NC HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT 070
The North Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House of Representatives consists of 120 members who serve a term of two years. Each member represents an average of 87,116 residents *, as of the 2020 Census . The presiding officer of the House of Representatives is the Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the Senate President pro-tem. The Speaker is elected by the members from their membership for a two-year term. The Speaker’s duties include maintaining order in the House and appointing members to the House standing committees.The North Carolina General Assembly, of which the House is a part, is to convene a new regular session every two years, and the dates for these sessions are set by law. The NC legislature makes decisions on the budget: taxes, tax credits, economic development, education funding, Pre-K, the courts, Medicaid, etc. It also passes laws that set environmental standards such as water and air quality, tax rates, tax credits, criminal justice. Legislators in both chambers serve two-year terms without term limits. Sessions begin at noon on the third Wednesday after the second Monday in January.* https://ballotpedia.org/Population_represented_by_state_legislators
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Brian Biggs
(REP)
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William (Bill) McCaskill
(DEM)
What experience and skills make you the best candidate for this office? (Max. 750 characters)
What do you see as your most important priority if you are elected? (Max. 750 characters)
What are your views and priorities on how education policy and funding issues should be addressed in the coming year? (Max. 750 characters)
What role do you believe tax policy should play in supporting North Carolina’s economy and addressing the needs of its residents? (Max 750 characters)
What changes to the laws in our state would you promote to improve safety in our communities? (Max. 750 characters)
Additional Comments (Max. 1000 characters)
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Current Occupation
Former City Council member, retired from Social Services
Age (optional)
77
Campaign Phone
3362670495
During my life I have lived through Democratic and Republican control of the General Assembly. I have observed for the past fifteen years of Republican control the degradation of our public school system, the reversal of numerous environmental laws, regressive tax policies, removal of executive power, and politicalization of our university system just to mention a few negative effects. My life experiences as a social worker, community volunteer, and city council member will help me reverse the bad policies enacted by Republican leaders in the General Assembly.
The one important issue that the Republican-controlled N.C.G.A. and Democratic Governors have cooperated on is recruiting new industries to NC. Industry recruitment is extremely competitive. The legislative and executive branches are required to work together for success. Small business continues to be the backbone of our economy, but large industries also support small businesses and raise the wage level of our citizens. NC continues to lag in personal income for our workers. Low income tends to create more social problems for families and may put them at risk. Therefore, for many reasons we need to continue work toward improving North Carolina's economy.
Education should be the top priority for the N.C.G.A because education affects all aspects of North Carolina's future. In general, the N.C.G.A. has underfunded public education. I define public education as school districts with elected boards of education. A lot of public education funding has been siphoned off to charter and private schools. I don't oppose charter or private schools if they are subject to the same academic standards and teacher qualifications as public schools. Since the Republican controlled N.C.G.A has started down the road of supporting multiple
education systems they must appropriate additional funds for all education. This should also include more funding for less affluent school districts.
The N.C.G.A. continues to lower North Carolina's personal and cooperate tax rates with the cooperate rate going to 0 in 2028. They recouped the funding by adding sales taxes to all types of services several years ago. Sales taxes are regressive because low-income people pay the same in taxes as high-income earners. I believe tax policy should be balanced and fair. We should have a low corporate tax rate to attract new industry, but I feel we can still recruit without completely eliminating corporate tax. Industry looks at many other factors when deciding on a location. We don't need to unfairly burden the lowest income members of our society.
During my tenure on the Asheboro City Council, I supported strong public safety measures. I also worked with law enforcement for many years in relation to child welfare cases. The City spends sixty percent of its general fund for public safety as do many municipalities. If elected to represent my district, I will continue to strongly support state public safety agencies. I do have concerns about recent issues and the violation of due process of law which violates our Constitution. We can support good law enforcement while maintaining our constitutional rights.
Asheboro has recently lost five daycare centers. This puts pressure on working families to find safe daycare options. In the latest budget, the General Assembly finally approved some additional funding for daycare. However, we need more funding to subsidize daycare for low-income workers and address the daycare employee shortage. The state of North Carolina has to take action to protect our most vulnerable citizens.
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