Name: Sophia Chitlik
Age: 36
Party affiliation: Democrat
Campaign website: https://sophiafornc.com/
Occupation and employer: Self-Employed, Fractional COO, currently working on policy full-time
1. What in your background qualifies you to represent the people of your North Carolina district effectively? What would you cite as your biggest career accomplishment?
I’m asking constituents for another term in the Senate because I have proven myself to be one of the most effective freshman Democrats in the legislature, and the only one to get anything signed into law all year. I encourage voters to read my annual report for a full rundown of my first year in office and to review a summary of results on my website to learn more about how I’ve been working to implement the Platform of Care I ran on in 2024.
Despite impossible circumstances in the legislature – a Republican supermajority, a fiscal cliff, and no state budget – our delegation has worked together to secure $6M in funding for Chantal survivors and millions more for NCCU and Durham Tech. I’ve raised tens of thousands of dollars both for the Senate Democratic Caucus and for local non-profits doing the work on the ground. I’ve been an effective and accessible advocate for Durham residents, personally answering over 1,500 constituent emails and successfully assisting over 100 constituents with everything from immigration issues to TANF delays to DMV appointments.
My background as an operator, facilitator, and strategic planning consultant has given me the foundation to respond effectively in challenging environments. It has made me a strong and effective communicator, and I’ve worked to demystify the legislature and state policy in real time through over 60 explainer videos on social media. It has also made me an effective coalition and relationship builder, able to hold Republicans accountable while still working with them on childcare, disaster relief, and higher education (I am the freshman Democratic legislator who has introduced the most bipartisan bills this biennium).
Before joining the legislature, I served as a board member, pro-bono consultant, and fractional Chief Operating Officer for dozens of community-based organizations. I’ve helped to raise millions of dollars throughout my career for nonprofits, candidates, and start-ups, and have been accountable for eight-figure budgets and large teams.
1. Flipping Virginia Blue for Barack Obama. I started my career as a field organizer on the Obama Campaign in Loudoun County, Virginia. Along with thousands of volunteers, we worked tirelessly to turn the bellwether county blue for the first time, a +10 point shift from the previous election in 2004. That change was permanent because of the incredible community leaders who continued to
organize long after the campaign ended. Leaders make more leaders, and I helped to do that in Virginia.
2. Launching, investing in, and supporting dozens of women-led organizations: Women receive less than 3% of venture capital investment, and BIPOC entrepreneurs receive less than 1%; it is not a meritocracy. I’ve supported dozens of underrepresented social entrepreneurs in finding their confidence and building their companies. Whether it’s an early women’s health investment maturing and scaling or a non-profit that almost didn’t make it but has now experienced 30% year-over-year growth for five consecutive years, these companies are stronger today, and I’m grateful to have been a contributor to that process.
3. Building and sustaining a broad, multiracial coalition to be elected to the State Senate: In 2024, we built a strong coalition anchored in shared values and a shared Platform of Care that centered our families, children, and caregivers. That multiracial, multiethnic coalition delivered a decisive 15-point margin of victory over a six-term incumbent in the 2024 primaries. Since then, I’ve worked to deepen and grow that progressive coalition through care, positivity, and collaboration. The repeat endorsements of The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, The Durham People’s Alliance, The Sunrise Movement, The Sierra Club, and Planned Parenthood confirm that this coalition is built to last and to co-govern.
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?
I believe that the top three issues facing our legislature for the 2027 biennium are preserving democracy, reducing childhood poverty, and restoring public education. For the 2026 short session, it is most certainly safeguarding Medicaid and Medicaid expansion, stabilizing the childcare industry, and protecting North Carolinians from the Federal government. Fiscal policy is the underlying theme and will be a central topic in both sessions.
Preserving Our Democracy
President Trump is trying to turn our democracy into an authoritarian regime, and state legislatures are a critical line of defense for our republic. We must resist becoming a rubber stamp for family separation, power grabs, and billionaire wishlists. When DOGE was taking over Washington, NC Republicans introduced the DAVE Act – an effort to eliminate thousands of state employee jobs. When ICE was given unprecedented dollars, our legislature passed S153 and H318, even overturning the Governor’s vetoes of these damaging bills.
