Name as it appears on the ballot: Erica D. Smith
Age: 50
Party affiliation: Democratic
Campaign website: www.ericaforus.com
Occupation & employer: former engineer, public school educator and ordained clergy member (Secondary Math Instructional Specialist, sabbatical)
Years lived in North Carolina: 30 years
1) What are the three biggest issues facing the country right now? If elected, what would be your three top legislative priorities? Please explain why.
Equality (Issue – too many inequities in society). Equal justice under the law. Equal rights for people of every color, every faith or no faith, every social stratum, every ability, every gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation, and every national origin. Equal opportunity for all to build the best lives they can, including every ability, every zip code, and every income level.
Humanity (Issue – prioritizing profit over people). As Gandhi observed, “A nation is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable members.” Using different words but with the same heart, Jesus said “What you have done for one of the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you have done for me.” My country’s soul is too great for it to be as inhumane as it so often is today. Our better angels teach us that healthcare is a human right; that equal pay for equal work is simple fairness; that access to a good and affordable education is one of the greatest civil rights tools of the 21st century (Nelson Mandela); that people seeking asylum don’t belong in cages; that all God’s children should have a basic right to clean air, water and an environment that does not elevate profit by promoting pollution; and childhood nutrition and nurturing childhood environments that enable students to participate in their educations fully, is simple decency for a democratic society.
Prosperity (Issue – a plague of poverty perpetuated by corporate greed and governmental abdication). Society isn’t a tool of economics; in fact, quite the opposite: economics is a tool of society. The only guarantor of a healthy society is economic opportunity for all, according only to our innate abilities. To experience satisfaction, we all need the opportunity for meaningful work, fairly paid a livable wage, and stable enough to enable us to realistically dream of a better future for ourselves and our children and to work to reach that future. Too many Americans today grow up and remain trapped in ‘job deserts,’ both urban and rural. We know how to promote economic development that creates and maintains good paying jobs. We only need the will to roll up our sleeves and do it.
These three broad priorities encompass a number of more immediate goals too numerous to detail here, but laid out in my campaign’s “Six Point Platform for Progress” (https://ericaforus.org/platform-for-progress). Of note: I am the only candidate in this contest who has released a comprehensive progressive platform such as this.
Economic Justice Rural/urban infrastructure development and Main Street revitalization. Refresh education policy to ensure equal access and graduates who are job-ready. Equal pay for equal work. Raise the minimum wage to $15 and index it. Support and enhance workers’ right to organize.
Access to Equitable Healthcare, including Medicare, unleashing Medicare’s ability to negotiate prescription drug prices, full access to all aspects of women’s reproductive healthcare and preventive care, and no exclusion of pre-existing conditions. Additionally, new healthcare expansion initiatives must strengthen rural and urban hospitals, provide for training of the added healthcare workers that will be required, address community health issues including food deserts, gun violence, environmental health, and recreational opportunity.
Environmental Stewardship: Our state and nation are rich with agriculture, eco-tourism, natural resources, including mountains, beautiful lakes, rivers, streams and coastal beaches. I support environmentally responsible growth that harnesses these resources toward promoting clean energy initiatives, fishing and wildlife protections as well as our state’s number 1 industry “farming”. I support solar and wind energy installations, broadband expansion and environmental justice for land owners.
Educational Equity: Fight for equitable funding of public education across rich and poor communities alike, and re-tool for a multidisciplinary ‘whole-child’ curriculum that promotes problem-based learning over high stakes testing, career and college readiness, and K-12 workforce connected curriculum, increasing funding and programs for birth to 3 learning opportunities. Make community colleges as affordable as possible to enhance their role in workforce training.
Equal Justice – Criminal Justice Reform: Reinstate Section V of the 1965 Civil Rights Act. Legalize marijuana and restructure sentencing of non-violent, low-level drug offenders. Press for no-money bonds for misdemeanors and low-level felonies. Legislate school discipline policies enhancing the nondiscrimination protections of Title IV and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
Re-engineering Policies for Optimization and Opportunity Utilize the tax code and other tools to promote equitable numbers of affordable housing units in new urban/suburban developments, and incentives to address rural housing shortages. Repeal of the 2018 TCJA; Immigration Reform, Gender Pay, etc.)
