Voters’ Guide 2022: NC Senate candidates on Medicaid, law enforcement reform, education
Kirk deViere is the incumbent in N.C. Senate District 19. His challengers in the Democratic primary are Val Applewhite and Ed Donaldson. Dennis Britt is running against Wesley Meredith in the Republican primary.
Incumbent Tim McInnis, a Republican, will face off against Frank McNeill, a Democrat, in the general election for N.C. Senate District 21. There is no primary election.
Below are the primary candidates who responded to a questionnaire.
Senate 19 Democrats
Val Applewhite
Age: Not provided
Immediate family: Two adult children; Joseph Applewhite, active-duty Captain USAF Damani Applewhite, professional basketball, Graz Austria
Occupation: Val Applewhite Real Estate & Consulting
Elected office held: Three terms; Fayetteville City Council, District 7, (2007-2013)
Do you favor Medicaid expansion? Why or why not? If you do, what steps would you take to make it happen?
I strongly support Medicaid expansion. The pandemic has brought the racial disparities in health care to the forefront. Expanding Medicaid would give health care to more than 500,000 North Carolinians and significantly expand health care access in Black and brown communities. I would stand with Gov. Cooper to make it a priority in the next round of budget negotiations and would not vote for any budget that did not include full Medicaid Expansion.
What are the most important issues impacting K-12 education in our state? How would you address these issues?
The problem with public education in North Carolina is that our schools are underfunded and our teachers are underpaid. The ongoing Leandro case has repeatedly made it clear that as a state we aren't meeting our students' rights to a quality public education, and we must do more. I would work with Gov. Cooper to achieve goals similar to the ones he fought for during the last round of budget negotiations. Those goals included a 10% pay raise for teachers, restoring Master's pay compensation and fully funding the first two years of the Leandro plan. Unfortunately, during the last round of budget negotiations my opponent sided with Republicans and voted for a budget that fell drastically short of these goals, breaking with Gov. Cooper in exchange for pork spending and projects.
Is law enforcement reform, especially in terms of use of force, still an issue? If you think so, what steps does the state need to take going forward to pursue reform?
Our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to keep us safe, and we owe them a debt of gratitude. Keeping our communities safe must continue to be a top priority. At both the state and local level we should ensure our law enforcement have the resources they need. At the same time, movements like Black Lives Matter have made it crystal clear we still have work to do to eliminate unnecessary use of force and make it easier for the public to hold bad actors in the police department accountable. We need to add more mental health professionals as first responders so citizens experiencing mental health episodes are met with help rather than force. We need to expand access to body camera footage and make it much easier to suspend and/or fire officers with a record of misconduct.
More: Familiar faces vie for NC Senate District 19 in Cumberland County
Kirk deViere
Age: 52
Immediate family: Wife, Jenny Beaver deViere; son, Greyson (5 years old)
Occupation: Owner/President - 219 Group - Marketing, Advertising & PR Firm
Elected office held: Fayetteville City Council, District 2 (2015-2017) N.C. State Senate, District 19 (2 terms: 2018-2020; 2020- present)
Do you favor Medicaid expansion? Why or why not? If you do, what steps would you take to make it happen?
I fully support Medicaid expansion. I have filed legislation to expand it and have been a strong and vocal advocate for it. During this last session and the budget discussions, I fought for the expansion but the Republican leadership in the N.C. House said there were not the votes to pass it as part of the budget. We continued to work to find a way to keep it in the discussion. We worked to achieve expansion for pregnant women and children and a joint legislative committee to look at Medicaid expansion and access to healthcare. The question now is not “if” but “how” and that is what this committee is working towards with the goal of having a bill on both chamber’s floors in the short session that starts in late May. The path forward is to work on bipartisan legislation that creates a unique plan for expansion in North Carolina. There are several parts to expansion and we are working to determine what benefits and services are included in coverage; how or if there is a premium payment; requirements for enrollment; and a potential work training component. We also need to look at the lessons learned from Medicaid transformation and ensure providers have the capacity and the workforce to expand services. As legislators, we must create the framework including the resources needed and work with DHHS, hospitals, providers and other stakeholders to ensure we craft the right plan for Medicaid expansion in our state.