I fought back against these and other damaging bills on the floor and in committee. But fighting back isn’t enough – we need to legislate proactive safeguards. We need to safeguard against gerrymandering, which I address in the following question. We need to safeguard against ICE and CBP, which is why I’m working with my colleagues and advocates to author and advocate for the MELT (Making Enforcement Liable and Transparent) Act, which we will introduce as soon as we
are legally able. This bill will ensure officers are unmasked and identifiable; block immigration detentions at religious institutions, hospitals, and schools; and empower individuals to sue for violations.
We need to safeguard against cuts to Federal employees that disproportionately impact Black women with every legal tool at our disposal. And lastly, we need to protect scientific research from cuts that would undermine our regional economy. That’s why, for the short session, I’m working on a bill that expands Representative Hawkin’s vision of a statewide NIH to bolster critical research and innovation.
Reducing Childhood Poverty
In North Carolina, 40% of all children live in poverty. This is a disgrace and a policy choice. Especially in the age of Trump, we need a new social contract with the state government that covers basic needs, makes childcare affordable and accessible, and ensures universal healthcare coverage (see question 5 for more on these).
One of the most effective ways to lift children out of poverty is to put transformative capital in the hands of working families through tax credits. North Carolina is one of only 19 states without a state-level Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Tax Credit. That’s why I was a co-sponsor of the Reenact EITC Act (S304), which would provide up to $800 in tax credits for families. I am also the first primary sponsor of a bill to reenact the child tax credit (S641), which would provide families with $1,600 to $1,900 per child, offering life-changing financial support.
Many families face the dual burden of caring for their children and their elders, which is why I am a co-sponsor of the Age With Dignity Act (S436), which would create tax credits of up to $15,000 for families with Annual Gross Incomes of up to $150,000 to offset the burden of caregiving. With changes to our fiscal policy (covered in the following question), we could easily afford these investments in children and families.
Restoring Public Education
I spent almost a decade working in education nonprofits, so I know the impact of investing in our children’s education and the devastating consequences of neglecting these investments. That’s why I’m so proud to sit on the Education & Higher Education and the Education & Higher Education Appropriations Committee, where I have introduced legislation to put on-site childcare at our community colleges and universities, and co-sponsored legislation to invest $100M in infrastructure upgrades for North Carolina Central University (S496). For twelve years, the Republican-led legislature has been dismantling public education by defunding our public schools. The current voucher program is an existential threat to our public schools, which is why I introduced a bill to impose a moratorium on it (S439). I also introduced first of its kind legislation to end authorizations for chronically low-performing charter schools, most of which have failed students since their inception (S371).
I believe in eliminating the current cap on funding for students with disabilities and English Language Learners and fully funding Leandro so that every student has access to a high-quality public education. I’m a member of the IDD Caucus and a strong supporter of all students. I am also a strong supporter of teachers, staff, and state employees, who deserve raises and recognition for their work (more on that in question 8).
3. North Carolina expanded Medicaid two years ago. However, federal budget cuts now threaten the program due to a state “trigger law” that ends expansion if federal support drops below 90%. How would you address Medicaid funding to maintain coverage for the millions of North Carolinians enrolled?
It was a dereliction of duty for the legislature to adjourn in 2025 without fully funding Medicaid rebase. Medicaid has immense bipartisan support, and it is particularly critical in many rural areas represented by my Republican colleagues. Because of the gerrymandered supermajority, we had no leverage in the Senate to bring our colleagues back to the table, leaving patients and providers in an absolute panic. I’ve been on the frontlines of advocating for fully funding Medicaid, meeting with impacted constituents and providers, working with health systems, collaborating with the Governor’s office, and lobbying my colleagues to try to get a “clean bill” passed to fund Medicaid.
