On the night of January 18th, Wilkes County Democratic Party kicked off their single biggest fundraiser of the year, The Century Club Dinner. It was a great night of fellowship and great conversation as we all listened to the ideas of the candidates running for office. In the lobby bar area of the Holiday Inn Wilkesboro, we gathered to get our minds right about the challenges we are facing and running towards in the coming year - which may without a doubt be the most important election of our lifetime. We had a wonderful meal served by Chef Blake Sebastian, and hosted by Wilkes County Democratic Party Chair, Kathryn Charles.
Jeanne Supin: http://jeannesupinforcongress.com/
She is running for NC Senate District 45. She has spent her entire adult life working with mental health and addiction agencies across the 5th district of North Carolina and our entire nation. She emphasized how important it is that we get Medicaid Expansion for NC. Other states that have done it have money and are serving THOUSANDS more of their citizens with funding that we do not have. NC is declining $3.9 BILLION dollars a year that are rightfully ours because they are OUR TAXES, TOO. 600,000 North Carolinians that are your family, your neighbors, your friends, could be helped. This is an immediate and crucial need for NC that Jeanne is committed to achieving in the General Assembly.
Chalma Hunt: https://www.chalma4wilkes.org/
She is running for Wilkes County Commissioner in the county which she was born and raised. She grew up in Roaring River and graduated from East High. She went to UNC-Greensboro and got a degree in sociology with a concentration in juvenile delinquency. After living and working in the DC area in HR and raising two children to adulthood, largely as a single mother, she has gladly moved back to Wilkes to take care of her older parents. You may currently know her as the "Chick-Fil-A Lady" who is like the den mother at the restaurant, guiding the young workforce there. She is passionate about getting the youth involved in the community and in voting for their future. She is fully aware, that no one else on the County Commissioners looks like her at this point, and it is time to embrace that change.
Jerome Watkins:
Is also running for Wilkes County Commissioner. He grew up in Mississippi, just north of New Orleans and was stationed in the Marines Corps out of Jacksonville, NC. He had a career in the USMOC which took him all over, and he retired with his last station in Havelock, NC. He married a local Wilkes County girl, and settled in Wilkes. He was always a voter, but a few years ago it dawned on him, "You can't just be a voter,...you have to be more active." He believes the County Commissioners truly should work for us, their constituents, and that many have forgotten that.
Brandon Whitaker: https://www.facebook.com/pg/brandonwhitaker4wcboe/
Is running for the 2nd time for a seat on the Board of Education. He has a wife, Kimberly, who works as a receptionist in the school system, and he has two children, one at the Community College, and one still in middle school. He works as a civil engineer private contractor and has worked for the NCDOT. He grew up in poverty, and is passionate in his believe that our public schools are the pathway for many to achieve a better life. But we need to commit to the strength of our public schools and our county's teachers.
Walter Smith: https://www.votewaltersmith.org/
Running for Agricultural Commissioner. He has a BS in Agricultural Engineering at NCSU, is a farmer himself, and has been involved most recently with the industrial hemp lobby as a vital agricultural crop for North Carolina and developing a plastic that will biodegrade fully within one year. He explained to our group more of the broad-ranging duties of the Ag Commissioner; protecting small farms, the state's natural resources, and domesticated animals and shelters, as well as the ensuring the safety of the water supply of our communities, making cosmetics safe, monitoring propane safety, as well as regulating the system of weights and measures so you're getting what you pay for at the grocery store. It is a broad, wide-ranging list of duties that requires a well-rounded commissioner that has your best interest at heart. Walter Smith is that Commissioner.
Wayne Goodwin: http://waynegoodwin.org/
NC Democratic Party Chair, Wayne Goodwin, is running to be Insurance Commissioner once more and unseat Mike Causey. He was well-respected as Insurance Commissioner and deserves to serve NC in this capacity once more. He spoke of being "Fired Up and Fed Up" about the year ahead. Fired up, because we have an opportunity to respond to and correct the errors of 2016. We have within our grasp the ability to make that change with the power of the vote. "This is the most important election of your lifetime," he said.
He claimed he was Fed Up, because we are not taking care of "the least among us." Those in the White House, The Senate, The State General Assembly have decided that they'd rather stand up for their personal power and private interests instead of the integrity of the offices they hold. They would rather worship power and hold on to it as long as possible. "Listen to the people and the facts to correct the danger that this country has been subjected to." It is time to choose Country over Party and choose what is right for our country, our republic, and ALL of us. But we have to give folks an opportunity and a choice and we have to ACT with our vote.
"Save our State, Vote The Slate" meaning to vote for Democrats all up and down the ballot. That is the simplest plan. And get more people to vote that way. When more people participate in the voting process, the state is better off for it. It is the only thing that will prevent more gerrymandering, stop the degradation of our public schools, protect our natural resources. We can make things go in the right direction if we make the right choices now.
