The list of names says it all. Speaker Jim Black. Representative Thomas Wright. Representative Mike Decker. Judge Gary Balance. Congressman Frank Balance. Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps. Politicians who only look out for themselves have betrayed North Carolinians. It’s time to clean up this mess and reform state government.
Working Together for Results
During my tenure, I have made it a priority to work with members of both parties to ensure bi-partisan approval of the most critical issues facing our state, including the budget. By working together to make tough decisions, we avoided a government shutdown, kept state employees from being furloughed, and preserved our AAA credit rating. We ended legislative session in historic time, saving our state hundreds of millions of dollars.
Governing with Openness and Transparency
Prior to 2010, our state had a disturbing trend of political corruption, with numerous political leaders being prosecuted for abusing their office. I believe power is a corrupting influence, and we must institute term limits for our legislative leaders. I co-sponsored legislation to amend our constitution and prevent power from coalescing in a few legislators. I also opened up the state’s budgeting process to allow the press and any citizen to see how the government spent taxpayer dollars.
Preserving “Good Roads State”
Similarly, for years the state’s transportation funding system has been fraught with political patronage and corruption, weakening our state’s reputation as “The Good Roads State.” We can no longer ignore our aging highways, bridges, and transportation infrastructure. We must reform the process of allocating the Highway Trust Funds to be based on objective analysis of need. Projects that reduce congestion and improve safety on North Carolina’s most dangerous roads deserve priority funding. We must also ensure that proceeds from the gas tax are used for maintenance and improvement of our highways and roads, not special projects.