2) Given how polarized—and paralyzed—Congress seems to be, why do you believe you would be effective at advancing those priorities? What in your background as a public official or private citizen should give us faith that you can help break through the gridlock?
I will break through the gridlock by employing the tools I have gained as the most experienced policymaker in this race, who is the only one not beholden to special interest, dark money or anyone other than my boss – the voters of North Carolina. Through coalition building, promoting a unified vision and effecting a politics of fusion I will carry the voices and values of NC to Washington DC. I am the only candidate who took the End Citizens United no corporate PAC pledge and have honored it in full. In my first session as a NC State Senator, I was freshman legislator of the year, as a black woman, in the Minority Party in a Republican supermajority. This was done through hard-work, consensus building, advocacy and putting constituents first. Because this campaign is people-powered, we have the freedom to remain unbought, unbossed and beholden only to the citizens of NC. My politics of inclusion and representative democracy is embraced by my campaign slogan – One of Us for All of US. Despite being outraised, outresourced and steep odds, we remain the frontrunner in 7 of 9 polls conducted since this race began – we will represent from background of work, not wealth; results not rhetoric.
3) As we write this, the Senate is holding a trial over the impeachment of Donald Trump. Based on the evidence you have heard thus far, would you vote to convict Trump on charges of abuse of office and obstruction of Congress and remove him from the presidency? Why or why not? Please explain.
Tar Heel voters deserve a Senator who won’t waffle when the defense of our Constitution is on the line. On December 18th, the House voted to impeach President Trump on two Articles.
Next Mr. Trump’s case came before the Senate. There I would have done what all Senators are sworn to do: withhold judgement until all the facts were considered and deliberated, and any new witnesses and evidence had been heard. If Mr. Trump had mounted an honest, compelling, and substantiated defense of his actions, I would have been eager to hear and deliberate it with my colleagues. But since he didn’t, couldn’t and would not cooperate by threatening to revoke executive privilege, the only evidence remained the standing of the same factual evidence assembled by the House and new facts that have come to light since the House voted in favor of the two Articles of Impeachment, then it is indeed hard for me to see how the jurors could have arrived at an honest conclusion other than the same one the majority of the House did: that the President should be removed from office for his high crimes and misdemeanors.
4) Days ago, news reports surfaced that former national security adviser John Bolton says Trump told him that aid to Ukraine was directly linked to an investigation into his political adversaries. Democrats want to subpoena him to testify. Trump and some Republicans, including Thom Tillis, have countered that the House should have called witnesses during its inquiry and doing so now is not the Senate’s job. Do you believe the Senate should seek out more documents and testimony before reaching a verdict?
Yes, the Senate should seek out more documents and testimony before reaching a verdict for two reasons:
*First, the impeachment process is political in nature, not legal. The House was not a traditional grand jury and the Senate is not a traditional jury trial. The traditions and norms of a court of law apply to neither. Given that, new documents and testimony are not only allowed, but they are demanded as the Senators should take advantage of all available information to help protect the integrity of our Constitution regardless of if the information was presented and discussed in the House.
*Second, the John Bolton revelation came after the House had concluded and voted to charge on the two Articles of Impeachment. The importance and credibility of this information requires that the Senate hear this ‘new evidence’ for the purpose of investigating the alleged crimes by the Trump Administration.
5) The president recently claimed that Republicans will protect pre-existing conditions, yet his Department of Justice is right now pursuing a case to wipe out the Affordable Care Act, including the pre-existing-conditions protections. Some Democratic presidential hopefuls, meanwhile, are campaigning on a pledge to end private insurance and enact a single-payer, Medicare-for-all-type system, while others want to keep the ACA and add to it a public option. Given political realities, what do you believe is the best path forward on health care?
