Category:

Two Years Later: American Rescue Plan Still Delivering – No Thanks to GOP

3/11/2023

Kate Frauenfelder
NCDP Communications Director

On the two-year anniversary of President Biden signing the American Rescue Plan into law, North Carolinians are still benefiting from the relief President Biden and Democrats delivered – with no help from a single Republican.

Thanks to President Biden and Democrats, the American Rescue Plan has created the strongest jobs recovery on record, provided tax relief for working families, brought child poverty to a record low, led a small business boom, bolstered public safety and crime prevention in our communities, and more – with no help from a single Republican.

“Despite Republicans’ attempts to stop them, President Biden and Democrats came into office and worked immediately to provide relief for working Americans. Two years later, North Carolinians are seeing the results in their communities: record low unemployment, tax relief for working families, small businesses are on the rise, and that’s just the beginning.

While MAGA Republicans continue to prioritize their extreme agenda over the needs of working families, President Biden and Democrats remain focused on finishing the job,” said North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton.

Here’s a reminder about just some of the critical relief Republicans opposed:

A strong economic recovery, with North Carolina unemployment falling to 3.8 percent, as compared to 5.6 percent when President Biden took office, and 353,000 new jobs.
Helping foster 336,000 new small business applications in North Carolina.
Direct pandemic relief to all 647 North Carolina towns, cities, and counties.
Vital education funding for over 110 school districts in North Carolina to support academic recovery post-pandemic.
Help for 4,200 child care programs in North Carolina to keep their doors open, impacting up to 371,000 children.
Working family tax relief for 1.3 million families in North Carolina and an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit for 601,000 works in North Carolina.
Affordable, high-speed internet for 78,000 homes and businesses in North Carolina.
Vital relief for 2,576 North Carolina restaurants through the American Rescue Plan’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund.

1 Comment

Gov. Cooper APPOINTS TWO TO WCC TRUSTEES BOARD

8/8/2020

Dr. Alexander Erwin

Connie Sue Cox

Governor Roy Cooper recently re-appointed Connie Sue Cox, our WCDP Treasurer, to a second term of 3 years to the Wilkes Community College Board of Trustees.

The Governor also appointed Dr. Alexander Erwin of Wilkesboro as a member-at-large to the Wilkes Community College Board of Trustees. Dr. Erwin served as an adjunct professor at North Carolina A&T University and as the Dean of Division of Education at Livingstone College. Erwin has also written over 15 publications in journals and academic settings.

Both were sworn in to the Board on August 6, 2020. Congratulations to both of these distinguished Wilkes County Democrats!

December Joy

12/23/2019

1 Comment

Candidates shared a little holiday joy with us at our December monthly meeting of Wilkes County Democratic Party. We had some great interaction to these candidates and they were so generous with their time.

Clockwise from upper Right:

David Wilson Brown (US Congress 5th)
Jerome Watkins (Wilkes County Commissioners)
Jeanne Supin (NC Senate 45)
Chalma Hunt (Wilkes County Commissioners)

1 Comment

REGISTERING, EARLY VOTING, AND WHY THE PRIMARY MATTERS

4/10/2018

0 Comments

REGISTERING TO VOTE:
Friday, Apr. 13th is the deadline for all Voter Registration forms must be turned in to the Board of Elections by 5pm OR postmarked with that date to allow you to be able to vote in primary or change party affiliation if you wish to vote on the May 8th Election Day.

Voter registration applicants who have met the voter registration deadline should expect to receive their voter card within 1 to 2 weeks. Applicants should contact their county board of elections if they do not receive their voter card within two weeks.

WHAT TO TAKE WITH YOU TO REGISTER:
First-time voters, who at the time of their initial voter registration did not provide their North Carolina driver license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number, or who provided a number that could not be validated, are required to show identification when they vote.

This identification does not have to be a photo ID. The requirement for first-time voters to show identification is a requirement of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, a federal law not unique to North Carolina. Acceptable forms of HAVA ID include:

A current and valid photo identification; or
A copy of one of the following documents that show the name and address of the voter: a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document.
First-time voters who are required to show HAVA ID will have been notified of this requirement by their county board of elections

The requirement to show a photo ID for voting and other associated laws has been struck down by a Federal court. Photo ID is not required to vote if you've already registered and voted prior. If any election official asks for a Photo ID and you've voted previously call the state board of elections immediately at (866) 522-4723 while at the polls.

ONE-STOP: REGISTERING AND VOTING ALL AT THE SAME TIME
OR, if you miss that deadline you can then wait until "One-Stop" voting period when you can register and vote early in-person all at the same time at County Commissioners room on the bottom floor of the county office bldg in Wilkesboro. Those dates are shown here:

EARLY VOTING:
If you're already registered, you can vote early during the above one-stop voting times as well. It is called "One-Stop" because if does offer the option to register and vote all at the same time if necessary. This year, we have more Democrats on the Board of Elections, and a Democrat Chairman,...so we were able to have more Saturday dates for one-stop early voting AND extended hours in the final days closer to the election. This is hugely convenient to those of us who work.

ABSENTEE VOTING:
If you can't make it to the polls or early voting site, an absentee ballot that you mail in is an option as well. But ANYONE can request and get an absentee ballot for any reason. Absentee voting is available before every election in the form of mail out ballots. You must fill out the NC Absentee Ballot request form to have a ballot mailed to you. The request form can be found HERE.

The last day to request an absentee ballot for the May 8th election is Tuesday, May 1st. The deadline for the Boad of Election to receive your absentee ballot back (MUST be postmarked by election day) is Friday, May 11th at 5:00 pm.