Medicaid and Medicaid expansion cannot be safeguarded without tackling the dual, manmade fiscal crises we face: massive Federal cuts and uncertainty, and a state tax policy that burdens working families while corporations and the wealthy pay almost nothing. We will need billions of dollars to shore up the system – and the only way to do so is to implement a reasonable tax policy.
We need to restore both corporate and personal income tax rates to 2015 levels. In 2015, the state income tax was 5%, and businesses were still flocking to our state. We are losing over $2B a year in revenue annually – enough to fully fund Medicaid expansion. That’s why I am also a co-sponsor of the Make Corporations Pay What They Owe Act (S233), which would reinstate corporate income tax in our state, which is set to reach zero by 2030.
I will continue to fight for Medicaid, a literal lifeline for almost 80,000 people in Durham County, regardless of Federal uncertainty. Medicaid expansion is particularly critical for health equity – 38% of new enrollees are Black (compared to 20% of North Carolina’s population).
4. The General Assembly has recently passed legislation limiting local control over zoning and development standards to address housing shortages. Do you support the legislature’s approach of limiting local zoning authority to increase housing supply, or should municipalities retain greater autonomy over land use decisions?
Durham is one of North Carolina’s biggest economic engines, but Republicans in Raleigh won’t let us govern ourselves.
The Republican legislature has stripped away our ability to make basic decisions about our own community, especially on zoning and affordable housing. These preemptions aren’t just bureaucratic overreach; they’re attacks on local democracy that prevent Durham from controlling our own development.
We need more local control, not less. That’s why I’ve fought in the legislature to restore power to counties and municipalities, advance anti-gentrification policies, and expand community-controlled affordable housing.
This session, I cosponsored legislation to repeal the downzoning ban that ties our hands (S134 and S419), and I’m fighting to legalize inclusionary zoning (S134), which would finally give our City Council the power to require developers to include affordable units in new projects.
Durham deserves the right to shape our own future.
5. How would you address the rising costs of housing, child care, and basic necessities facing North Carolina families?
Housing:
We need massive investments in social housing, which is not possible given the current Federal administration. Until that shifts, there is still a great deal that we CAN do, which is why this session, I’ve worked on legislation to:
– Keep long-term residents in their homes: I am the primary sponsor of the Elderly Property Tax Appreciation Exclusion Act (S159), which would help elderly property owners defer rising property taxes until after they pass. I am also a co-sponsor of the Working Families Act (S780), which would create property tax limits based on income.
– Expand homeownership assistance: Also in the Working Families Act is a program to help essential workers buy homes where they work, including teachers and veterans. We need to provide state funding to help more people buy a home, build wealth, and stay rooted in the communities that they built.
– Increase statewide resources for affordable housing: I am a co-sponsor of the Create the Department of Housing and Community Development Act (S324), which would create a state-level agency to invest in housing and community development projects in our state with a $30M appropriation.
– Protect and expand the rights of renters: I am a primary sponsor of the Eviction Record Expunction Act (S569), which would limit the denial of rental applications based on past evictions. I support a Tenant’s Bill of Rights to create more power for renters. I have also stood up for IOLTA funding (much of which goes to provide legal aid to those experiencing housing discrimination and insecurity), voting against its elimination repeatedly.
Childcare:
Until I arrived in the legislature, childcare was on a lot of people’s top three lists– but it was no one’s number one. This year, I co-authored our Caucus’ Childcare Omnibus, which includes eight
bills addressing every part of the childcare crisis (S281, S592, S593, S594, S677, S678, S680, S712).
Childcare is an issue of affordability, education, upward mobility, and equity – especially for women and women of color, who are disproportionately paying more for childcare and dropping out of the workforce when childcare falls through. The cost of childcare has risen 30% since COVID, surpassing the annual cost of housing for many families. That’s why I’ve championed interventions, which have been drawn directly from what Durham’s childcare providers, advocates, education experts, and business leaders have told me they need, including:
– Advocating for higher wages for the childcare workforce. Women, and especially women of color, are overrepresented in the childcare workforce, earning poverty wages (the median $13.71/hour in NC) while providing essential care that drives the entire economy. I introduced the Essential Relief for Childcare Act (S281), which would have continued COVID-era subsidies for providers, raising workers’ wages to around $18 per hour. I introduced the Care Center Cost Support Act (S594), which finally and meaningfully increases state childcare subsidy rates, giving providers a real chance to increase wages.
