TCB Feb. 20, 2020 — The Primary Election Guide

Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point Feb. 20-26, 2020 triad-city-beat.com

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THE 2020 PRIMARY

ELECTION GUIDE Your guide to the federal, state and local races in Guilford and Forsyth counties

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK Feb. 20-26, 2020

Mayor Pete: The brewery candidate

1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336-256-9320 BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brian Clarey brian@triad-city-beat.com

PUBLISHER EMERITUS Allen Broach allen@triad-city-beat.com

EDITORIAL SENIOR EDITOR Jordan Green jordan@triad-city-beat.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sayaka Matsuoka sayaka@triad-city-beat.com

SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR Nikki Miller-Ka niksnacksblog@gmail.com

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STAFF WRITER Savi Ettinger savi@triad-city-beat.com

INTERN: Rachel Spinella calendar@triad-city-beat.com

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KEY ACCOUNTS Gayla Price gayla@triad-city-beat.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Carolyn de Berry, Matt Jones, Jen Sorensen

TCB IN A FLASH @ triad-city-beat.com First copy is free, all additional copies are $1. ©2018 Beat Media Inc.

In the waning minutes before the Pete Buttigieg team event at Wise Man Brewing on Monday, a young couple made their way to

by Brian Clarey the door, one of them holding a baby and the other a leash attached to a mid-sized, furry dog.

Like most of the people in the cavernous space, they were here for the beer.

But the Buttigieg campaign drew perhaps 50 people before it was all over, here to strategize before Super Tuesday and to welcome the national campaign staffer, Eric Tallman, fresh off the plane from New Hampshire, where Mayor Pete solidified his presence at the front of the pack of Democratic presidential candidates with a close second-place finish behind Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Tallman’s young, lean, with an earnest haircut and crew-neck Buttigieg sweatshirt.

He wears sleek glasses with clear, oval frames and black arms, and when he stands on a chair to address the people, he knows what to say.

“It’s awesome to see the energy and excitement here,” he tells them before imploring them to “kick it into high gear,” with fundraising events, list-building and door-knocking, how important they all are to the cause.

“That field margin,” he says, referring to the efficacy of the Buttigieg ground game, “that’s how we win.”

What to say about the Buttigieg folks?

They’re all white, predominantly Boomers with about a third Gen X and even a few Millennials scattered around. A lot of them have great haircuts and excellent glasses: square, wide wire-rims under a red brush cut; clear plastic cat’s eyes with a hint of grey tortoiseshell; oval half-frames with progressive lenses; round, aquamarine frames under a stark-white fauxhawk. They are, by a slim margin, men.

It makes one wonder about the demographics of Mayor Pete’s coalition.

What are the threads that will ultimately bind them? He’s gay but there’s no visible LGBTQ+ presence at this event — no rainbows or “Gays for Pete” signs, anyway.

He’s ex-military, but none of the attendees are of the conspicuous pro-military type — no Marine insignia or veteran ballcaps or anything like that. Midwesterners? Maybe.

Beards? Not even tonight in the brewery.

Bearded Americans seem to be going for Bernie, in my informal calculus, which is also where the youth vote is swaying.

Not Drew Skilton. He’s a Wake Forest University freshman majoring in political science and communication, and he’s head of what an organizer told me was the largest campus Buttigieg group in North Carolina. No glasses, though.

Wake students, he says, are not all that political.

“I think a lot of people try to keep it on the down-low,” he says. “But as the election comes up people will start to get involved.

“Day to day, not so much,” he adds.

He knows that most of his Gen Z cohort backs Bernie, but he’s not on the train. Yet. “I consider myself more of a moderate Democrat,” he says.

Like all Democrats right now, he’s concerned about the Bloomberg money machine, the dark horse of Elizabeth Warren and the fact that, should Mayor Pete get the nomination, he might not be able to count on Bernie’s voters coming aboard.

“Nothing against Bernie,” he says. “I’m blue no matter who. No matter who the Democrat is — I hope it will be Pete — the end game is to beat Donald Trump. That’s what I push. Vote Democrat no matter who. I think the kids on campus see the end game.”

He’d better hope so, because it’s going to take more than thoughtful white people with glasses to put Mayor Pete in the White House.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Do we want to get the best teachers we can? Or do we want to take the cheapest teachers we can afford, and just roll along and sing a song?

—Forsyth County Commission Chair Dave Plyer pg. 17

Feb. 20-26, 2020

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Feb. 20-26, 2020

CITY LIFE Feb. 20-23, 2020

by Rachael Spinella

Opinion

News

Up Front

THURSDAY Feb. 20

Craft & Wine — Charcuterie Styling Workshop @ The Groome Inn (GSO) 6:30 p.m.

Join Cristal of Graceful Grazings to learn the culinary art of charcuterie. Students will be given a brief demonstration before choosing meats, cheeses, crackers, fruits, vegetables, honey, nuts etc. in order to create their own custom 10-inch boards.

