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News: Primary Election 2008 Preview
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Primary 2008Return to the list of candidates. Chuck StoneChuck Stone Age: 59 Residence: Goldsboro Occupation: Director of North Carolinians for Affordable Health Care Q: How do you plan to balance Wayne County’s needs with those of Greene and Pitt counties? A: I plan to establish a schedule to routinely meet with county elected officials and the citizens in all counties, whether in public or private facilities. When competing demands occur between the needs of the counties in the 5th Senate District, each county should receive a proportionate share. Q: How can the state help the counties/regions in terms of economic development, farmland preservation, water resources? A: Economic incentives should target rural counties with the greatest unemployment rates and economic challenges. The state also should continue to provide workforce training through our community colleges. Additional funds should be appropriated for the Farmland Preservation Trust, incentives for Voluntary Agricultural Districts, conversion of hog lagoons and similar programs. Q: Will you continue Medicaid relief? A: Yes, Medicaid relief should be continued. Q: Will you raise the gas tax? If not, how will you pay for transportation needs? Will you pledge to not push secondary road maintenance responsibilities onto the counties? A: Gas taxes should not be raised at this point. Transportation needs should be met through improved maintenance; improved enforcement and greater penalties for overweight vehicles; and improvements in road priorities. Secondary road maintenance should probably remain with the state. Q: Will you lower state income taxes? A: Income taxes should be considered in the context of total tax burden. North Carolina's tax system was last revised during the Great Depression in the 1930's. Corporate taxes, which then comprised 37 percent of tax revenue, have declined to approximately 8 percent today. Those with incomes of $10,000 per year pay 10.7 percent of that income in state and local taxes, the middle class pays 10 percent and the top 1 percent with an average income of $970,000 only pay 7.1 percent of their income in taxes. Q: With the state experiencing surpluses in recent years, how will you deal with the likely deficits as the economy continues to go south? A: Economic recessions increase the need for state services such as employment assistance, health care, mental health services, and job retraining. North Carolina has a rainy day reserve fund which can and should be used to provide essential services during recessions. Q: How do you plan to deal with the rapidly overcrowding of the state's prisons and county jails? A: Overcrowding could be reduced by: Greater use of alternative sentencing such as electronic monitoring, house arrest for non-violent crimes, and intensive probation; expansion of the Drug Alcohol Rehabilitation Treatment programs like the one in Wayne County; better funding of the judicial system to ensure prompt justice and reduce waiting periods in county jails; implementing model programs to reduce recidivism. Q: What can be done to help counties deal with school facility financing? A: Continuation of Medicaid relief should provide counties with additional revenue to finance school facilities. Additional school bonds might be considered, but only if this will not impair the state's bond rating. Q: What message do you want to take to Raleigh about eastern North Carolina? A: The state should do more to ensure that eastern North Carolina shares in the economic prosperity of more urbanized areas in our state. Its combination of rural and urban areas provides a rare opportunity to develop and test new models for education, health care, planned growth, environmental protection and the use of new technology to merge urban and rural lifestyle choices. |
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