– Investing directly in minority-owned small childcare businesses. I’ve been working to develop and acculturate the idea of the nation’s first Childcare Finance Agency (S680), which would leverage $10M in state funds to generate $90M more in private and philanthropic capital, specifically designed to help proven local providers — over 50% of whom are BIPOC women entrepreneurs — to scale. The Agency would offer training, capital, and connections, providing a real avenue to wealth-building without taking any equity. The SOS for Childcare Act (S677) would use surplus state-owned buildings for childcare centers, allowing childcare entrepreneurs to lower costs.
– Improving access to high-quality, affordable childcare. I introduced the Onsite Childcare for State Employees Act (S678), which would charter three first-of-its-kind centers because our state employees are the backbone of the middle class. There is currently not a single on-site childcare center for state employees in North Carolina. I also introduced legislation to put childcare centers on our community college campuses, benefiting faculty, those seeking an education, and the surrounding communities. Most critically, I introduced several bills to increase subsidies and reduce prices and waiting times.
Basic needs:
Meaningful wages, healthcare, and access to paid leave are essentials that should be for all – but right now, they aren’t even for most.
One of the most critical basic needs is healthcare. We need to safeguard and fund Medicaid, and lower costs for the state employees’ health plan, which is a particular burden for retired state employees. We also need to tackle the crisis of Medical debt, including outlawing medical debt foreclosures, capping interest rates, and limiting predatory collection practices, as outlined in
S672, which has bipartisan support. I believe in moving toward a single-payer healthcare system, as healthcare is a right that should never have been tied to employment.
One of the reasons I ran for office was to legislate community-based solutions to the maternal mortality crisis, especially on expanding midwifery. This includes:
– Licensing Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs): I cosponsored legislation to finally legalize this qualified, critical type of midwife, which is legal in over 36 states, including every state that borders North Carolina.
– Mandating coverage for life-saving care: I cosponsored a bill that would finally require Medicaid to cover the costs of doulas (S462). I also wrote the Birth Freedom Act (S536), a first-of-its-kind bill that would expand access to birth centers and home births for hundreds of thousands of people by mandating that the state employee’s health plan adequately reimburse for planned out-of-hospital births.
– Increasing access to critical reproductive care: Reproductive justice is a critical element of birth equity; too often, these are separated at the expense of both. I am the primary sponsor of a bill to redirect crisis pregnancy center funds to actual birth centers (S247), a bill to increase funding for long-term contraceptives for those who want them (S352), and bills that codify rights to access IVF (S383) and contraception (S413).
At the intersection of public health and basic needs is paid leave, which we need to implement universally, beginning with those who need it most. I’m a primary sponsor of the NC Paid Family Leave Insurance Act (S480) and one of its primary advocates. I also introduced The Healthy Start NC Act (S456), which scales a successful local nonprofit’s work to provide cash payments during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Lastly, we need higher wages and stronger protections for workers. I fully support repealing HB-2 and the archaic limitations on municipalities so that cities and regions can set their own higher minimum wages. I have sponsored multiple bills to raise wages, especially wages for our caregivers. I am a cosponsor of a bill to raise pay for direct service providers who care for people with disabilities to $25 an hour (S239), and of multiple bills to raise wages for early childhood educators and classified staff.
6. Climate disasters are intensifying: Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina in 2024, Tropical Storm Chantal flooded the Triangle in 2025, and coastal erosion threatens the Outer Banks. With much affordable housing located in flood-prone areas and FEMA resources stretched thin, what is your plan for climate resilience and disaster relief?
