This story originally published online at NC Newsline.
Though Democrats can’t count on many victories in the North Carolina legislature these days, Sophia Chitlik of Durham said it’s important to start building for a future when Democrats break the Republican supermajority.
Chitlik defeated six-term incumbent Democratic state Sen. Mike Woodard in last month’s District 22 primary. She criticized Woodard in the campaign for voting with Republicans to override some of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes.
While no Republicans are running in the heavily Democratic district, Libertarian Ray Ubinger will be on the November ballot.
No Libertarian has won in North Carolina, and Chiltik’s election is all but assured. However, she said in an interview that she’s not taking a victory for granted and does not consider herself a senator-elect.
Chitlik is a former Obama campaign staffer and worked in the Obama administration. She now invests in early-stage health companies run by women, and works on nonprofit and philanthropic projects.
She’ll bring to the legislature a focus on caregivers and an interest in maternal health and health equity.
A friend who suggested a project about supporting people through pregnancy and childbirth grew into a company called TEND, which Chitlik co-founded.
Her friend gathered research on how giving birth in America has changed, “the intentional destruction of midwifery, the eradication of choice when it comes to how and where people give birth,” Chitlik said. That led to an understanding of the connection to the disproportionate harms experienced by Black and Brown people.
Black women are about three times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than white women, according to the CDC.
“There are incredible community organizations who are focusing on this work, and there are incredible policy solutions,” she said. But, there’s more work to do to make systemic change.
Addressing maternal health inequity has been a signature issue for incumbent Durham Democratic Sen. Natalie Murdock. Chitlik said she looks forward to supporting Murdock’s work.
Another priority would be working across the aisle, with experts, and with business leaders to create more affordable, accessible childcare.
State officials are warning of a “childcare cliff,” NC Newsline has reported. Kody Kinsley, state Department of Health and Human Services secretary, identified “preventing the collapse of the early education and childcare system” as a focus for this year in a February memo to members of a legislative health committee.
“There’s a diverse swath of allies on this topic,” Chitlik said. “I believe it crosses culture, region.” It is of particular interest in Durham, where childcare is “extraordinarily expensive,” she said.
Chitlik said in the coming months, she’ll continue to campaign and work to help elect the rest of the Democratic ticket.
“I want to make sure that I’m diving deep here in the Durham community around the core priorities that I have around caring for children, caring for our caregivers, caring for our communities,” she said. “We have community-rooted examples of success, and I want to elevate those.”
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