Henderson city councilman hopes to fill Butterfield's seat

Nov. 26—HENDERSON — Democratic Rep. G.K. Butterfield announced last week he will not seek another term in Congress as the representative of North Carolina's first district, which is slated to be labeled District 2 following the latest round of redistricting. Henderson City Councilman Jason Spriggs is among those interested in taking the seat that has been occupied by Butterfield since 2004.

A few prominent former or current General Assembly figures including Democratic former state Sen. Erica Smith have announced in the last week their intention to succeed Butterfield, while Spriggs' goal had been to fight for the seat regardless of whether it was left open.

Spriggs filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission in January.

Having assumed Henderson City Council office in Dec. 2019, Spriggs said district-wide poverty was one of the issues that inspired him to mount a campaign.

"Things haven't changed in quite some time," Spriggs said, "especially with a lot of people leaving our areas including Henderson and Vance County, moving to the more urban areas. It was just time for new leadership. Honestly, we probably should have had new leadership some time ago."

Butterfield rebuked the new congressional map for the first district adopted recently by N.C. legislators when announcing his decision. Experts believe the redistricting will turn the district from a Democratic stronghold to a competitive one.

"The way I say it and the way my staff sees it, it's a more evenly-split district as far as voters," Spriggs said. "Now as a candidate, you can't just come and present your one side knowing that you're going to be placed into office. That's a great challenge for us. If our platform truly is about representing everybody, then we have to make sure our campaign is doing the best to let all voters know that we're for them, regardless of their political affiliation.

"People have been [gerrymandering] for years. Democrats did it. Republicans do it. It's a political ploy that's favorable for a party or a candidate."

Spriggs, 40, supports a voluntary limit of three terms equaling six years for members of the House of Representatives and pledges to donate a large portion of his salary to district nonprofits if elected.

The percentage of families living below the poverty line in the district, while their representatives make salaries far exceeding six figures, is an "insult," Spriggs said.

"We're not here to latch onto any public figure," Spriggs said. "We're not going to D.C. to latch onto any president to boost our donations or boost our political position. We're here for the district."

Spriggs believes Henderson acts somewhat as a microcosm for the district that reaches deep into portions of Eastern North Carolina including Wilson and Nash counties, with much of the district grappling over the last decade with issues like addiction, crime, economic growth, and an exodus of rural populations to urban areas.

Spriggs was raised in Louisiana and followed his father, a military and U.S. Forest Service veteran, to North Carolina before graduating high school in Asheville.

Working with the city of Henderson and Kerr Lake Regional Water System for several years prior to being elected to the Henderson City Council, the Wake Tech graduate and his family now consider Henderson home.

Spriggs' sensibilities might be considered centrist by some, but he says his campaign isn't into labels, and his staff is ideologically diverse. He wants it that way.

"The average family in our 18-county district is trying to balance bills and gifts for their kids, and that's a tough decision," Spriggs said. "Especially moving into the winter, bills are higher; gas is higher. A lot of people are still trying to find better jobs in the area without having to drive to Raleigh, Greenville, or Durham. So it's challenging.

"When they're trying to figure out how to pay the bills, what to put under the Christmas tree and how to balance that out, they're not thinking about politics. They're thinking about their kids. They're thinking about their spouses. This is a Democratic primary, but we're representing everybody. We don't care what your affiliation is."