WANT TO CHECK VOTER REGISTRATION:
Don't know if you're registered? Unsure if the correct address is on your voter registration? Confused as to your precinct? Need to know which NC House district you're in? All of that can be easily found at the NC State Board of Elections Voter Look Up Tool. It really is a convenient tool, and you can look up other folks too, since it's all public record. So you can check up on the status of your family and friends to make sure they're registered.

WHAT IS ON THE MAY 8th BALLOT?
It's the FINAL ELECTION for Wilkes Board of Election. Vote Brandon Whitaker as he is the only Democrat on the ballot. And you need to vote only for 1, even though you ma vote for two. But with so many Republicans against him, he doesn't have a chance if you share that second vote with any other candidate.

Also on the ballot is the primary for the Democrats vying for Virginia Foxx's seat in November, either DD Adams or Jenny Marshall. Both are strong candidates that know the way to Wilkes County and have made themselves available for forums, meetings, and visits.

All the sample ballots for Wilkes are posted here: https://wilkescounty.net/563/Sample-Ballots

Got a question that we didn't answer here? Just drop us an email: [email protected] and we will find that answer. Or, call the Wilkes Board of Elections at (336) 651-7339 Monday through Friday 8:30am - 5pm.

0 Comments

Are We making the grade?

9/8/2015

10 Comments

State education leaders released Wednesday the school performance results for the 2014-15 school year. The General Assembly requires every North Carolina public school to receive an A through F performance grade.

"Fewer schools met North Carolina’s overall targets for academic improvement in the most recent year, according to new test results, even as the high school graduation rate jumped to what state officials called a historic high....The data released Wednesday also show that student performance on the state standardized tests has remained largely static from a year ago."

Below are the grades earned by each school in the Wilkes County School District:

Wilkes County School Performance Grades
School Grade Score Status Level% %FreeLunch
Boomer-Ferguson Elementary C - 56 Met 50.7 62
C B Eller Elementary C - 69 Exceeded 64.1 47
C C Wright Elementary D - 51 Met 43.3 60
Millers Creek Elementary C - 66 Exceeded 59.3 49

Moravian Falls Elementary B - 74 Exceeded 70.3 60
Mount Pleasant Elementary C - 60 NotMet 58.2 45
Mountain View Elementary C - 66 Exceeded 61.5 53
Mulberry Elementary C - 62 Met 58.1 62
North Wilkesboro Elementary D - 52 Met 43.5 79

Roaring River Elementary C - 61 Exceeded 53.8 47
Ronda-Clingman Elementary C - 55 Met 50.3 38
Traphill Elementary D - 49 Met 44 54
Wilkesboro Elementary B - 72 Met 68.9 43

Central Wilkes Middle C - 63 Exceeded 55.2 49
East Wilkes Middle C - 65 Exceeded 59.8 40
North Wilkes Middle C - 56 Met 48.9 43
West Wilkes Middle C - 69 Exceeded 62.3 40

East Wilkes High C - 61 NotMet 45.3 31

North Wilkes High C - 62 NotMet 50.6 38

West Wilkes High B - 78 Exceeded 63.3 31
Wilkes Central High C - 59 NotMet 43.2 37
Wilkes Early College High B - 76 Met 64.6 71

The grades are based on standardized end-of-grade tests in reading and math for grades three through eight, science in grades five and eight and end-of-course tests in three high school subjects. High schools are also evaluated on their graduation rate, ACT and ACT WorkKeys results and percentage of students who complete Math III.

Calculating the grade: Grades were based on a 15-point scale with an A equal to 85 to 100, B equal to 70 to 84, a C equal to 55 to 69, a D equal to 40 to 54 and an F equal to less than 40. Schools that qualify for an A and don’t have significant achievement and/or graduation gaps received an A+ grade. In the 2016-17 school year, it changes to a 10-point scale.

Not Met: Most students failed to show a year's worth of growth in classroom material.
Met: Most students showed they made a year's worth of growth.
Exceeded: Most students showed more than a year's worth of growth.
Grade level %: Percentage of students who are proficient
Free / Reduced lunch %: Percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/databases/article32939301.html#storylink=cpy

10 Comments

Lincoln Heights - A Gem In Wilkes

8/31/2015

1 Comment

Julius Rosenwald was the chief executive of Sears, Roebuck, and Company and a noted philanthropist who funded the hundreds of schools for African American children across the U.S before desegregation.

Lincoln Heights school in Wilkes County is one of the largest Rosenwald Schools in the state, and one of the few that progressed completely through 12th grade. Many wonderful teachers and leaders of our community went to Lincoln Heights school, and we were blessed to have it in our county.

To learn more about Rosenwald and this stunning achievement, go see the documentary movie "Rosenwald" that is in theatres now. And for a brief taste from a lecture his grandson gave, visit the YouTube page here.

1 Comment

Weakening Public Education is a HUGE risk to NC's economy

8/21/2015

8 Comments

"Weakening public education creates huge risks to the business climate in North Carolina. Our company started in Chapel Hill more than 30 years ago, and with more than 90 percent of our employees based in the state, our business model requires that we attract and retain the best and brightest. For years, we’ve been able to rely on local universities to provide top-notch employees. While we do recruit from out of state, we prefer to hire locally."

Read more here:http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article31469022.html

8 Comments

Two Years Later: American Rescue Plan Still Delivering – No Thanks to GOP

Gov. Cooper APPOINTS TWO TO WCC TRUSTEES BOARD

December Joy

REGISTERING, EARLY VOTING, AND WHY THE PRIMARY MATTERS

Are We making the grade?

Lincoln Heights - A Gem In Wilkes

Weakening Public Education is a HUGE risk to NC's economy

THE BLOG

Categories