America’s healthcare system is broken, and there is much hard work to do to make it equitable. The first step in that direction is universal health insurance. At the same time, we need to make substantial new investments in recruiting, educating, and supporting healthcare workers whose services are in particularly inadequate supply or are inadequately compensated, from primary care physicians and nurses to paramedics, home healthcare workers, and long-term caregivers. We need to bring long-term care and mental health care fully under the umbrella of insured healthcare for all Americans. We need to free physicians from their current roles as gatekeepers and bookkeepers to make careers in medicine attractive again. We need to support and rebuild rural healthcare delivery and rural hospitals to reverse the ‘healthcare desert’ that rural America has become. And we need to reduce the cost of healthcare by eliminating middlemen who add little or no value, and by negotiating prescription drug prices with manufacturers. The ACA was a good start that has been gutted by this administration and is not sustainable. We must move toward an improved medical/healthcare for all, that allows individuals to keep their providers, include long term and assisted living care, vision, dental, hearing aids, affordable prescriptions and no limitations on pre-existing conditions.
6) The administration has rolled back a number of regulations aimed at mitigating climate pollution and pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Several leading Democrats have embraced (as a framework) a Green New Deal that would reorient the economy around sustainable energy. Given that climate scientists believe the world has a short window to avert global catastrophe, what steps do you believe the next Congress should take to address the climate crisis?
As an engineer I believe in science, and the science is settled: man-made climate change is a clear and present danger to our civilization. If there’s any good news in that, it is this: a meaningful response to this threat, of the required magnitude, will create enormous opportunities in green jobs promoting economic development through the required switch to carbon-free sustainable energy and efficient transportation systems. America can and should lead the world in this revitalization of both our planet and our economy. At one time we did, but we have lost that lead thanks to today’s monetization of science denial. We can lead again, and we must.
Steps the next Congress should take must include restoration of important initiatives that have been neglected or gutted during the Trump administration, including efficient mass and long-distance transit development, energy efficiency standards, the switch to non-polluting renewable solar and wind energy generation, and full participation in global initiatives such as the Paris Climate Accords. Then we must do even more by generously funding climate remediation research to make America the innovation leader in this field, and embrace the tremendous potential for economic development by creating millions of good-paying ‘green’ jobs to accomplish all these goals.
7) As of 2019, nearly 45 million Americans owe more than $1.5 trillion in student-loan debt, which experts say is preventing young people from buying homes, starting businesses, or starting families. Some Democrats have proposed forgiving all or some student loan debt and/or making some or all college free. What steps do you believe Congress should take, if any, to address student-loan debt and the cost of college education?
As an educator, I am deeply concerned about college affordability and today’s crippling levels of student debt. In some cases, the Department of Education already has the tools it needs to address some aspects of the problem. One example would be more stringent oversight and regulation of for-profit ‘universities.’ Another would be using the power of the purse of the Department of Health and Human Services (home to the largest funder of university research, the National Institutes of Health or NIH) to more wisely negotiate the steep ‘indirect costs’ universities ask for in research grants. These are costs unrelated to the actual cost of research, covering instead a myriad of unrelated university expenses. Tuitions vary widely among universities, and the equity of a particular university’s tuition level (relative to its other available resources, such as endowment and state appropriations) should be a consideration in negotiating its indirect cost rate with NIH. This would provide the most expensive major universities with powerful incentives to adjust their tuition rates and needs-based scholarship awards in ways favorable to reducing student debt. Having implemented four and five-year tuition lock-in rates in NC’s University system schools, I have witnessed firsthand the predictability and certainty that better enables students and their families to plan for tuition throughout matriculation. Finally, we must re-evaluate certain federal student loan programs that limit student loan eligibility based on the socioeconomic status of their parents.
Other college affordability issues may require new legislation (and/or appropriations) to address. Community college should be extremely affordable, and this may require state/federal cooperation in appropriations and legislation to fully achieve. We may also need new laws to enable the federal government to offer meaningful reduction of existing college load debt to current overburdened graduates.
8) President Trump’s signature legislative achievement is the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a regressive, deficit-funded tax overhaul that largely benefited the wealthy while, experts say, producing a positive but small effect on GDP. Given the rising deficit (see no. 9), do you believe the TCJA should be repealed? Do you believe Congress pass more tax cuts? If so, how should they be targeted? Or do you think Congress should raise taxes? What form of tax hikes would you prefer: Capital gains? A wealth tax? Income tax? Something else? Please explain.
