Name as it Appears on the Ballot: Sean Haugh
Party: Libertarian
Date of Birth: 11/17/1960
Campaign Web Site: http://lpnc.org/2008/house_030.php
Occupation & Employer: Political Director, Libertarian Party
Years lived in North Carolina: 20 years in August
1) What do you see as the most important issues facing North Carolina? If elected, what are your top three priorities in addressing those issues?
a) Stop forced annexation and severely limit eminent domain, b) Tax credits of $3000 per child for those who pay for a child’s education as the best way to implement full school choice, and c) Ensure all NC citizens have equal rights and responsibilities to participate in the electoral process, starting with ballot access reform.
2) Are there specific needs in your district that you would add to that list? How do you propose to address them?
Stop the prepared meals tax. Stop corpoarte welfare.
3) What in your record as a public official or other experience demonstrates your ability to be effective on the issues you’ve identified? Please be as specific as possible in relating past accomplishments to current goals.
The most illustrative example is my involvement with the local NAACP and the family of Catherine Capps to change Durham Police policy on no-knock raids and the reliance on confidential informants.
I am the lead individual plaintiff in the Libertarian and Green parties’ lawsuit to strike down all NC election laws which give special advantages to Democrats and Republicans and place special burdens on everyone else.
In these and other examples, I am always open to working with anyone who shares my goals regardless of where they find themselves on the political spectrum.
4) How do you define yourself politically, and how does your political philosophy show itself in your past achievements and present campaign platform?
Libertarian. I let all around me live their lives as they see fit without interference from me. My neighbors seem to appreciate this.
5) The Independent’s mission is to help build a just community in the Triangle. Please point to a specific position in your platform that would, if achieved, help further that goal.
Electoral reform. Justice begins when all citizens are treated equally under the law and have full rights to participate in our system of government.
6) Identify and explain one principled stand you would be willing to take if elected that you suspect might cost you some popularity points with voters.
I am against any restrictions on gun ownership. Although I personally choose to not own them or allow them in my home or car, it is a choice and not one I would enforce upon everyone else.
7) If these issues haven’t been addressed above, would you please comment on:
a. Poverty: What steps, if any, do you advocate to lift up the poor in North Carolina?
b. Transportation needs in the state, including roads and transit in the Triangle?
c. Crowded prisons: Should we be moving toward more alternative-sentencing programs instead of prison time?
d. Health care: What should the state do next to address the problem of adults and children without adequate health care or insurance?
e. Foreclosures: What more should the state be doing to help consumers avoid foreclosure and hold onto their homes?
f. Energy: Do you support off-shore drilling in the state’s coastal waters? Other state initiatives to reduce gasoline and other energy costs?
g. The mental health crisis: Everyone agrees it’s a mess. Now what?
h. Taxes: Given the needs, are they too high? Too low? Too regressive? What direction should the state be taking on the revenue side?
i. School vouchers: Should the state provide vouchers to parents who choose private (K-12) schools for their children? If so, for what amount?
One all issues I believe in maximum freedom for the individual and am in favor of reducing the size and scope of government. Ending the war on drugs would solve the prison problem. Cutting taxes and spending would increase the standard of living for everyone.
8) What is your position on capital punishment in North Carolina? If in favor, will you support a moratorium on executions while the question of whether the death penalty can be administered fairly is studied by the General Assembly?
I am categorically opposed to the death penalty. Killing people is wrong, period. Government only should be in the business of protecting life, not taking it away. I would support the moratorium while working for abolition.
9) What is your position regarding LGBT rights? Please address whether gay marriages or civil unions should be made legal in North Carolina; also, whether sexual orientation and identity should be added as a protected class under state anti-discrimination laws, including state personnel laws.
Families, not governments, should define families. I am very strongly in favor of equal marriage rights for all, and would vigorously oppose any attempt to regulate who consenting adults can love and how they can love each other. I also believe the full faith and credit clause of the US Constitution demands that NC recognize marriages certified in other states.
Part of equal protection under the law means all crimes of violence should be prosecuted with equal vigor, regardless of the victim or the motive behind the crime.
10) Do you support women’s reproductive rights, including the “right to choose” as set out by the U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade? Given that North Carolina has the ninth highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation, do you support medically accurate sex education that includes information about birth control?
Yes. Abortion is another issue where my choice is to be pro-life but I know better than to try to enforce that view on others and expect it to work. The current abstinence-only sex education policy in NC is absurd.
11) Should public employees have the right to bargain collectively in North Carolina?
Yes.
12) One of the most controversial issues in this election year is illegal immigration. Recently, several N.C. countiesincluding Alamance, Johnston and Wakehave employed the 287(g) program, which streamlines local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement. What is your assessment of the success, or failure, of these programs?
I would love to kick ICE out of NC. Immigration is what makes America great. That doesn’t change depending on skin color, native tongue or any other consideration. People who come here to be productive and make something for themselves and their families should be welcomed with open arms.
13) Despite the Department of Homeland Security’s finding that admitting Illegal Immigrants to college did not violate federal Immigration law, the N.C. System of Community Colleges ruled to maintain a moratorium on admitting Illegal Immigrants to degree-granting programs. How will you vote on legislative proposals to either ban, or permit, Illegal Immigrants attending college In North Carolina?
The problem is not with illegal immigrants. The problem is with offering NC taxpayer benefits to non-NC residents. I’m more worried about people coming from Virginia to take advantage of this handout than I am about people from Mexico doing so. So I would restrict this benefit based on residency, not citizenship or immigration status.
