Name as it appears on the ballot: Julie von Haefen 

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Age: 53 

Party affiliation: Democrat 

Campaign website: juliefornc.com 

Occupation & employer: Member of the NC House of Representatives, North Carolina General Assembly 

Years lived in North Carolina: 19 

1. What in your background qualifies you to represent the people of your North Carolina district effectively? What would you cite as your three biggest career accomplishments? 

As a State Representative, I bring my experience as a parent, community advocate and lawyer with me every day to the General Assembly. Before I was elected, I was deeply involved in the public schools in Wake County and North Carolina for almost a decade, as a Parent Teacher Association leader at the school, county, and state level. I served as the Wake County PTA Council President, and I currently work as a substitute teacher in WCPSS. My connection to our public schools and to the communities I represent make me uniquely qualified to fight for the issues that Wake County families value, including public education for every child, affordable healthcare and childcare, freedom from the threat of gun violence, and protecting our environment. I’ve had three distinct periods in my professional life- first as a litigation attorney, then as a public school advocate and now as a legislator. Each part of my career journey has contained unique accomplishments, such as winning a medical malpractice case that lasted over three years, to creating new multicultural programming at my children’s elementary school to getting my first bill passed through the NC House. Life can take many twists and turns, and I’m proud of the journey that got me to where I am today. 

2. What do you believe to be the three most pressing issues facing the next General Assembly? What steps do you believe the state should take to address them?

The most important issues in my district are increasing education funding so that every child in NC has access to a sound basic education, protecting every North Carolinian’s right to reproductive freedom, and passing gun safety reform. I am proud to have introduced or sponsored legislation on all of these topics, from fully funding the Leandro decision to codifying the rights of Roe v. Wade, to sponsoring legislation to require instant criminal background checks for those purchasing a gun. 

3. To what extent do you support municipalities exerting local control over issues such as regulating greenhouse gas emissions, criminal justice reforms and police oversight, and passing development-regulating ordinances? 

Municipalities know what is best for their local communities. Generally speaking, I support municipalities holding local control over various policy measures. I do not support the Dillon Rule and am disappointed that this law limits what local municipalities can do to tackle climate change, affordable housing, and more. 

4. Do you support raising North Carolina’s minimum wage, and if so, by how much? 

Yes, I support raising the minimum wage and understand that a $15 minimum no longer allows most families to meet the rising cost of living in North Carolina, and especially in Wake County. We must study what the minimum wage should be increased to in NC and then implement that wage as soon as possible. The tipped minimum wage must be equal to the minimum wage that exists across other industries. Additionally, any legislation passed to raise the wage must include a provision to reevaluate the minimum wage at least every two years. 

5. What, if anything, should the state legislature do to address the growing affordability crisis and support low-income families in North Carolina? 

Our state is growing rapidly, and as a result, our housing market is becoming more competitive and housing prices are on the rise. Families who’ve lived in their neighborhoods for decades or even generations are being pushed out, and teachers, police officers, and local employees are having great difficulty finding reasonably affordable housing options near their workplaces. We need to pass renter protections to prevent no-cause evictions, provide more down-payment

assistance to first time home buyers, and pass a non-discrimination ordinance to provide specific protections for renters and homebuyers who are Section 8 recipients, or who are people of color, low-income, and/or LGBTQ. 

6. What is your vision for transit in North Carolina? What kind of regional transit systems should the state work to implement and what kind of transit legislation would you support? 

The need for effective and accessible transportation continues to grow as more and more families move to Wake County. I am heartened to see Wake County be a leader in comprehensive transportation efforts. At the General Assembly, I am proud to be a leader on bipartisan clean energy and electric vehicle legislation, including HB296, EV Charging Station/Parking, which passed the House 115-4. When it comes to North Carolina as a whole, I am excited about the progress in rail transportation that is coming to our state, a lot of which has been funded by various grants from the Biden-Harris Administration. 

7. Would you support an independent process for drawing new legislative and congressional districts? 

Yes. As a representative in a district that has been found by the courts to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered, I believe the General Assembly must take immediate action to provide the voters of our state with fairly and independently drawn districts. I will continue to do everything I can to advance legislation that takes redistricting power away from members of the General Assembly. 

8. Do you support expanding funding for Opportunity Scholarships? Do you believe the legislature has a role in ensuring that private schools don’t further raise tuition on families and taxpayers with the infusion of hundreds of millions of dollars into the private school economy? Please explain your answer. 

I strongly oppose the expansion of private school vouchers. The expansion of North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship voucher program will significantly decrease funding for public schools in NC. By using public tax dollars to fund private education, we are funding primarily religious organizations and promoting exclusion by diverting funds to schools that are not legally barred

from discriminating against LGBTQ students and parents. Private schools that receive vouchers are unaccountable for academic outcomes. In NC, private school teachers do not have to be licensed or college graduates. NC private schools have no curriculum standards and do not participate in the state testing program. Voucher programs drain our public schools of needed funding and I will continue to push for further restrictions on them. 

9. North Carolina is one of the lowest-paying states for teachers in the nation. Schools across the state are facing shortages of educators, support staff, and other key personnel. By what percentage should the next budget raise wages for teachers and school employees? What else can the General Assembly do to improve working conditions for teachers and make the teaching profession more attractive to potential future educators? 

School staff and teachers should receive, at the very least, an 8.5 percent pay raise in the next state budget. I have sponsored HB 366 – Restore Master’s Pay for Teachers and ISP, which advocates for teachers and other public school staff to be paid on an education-based salary to encourage teachers with higher levels of education to work in public schools. I’ve also sponsored HB 672 to restore state employee and teacher retiree medical benefits. I will continue to champion similar bills during my time in the NCGA to ensure that all teachers and school staff have the opportunity to make and sustain a living wage. 

10. North Carolina bans abortion after 12 weeks’ gestation. Do you think abortion access in North Carolina should be expanded or further restricted, or do you support the current law? 

I strongly oppose limits being placed on access to abortion. Abortion is healthcare and the state has no business interfering in the right of citizens to access healthcare. I will continue to fight against the restrictions placed on bodily autonomy and reproductive rights during my time in office and work toward expanding access to abortion in North Carolina. 

11. Do you support reforming North Carolina’s marijuana laws? Do you support full legalization? Please explain your position.

I support the legalization of recreational and medical marijuana. I am a sponsor of House Bill 576, Marijuana Justice and Reinvestment Act, which would legalize and regulate the sale, possession, and use of cannabis in North Carolina. 

12. Do you support strengthening gun safety regulations such as expanding background checks, banning bump stocks, and raising the age to buy or otherwise regulating the sales of assault-style weapons? Please explain. 

Gun violence is a public safety crisis in our community and our nation. It is well known that firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens. Five bills were filed last year in the NCGA to promote or require safe storage of firearms, yet none were passed. I support common-sense gun reforms that would close the gun-show loophole and prohibit the sale or manufacture of ghost guns in North Carolina, and I support safe storage legislation that would require gun owners to keep firearms and ammunition stored securely in separate safes. This year I introduced HB 283 to require a permit to purchase a long-gun, and co-sponsored HB 289, the Gun Violence Prevention Act. 

13. Are there any issues this questionnaire has not addressed that you would like to address?