Yes. The TCJA of 2018 should be repealed. For the first time in our nation, the wealthiest 400 families paid less in taxes than 50% of working Americans. Something is very wrong with that! The only fair system of taxation is a progressive taxation, in which the wealthy are taxed at a higher rate than are the poor. While our system today is progressive in the sense that it is not a ‘flat tax,’ I do not believe that the ‘slope’ of our current system is fair. That is to say, the wealthy do not today pay anything like the amount of income tax that would be in keeping with the benefits they enjoy from the system of government that our taxes finance, while the middle class and working poor pay more than they receive in benefit. We must raise the highest tax rates to an equitable level, repeal tax code provisions that allow the wealthy lucrative tax shelters and deductions not available to the middle class or the poor, and treat capital gains more like we treat personal income for tax purposes. Additionally, for so long as our courts insist that “corporations are people,” then corporations should pay the same tax rates that people do.
9) The Congressional Budget Office says that the deficit will exceed $1 trillion in 2020, though the economy has been growing for a decade. To what degree does the deficit concern you? What steps do you believe Congress should take to reduce the deficit, if any? Would you be willing to cut Medicare or Social Security? If you believe Congress should spend more on climate change or health care, do you worry about expanding the deficit further? If you believe Congress should cut taxes, how would you pay for it?
I am in favor of changing some of the ways we invest government revenues to enable a more humane and wise investment strategy:
- Military defense currently accounts for almost 20% of our budget, while other needs equally critical to our security (such as climate remediation and carbon reduction) go begging. I believe we can achieve substantial savings in defense expenditures by modernizing the way we solicit, manage, and pay for defense contracts, which will free up revenues for such additional critical needs while still retaining (or perhaps I should say re-gaining) our stature as the world’s most powerful and reliable defender of peace and security.
- Similarly, today Medicare pays far too much for prescription drugs (as do private insurers and individuals, as well) because we do not use Medicare/Medicaid’s potent power of the purse to negotiate equitable drug prices with suppliers. Ironically, this is one of the few areas in which ‘free market’ evangelists do not support negotiation of prices between buyers and sellers. Negotiating down predatory drug prices without harm to our pharmaceutical industry’s power of innovation will free up much-needed revenues to help pay for universal healthcare coverage.
- Our ‘corporate welfare’ system diverts far too many of our precious financial resources to those who least need it. A classic example is agricultural subsidies to huge and highly profitable agribusiness interests like Archer Daniels Midland. Estimates of the scale of corporate welfare vary, but all fall in the range of hundreds of billions of dollars per year. We need legislators who, because they are not in the pockets of these welfare-dependent industries, will be unafraid to address this chronic problem. The revenues this will free up can be much better spent on targeted and effective economic development programs to create more and better good-paying jobs, significant measures for addressing climate change
10) In January, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, though its status is in legal limbo. Supporters argue that the five states that have rescinded their previous ratification of the amendment had no right to do so, and that a ratification-deadline provision is unconstitutional. The first question is likely headed to federal courts, but ERA supporters say they’ll ask Congress to rescind the deadline. Do you support the ERA? If elected, would you vote to rescind the deadline Congress set almost 50 years ago?
Yes, I support the ERA. I have been the Primary Sponsor of ERA bill in all three sessions I have served in the NCGA. I am the 2018 Senator of the Year by the NC ERA Coalition and the United Nations Women, Woman of Political Influence 2019 for my work championing this cause among so many as it relates to equity, opportunity and equal pay/rights for women.
Yes, I would absolutely vote to rescind the deadline. Yes. In every session I have sponsored legislation in promotion of ratification of the ERA. In 2019, I was the lead Primary Sponsor of Senate Bill 184 (NC Adopt Equal Rights Amendment).
The new decade ushers in the 100th Anniversary of women’s suffrage. While we celebrate, the fight for women’s equality is not over.
We need to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) by approving it in North Carolina, becoming the 38th and final state needed to do so. Despite widespread support for this measure, the Bible Belt states of the South have not joined the fight for equal rights. NC is one of only fifteen states that has not ratified the ERA, and that puts our female citizens at a disadvantage. The responsibility is on our shoulders, as lawmakers, to advocate for this to change, and I have done so in every policy making body I have served in since becoming an elected official in 2008, as well as in undergraduate, community, graduate and grassroots leadership my entire life. Ratification of the ERA would not only positively impact women, it would strengthen our economy, our communities, and every citizen within them. It is the right choice to improve the future of our state and nation and it further demonstrates the values we hold dear to our hearts– equality, economic opportunity, and justice.
