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News: Primary Election 2008 Preview
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Primary 2008Return to the list of candidates. Ed WilsonAge: 63 Residence: Goldsboro Occupation: Retired Wayne Community College President Q: How do you plan to balance Wayne County’s needs with those of Greene and Pitt counties? A: More and better paying jobs are the biggest need for all three counties. Much of the district is involved with agriculture, which is experiencing issues with higher energy costs, water, and the shortage of labor. Q: How can the state help the counties/regions in terms of economic development, farmland preservation, water resources? A: The state can, in partnership with the counties, develop the infrastructure of highways, water and sewer, natural gas, information technology, and a well-educated work force to attract jobs. More investment needs to be made to preserve more farm land and develop alternate sources of water. Q: Will you continue Medicaid relief? A: Yes. As resources are available, the state should continue to reduce the burden of Medicaid on counties. 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: No. In order to pay for transportation needs, we must have an efficient Department of Transportation, eliminate the transfer of $170 million of Highway Trust Funds to the general fund and consider bonds as a way to address needs more quickly. I pledge to not push secondary road maintenance responsibilities back to the counties. Q: Will you lower state income taxes? A: If it can be done without harming education, I could support that. Also, I do believe that it is the time to take a look at our tax code to see what changes might need to be made. 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: I do believe that North Carolina will not be impacted as much as other states because of our diverse economy and the fiscal practices put in place by the General Assembly. The rainy day fund should be used as much as possible to maintain the level of services provided by the state in lieu of tax increases. Q: How do you plan to deal with the rapidly overcrowding of the state's prisons and county jails? A: One of my major goals will be to reduce the high dropout rate from the public schools. Most people incarcerated do not have a high school diploma, so they cannot find jobs to earn a living wage. Q: What can be done to help counties deal with school facility financing? A: Two ways. One, enact complete Medicaid relief for the counties to free up money for school construction, directly or through bonds. Secondly, a statewide bond with some local matching requirements, based on the counties' ability to pay. Q: What message do you want to take to Raleigh about eastern North Carolina? A: The state needs to help the counties provide the infrastructure to attract more and better paying jobs in eastern North Carolina. This will improve the quality of life for our citizens, reduce the population decline in the region and solve many of the issues our people face daily. |
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