What are the most important issues impacting K-12 education in our state? How would you address these issues?
We must address the decrease in performance of our students due to the pandemic and time out of the classroom and lack of interaction with teachers and other students. Reports show that every demographic group in the state was affected. We must provide educators, parents and children the resources to overcome the deficiencies, especially in reading and math. We also must address the mental health issues created by the pandemic. The Leandro court case and report create a “blueprint” for investment in our schools and funding for the professionals that educate our children. We made a step in the right direction with the recent bipartisan state budget that increased teacher pay (first raise in over 4 years), raised support personnel to $15/hr, and invested in construction. We still have work to do in the areas of teacher retention and pay scale; investing more in counselors, nurses and psychiatrists in schools; and we must create a plan to assist counties in the repair, renovation and construction of schools. I will continue to be a leader and advocate in this fight. Additionally, the pandemic shined a light on the critical needs in early childhood development and childcare. In the bipartisan state budget, we saw an increase in funding in this area but we must do more as laid out in the Leandro report. Investments must address shortages of teachers, capacity and the child waitlist. We need to ensure every child has the opportunity to participate in an early education program.
Is law enforcement reform, especially in terms of use of force, still an issue? If you think so, what steps does the state need to take going forward to pursue reform?
We need comprehensive justice reform and real investment in re-entry and treatment programs. There are deep racial disparities that impact Black and Latino communities. I am proud to have proposed and supported criminal justice reforms like the bipartisan Senate Bill 300 that made historic and much-needed reforms to our justice system, including expanding expungement programs, access to police camera footage for families and duty-to-intervene requirements. I am proud to have supported helping the thousands of North Carolinians who lost their driver’s licenses due to an unpaid traffic ticket. I have also drafted and sponsored legislation to authorize municipalities and counties to form citizen review boards to create accountability for misconduct and allegations.
Senate 19 Republican
Dennis Britt
Age: 63
Immediate family: Tammie Britt
Occupation: US Air Force Civil Service, Retired and a USAF Veteran.
Elected office held: None
Do you favor Medicaid expansion? Why or why not? If you do, what steps would you take to make it happen?
No. I favor reducing the NEED for Medicaid that has been created by the failure of our education establishment. Public schools should be teaching the skills and abilities for building wealth. That failure is exposed by NCDHHS spending being greater than school spending.
What are the most important issues impacting K-12 education in our state? How would you address these issues?
The Education establishment is teaching the least of us to envy and hate wealth. This results in multiplying poverty, since no one wants to be hated. Conflict entrepreneurs are using the Critical Race Theory pedagogy to create chaos and division to promote their own interests and gain at the expense of our children. This causes African-American children to hate white children, view themselves as hopeless victims and white children to feel guilty for sins of 150 years ago. Refusal of forgiveness destroys harmony. I will work to implement curricula that teaches the wisdom for individual prosperity, economic growth and respect for individual rights of person, property and promises (justice) to us and from us. Education is supposed to prepare us to be good, self-sufficient citizens. That is my priority.
Is law enforcement reform, especially in terms of use of force, still an issue? If you think so, what steps does the state need to take going forward to pursue reform?
A culture of respecting the individual rights of person, property and promises (do to others as you would have them do to you) would prevent most negative interaction with law enforcement officers. Bad behavior usually comes before contact with law enforcement and judicial administration. When officers conduct themselves in the manner consistent with the citizenry-required training we demand of them, we must support the law enforcement officers. When officers violate the training doctrine and our laws, they should face due process and the appropriate punishment. If the mandatory training is deficient, we the people must implement the consensus remedy. It is important to remember that we designate behavior that is unacceptable in society as "crime", and forfeiture of individual rights and freedoms can earned by committing those behaviors. It is important that we not use the word "justice" as a synonym for "revenge." This evasion of due process evokes an emotional outrage that brings chaos, violence, division and hatred.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Voters’ Guide 2022: North Carolina Senate Districts 19 and 21