11) In the last year, several states have passed laws challenging Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood, including some that would effectively ban abortion. What do you believe Congress can or should do to protect abortion rights?
With the rise of back door attempts at overturning Roe v. Wade across several state legislatures – I believe that it is imperative for Congress to enact federal protection of women’s rights to reproductive healthcare and access to abortion. It is patently clear that one branch of government, specifically the legislatures of Ohio, Alabama, Missouri and even my home state of North Carolina have factions pushing to overturn the longstanding precedent of Roe vs. Wade, despite the conservative leaning of the United States Supreme Court. It is time for federal codification of Women’s Access to Reproductive Healthcare. I support Senator Warren’s proposal for advancing federal law to protect access. This federal law should prohibit states from the following:
- imposing restrictive policies for abortion providers,
- limiting medications or treatment options,
- increasing wait times and other restrictive policies for abortion
- requiring unnecessary authorizations for women to access treatment,
- defunding Planned Parenthood and Community Health Centers who provide access to care.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s suggestion on revisiting the Hyde Amendment that restricts federal funding; Senator Corey Booker’s proposal that essentially codifies Roe vs Wade and establishes an Office of Reproductive Freedom; and Senator Kamala Harris’s pre-clearance proposal similar to DOJ approval requirements in Section V of the VRA are all provisions that I would want to see in a federal policy protecting reproductive healthcare access.
When it comes to equal access, protection, opportunity, and pay for women- in addition to inclusion, political representation, and equity – our nation has not lived out the “true meaning of its creed”. If all are indeed “created equal” and endowed by the Creator with the inalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, why then are women all over the country having to protest for the liberty to make Pro-Life CHOICES in the midst of oppressive systems that continue to devalue and obstruct our pursuit to live? The time is now – Women must affirm their right to make Pro-Life CHOICES about their wombs, must demand equal pay for their equal work, and must advocate for inclusive equity within the walls of Congress, Corporate and Commerce! As we approach the centennial celebration of our Right to Vote and eligibility to serve in elected office, we must fight even more to not turn back one tick of the hands of time!
12) Last year, after Congress refused to grant President Trump funds to build a border wall, the president declared a national emergency and diverted funding from the military toward that purpose. Do you believe such a declaration was justified and a wall is necessary? More broadly, do you believe the president’s immigration policies have been beneficial?
The diversion of $80.1 million dollars from Fort Bragg (the largest Army installation in the nation) and Camp Lejeune for a hospital and school for military families and service men and women was an unwarranted diversion of funds for an ornamental border wall. Further, the declaration of a national emergency was unwarranted and unwise – but expected by a renegade and rogue Commander in Chief left unrestrained by
- Defense of DACA. In my service as a state senator I have already demonstrated my support for DACA recipients through my sponsorship of 2019 Senate Bill 615 (“DACA Recipients In-State Tuition”). But so much more remains to be done for these innocent and eager would-be citizens that can only be accomplished at the federal level.
- A clear and equitable pathway to citizenship for current undocumented immigrants who have proven themselves to be responsible and contributing members of our society.
- Border security (not Trump’s ornamental wall!) implemented hand-in-hand with humane immigration and refugee policies and quotas that incentivize legal entry to our country by those who seek a better life and offer their boundless energy to this nation – a nation built (and still being built) by immigrants, refugees, and their offspring – that is to say, nearly all of us.
As we work toward these admittedly challenging goals, near-term measures needed to better humanize our treatment of current undocumented immigrants consist, first, of systematically reversing each and every one of the President’s heartless and destructive new DHS policies and procedures. Comprehensive congressional investigation is called for to thoroughly document the disaster of our government’s recent and current family separation activities, with the goal of guiding legislation and appropriations to reverse as much of the damage as possible, and to insure our nation can never take this same inhuman course again. Additionally, on both moral and public health grounds, we must extend Obamacare (and universal health insurance when it becomes available) to include immigrants both documented and undocumented.
The Department of Homeland Security has, over the past three years, proven itself to be vulnerable to being hijacked by despots and xenophobes. New legislation is required to ensure that can never happen again.
