North Dakota State Representative District 11 Choose 2
The North Dakota State House consists of 94 representatives, who meet in regular legislative sessions to make our state laws and set our state budget. Learn more at ndlegis.gov.
Biographical Information
Endorsements
Democratic-NPL
Instagram
http://www.instagram.com/stass4ndhouse/
Campaign Phone Number
(701)353-5228
What are your top priorities?
My top three priorities are education, families, and the environment -- the building blocks of healthy, sustainable communities. I will work to recruit and retain highly trained, well-paid public school teachers and to provide universal free school meals. I will fight for affordable childcare, paid parental leave, and lower healthcare premiums and out-of-pocket costs. I will also work to make North Dakota energy independent by investing in renewable sources of energy, like solar and wind.
How would you ensure that North Dakotans’ healthcare costs are affordable?
Considering the Trump Administration’s cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, local, state, and federal leaders need to come together to ensure that North Dakota families have access to affordable healthcare. I will work to lower healthcare costs by expanding access to assistance programs, reducing insurance premiums, and enhancing price transparency as part of a larger affordability plan. In a resource-wealthy state like ours, everyone deserves a shot at a healthy life.
How would you address the housing needs of the state?
I believe in the power of transparent, consistent, and open-minded conversation with local business and government leaders to develop sensible policies ensuring that every North Dakotan has a roof over their head. We can do this by incentivizing the redevelopment of underutilized sites, converting commercial properties into residential ones, working with local governments to review and streamline building codes, and investing in public infrastructure to reduce upfront costs for new housing.
What is your position on allowing public funds to be directed to non-public education?
I am a product of public education, from elementary through postsecondary schools, having received my PhD from the City University of New York, the nation’s largest urban public university system. I have taught in public universities for over two decades, and I am a proud member of North Dakota United, the union representing public employees, educators, and professionals. For all these reasons, I am committed to keeping public dollars in public schools.
What are your views on the current voting methods and access to voting in North Dakota?
North Dakota is the only state in the union without voter registration, and this is a huge plus. I am committed to preserving free and fair elections that ensure access for all eligible voters, as do our current voting methods: absentee voting (by mail), early voting, and Election Day voting at the polls. I strongly oppose any barriers to voting, such as the Trump Administration’s recent executive order to create a national voter registry that challenges states’ control over elections.
What is the role of the federal government regarding states’ rights, and are there currently any areas where you believe there is an imbalance?
Areas of imbalance between federal authority and states’ rights include: election administration, immigration enforcement, reproductive rights, and cannabis regulation. In the case of voting, states should retain their constitutional control over elections. While immigration is a federal power, states should have the power to push back against civil rights violations. Finally, I believe state and federal laws should support access to reproductive and gender-affirming care and medical marijuana.
Biographical Information
Website
http://demnpl.com/cara4nd/
Campaign Email
cara4nd@gmail.com
Campaign Phone Number
7017079036
What are your top priorities?
Public education, Natural Resources, Transparency in Government
How would you ensure that North Dakotans’ healthcare costs are affordable?
I would support initiatives that combine public and private institutions working together for better healthcare. Health care should be driven by healthcare professionals, not insurance companies.
How would you address the housing needs of the state?
I support programs that would spur on affordable housing for young families. We can promote maintenance of older housing to keep the housing we do have attractive to buyers.
What is your position on allowing public funds to be directed to non-public education?
I think it's important to keep public funding to fully fund public schools. For most communities in our state, the school is the heart of the community. Not investing in public education is not a good fit for ND.
What are your views on the current voting methods and access to voting in North Dakota?
I know that North Dakota has a very good system in place for voting. I have been a poll worker and have seen the care and efficiency that goes into the process.
What is the role of the federal government regarding states’ rights, and are there currently any areas where you believe there is an imbalance?
Yes, I am concerned that the federal government is trying to infringe upon the states rights to conduct free and fair elections. We saw it in Georgia and other places.
Biographical Information
Website
http://dougsharbono.com
Campaign Email
doug.sharbono@zohomail.com
Campaign Phone Number
701-212-3944
What are your top priorities?
Thank you to the League of Women Voters and Forum Communications for sponsoring this Voter Guide! My campaign’s top priority is limited government, which would aim at reducing government spending and resulting tax burden onto citizens. Personal state income tax and property tax in a state blessed with abundant energy revenue is very questionable at the rates citizens are paying. The state needs to focus on supporting the core services that only government can provide.
How would you ensure that North Dakotans’ healthcare costs are affordable?
The healthcare affordability dilemma is a difficult one to solve at the state level. Since the inception of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, citizens’ access and quality to healthcare have gone down and costs have markedly increased. State subsidy would be an all too easy answer to temporarily decrease individual costs. However, subsidies lead to price escalation and become unsustainable. The best course North Dakota could take would be to lobby our federal delegation to delete the ACA.
How would you address the housing needs of the state?
The American dream has often been defined to include single family homeownership. That objective has become out of reach for young working families. Housing needs should not be substantially furnished by state or federal government. It is not the role of government. At the heart of the matter is inflation, which has unnecessarily grown due to national and foreign policy decisions. Inflation is linked to the high cost of energy, government spending, quantitative easing, and debt. Stop inflation.
What is your position on allowing public funds to be directed to non-public education?
I am in favor of public funds to be directed to non-public education. The public funds should generally follow the student. There are efficiencies and better accountability demonstrated by the private school system that should be available to students and families who want that path. The decline in public school performance needs to be stopped, and we are not otherwise given many solutions by the professional education organizations to stop this decline. Public funds should follow the student.
What are your views on the current voting methods and access to voting in North Dakota?
North Dakota’s current voting methods are fairly secure and very accessible. A driver’s license provides great, secure accessibility. A driver’s license which is also sometimes required to rent a Rug Doctor should not be any issue in verifying identity for voting. I have worked elections and am opposed to hand counts being used to initially tally the votes. An adequate number of election workers are unavailable. Election worker vigilance, training, and good protocols are key to fair elections.
What is the role of the federal government regarding states’ rights, and are there currently any areas where you believe there is an imbalance?
The role of the federal government regarding states’ rights is defined by the US Constitution. There are a few issues currently working well. One example of balanced rights working well is U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should have the right to apprehend non-citizens. We are watching in some cases state agencies interfering with ICE’s efforts. On the flip side, some states’ rights are being infringed. 2nd Amendment rights infringement and the USA Patriot Act are imbalanced.