Storms are increasing in frequency and severity; for example, Storm Chantal caused more damage in Old Farm and River Forest than Hurricane Florence did. We need to acknowledge the reality of climate change and tackle it with a strong environmental justice lens. I have worked closely with the Governor’s office, my colleagues in the legislature, and members of our Congressional
delegation (even Republicans!) to fight to make Chantal and Helene survivors whole, visiting neighbors, securing a $6M appropriation with our delegation, and often advocating claim by claim.
Recovery and mitigation need to address community needs, which is why I’m helping launch the Longterm Recovery Group (LTRG) for Chantal, led by local neighborhood and mutual aid leaders. My job will be to remove blockers and to advocate for the appropriations they need. I am also working to build partnerships, including with North Carolina Central University, to help us understand the “true” floodplain and to support survivors with social workers.
In the legislature, I am authoring legislation to create a state-funded mitigation program in the wake of FEMA’s collapse. We have dozens of homes that were flooded, and that will flood again, through no fault of the owners. These families deserve buyouts so they can recover some semblance of the nest egg they worked so hard to build, and so no one is put in harm’s way again and again.
One of the biggest blockers to this is the inaccuracy of our Federal flood plain maps, which dictate everything from who is eligible for mitigation funds (buyouts) to who qualifies for flood insurance. Because of climate change, these maps are grossly inaccurate. I am working on a State Emergency Management Expansion bill to mitigate Federal uncertainty and protect North Carolinians from
FEMA’s unreliability. This bill will explore options such as launching a statewide flood insurance program modeled on the NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program). Lastly, we need to invest in climate-resilient policies that protect and expand our wetlands, update our building codes, and
invest in water and sewer upgrades – all areas that Republicans have neglected or actively fought to stop, in spite of the devastating impacts on their communities and ours.
7. The General Assembly recently passed a new congressional redistricting map. This marks the state’s seventh congressional map since 2016. How do you view the most recent redistricting? And do you support independent redistricting processes, or do you believe the legislature should retain this power?
Independent redistricting is essential to enfranchising voters and upholding our constitution, and I am strongly in favor of it.
The most recent congressional redistricting was racial gerrymandering, plain and simple. I not only stood up against this power grab, but I also worked to support Texas lawmakers who were taking a stand against Presidential-ordered maps, sharing the story of the devastation caused by gerrymandering here in our state. Here is what I’ve been championing in the State Senate to safeguard and restore our democracy:
– Making judicial elections non-partisan: I cosponsored the Joe Johns Non-Partisan Judicial Elections Act (S107) because our partisan State Supreme Court is biased against Democratic regions.
– Creating fair maps and ending racial gerrymandering: I sponsored a bill to make redistricting documents public (S241) and also to create an independent redistricting commission (S638) because legislators shouldn’t choose their constituents.
– Making it easier to vote: I introduced legislation to make early registration possible for 16 and 17-year-olds (S385) and to make voter registration automatic (S45).
– Expanding who can serve: I’m working on a major electoral reform package for the short session that would eliminate conflict of interest PAC money, expand terms, impose term limits, raise legislator pay, and implement public financing of campaigns. I also introduced legislation modeled on a bipartisan Congressional bill, which would allow legislators to vote remotely postpartum (S357) – the first of its kind in the southeast.
The path to restoring our democracy runs through our courts, and we win them back by increasing turnout. I helped launch Durham Delivers in 2024, a first-of-its-kind effort in which all Democratic nominees for the Delegation, County Commission, and Congresswoman Foushee joined forces to increase turnout in Durham.
This year, the whole state is counting on Durham to deliver for Justice Earls, and I will do everything in my power to work with the Durham Dems, the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, and the Durham People’s Alliance to increase turnout across our county.
8. The General Assembly failed to pass a 2025–27 budget, leaving teachers without raises. North Carolina ranks 43rd nationally in teacher pay. How would you address teacher compensation, and what will you do to ensure a budget passes that adequately funds education?
