Name as it appears on the ballot: Maria Cervania

Age: 56

Party affiliation: Democrat

Campaign website: https://mariafornc.com/

Occupation & employer:  NC State Representative/NC General Assembly

                                                    (Trained Epidemiologist/Biostatistician)

Years lived in North Carolina: 10

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?

My more than 20 years of experience in public health, public education, and public service that aligns with District 41’s priorities provides a background that qualifies me to represent the people of my district and North Carolina most effectively and comprehensively. It also needs someone who has a proven record serving the area. 

As a current North Carolina State Representative, I have been a voice for all people and a public servant who has already made a positive change. It has been essential to listen to the community’s needs, work towards solutions, and successfully get things done. The three most significant career accomplishments as a Commissioner include:

  • Keeping Wake County and North Carolina healthy by protecting our community from COVID-19 with one of the most robust pandemic responses in the country. Also, it addresses the need to provide integrative healthcare — physical and behavioral- together, including crisis services and substance use treatment.
  • Developing an economic environment for the future by investing in our current and future workforce to provide them with the tools needed to succeed (including education, job training, and a thriving wage), supporting the growth of small businesses, and bringing companies such as Apple, Fujifilm, and Amgen to our state.
  • Building the highest quality of life by having balanced growth; affordable housing; a multi-modal public transportation system; broadband for all; food security; public safety; equality and equity; and sustainability for all people in North Carolina.

My background and accomplishments are the specific experience needed to help our residents stay safe and healthy, achieve the highest quality of life, and create a North Carolina for All.

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 three most pressing issues facing the next General Assembly are to:

  1. Ensure that individual rights and freedoms — especially abortion care and contraception access — are protected and maintained.
  2. Address access to voting by reforming Voter ID laws, eliminating  Absentee Voting restrictions, and overhauling the redistricting process.
  3. Fully fund and support public education from pre-K to university graduate programs.

Realistically, this will be a long, strategic process through relationship building and finding common ground among all in the General Assembly. At the same time, we must do all we can to elect like-minded people to enact these legislative priorities and protections, especially in these rapidly changing times.

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?

Local governments know their communities’ needs and provide services that affect them daily. Although we are in a Dillon rule state, we must trust our municipalities to inform us of what they see as the priorities for their people and growth. I fully support municipalities exerting local control over issues such as regulating greenhouse gas emissions, criminal justice reforms and police oversight, and passing development-regulating ordinances. 

Ultimately, we must bring the law of local government authority in North Carolina more in line with expressed legislative intent and improve the ability of municipalities to carry out the functions and responsibilities they have been delegated. Specifically, we should promote flexibility, efficiency, and predictability for municipalities in carrying out the authority and responsibility the legislature has entrusted to them under current law.

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

I support increasing the minimum wage to a living and thriving one. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, the minimum wage in Wake County should be at least $18.95 an hour for a person without children. A solid argument can be made that it should be higher. 

Raising the minimum wage strengthens workers’ purchasing power and, in turn, boosts the overall economy. Raising the minimum wage would also help close the racial wealth gap at historic levels. 

I also support adjusting the tipped minimum wage to equal a thriving wage across other industries. Jobs based on tips are massively employed by women who need to support their families. Eliminating the subminimum wage for tipped employees, especially women, would allow servers to take home more, have more reliable pay, and earn a living wage for themselves and their loved ones.

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

The North Carolina General Assembly must work with all counties and municipalities to support, pass laws, and fund affordability. Specifically, we must be more proactive in what we want to achieve for the next five years and the future regarding housing affordability, property tax relief, public transit, public schools, food security, and access to healthcare. 

If re-elected, as a legislator,  I will:

– prioritize our initiatives surrounding social determinants of health, especially with housing affordability and preservation, thriving wage/income equity, multi-modal transportation, food security, integrative healthcare, broadband for all, and environmental quality (e.g., air, water, soil, etc.).

– work with our municipalities to understand their current Land Use Ordinance regarding infrastructure, connectivity, open space, and mixed land use to help with decision-making. 

– collaborate in implementing and planning regional transportation initiatives with Federal, State, and local leaders.

– mobilize the neighborhoods to provide input regarding transit, traffic, and road improvements. 

– propose property tax relief aligned to Annual Median Income by county (instead of an annual salary averaged throughout the state).

– develop better lines of communication between our government entities and community so that they may voice their opinion. 

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?

My vision of transit in North Carolina is one of progress and connectivity. It includes:

  • A fully integrated regional transit network that connects all major municipalities in the state, including each major municipality having level entry transit to their respective airports.
  • Transit-oriented development that promotes development around major transit hubs, creating mixed-use areas where people can live, work, and grow.
  • Expansion of biking lanes, greenways, and pedestrian pathways to reduce car dependency.
  • Growth of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and incentives for EV adoption to reduce carbon emissions from transportation.

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

I support the creation of an independent, nonpartisan commission to draw electoral maps, efforts to end gerrymandering and fair and expanded ballot access. The independent, nonpartisan commission should comprise of an interdisciplinary team with demographers, constituents, and voting experts led by citizens. As in Arizona and California, they should be wholly divorced from the state legislature and, therefore, able to produce maps without the pressure to further or hinder the electoral fortunes of representatives or parties. The hope is that commission-drawn maps will set the stage for fairer and more competitive elections and tend to avoid legal challenges.

