Category: Candidates

Honor RBG's Memory: Don't Forget The Judges

9/28/2020

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg's flag-draped casket lies in state at the US Capitol while US Congresswomen pay their respects on Sept 25th, 2020.

The news of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's passing was a devastating blow. Over the past week, many of us have experienced a whole litany of emotion: sadness that we loss a titan for human rights and an amazing legal mind; anger that she had to battle cancer so many times and continue to work up until the very end because of the current state of our democracy; rage at the hypocrisy of the GOP as they rushed to nominate through their replacement and backpedal from all they said in 2016; and reverence at this fearless Supreme Court Justice being the first woman to ever lie in state at the US Capitol.

May her memory be a blessing.

But just as she would never rest and would continue to move forward, so must we. That is why her passing has pointed out the dire need for balance from the judicial branch at all levels of government. This election, we have many judicial races that are of vital importance at the state level. So, while Republicans are busy making sure Democrats have no voice in the composition of the US Supreme Court, we DO have a say in who will lead our NC Supreme Court, who will serve on the Supreme Court, and who will serve as justices on the NC Court of Appeals.

There are EIGHT judicial races on the ballot so you need to know who your Democratic Party judicial candidates are to lend the courts balance, fairness and, above all, dignity to those that stand before them. Whether they are victim or accused, those in the courtroom have no need for partisan ideology and demagoguery. These candidates achieve those important goals. Make sure you vote for them on your Absentee Ballot by mail, your Early In-Person Voting, or when you cast your ballot on November 3rd.

NC Supreme Court: VOTE FOR THESE THREE

NC SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE:
Cheri Beasley
chiefjusticebeasley.com
She has served on the court since 2014 and has been Chief Justice since March of 2019. Before serving on the court, she served 4 years as an Associate Judge on the NC Court of Appeals, was a District Court Judge for 10 years in the 12th District, and was a Public Defender in Cumberland County. She is the first black woman to serve as Chief Justice of NC. "I believe all North Carolinians should have access to fair and impartial justice, no matter who they are. I will continue to work for an independent court system that people can trust."

NC SUPREME COURT:
Lucy Inman
lucyinmanforjustice.com
Inman has served on the NC Court of Appeals since 2015. Prior to that, she was a NC Superior Court Judge for 4 years, a private practice trial attorney for 8 years, and was a law clerk to NC Chief Justice James Exum for 2 years. "I am running for the NC Supreme Court to preserve the rule of law, to keep our justice system fair and free from partisan politic and ideology, and to pursue equal justice for all."

NC SUPREME COURT:
Mark Davis
justicemarkdavis.com
Davis has served as a Justice on the NC Supreme Court since March of 2019. Before that, he was a Judge on the NC Court of Appeals for 6 years. He served as General Counsel to the Governor, Special Deputy Attorney General for the NC Justice Department, and was a Litigation Attorney for Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. "I have written over 500 opinions as an appellate judge. I am a strong believer in judicial independence. I believe my background and judicial experience qualify me to continue serving on the Court."

NC Court of Appeals: VOTe for these FIVE

SEAT 4, COURT OF APPEALS
Tricia Shields
shieldsforjudge.com
Shields has represented clients throughout all levels of the Court System. She began as a clerk at the Court of Appeals in 1985. She is an instructor at Campbell Law School and president of a statewide attorney group. "From my 35 years of practice, I know how important it is that Court of Appeals Judges are fair, impartial, and respect the law and the impact of their decisions on real people."

SEAT 13, COURT OF APPEALS
Chris Brook
keepjudgechrisbrook.com
Appointed by Governor Cooper in 2019, he has authored more than 75 opinions that speak to his rigor and fairness. He has a long experience as a public interest attorney, including 7 years as Legal Director of the ACLU-NC. "I went to Carolina Law because of what our justice system aspires to: equal justice under the law for everyone."