Teachers and classified staff deserve our respect and to be compensated for their critical work. Here is what I’ve proposed so far in the legislature:
– Increasing salaries for teachers and classified staff: I’m a co-sponsor of The School Workers Fair Pay Act (S434), which raises the minimum wage for classified staff to $17 per hour – not enough, but more than the current statewide average. I am also a co-sponsor of the Investing in North Carolina Act (S659), which would appropriate funds to increase teacher salaries, create tax credits for educators, expand programs to pay early childhood educators higher wages, and provide COLA adjustments for state employees.
– Rewarding educators for their experience and expertise: I’m the cosponsor of the Restore Teacher Longevity Act (S433), which restores pay based on experience, and also of the Restore Master’s Pay for Teachers & Instructional Support Personnel Act (S435), which pays educators and staff more if they have earned costly and time-consuming degrees.
– Defending againstlegislative interference in our schools: This year, I have been one of the leading voices against discriminatory DEI bans and censorship in our schools, asking tough questions in committee, supporting advocates, and making impassioned speeches on the floor against these absurd and dangerous bills.
– Exempting education professionals from state income tax: I am the author of the Caring for Our Caregivers Act (S712), which would exempt every person who works in a school and everyone working in public safety from income taxes. This would be funded by a 0.8% increase in the income tax rate for individuals earning $1M or more.
– Increasing pay for athletic coaches across the state: I introduced the Caring for Our Coaches Act, bipartisan legislation (SB 657) with Republican Senators Eddie Settle and Todd Johnson, securing cross-chamber support and statewide engagement to establish a minimum $3,000 stipend for all coaches. We hope to include it in the state budget.
I will continue working to implement these changes through:
– Building bipartisan coalitions. No other Senate freshman has introduced more bipartisan bills than I have this year, which puts me in a strong position to work towards incremental change in the Republican majority. I also serve on the Education & Higher Education Committee, where I have been a vocal proponent of bipartisan initiatives, including removing the ELL and EC caps and expanding support and pay for school nurses and psychologists.
– Advocating regional pilots and their expansion: The legislature has had success with trying a core idea (such as increasing childcare subsidies or expanding teacher apprenticeships) first in one region, and then slowly expanding over time across the state. Given the challenges of the supermajority, I believe that we should launch these ideas regionally, based on the geography of Republican leadership and their chairs, and then scale these core tenets to Durham and beyond. – Finding alternative revenue sources: Republicans are strongly against tax increases of any kind, which is one reason why the Caring For Our Coaches Act would be funded with revenue from sports betting. I also introduced workforce development legislation that would be subsidized by philanthropy. In the current fiscal environment, we need to push creative solutions to funding public goods.
– Advocating for a responsible tax policy: As detailed in question three, we must reverse this manmade fiscal crisis by restoring both corporate and personal income tax rates to 2015 levels.
9. North Carolina currently has a 12-week abortion ban with certain exceptions. Some legislators have proposed further restrictions. Do you support the current law, do you believe access should be expanded, or would you support further restrictions?
I do not support abortion bans; medical decisions should be left in the hands of doctors, nurses, and their patients – not lawmakers.
I have always been an outspoken advocate for reproductive justice and have worked to advance that commitment and to highlight gender-affirming care, LGBTQIA+ rights, and birth equity as critical elements of it. My consistent advocacy for these principles has earned me Planned Parenthood’s endorsement this cycle and in the 2024 general election.
Reproductive justice is a critical element of birth equity; too often, these are separated at the expense of both. I am the primary sponsor of a bill to redirect crisis pregnancy center funds to actual birth centers (S247), a bill to increase funding for long-term contraceptives for those who want them (S352), and bills that codify rights to access IVF (S383) and contraception (S413).
10. Federal legislation will ban most hemp-derived THC products, like delta-8, by November 2026, threatening North Carolina’s hemp industry. Meanwhile, recreational marijuana remains illegal and medical marijuana bills have stalled. What is your position on hemp regulation and how would you address the upcoming federal ban, if at all?
I have always believed that we need to legalize, tax, and safely regulate marijuana for medical and recreational purposes. We are far behind other states and nations when it comes to legalizing cannabis, which would generate enormous tax revenue for the public benefit.
