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News: Primary Election 2008 Preview
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Primary 2008Return to the list of candidates. Kay CarrollAge: 60 Residence: Four Oaks in Johnston County Occupation: Owner/Operator of Carroll Pharmacy, Johnston County Board of Education Q: How do you plan to balance Johnston County needs with the needs of Wayne County? A: Eastern Johnston and western Wayne counties are very similar. I have found that the concerns of each align very closely, and I will rely on their input to target the areas that affect them the most and work to improve communications between them and Raleigh. Q: How can the state help the counties/regions in terms of economic development, farmland preservation, water resources? A: Economic development will be driven by a reliable, educated workforce. The state should help locate and attract business/industry through tax incentives that are tied to true job creation. We need the state to take the lead in conservation of our natural resources. We need to find a way of reducing the tax burden on dedicated farmlands through property tax credits and income tax credits. Q: Will you continue Medicaid relief? A: I will continue Medicaid relief to the 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: I do not think that we need to raise the gas tax. I think we need to address the root problem in the state and that is the transfer of money out of the Highway Trust Fund. We also need to establish a road plan that is based on data rather than politics. We also need to listen to the people in the field and build the roads correctly the first time. I believe that road construction is a federal and state responsibility, not a county issue. Q: Will you lower state income taxes? A: I will work to lower our income taxes. If we can make our government run more like a business and prioritize our needs based on the services the government is responsible for delivering, it may be possible. 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 think that we will need to look closely at all areas of state government and find ways to be more efficient in the delivery of services and stop the creation of new programs that seem to be so popular with new governors and politicians that want to create a “legacy.” Q: How do you plan to deal with the rapidly overcrowding of the state's prisons and county jails? A: We need to address education and job issues. This is the real way to reduce crime and jail populations. Short term, put more prisoners to work in every county cleaning the roadway, cutting the grass, any manual labor that makes jail time more uncomfortable. Let inmates earn money to pay for the services that we are required to provide them in jail. Q: What can be done to help counties deal with school facility financing? A: If we can get the state to assume its responsibility in classroom funding, then the county will have more of its own money to address school construction. I do think the state should look at another statewide bond issue for school construction. Q: What message do you want to take to Raleigh about eastern North Carolina? A: That we have issues that need to be heard and addressed and that we should work together to find those solutions. We want our state government to pay attention to our needs and quit playing party politics. Let us all work together to improve the lives of our citizens. That's what I will take to Raleigh. |
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