For 30 years I taught history and civics in North Carolina public schools. Today I live in Casar, serve as Chair of the Cleveland County Democratic Party, and am running for the North Carolina Senate because I believe rural communities deserve a stronger voice in Raleigh.
But one of the main questions I keep coming back to as I run this race is: Who is looking out for the people in places like Casar, Lawndale, Fallston, Cherryville, Vale, Kings Mountain, Shelby, Lincolnton, and all the small communities that make up Senate District 44?
Because too often, it feels like decisions get made in Raleigh by people who do not really understand how those decisions land out here.
They talk about growth, but they do not always talk about what kind of growth. They talk about jobs, but they do not always talk about wages, housing, roads, schools, and whether working people can actually keep up. They talk about education, but too many of them have spent very little time listening to teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, parents, and students.
Rural North Carolina does not need to be talked down to. It does not need slogans. It does not need more political theater. It needs somebody paying attention.
I am a retired history teacher. I spent 30 years in public school classrooms. I know what it means to work with families who are doing their best. I know what it means when a child comes to school carrying a heavier load than a backpack.
And I know what it means when a community is stretched thin yet still keeps showing up for one another. That is the North Carolina I know.
I am running for the North Carolina Senate because I believe places like ours deserve a stronger voice. Not a louder voice, a stronger voice.
- A voice that asks what happens to small towns when farmland is sold off
- A voice that asks what happens to rural hospitals and clinics when healthcare gets harder to reach
- A voice that asks what happens to public schools when more and more public money is pulled away from them
- A voice that asks what happens to working people when utility bills, groceries, insurance, medicine, and housing all keep going up
- A voice that asks who benefits when decisions are made behind closed doors
This district is not Raleigh. It is not Charlotte. It is not a talking point on cable news.
It is Cleveland County. It is Lincoln County. It is the Cherryville area of Gaston County. It is mill villages, farms, churches, schools, small businesses, downtowns, back roads, and neighborhoods where people know each other.
We are not all alike here. We do not all vote the same. We do not all see every issue the same way.
But most people I talk to want the same basic things:
- They want their kids and grandkids to have a chance.
- They want good schools.
- They want decent jobs.
- They want safe roads.
- They want healthcare they can reach and afford.
- They want to keep their homes, their farms, and their communities from being swallowed up by people who see this place as a line item on a spreadsheet.
That is not a partisan wish list. That is just common sense.
I do not pretend I have an instant fix for every problem. Anybody who says they do is probably selling something—something that you might not want to buy.
What I can promise is this. I will show up. I will listen. I will ask hard questions. I will learn the details. I will speak up for the people and places that too often get left out of the conversation.
Rural North Carolina deserves more than being remembered at election time. It deserves a seat at the table. That is why I am running.