How we do this matters, which is why I’m a cosponsor of the Marijuana Justice and Reinvestment Act (S350), which would legalize cannabis and create the Office of Community Reinvestment to invest in individuals who have been most harmed by our failed drug policies. Other states generate $25B in cumulative revenue from legal cannabis sales; we are leaving money on the table. I am especially concerned about this issue and its impact on parents and families engaged with child protective services. Decriminalizing marijuana is, simply, an equity issue. We are wasting time and money on something that should be bringing in tens of millions of dollars of revenue every year – yet another area where breaking the supermajority could finally create the breakthrough we need.
The upcoming federal ban will create confusion and regulatory uncertainty for our hemp businesses and over 1,5000 hemp growers. We do need policy change, as right now, unclear labeling and sales standards put children at risk. But a federal ban on delta-8 is not an effective way to tackle this challenge. Only comprehensive regulation and taxation will produce a system that adequately keeps North Carolinians safe.
11. Gov. Josh Stein recently signed “Iryna’s Law,” which eliminates cashless bail, requires mental health evaluations for certain defendants, and attempts to restart the death penalty by requiring alternative execution methods if lethal injection is unavailable. The law also accelerates death penalty appeals. Where do you stand on the death penalty and changes made by the law?
Over 108 countries and 23 states have abolished the death penalty, and I believe North Carolina should join them. I have been advocating to end of the death penalty since I was a teenager. In addition to believing that it is wrong, I also believe our application of the death penalty is deeply inequitable. Since 1973, twelve people on death row in North Carolina have been exonerated. We also know that the death penalty is disproportionately applied to Black people, and that every year, innocent Black people are murdered by our own government.
This year, I worked to deliver my commitment. One of the very first bills I co-sponsored as your State Senator was a bill to repeal the death penalty (S94). I consistently speak out against the death penalty on the floor and on social media.
In spite of our best efforts, the Republican legislature successfully expanded the death penalty this session, bringing back even more barbaric methods like firing squads to score political points. In doing so, they also got rid of cashless bail – another way of preempting local control and punishing people who can’t afford bail or costly bonds. That’s just one of the reasons why I am so passionate about helping our Caucus to break the supermajority, which will allow us to mitigate harm and cruelty, and gain leverage to pass legislation that actually does good.
12. Tech companies are investing heavily in North Carolina data centers, bringing jobs and tax revenue but also consuming significant electricity and water resources. How should the state balance data center investment with environmental protection and community concerns?
Two things are true: ratepayers are being taken advantage of, and we need an enormous amount of energy to power the data centers currently in the pipeline. That’s why I refuse all corporate PAC money, including big tech money, and I am committed to holding these tech companies accountable. I’m working on The AI RATE (Re-Assessing Taxpayers’ Expenses) Act for the spring session, which would:
– Mandate different rates and a grid update surcharge for data centers so that they pay their fair share.
– Establish a prohibition on NDAs for data centers so that these happen with community knowledge and consent.
– Require Utilities Commission approval for customers over 100MW to create an additional regulatory layer of protection for ratepayers.
– Require industrial end users 100W and over to source 80% of their power from clean resources by 2040, and allow off-grid energy production for data centers if they source 100% of their power from clean resources.
I also believe that we need significant investment in abundant, clean energy. I support S546, which creates workforce and technological innovations to support the deployment of advanced nuclear energy, small modular reactors, and related clean energy technologies and facilities. If done equitably, this can close fossil-fuel plants, create jobs, and bring underrepresented workers into the energy sector, which is expected to continue to grow.
Lastly, we must increase competition in the market. Our current monopoly power seeks to protect its dirty fuel sources on the grid and prioritizes profit over a swift transition to the clean energy future our state deserves. The states with the most renewable power also have the most market competition, and that’s what we need here in North Carolina. The only way to build new solar and other clean energy plants is to break the monopoly. I am proud to be one of the only legislators in the General Assembly who has never taken a dollar from Duke Energy.
