Name as it appears on the ballot: Allison Dahle
Age: 56
Party affiliation: Democrat
Campaign website: allisonforhouse.com
Occupation & employer: Office Manager at McMillan & Smith
1. What in your background qualifies you to represent the people of North Carolina effectively? What would you cite as your three biggest career accomplishments?
My background in advocacy qualifies me to represent the people of North Carolina. I worked as an advocate for people with disabilities, helping them find gainful employment. I’ve also volunteered here in Raleigh with the Carolina Designers Craftsman Guild, Moms Demand Action, and as an LGBTQ+ advocate. In my last two years at the General Assembly, I’ve continued that advocacy work by meeting with constituents and discussing issues with them and helping them find solutions.
My three biggest career accomplishments: (1) The passage of the Bipartisan Elections Act of 2020, which ensures that elections are safe and secure during the COVID-19 pandemic by allowing for online absentee ballot requests, adding a barcode to absentee mail-in ballots so voters can track their ballot’s status, and funding the State Board of Elections response to COVID-19 by providing for PPE for use at polling places and increased recruitment and compensation of poll workers. (2) Before my time in the General Assembly, I worked to enable people with disabilities to find stable jobs in their communities. (3) When I was younger, I moved to New York City and was able to find a union job within 5 days during a Phone Workers’ Strike, which meant I couldn’t get a phone and had to literally knock on doors to find a job.
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 are Medicaid Expansion, continued funding of COVID recovery, and creating an Independent Redistricting Commission.
3. Do you believe the Republican tax cuts over the last decade have been effective in stimulating the state’s economy? If given the choice, are there any tax cuts you would rescind or any new taxes you would enact? If so, what would you put the additional revenue toward?
I do not think the Republican tax cuts have been effective in stimulating the economy, instead they’ve caused issues in the ability of some of our state agencies to serve our citizens. I would prefer that we stop funding pork-barrel projects in majority leaders’ home districts and reallocate that money to fund our true needs instead, as we saw in the Governor’s proposed budget.
4. North Carolina’s minimum wage is among the lowest in the country. Do you support raising the minimum wage, and if so by how much? If not, what other initiatives would you take to support low-income families in North Carolina?
I absolutely support raising the minimum wage. I believe we should increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, indexing it to inflation. We also need to make sure that HB 142 (2017) does sunset in December so that state preemption of local minimum wage laws ends.
5. Housing affordability is rapidly becoming an issue in the major metros like Charlotte and Raleigh and pushing low-income families further from their jobs. What policies would you support to ensure North Carolinians can live near where they work?
We should end state preemption of rent control, which came from Republicans. I will continue to work with city leaders to find out what legislative support they need.
6. Scientists say the increased threat of hurricanes and the resulting coastal devastation is only expected to worsen in the coming years due to climate change. Please state three specific policies you support to reduce carbon emissions and safeguard the environment in North Carolina.
I support Governor Cooper’s Executive Order 80 to transition to a clean energy economy. We need to end the use of PFAS and neonicotinoids. We need to also test and treat drinking water in our schools.
8. Do you believe assault weapons should be commercially available in North Carolina? Do you support universal background checks for all gun purchases? What policies do you support to address gun violence?
I have no intention of taking away guns that have already been purchased. I support universal background checks for gun purchases. I would like to continue to work on having Extreme Risk Protective Orders put in place to allow a family member to petition having guns removed when a person poses a risk of danger to themselves or others.
9. Do you support the Black Lives Matter Movement? What steps would you take to address racial equity in North Carolina?
I do support Black Lives Matter. We must listen to leaders in the area of racial injustice and set policies, laws or recommendations according to the needs of those who are targeted by racial injustice. With the Legislature being predominantly white there is no way for us to fix and/or address racial injustices without listening to those who are living with injustices.
10. One of BLM’s key demands is police accountability, however, municipalities have struggled to enact oversight boards with teeth as police records are safeguarded by state statute. Would you support bills that would make public certain police records, such as internal investigations after use of force incidents, body camera footage, and personnel files?
I would support bills to give oversight boards more “teeth” and I would work with both the cities and the law enforcement agencies to determine which of these records should reasonably become public.
11. The battle over gerrymandering has stalled out in the courts. What do you believe needs to happen with the state’s district maps? Would you support an independent process for drawing new legislative and congressional districts?
All maps should be drawn by an Independent Redistricting Commission.
12. Republicans boast to have increased school funding during their tenure controlling the legislature. Do you believe the state’s public schools are adequately funded? If not, would you support a tax increase to pay for it?
I do not believe that our state’s public schools are all adequately funded. We must use our available resources to assist with educational needs. Governor Cooper’s interim budget proposal should be followed to get us through the pandemic and follow-up in 2021 with real revenue numbers.
13. Research suggests the state’s charter school system is increasing segregation in the schools. Do you support the expansion of charter schools? Why or why not?
I believe that we should have a cap on charter schools because while I acknowledge that some students have different needs, I do feel that they are increasing segregation in schools and do not believe that all charter schools are properly serving our students and their families.
14. More than 3,000 North Carolinians have died from COVID-10 since the onset of the pandemic and thousands more left with crippling medical debt. Do you believe the state needs to invest in an expansion of Medicaid? How would you address healthcare affordability for North Carolinians?
I absolutely believe we should expand Medicaid and we should have done it before COVID-19.
15. The state’s Voter ID law, which has been criticized as targeted to disenfranchise African American voters, is temporarily blocked by the court. After the election, would you support repealing this law? Why or why not?
This law cannot be repealed by the General Assembly because it was passed as a Constitutional Amendment. I would like to see it go back on the ballot to be repealed by the people or be struck down by the courts.
16. North Carolina has not executed anyone since 2006, and challenges to the constitutionality of the state’s death penalty continue. Would you support the repeal of the death penalty in North Carolina? If not, do you believe the legislature should change the law to restart executions?
I would support the repeal of the death penalty in North Carolina.
17. Are there any other issues you would like to address that have not been covered by this questionnaire?
We need legislation surrounding the following:
Voting security/voting machines
Ending LGBT conversion therapy
Workplace sexual harassment protections
Workplace protections, specifically for hourly employees and essential workers
Comment on this questionnaire at backtalk@indyweek.com.
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