Name as it appears on the ballot: Sean Haugh 

Age: 61

Party affiliation: Libertarian

Campaign website: seanhaugh.com

Occupation & employer: retired

Years lived in North Carolina: 37

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?

I’ve had a lot of different jobs, but it was my retirement gig delivering pizza for 7 years that gave me a real education in how to serve the people of Durham. Everybody loves pizza, so I was invited to the homes of people from all walks of life. I got to see and hear directly from them what challenges they face in trying to improve their lives. I’ve had a lot of career accomplishments, but none more satisfying than making people happy by bringing them pizza.

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?

1) We need to take seriously the NC Constitutional mandate that a quality K-12 edcuation is a basic right by offering as many choices as possible to parents and students so they can take direct control of their education. 2) We need to drastically reduce the size and scope of state government, limiting it to only those services which are socially necessary but inherently unprofitable. We spend over $1 billion annually on direct corporate welfare (incentives). That’s an easy first cut from the budget. 3) Our General Assembly is bought and paid for by corporate special interests that pursue overdevelopment to the detriment of our environment, local government authority, and the taxpayers. Laws that subsidize and protect development and pollution should be repealed.

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 regulation has its own problems, yet is a much better alternative to these issues being decided top-down from Raleigh. So many times local governments try to what what is best for their own communities, only to have corporate special interests buying up legislators to tell them, no you can’t do that.

4. Do you support raising North Carolina’s 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 am against there being a minimum wage, because it’s totally irrelevant to actual market forces. Beyond lowering taxes so people can use more of the money they earn, we must repeal occupational licensure laws and other regulations that prevent people from starting their own businesses or entering trades to improve their job opportunities.

5. With rent, property taxes, and home sale prices all rising, what, if anything, should the state legislature do to address this growing affordability crisis?

Repeal all zoning and development laws and ordinances that prevent people from increasing the housing supply.

6. Do you believe that the state government has an obligation to prevent the impacts of climate change? If so, please state three specific policies you support to address climate change.

The one thing we can do is to make polluters and contributors to climate change fully liable for the damages they cause to people and their property. As long as we continue to limit that liability, polluters will simply continue and consider any consequences as the cost of doing business.

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

Redistricting should be taken away from the hands of the General Assembly and given to an independent commission that includes voters that aren’t Democrats or Republicans.

8. Does the General Assembly have a constitutional obligation to comply with the state Supreme Court order in the Leandro case to fully fund public schools and give every child in North Carolina a sound basic education?

Well, the courts say they do. We need to expand educational choices in all directions so parents and students have access to the kind of education they want.

9. When it comes to teacher pay, North Carolina is one of the lowest-paying states in the nation. Schools across the state are facing shortages of educators, support staff, and other key personnel. Do you support raising teacher pay to at least the national average? What else can the General Assembly do to improve working conditions for teachers and make the teaching profession more attractive to potential future educators?

I know several public school teachers in NC and I am amazed they are sticking with it after how government treats them. Yes, compensation should be competitive, but even more importantly we need to give teachers – the professionals we hired to do this job for us – control over their classrooms and curricula again. One problem we’ll always have with government control of education is politicians who want to hijack it to promote their own culture war nonsense over actual education. It will be a constant struggle to prevent both Democrats and Republicans from trying to gain and control that power.

10. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling this spring that overturned Roe v. Wade. The legal cutoff for abortion in North Carolina is now 20 weeks. Do you believe the 20-week cutoff is too restrictive, not restrictive enough, or just right? As a state lawmaker, would you support legislation that further limits or prohibits abortion in North Carolina, or punishes/criminalizes abortion providers or patients?

Abortion is simply a private healthcare matter that should remain between patients and their medical providers. Politicians should have absolutely zero role in these decisions. I am strongly opposed to any legal restrictions to abortion access.

11. Should North Carolina expand Medicaid?  Where do you stand on increasing the number of slots for the Innovations Waiver for special needs individuals?

I am not in favor of Medicaid expansion. There are many reforms state government could undertake to make Medicaid far more effiecent and far less expensive, while providing better quality care to patients and appropriate compensation to providers. I’ve worked with Medicaid patients before and have to tesify, it is an incredibly cruel system that makes it as difficult as possible for those in need to seek care for themselves and their families.

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

All drugs should be fully legalized. Anyone convicted of a non-violent drug offense should be released, have their records fully cleared, and be given reparations for any time served.

13. 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.

Banning stuff simply does not work. It didn’t work with alcohol or drugs, it won’t work with abortion, and with 3D printers now in existence, it certainly won’t work with guns. You want to end gun violence? Start by getting the murder out of your own heart.

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

During the pandemic (which is still going on by the way) we suspended many laws and regulations that we discovered were an obstacle to public health, such as several laws regulating the licensing of nurses. If they were an obstacle to public health then, they still are now, and should all be permanently repealed.

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