General Assembly candidates shared their views and platforms
as the early, one-stop voting period opened in a prelude to Election
Day on Nov. 4.
The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a candidate’s forum
Tuesday night, an event held at the Watauga County Courthouse
in Boone. State-level candidates were first on the agenda, featuring
N.C. Senate candidates Republican Jerry Butler and incumbent Democrat
Steve Goss and N.C House of Representatives candidates Libertarian
Jeff Cannon, Republican Dan Soucek and incumbent Democrat Cullie
Tarleton.
N.C. Senate candidate Jerry
Butler, Boone Area Chamber of Commerce representative
Ron Hester, N.C. Sen. Steve Goss, N.C. House candidates
Jeff Cannon and Dan Soucek, and N.C. Rep. Cullie Tarleton
prepare for a forum Tuesday night in Boone. Photo
by Scott Nicholson
Butler said his qualifications included being a small-business
owner and said the state needed someone who understood small businesses
and jobs. He said high taxation had created an environment unfriendly
to businesses.
Goss said the state had a lot of issues, though North Carolina
had done well compared to other states. He said it was important
to listen to small-business owners, but consumers also had an
important role in the economy.
Cannon said he wanted real change in government and didn’t
need the current regime to create it, saying the two-party system
had failed.
Soucek said he’d served the country in the military and the
community through the Young Life program, and said government
should spend based on priorities. He said he would remove obstacles
to working families such as high taxation.
Tarleton said he didn’t consider himself a politician, but
rather a retired businessman who wanted government to operate
more effectively for the average person. He said he had a record
of service and accomplishment for the people of the district.
Goss said his top priority was education and it exceeded 60 percent
of the state budget. Education worked best when it was handled
locally, he said.
Cannon said his first act in office would be to reduce the size
of government immediately, starting with special-interest programs.
Soucek said the economy would be his top priority because it was
always an important issue and said having more money created more
liberty and freedom.
Tarleton said he had three areas of focus: education, economy
and jobs. He said a quality education was important in jobs.
Butler said more education money had to be brought to local school
systems, and said Goss had voted to cut teacher bonuses, saying
cuts had to be made “in appropriate areas.”
Cannon said reducing taxes would create more jobs and instead
of offering tax incentives to bring businesses, the cuts should
go to existing businesses.
Soucek said the government didn’t create jobs but should
instead allow businesses to flourish. He said people shouldn’t
see too many obstacles to starting a business.
Tarleton said his goal was to bring basic business principles
to government and support policies that help businesses.
Butler said the state had the highest business and gas prices
in the Southeast, and roads were eroding, which hampered the business
climate.
Goss said North Carolina was ranked among the top states in being
friendly to businesses, saying businesses were the catalyst of
the economy. He said state, loval and national governments needed
to work together.
Soucek said the education lottery taxed primarily the lower-income
people who could least afford it, and said he didn’t agree
with the way the legislation was enacted.
Tarleton said he wasn’t a member of the General Assembly
when the bill passed to create a lottery, and said North Carolina
was losing money because all surrounding states had it. Tarleton
said he fought to make the lottery disbursements more equitable
so Watauga would get its fair share of revenues.
Butler said he was tired of hearing promises about the lottery
while teachers were still buying pencils and paper for the classrooms.
Goss said he didn’t like the lottery but since it was here,
his job was to make sure it was distributed fairly as a supplement
to local school systems.
Cannon said the lottery was one in a long line of failed government
lotteries. “All it does is prey on the poor and make them
pay more than their fair share for education,” Cannon said.
Regarding the importance of party affiliation, Butler said he
wouldn’t ask anyone to vote for the party, but he said everyone
should exercise their right to vote.
Goss said once elected, there were no Democrats or Republicans,
and he had answered thousands of emails and phone calls and urged
people to vote for the best-qualified person.
Cannon said the two-party system had created problems, because
the two parties basically were the same and the system needed
to change. He said the media had kept third-party candidates in
obscurity.
Soucek said his first concern was not to be a Republican, but
to represent the people and be conservative and said he differed
from Democrats on fundamental positions.
Tarleton said he was there to help, though he was a “proud
Democrat” because the party cared the most about people and
was the most compassionate about taking care of children, poor
people, and old people.
Goss said improving the N.C. Department of Transportation would
come through elimination of political appointments and said the
western portion of the state had been neglected in road funding.
Cannon said transportation was a basic, vital government function
and the funds shouldn’t be wasted.
Soucek said the state was no longer the “Good Roads State”
and said the Highway Trust Fund should be used for road construction
instead of going into the General Fund.
Tarleton said politics had to be removed from the Board of Transportation
and dollars should go where there is the most traffic.
Butler said “the liberal Democratic side” was discussing
shifting road costs over to county governments and government
should make smart fiscal decisions.
Regarding a state budget shortfall, Cannon said special interests
received money from government and said government had always
been wasteful and inefficient, and people with lower taxes were
more likely to make charitable donations.
Soucek said the state should cut taxes and reduce spending, with
priorities aimed at the greatest areas of need.
Tarleton said the state constitution requires a balanced budget,
with expenses not exceeding revenues. Tarleton said state departments
were going to be cut 3 percent and possibly more.
Butler said the Democrats had borrowed almost a billion dollars
and said the state had a shortfall and said the cuts would save
only $300 million.
Goss said with a projected budget shortfall of a billion dollars,
the state still had one of the top bond ratings in the country.
He said there was fat in state government, but the process of
cutting had already begun.
On gangs and crime, Soucek said the High Country was fortunate
because it was a healthy and safe environment. He said “career
criminals” should be identified and kept incarcerated and
said the death penalty had not been instituted due to medical
loopholes.
Tarleton said local sheriffs have seen gang activity, and state
funds had been targeted to combat the problem and build new prisons.
Butler said there were laws on the books to combat gangs, but
legislation was so complicated that enforcement was difficult.
Goss said some cities had tremendous gang problems and they would
eventually filter to smaller towns. Goss said $10 million allocated
to combat gangs was not enough and said people should feel secure
in their homes.
Cannon said the war on drugs had caused the gang problem and said
legal drugs would mean there was no black market.
In closing statements, Tarleton said he was proud of his accomplishments,
with state funding for Appalachian State University, Horn in the
West and local roads. He also touted tax credits for small businesses
and pay raises to state employees.
Butler said the economic conditions should be maintained so that
people would want to invest in the community. He said he created
jobs and would work for energy independence and family values.
“The liberal Democrats have North Carolina at its lowest
point since the Great Depression,” he said.
Goss said he had worked hard the last two years and said being
a legislator was a full-time job. He said he had reached across
party lines and worked daily for solutions to government problems.
“I’m the voice of reason,” Goss said. “I’m
not an extremist.”
Cannon said government had grown bigger and bigger even while
candidates always spoke of cutting government. He said he didn’t
have party entanglements to influence his decision making, and
politicians owed people favors because of the money they spent
campaigning.
Soucek said he had shown the differences between him and his opponents,
and pledged to pursue responsible spending and integrity in government,
and reiterated his message of low taxation.
Election Day is Nov. 4. General Assembly members serve two-year
terms.
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