13) In January, the president ordered a military strike that killed an Iranian commander inside of Iraq, leading to the Iraqi Parliament calling for the expulsion of American troops from Iraq, ratcheting up tensions with Iran, and straining U.S. alliances with some European allies. Do you believe the president had an obligation to inform Congress before such a strike? Do you believe the decision to launch an attack on the Iranian general was wise?
President Trump’s actions lack the foundation of transparency. Time and time again, the American people have been led down the garden path through the distraction and dishonesty of our current president. Unfortunately, ‘alternative facts’ have become the norm from President Trump and key members of his administration. Now we are told, without evidence, that an “imminent” threat against American interests was the impetus for the mission to kill Iranian General Quasem Soleimani. But there are too many documented instances of deception, distraction, and denial from this president. So what are we to believe?
The lives of Americans around the globe and, more directly, the lives of our troops overseas, now hang in the balance. President Trump’s decision to not notify the ‘Gang of 8’ about the pending the mission belies his absolute disdain for the separation of powers created in the US Constitution.
Gen. Soleimani was an evil-doer. We all know that. But President Trump’s impetuosity in his unilateral and uncollaborative action have single-handedly risked the destabilization of our allies, our interests, our economy, and our lives. Our allies, without prior notice, are now forced to scramble to de-escalate a potential geopolitical crisis that could lead to war. Our national and international interests in the region and around the world are now thrown into a state of confusion, with Russia the potential beneficiary. The price of crude oil has spiked, and the dollar has dropped to its lowest value in nine years. And President Trump’s impulsive conduct has now put our troops in jeopardy of retaliatory attacks.
President Trump’s actions continue to represent a clear and present danger to the security of our nation. The House has already acted, with his impeachment. Now, the US Senate needs to move forward with his removal hearing, with clear rules of evidence and witnesses, as have been provided with every other Senate impeachment trial in our nation’s history.
14) In general, what are your views on American foreign policy under the Trump administration? Do you believe it has been beneficial, or have Trump’s decisions—including exiting the Iran and Paris agreements and enacting tariffs on China and other countries—harmed America’s national interests?
Regarding US international relations, I am most concerned by the loss of our honor, and the loss of the world’s confidence in America since President Trump took office. America has (at least more often than not) rightly been viewed as a reliable partner and protector of democracy, peace and stability since the close of World War I. Our nation’s unparalleled wealth and love of freedom naturally suits us to the role of a Democratic Republic that promotes goodwill and freedom across the globe. Once we have restored our decency at home through the electoral process, we will face an enormous task in rebuilding the world’s trust in our support.
I am concerned about the US being led into another war because of President Trump’s impetuosity in his unilateral and uncollaborative action of ordering Iranian attacks in the assassination of General Quasem Soleimani. His actions risk the destabilization of our allies, our interests, our economy, and our lives. Our allies, without prior notice, are now forced to scramble to de-escalate a potential geopolitical crisis that could lead to war. Our national and international interests in the region and around the world are now thrown into a state of confusion, with Russia the potential beneficiary.
Between Ukraine-gate, Russian ties, trade tariffs, and threat of another war, our country has an extraordinary challenge in restoring our international relationships and diplomacy. Our recent retirement from the world stage, further complicated by the current administration’s love affair with tyrants and despots, has left a vacuum in the world’s power structure into which other, far less noble nations are rushing to fill. This gravely threatens international peace. Resuming our rightful position will require tremendous diplomatic, economic, and political initiatives, and will not happen overnight. But it is absolutely essential.
15) Polls indicate that a narrow majority of Americans approve of President Trump’s handling of the economy, though a broad majority also disapproves of his performance generally. This is often attributed to the president’s crass language, mendaciousness, and erratic behavior, both on Twitter and in rallies. Regardless of whether you support the president’s policies, do you believe he is a good role model or an honorable person?
President Trump has not been a good role model, and quite frankly, the worst representation of all that we hold honorable in the office. He has defaced the Office of the Presidency. His conduct has been divisive, disrespectful, indecent and denigrating towards defenseless private citizens, child advocates, deceased congresspersons, and a congressman’s district, unbecoming of the Commander In Chief of the strongest country in the free world.