"I'm probably preaching to the choir," he said to the room full of Democrats, "but choirs need to practice."
Jeanne Supin: http://jeannesupinforcongress.com/
She is running for NC Senate District 45. She has spent her entire adult life working with mental health and addiction agencies across the 5th district of North Carolina and our entire nation. She emphasized how important it is that we get Medicaid Expansion for NC. Other states that have done it have money and are serving THOUSANDS more of their citizens with funding that we do not have. NC is declining $3.9 BILLION dollars a year that are rightfully ours because they are OUR TAXES, TOO. 600,000 North Carolinians that are your family, your neighbors, your friends, could be helped. This is an immediate and crucial need for NC that Jeanne is committed to achieving in the General Assembly.
Chalma Hunt: https://www.chalma4wilkes.org/
She is running for Wilkes County Commissioner in the county which she was born and raised. She grew up in Roaring River and graduated from East High. She went to UNC-Greensboro and got a degree in sociology with a concentration in juvenile delinquency. After living and working in the DC area in HR and raising two children to adulthood, largely as a single mother, she has gladly moved back to Wilkes to take care of her older parents. You may currently know her as the "Chick-Fil-A Lady" who is like the den mother at the restaurant, guiding the young workforce there. She is passionate about getting the youth involved in the community and in voting for their future. She is fully aware, that no one else on the County Commissioners looks like her at this point, and it is time to embrace that change.
Jerome Watkins:
Is also running for Wilkes County Commissioner. He grew up in Mississippi, just north of New Orleans and was stationed in the Marines Corps out of Jacksonville, NC. He had a career in the USMOC which took him all over, and he retired with his last station in Havelock, NC. He married a local Wilkes County girl, and settled in Wilkes. He was always a voter, but a few years ago it dawned on him, "You can't just be a voter,...you have to be more active." He believes the County Commissioners truly should work for us, their constituents, and that many have forgotten that.
Brandon Whitaker: https://www.facebook.com/pg/brandonwhitaker4wcboe/
Is running for the 2nd time for a seat on the Board of Education. He has a wife, Kimberly, who works as a receptionist in the school system, and he has two children, one at the Community College, and one still in middle school. He works as a civil engineer private contractor and has worked for the NCDOT. He grew up in poverty, and is passionate in his believe that our public schools are the pathway for many to achieve a better life. But we need to commit to the strength of our public schools and our county's teachers.
Walter Smith: https://www.votewaltersmith.org/
Running for Agricultural Commissioner. He has a BS in Agricultural Engineering at NCSU, is a farmer himself, and has been involved most recently with the industrial hemp lobby as a vital agricultural crop for North Carolina and developing a plastic that will biodegrade fully within one year. He explained to our group more of the broad-ranging duties of the Ag Commissioner; protecting small farms, the state's natural resources, and domesticated animals and shelters, as well as the ensuring the safety of the water supply of our communities, making cosmetics safe, monitoring propane safety, as well as regulating the system of weights and measures so you're getting what you pay for at the grocery store. It is a broad, wide-ranging list of duties that requires a well-rounded commissioner that has your best interest at heart. Walter Smith is that Commissioner.
Wayne Goodwin: http://waynegoodwin.org/
NC Democratic Party Chair, Wayne Goodwin, is running to be Insurance Commissioner once more and unseat Mike Causey. He was well-respected as Insurance Commissioner and deserves to serve NC in this capacity once more. He spoke of being "Fired Up and Fed Up" about the year ahead. Fired up, because we have an opportunity to respond to and correct the errors of 2016. We have within our grasp the ability to make that change with the power of the vote. "This is the most important election of your lifetime," he said.
He claimed he was Fed Up, because we are not taking care of "the least among us." Those in the White House, The Senate, The State General Assembly have decided that they'd rather stand up for their personal power and private interests instead of the integrity of the offices they hold. They would rather worship power and hold on to it as long as possible. "Listen to the people and the facts to correct the danger that this country has been subjected to." It is time to choose Country over Party and choose what is right for our country, our republic, and ALL of us. But we have to give folks an opportunity and a choice and we have to ACT with our vote.
"Save our State, Vote The Slate" meaning to vote for Democrats all up and down the ballot. That is the simplest plan. And get more people to vote that way. When more people participate in the voting process, the state is better off for it. It is the only thing that will prevent more gerrymandering, stop the degradation of our public schools, protect our natural resources. We can make things go in the right direction if we make the right choices now.
"I'm probably preaching to the choir," he said to the room full of Democrats, "but choirs need to practice."
Left to right: Walter Smith, Wayne Goodwin, Jerome Watkins, 5th District Chair Charlie Wallin, Jeanne Supin, and Chalma Hunt
