous nonprofit boards in the area and volunteer my time as well with OASIS, Hunger and Health Coalition and Hospitality House. I have served on the Appalachian Board of Trustees as the staff representative

MARSHALL ASHCRAFT

JASON K CORNETT

STEVE COMBS

RONALD HOLSTE

SPECIAL SECTION: 2020 VOTER GUIDE Economy: As part of building up the economy, Cooper has proposed the Rural Investments Strengthening Economies (RISE) Program which aims to revitalize rural communities and encourage companies to locate or expand to more rural areas in the state. Cooper is also pushing for more broadband internet access, especially in rural areas.

GOVERNOR

The following questions were sent to Dan Forest and Roy Cooper: 1. What does an effective health care system look like to you?

2. What plans do you have to boost North Carolina’s economy and address rising unemployment rates in the state?

3. How do you plan to address inequities related to testing for the Black community that is harshly affected by COVID-19?

ROY COOPER (D) (INCUMBENT)

Health care: Cooper wants to close the health care gap by expanding access to Medicaid, which he claims would cover over 500,000 people in the state, and bring more than $4 billion and 40,000 new jobs into the state’s economy. Cooper also believes expanding access to health care would help combat the drug crisis.

COVID-19: Cooper has maintained keeping the state closed during the coronavirus pandemic, only opening the economy in phases. Cooper has relied on state numbers to guide how the state can reopen. In a June press conference extending Phase 2, Cooper said, “We’re taking this pause right now to make sure we can level out our numbers before moving on. Everybody needs to get with this program to move our economy forward.”

DAN FOREST (R)

4. How do you plan to address unequal internet/broadband access across North Carolina?

5. Many students are concerned about student debt, do you have plans to address increasing student debt in the UNC System during the pandemic?

Economy: On his campaign website, Forest states “will rebuild our economy, retrain our workforce for the new economy, launch an aggressive apprenticeship initiative, recruit high-paying industries to North Carolina, and put our people back to work.” Forest also states that all parts of North Carolina have the infrastructure needed to help with job opportunities. “North Carolina needs a long-term vision to move forward, a plan to achieve this vision, and a new team of leaders to make it happen,” his website states.

Health care: Forest says he will focus on better health care access by incentivizing doctors to practice in rural communities. His campaign website states Forest will “work with the General Assembly and the State Treasurer to ensure more price transparency so citizens know how much prescription drugs and vital health services cost.” The site also claims he will “fight” to get those left off the coverage gap created by the Affordable Care Act.

Neither candidate responded to a request for responses. Instead, The Appalachian pulled information from their campaign or government websites.

COVID-19 Forest has vowed to repeal the statewide mask mandate and reopen schools if he is elected governor. “It’s time to open the classrooms back up. It’s time to allow parents to decide whether their kids should be in the classroom,” Forest said in an ABC11 News article. “The Plan A-B-C concept laid out by the governor was a failed plan. All over the state, parents are fed up by the virtual learning that Gov. Cooper’s plan has forced on North Carolina.” Forest also filed a lawsuit — which he later dropped — over Cooper’s executive orders as he tried to force the state to reopen.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE SENATE DISTRICT 45

*** All candidate questions and answers can be found online at www.theappalachianonline.com

DEANNA BALLARD (R) (INCUMBENT)

JEANNE SUPIN (D)

NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT 93

*** All candidate questions and answers can be found online at www.theappalachianonline.com

RAY RUSSELL (D) (INCUMBENT)

RAY PICKETT (R)

SPECIAL SECTION: 2020 VOTER GUIDE CAL CUNNINGHAM (D)

Provided Bio: Cal Cunningham is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in North Carolina. Growing up in Lexington, Cal is a lifelong North Carolinian, dedicated to serving the people of the Tarheel State. After earning his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Cal became the youngest state senator, fighting for increased investment in public education, landmark clean air legislation, and campaign finance reform. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, Cal volunteered to join the U.S. Army Reserve and has since served three active duty tours, including overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. He now lives in Raleigh with his wife, Elizabeth, and his two kids, Caroline and Will.

1. The urgent need to improve access and bring down the cost of health care is one of the most frequent issues I hear about as I’m listening to North Carolinians in this campaign, especially as hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians have lost their health care during the pandemic. I believe that all North Carolinians should have access to quality and affordable care. In the Senate, I’ll fight to protect and expand the Affordable Care Act, expand Medicaid in North Carolina, create a public option, and work to lower the cost of prescription drugs through efforts like allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies. And I’ll stand up against the politicians and special interests that want to repeal the Affordable Care Act, including working to stop the dangerous lawsuit pushed forward by Washington Republicans that would dismantle the Affordable Care Act and its protections for the 1.7 million North Carolinians that are living with pre-existing conditions.

1. Both Republicans and Democrats agree that (the Affordable Care Act) isn’t working. I support replacing Obamacare’s broken system with a market-based solution that lowers costs, expands choice, ensures protections for patients with preexisting conditions and allows individuals to be covered by their parents’ plan up to the age of 26. While in the Senate, I’ve worked to protect those with pre-existing conditions regardless of Obamacare’s future in the courts through the Protect Act. Over 150 million Americans receive health insurance from their employers and are perfectly happy with their coverage. I will never support a government takeover of our healthcare system that takes away your employer-sponsored coverage.

THOM TILLIS (R) (INCUMBENT)

2. The way to bolster North Carolinians economic prospects and decrease unemployment is to lower taxes and decrease regulatory burdens. I proved that to be true as Speaker of the House in North Carolina; I cut taxes and slashed regulations, which made our state’s economy one of the strongest in the nation. In the U.S. Senate, I did the same thing. I fought for strong trade policies that allow our small businesses and farmers to flourish, worked across the aisle to provide health care and employment opportunities to our veterans.

Through the pro-growth economic policies I have fought for, we achieved record-low unemployment for women and minorities and generated record high wage growth for blue-collar workers. Before this virus, I helped create one of the most prosperous economies in our nation’s history and I’ll never stop working until I do it again.

U.S. SENATE

*** All candidate questions and answers can be found online at www.theappalachianonline.com

The following questions were sent to Thom Tillis and Cal Cunningham: 1. What does an effective health care system look like to you?

2. What plans do you have to boost North Carolina’s economy and address rising unemployment rates in the state?

3. How do you plan to address inequities related to testing for the black community that is harshly affected by COVID-19?

4. How do you plan to address unequal internet/broadband access across North Carolina?

5. Many students are concerned about student debt, do you have plans to address increasing student debt in the UNC System during the pandemic?

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT 5 *** All candidate questions and answers can be found online at www.theappalachianonline.com

VIRGINIA FOXX (R) (INCUMBENT)

DAVID WILSON BROWN (D)

JEFF GREGORY (C)