October 8, 2014

NC GOP Sen. Jim Davis on Teacher Raises

"I am so frustrated with these teachers that never seem to be happy."-- Jim Davis, GOP state senator, on the issue of recent NC teacher pay raises which also took away longevity pay from veteran teachers. "If you're a teacher and you don't understand numbers, I don't know what in the world you're doing in the classroom."

If you're frustrated with the way Sen. Davis and the GOP are treating public education, vote for his opponent, Jane Hipps. http://www.hippsforsenate.com/

Video:

October 8, 2014

A Former GOP Voter Explains ALEC in Layman’s Terms

What is the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)? How does it affect my family?


By: Jen Geurin Ferrell

It has only been in the last two years that I’ve woken up to what the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is and how they are currently impacting legislation we’ve directly seen passed into law in North Carolina. I was raised in a politically active GOP family, with two parents with their hearts in the public school system. My mother teaches 4th grade and my father served on the local school board for 12 years. Neither of them knew who or what ALEC is and how it’s impacting public education on several levels. Now, my mom as a teacher understands how it’s undermining her efforts to teach with the goal to decrease public funding to our schools. We’ve learned recently that ALEC plans to try to infiltrate local county Board of Supervisors and County Commissioner Boards to advance their harmful policies on the most local level, where policy can affect us the most.

Read Full post:
http://www.carolinademocrats.com/a-former-gop-voter-explains-alec-in-laymans-terms/

" target="_blank">

September 19, 2014

Info on all the State-Level Judicial Candidates

Meet the 2014 NC Judicial Candidates

The North Carolina judicial elections occur every even-numbered year and, though they are non-partisan, the higher-level, appellate court races are often competitive with clearly drawn partisan lines.

Among the many seats up for election this year, voters will be choosing candidates to fill four open seats on the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Click on each title to view candidate information & links to their campaign website and social media pages.


http://www.carolinademocrats.com/candidates/judicial-candidates/

September 6, 2014

Clay Aiken Lays Out Plan of Action For NC’s Military Families & Veterans

Clay Aiken, the Democratic Candidate for the US House of Representatives in NC’s 2nd District, took to the Huffington Post recently to lay out 5 specific areas where Congress needs to act in order to properly support our military, their families, and veterans.


Aiken correctly pointed out how the devastating effects of last year’s sequestration cuts and inaction by a gridlocked Congress are being felt by the over 50,000 active duty soldiers, their families and thousands of veterans across North Carolina.

http://www.carolinademocrats.com/clay-aiken-lays-out-plan-of-action-for-ncs-military-families-veterans/

With many in the District unhappy with current Rep. Renee Ellmers, the chances for Mr. Aiken to close the gap and pull off an upset in this race seem to be increasing. Ellmers’ recent gaffe regarding how men need to “speak down to a woman’s level” as well as her infamous showing in Bill Maher’s “Flip-A-District” are also giving constituents plenty of reasons to consider a change in November.

" target="_blank">

September 2, 2014

Annual Report Shows Major Labor Force Decline Across North Carolina

The annual report by the non-partisan North Carolina Justice Center is out today and it shows what many are already realizing; the State of the labor workforce in the Tarheel State remains a major problem as we struggle to keep up with a recovery while seeing most of the rest of the Country seeing strong improvements.


The report explains how “many communities and many groups of workers in North Carolina continue to experience a recession-like shortage of jobs, as well as the pernicious effects of a boom in low-wage work. Taken together, the uneven recovery and growth in jobs that pay less than what it takes for families to make ends meet are splitting North Carolinians into two states economically depending on where workers live and their background.”

More info and link to full report:
http://www.carolinademocrats.com/annual-report-shows-major-labor-force-decline-across-north-carolina/

[link:|

August 29, 2014

Lincoln County Early Voting Schedule Changes

Via Rosemary Hubbard for NC House District 97:

The Lincoln County Board of Elections has made what can only be considered misguided and partisan changes to this year’s early voting schedule.