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 oppose expanding taxpayer-paid private school vouchers. The program’s original intent was to provide financial assistance to those whose incomes are below the federal poverty threshold so that they could attend private schools if they felt that their local public school could not meet their needs. Without expansion, this would be the provision. As legislators, we have a constitutional responsibility to provide every child access to sound basic education. When more than 90% of our students attend public schools, we cannot let the political environment continue to underfund public education. 

The NC Public School System was nationally known for being one of the best school systems in the country. Now, we rank in the bottom quarter in America. We are responsible for providing students with the best possible education and future. 

Private schools are for-profit entities. Plus, because of the separation of church and state, government cannot be involved in the operations or funding of religious activities or institutions, including religious private schools. The legislature does not have any role in ensuring that private schools do not further raise tuition on families and taxpayers by infusing hundreds of millions of dollars into the private school economy.

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?

Our educators, support staff, and other key personnel must receive a respectful and thriving wage commensurate with skills and training. I have advocated using the MIT Living Wage Calculator, a reliable and fair resource for determining a proper base wage. The calculator considers the cost of living in different counties and provides a wage for workers to meet their basic needs: https://livingwage.mit.edu/. Then, integrating education, certification, and experience is my suggestion on the criteria for how to provide raises.

The NC Legislature must:

  • Treat teachers as professionals and compensate them with that respect. 
  • Restore Master’s Pay and Education-Based Salary Supplements for Teachers and Instructional Support Personnel need to be reinstated. 
  • Recruit, retain, and support NC’s educator workforce, including expanding the Teaching Fellows program, helping new teachers, recruiting and retaining teachers of color, and supporting the “Grow Your Own” teacher cadet program.
  • Support professional development for teachers and school leaders, including funding the cost of obtaining National Board Certification.
  • Invest in Classroom Learning by funding textbooks, digital resources, and instructional supplies instead of having teachers pay out of pocket.
  • Eliminate teachers’ paying for their own substitutes and allow teachers to use their personal leave days as needed.
  • Open up the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program to include full-time educators who teach for five complete and consecutive academic years in ANY school or educational service agency and meet other qualifications. 

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? 

There should be no restrictions on abortion.

The issue is about taking away individual reproductive rights and removing the ability to control one’s reproductive healthcare and reproductive freedom. Individuals with their medical health professionals should make these decisions under the protection and right to privacy.

It is now on each state if women can have those rights. I will always protect women’s rights and essential health care. I will always fight against government interference with intensely personal medical decisions.

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 or medical marijuana in North Carolina with some added public health guidance. Marijuana legalization boosts the economy and creates thousands of needed jobs, especially in agricultural states like North Carolina. In states where marijuana is legal, it brings more tax revenue than alcohol, which supports critical public programs. Crime goes down when marijuana is legalized and phases out black markets, which takes money away from drug cartels, organized crime, and street gangs. It would end the costly enforcement of marijuana laws and free up police resources. 

From a public health standpoint, marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and tobacco, which are already legal, and legal marijuana can be regulated for consumer safety. But, there is still much research on its effects on physical and mental health.  People need to understand what is known about both the adverse health effects and the potential therapeutic benefits linked to marijuana.

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.

Reducing gun violence includes sensible gun laws. Specifically:

1. Have sensible gun laws, including reducing easy access to dangerous weapons and raising the age to buy.

2. Solidify the universal background checks system.

3. Reduce firearm access to youth and individuals who are at risk of harming themselves or others by strengthening the extreme risk or red flag law process.

4. Hold the gun industry accountable and ensure adequate oversight over the marketing and sales of guns and ammunition.

5. Engage responsible gun dealers and owners in solutions.

6. Insist on mandatory training and licensing for owners.

7. Require safe and secure gun storage.

8. Establish a culture of gun safety.

Refusing to enforce and dedicate tax-funded resources to implement state gun safety measures has no legal weight and exacerbates fear. We want to ensure the safety of our families, especially our children. Opposing gun control measures does not help encourage a culture of responsible gun ownership; it perpetuates the inaccurate belief that common-sense gun safety laws are unconstitutional.

We want to ensure the safety of our communities, especially our children. 

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

My community, professional, and life experience have prepared me to be the best choice in this race. I have:

– worked to expand Medicaid,  improve access to quality healthcare, and close the healthcare coverage gap.

– taught in the classroom and always support public education, including educators, administration, school health providers, staff (especially our bus drivers, cafeteria workers, building managers), and, most importantly, students.

– served government entities during economic downturns and brought forward record economic development in North Carolina with more new jobs and corporate and small business investment.

– campaigned and endorsed bond funding for parks, open space, and greenways and rallied for much-needed transportation, transit, and traffic improvements.

– passed the Wake County Non-Discrimination Ordinance and advocated for ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment.

– actively advocated and created diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, especially in inclusive communication/language access and community engagement.

– built relationships between law enforcement and our community (especially minorities and immigrant communities) to ensure trust and commitment to all people’s safety.

– made significant gains in affordable housing, balanced growth, environment/sustainability, employment/income equity, and other social determinants of health to reach the highest quality of life for Wake County.

If re-elected to the North Carolina General Assembly, I will defend our democracy, fight for our rights and freedoms, and strive for the highest quality of life for all North Carolinians.