SEAT 5, COURT OF APPEALS
Lora Cubbage
cubbageforjudge.com
Cubbage served for 5 years as Assistant District Attorney, 5 years as Assistant Attorney General, 2 years as District Court Judge and is currently Superior Court Judge. "To ensure: protection of rights given by the NC and US Constitutions; equal justice for all in order to regain the public trust in our judicial system; equal access to justice for all; and an independent, fair and impartial judiciary."

SEAT 6, COURT OF APPEALS
Gray Styers
styersforjudge.com
Styers served as an attorney for 30 years, was an adjunct law professor at UNC School of Law, Is a member of the NC Bar Association Board of Governors, and is the Wake County Bar Association President. He was also clerk to Chief Judge Sam Ervin III in the 4th Circuit US Court of Appeals. "I am committed to the rule of law, a fair and impartial judiciary, and equal justice for all North Carolina citizens."

SEAT 7, COURT OF APPEALS
Reuben Young
keepjudgeyoung.com
In his 32 year career, Young has served as a prosecutor, defense attorney, civil litigator, Legal Counsel to a Governor, Agency Secretary, Superior Court Judge and now the NC Court of Appeals. "Fairness and accessibility are the foundations upon which our judiciary is built. I have and will continue to support equal access to the courts and a fair, impartial independent judiciary."

With your votes, you can cast a ballot to honor the memory of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and ensure that North Carolinians receive the justice they deserve in our courtrooms.

David Wilson Brown holds Town Hall in Wilkes

2/23/2020

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David Wilson Brown is a candidate running to represent Wilkes County and others in the 5th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives. This is the office that Virginia Foxx has held for the past 15 years, and that has recently been redistricted into a new district that reaches from Gaston and Rutherford Counties, to Ashe and Alleghany, with Wilkes remaining within.

Brown is from Gaston County, and ran 2 years ago against Patrick McHenry in what was then the 10th District. He lost narrowly then, and had already filed to take on McHenry again, but then redistricting happened so he had to refile in his new district.

In the town hall, held on February 14th at the Wilkes Agricultural Center, Brown shared some of his platform and listened to the needs and suggestions of the Wilkes County Democrats in the room.

Brown spoke of a new WPA-type of program to encourage infrastructure building, school improvements, broadband expansion into rural areas, and clean energy initiatives,...all while adding jobs to our areas. This was music to our Wilkes ears. It would have a big impact in the short term and build up our schools, highways, bridges, and parks into the North Carolina that we can be proud of again.

"Public Education is the great equalizer," stated Brown. "We MUST protect it." He spoke about his idea to make public school teachers a federal tax exempt position.

Brown spoke of his recent health scare, where he had a heart attack on Christmas Eve and underwent triple bypass surgery. His recovering is going well and he attributes it to his great medical care and young age. However, the event has made him truly empathize with the fear of huge hospital bills or the lack of quality care. Healthcare for all is a no-brainer for his platform. Think about how many people you know who are staying in a job they hate solely because they need healthcare. These are people that could be entrepreneurs, or in jobs they are passionate about, going back to school or building new economies,...but they're frozen because our health system is broken. He is committed to fixing that.

He talked of "guardrails" for capitalism and greed that seem to have taken over our economy and Washington. "Corporations have strip-mined our small towns, and local farms have been crushed by these tariffs," he stated, stressing the importance of bridging the gap for corporations to pay living wages.

He described himself as a "realistic progressive" that understands rural areas' needs.

The discussions that followed featured a former Gardner Mirror employee who recalled how Donald Trump bought mirrors for his now bankrupt casinos,...but failed pay the last 25% of his invoices. This was when the Gardner family still owned the plant and the furniture industry as a whole was shifting overseas, so the mirror factories were already struggling,...but Trump didn't care, and contributed to the struggles in Wilkes.

Brown is facing a primary against Eric Nathan Hughes, another Gaston county resident who is new to politics. You can learn more about David Wilson Brown and his campaign at https://dwb4congress.com/

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2020 Century club kicks off the year right!

1/18/2020

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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."

Left to right: Walter Smith, Wayne Goodwin, Jerome Watkins, 5th District Chair Charlie Wallin, Jeanne Supin, and Chalma Hunt