According to a report in the Lincoln Herald, Democrat Marsha Jordan voted against the plan that was eventually approved. “I told them it was blatantly politically motivated,” Jordan said. Republicans Wayne Mitchem and Charles Newman voted in favor of the plan.


Deanna McGinnis, who chairs the Lincoln County Democratic Party, told the Lincoln Herald:

“Republicans now dominate the BOE in every county and it appears some of these extreme GOP-dominated boards have forgotten the concept of fair play of equal access to the ballot box!

Whether it’s students at Appalachian or African-Americans in Lincoln County, it appears that the game plan is to discourage easy access to the ballot box, and in the case of Lincoln County equal hours for a early voting site in the most densely African-American populated area of the county.”

The Lincoln County Board of Elections developed a plan for early voting that gives predominantly Democrat Lincolnton only 38 early voting hours while providing 70 hours each for four other more Republican-leaning voting locations.

These changes were enacted to comply with the new “VIVA” Voter ID law that passed in the General Assembly last year. While these changes as well as those in the overall new law will make it more difficult for some to vote; it can’t be used as an excuse to not vote! We’ll double our efforts to educate Lincoln County residents on these changes as well as the many issues facing our neighborhoods and throughout North Carolina.

There is no right more important than the right to vote.

Read more about the early voting schedule changes and more reactions in this column by Wayne Howard in the Lincoln Herald.

December 16, 2013

Sen. Rucho says the ACA is worse than Nazis, Soviets and Terrorists combined..

Via Twitter:

[link:|

November 19, 2013

Rally to Share the Truth about the ACA

Don't let the Congressional Oversight Committee use North Carolina as a staging ground for its political grandstanding!

Join us as we share the truth about the Affordable Care Act. Tell Tea Party politicians:
DO YOUR JOB! Fix the ACA instead of trying to destroy it. STOP PLAYING to your POLITICAL BASE.

Rally to Share the Truth about the ACA
Friday, November 22nd, 2013 @ 9:00am
Gaston County Courthouse
325 N. Marietta Str.
Gastonia, NC 28052

The House Oversight Committee is touring America, conducting a politically-motivated hatchet job on the ACA, led by California Congressman Darrell Issa.
They will be pandering to their base by mounting a staged "hearing" on the ACA. We'll be there to inject a little reality into the proceedings. We hope you'll join us!

Event Info Here from Gaston County Democrats

" target="_blank">

Here's a story about the US House Oversight Hearing.

August 11, 2013

NC House 110 Rep. Hastings Facing Backlash For Social Network Antics

Facebook has recently become the hotbed of some bipartisan debate over NC House District 110 Representative Kelly Hastings.

While not a stranger to social network confrontations, the latest furor began in early June of this year after Mr. Hastings and Rep. Tim Moore met with NC Assoc. of Teacher’s Assistants in Shelby. In the comments section of the article about the meeting on the Shelby Star website; a heated debate began between Hastings and Cam Harris; a conservative and Kings Mountain native.

Full article here: GastonVotes.com

July 27, 2013

One NCGA Rep has a message for you who are upset over the budget.

NC 110 Rep. Kelly Hastings thinks you should shut up, suck it up and quit whining.



Screenshot link above ^^^

Here's the post:

"On my way home from Raleigh today, I stopped to help an African American family who had a serious wreck. Two of the kids were seriously injured. I was one of the first on the scene and immediately told another man not to move the injured family; they probably had neck injuries. Next, we calmed the children down and made sure they weren’t bleeding out too much. We gathered some of their belongings to make them feel comfortable. As soon as I got home, some people were complaining because they did not get exactly what they wanted in the state budget. After seeing this injured family, I would like to ask those of you who are whining to quit whining on my page. Thank God you have a job and suck it up and drive on. When you start to whine, think about what our military men and women are going through, and think about people in the private sector who are losing their jobs and their homes."