13. Give an example of an opinion, policy, vote, or action you changed based on constituent feedback. If you have not yet held elected office, describe a time when you changed your position on an issue after listening to those affected by it.
The most impactful policy ideas often don’t come from legislators in Raleigh; they come from people with lived experience. I see myself as a conduit for turning constituent challenges and ideas into policy.
Here are some examples of legislation I’ve introduced in partnership with Durhamites that reflect this kind of cogovernance:
– SB 657, the Keeping Our Coaches Act, would raise pay for high school athletic coaches. This idea came to me from an athletic coach, who informed me about their low stipends and statewide inequities.
– S456, the Healthy Start NC Act, would provide cash payments in pregnancy and postpartum to people receiving. Similar legislation in Michigan was brought to my attention by a local non-profit leader and community advocate. This bill was inspired by her organization’s transformative work around providing economic support during and after pregnancy.
– S586, Allergy Safe NC would put lifesaving food allergy safety requirements into practice at childcare centers. It is the result of working with parents in our district who have children with anaphylactic allergies. We are currently working together on a package of food allergy legislation to keep kids in K-12 safe.
– S680, the Comprehensive Capital for Childcare Expansion Act, would create new ways to finance and scale locally-owned childcare small businesses. A provider brought me the challenges she was facing, and this bill was developed with her input, as well as the input of dozens of finance, childcare, and philanthropy experts from across our region.
– S567, the Innovative Treatments for Mental Health Act, was inspired by a constituent who is a combat-injured marine and holistic medicine expert who shared that North Carolina veterans were having to leave the state and even the country to access evidence-based treatments for trauma they sustained in combat. This bill aims to solve that problem and provide our veterans with evidence-based psychedelic medicine.
– My maternal health package emerged from years of listening to birth workers of all backgrounds about what they need to serve their communities in the long run.
I am not a coach, a childcare provider, a non-profit founder, a combat-injured marine, or a birthworker. It’s not possible for me to have the same lived experiences as all 200,000 of District 22’s constituents; no one can do that! But what I can do is be an accessible vessel for constituents’ ideas, experiences, and challenges, and I want to do that even more effectively going forward. Durham has participatory budgeting, but we haven’t had a clear process for participatory policymaking, and I want to work with my constituents to build one for the next biennium if reelected.
For the short session, I’m working on legislation to protect our community from ICE in collaboration with local organizers, a bill to expand Veterans Recovery Court to Durham, and an electoral reform package to make public service more equitable with our Sunrise chapter. I encourage Durhamites to email me with their policy challenges and suggestions so we can get the conversation started at [email protected] with “IDEA” in the subject line.
14. Are there any issues this questionnaire has not addressed that you would like to address?
In recent years, our national politics and politics here in Durham have gone from openly contentious to downright toxic. I am hopeful that in this race and beyond, we can model what it looks like to run a civil, principled, and positive campaign, as both my opponent and I are committed to doing.
Running a kind and clean campaign isn’t showmanship – it’s part of protecting and respecting our democracy. The current environment that platforms those who engage in and normalize harassment and harmful tropes has disincentivized talented people from considering entering public life and contributed to a climate of polarization and fear. It has also made our community more divided and more vulnerable in the face of existential threats from an extremist Federal government supported by our zealous Republican legislature.
We have real enemies – and not one of them is someone Durham has voted to elect or anyone who has ever run for office in Durham. Almost all candidates on the ballot in any election here agree on a healthy majority of policies. We cannot let minor differences be our downfall. Nor can we let these differences be an excuse to employ or normalize harmful, conspiratorial tactics in an attempt to gain more views, clicks, and attention. Leave that to Republicans.
We need to focus on building power for Durham – and that means concentrating on alignment, increasing collaboration, resolving personal grievances, and uniting in the face of real threats to our values and our people. Regardless of who is elected this cycle, I call on Durham to turn down the temperature, work in partnership and good faith with our post-primary nominees, and be gracious to one another.