NC House 117 candidate profile: Michael O'Shea

The Times-News is running answers from both candidates in the race for N.C. House of Representatives District 117.

The seat is currently held by Republican Tim Moffitt, who is now in the race for N.C. Senate District 48.

Democrat Michael O’Shea is up against Republican Jennifer Balkcom.

If elected, what are your top policy priorities?

We need to expand Medicaid, protect our reproductive rights, support public education and increase teacher pay, protect our environment, increase pay for vital public employees like police and firefighters, legalize cannabis (and do it in a way that prioritizes small family farms instead of big agriculture monopolies), expand rural broadband, and raise the minimum wage. There are many issues that have broad, bi-partisan support that would help folks out immensely, but the General Assembly has been dragging their feet for over a decade on these issues while under the control of GOP legislators. It's time politicians in Raleigh start passing real solutions to the problems that working families are facing because we can't afford more inaction.

What do you believe is the role of the General Assembly in battling rising inflation?

We are all feeling the effects of inflation and working families are hurting right now. Unfortunately, this is a complex global economic issue that not even the federal government can solve alone, but there are measures the N.C. General Assembly can take to directly help. Corporate profits are up and it’s clear that price gouging is happening, so we can help even the playing field for working families by raising our minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 since 2008 and we can raise pay rates for vital workers in the public sector like educators, police and firefighters. We have an excess of tax funds in N.C. right now and can afford to make these measures happen while also providing tax relief for working families and help folks in N.C. weather this storm. We know that when we put money back in the pockets of regular folks, they reinvest that directly back into their communities and the local economy grows stronger. We need to foster an economy in N.C. that prioritizes working families and sustainable communities, not just the ultra-wealthy and international corporations.

Would you support legislation that limits or prohibits abortion in North Carolina?

I believe that your healthcare decisions should be made by you and your doctor, not politicians. There's just not room in your doctor's office for you, your doctor, and the N.C. General Assembly. The simple truth is that you cannot ban abortion–just safe abortion. No one wants to be faced with this extremely difficult decision, but in many instances, this is a life-saving medical procedure and, if we’re serious about respecting personal liberty, politicians need to trust the people and their healthcare professionals to make healthcare decisions.

What is your position on expanding Medicaid in North Carolina?

This is a top campaign priority for me. Expanding Medicaid in N.C. is widely popular and long overdue. It’s time we close the coverage gap and provide affordable health insurance to over half a million North Carolinians who desperately need it and also create thousands of healthcare jobs in N.C. and help keep rural hospitals open. N.C. has lost billions by delaying expansion, all while we have been paying federal tax dollars that we could be seeing returned to the state. 90% of the cost for expansion comes from federal funding. N.C. would reap more than $500 million per month in federal funding and the state would save an estimated $15 million a month in spending. This move is common sense and it’s time the N.C. GOP stops the political games they’ve been playing for a decade and we finally get this done.

What is the role of the state government in addressing gun violence and crime?

I’m a gun owner myself, but I support common-sense gun control measures that a majority of Americans support. The sad reality is that 1,470 North Carolinians die by guns in an average year – that’s four lives lost per day – and our country experiences gun violence at a rate many times more than all other developed nations. We owe it to our future generations to attempt to fix this public health crisis and bring our numbers down. Responsible gun owners don’t generally have a problem with measures like expanding permit requirements to apply to all gun sales instead of just handguns or prohibiting people convicted of domestic violence crimes from possessing firearms. I support those types of common-sense laws, but I also acknowledge that 57% of gun deaths in N.C. are from suicide and emotionally healthy people simply don’t commit murders and mass shootings, so I also believe we need to address this issue just as much from the perspective of it being a mental health crisis and stop gun violence before it starts by fully funding and expanding mental health services and health insurance coverage to ensure everyone can get the mental health help that they need.

What are your views on reaching across the aisle to make progress on issues that affect the citizens of North Carolina?

I will likely be in the minority party, so from the start I’ve been focusing on policy issues that have bi-partisan support so that I can work with my colleagues across the aisle to deliver wins for the people of N.C. GOP legislators have finally come around to supporting Medicaid expansion, so it’s time we get that done. We need to address inflation and help working families who are hurting right now, and we can immediately raise the stagnated minimum wage that's been $7.25 since 2008 and raise pay rates for vital workers in the public sector like educators, police and firefighters. The N.C. GOP is now open to legalizing medical cannabis and I would be happy to work with them to ensure we're prioritizing growing permits for small farms, instead of creating another big agriculture monopoly, so that cannabis becomes the new cash crop that saves our family farms. We can help rural communities expand broadband infrastructure by getting rid of laws that restrict municipality control and are unnecessary state government overreaches. With some bi-partisan cooperation, these are the kinds of common-sense measures to help folks that we can get passed next term.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: NC House 117 candidate profile: Michael O'Shea