There will be a wide selection of different ingredients, and a glass of wine is included with the ticket. Find the event on Facebook.

The Allman Betts Band @ The Carolina Theatre (GSO) 7 p.m.

The sons of the original Allman Brothers Band — Devon Allman, Duane Betts among them — kicked off their first world tour back in March 2019 and have sold out 12 of their first 18 shows. The performance will feature their predecessor’s classic music in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first group, followed by some new music from their solo projects. Find the event on Facebook.

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Hop into History: 1920s @ Oden Brewing Company (GSO) 5 p.m.

This alehouse is taking a trip back in time to the Roaring Twenties and will delve into the changes that happened a hundred years ago, that have continued impact on Greensboro to this day. Hosted by UNCG archives and special collections, this event is just one of many others that have been established as a fun way to learn about the city’s history. This event is free and open to the public; for more information head on over to Facebook.

Puzzles

FRIDAY Feb. 21

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Grand Re-Opening @ Sweet Tea Studio and Boutique (GSO) 5:30 p.m.

Local furniture artists Dawn and Meg Norris are holding an opening for their latest store at 401 State St. This upscale shop is known for furniture, home decor and more. Join them in celebrating this new department store with new merchandise, hors d’oeuvres and wine. Find the event on Facebook.

Tales of Arabian Nights @ Greensboro Children’s Museum (GSO) The North Carolina Theatre for Young

East Winston History & Art Collaboration (W-S) 10:30 a.m.

Owens Daniel, artist and educator, will be showing guests how to create mural design concepts. To honor the legacy of the Kate Bitting Reynolds Memorial Hospital, Daniel will be collaborating with the community to create a mural dedicated to the institution. Find the event on Facebook.

People presents this special production for people of all ages. This new adaptation of the classic tale that is also known as The Thousand and One Nights will be bringing to life the exciting folktales of the Islamic Golden Age, like “Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp.” For more information find the event on Facebook.

Youth Pancake Fundraiser @ Westchester Baptist Church (HP) 7:30 p.m.

Hosted by the Westchester Baptist Church, this event will have a variety of different breakfast foods and drinks such as orange juice, coffee, sausage, bacon and of course all-you-can-eat pancakes.

All proceeds will go to the church’s youth activities program. Tickets will be sold at the door, for more information check out the event on Facebook.

SATURDAY Feb. 22

Detective Day @ Winston-Salem, North Carolina (W-S) 10 a.m.

Looking for something fun to do with family and friends? CluedUpp is an outdoor detective game that was inspired by the board game Cluedo. This game will have players go back in time to the 1920s, as the event was influenced by the Netflix series “Peaky Blinders.” The event will have more than 100 teams competing to solve the clues and catch the killer. Find the event on Facebook.

ReVision @ Wait Chapel, Wake Forest University (W-S) Noon

Speakers will take the time to discuss the past, present and visions of the future.

These discussions span youth climate activism, radical hospitality, the intersection of art and science and much more. Tickets are $10 for the public, and free admission for all students with a valid ID. Find the event on Facebook.

Tie Dye Basics @ Mixxer (W-S) 10 a.m.

This workshop will teach guests the traditional art of tie dye. Attendees will learn how to properly tie a T-shirt in order to achieve a mirror image, an intricately patterned, abstract design using colors of your choice. Though shirts will be provided for participants to practice, be sure to bring a white T-shirt to take home. Find the event on Facebook.

Rocky Horror Lingerie Show @ RED Cinemas (GSO) 11:30 p.m.

This restaurant and entertainment district will be screening The Rocky Horror Motion Picture Show live this Saturday. To celebrate Valentine’s Day, lingerie will be this event’s theme. Guests will be provided with popcorn and drinks. For more information check out the event on All Events.

SUNDAY Feb. 23

The Italian Kitchen Demonstration @ Raffaldini Vineyards & Winery (W-S) 1 p.m.

Executive Chef Corey Hooks will demonstrate two signature Italian dishes: Tuscan white-bean soup and sauce Bolognese over Tagliatelle pasta. While watching him make these delicious meals, guests will also learn helpful cooking tips, ingredients to use and the steps involved in making these delectable dishes. Enjoy an afternoon with good food and wine as you learn how to make a gourmet dinner for family and friends. Find the event on Facebook.

Wake Women’s Basketball vs. North Carolina @ LJVM Coliseum (W-S) Noon Be there to witness Wake Forest’s Demon Deacons face off against North Carolina Tar Heels on Sunday. Doors will open at 11 a.m., general parking is free. Find the event on Facebook.

Feb. 20-26, 2020 Up Front News

Opinion

Culture

Shot in the Triad

Puzzles

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Puzzles

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

News

Up Front

Feb. 20-26, 2020

by Jordan Green and Sayaka Matsuoka

FEDERAL RACES President Democratic primary (vote for 1)

val Patrick, Marianne Williamson and Andrew Yang have withdrawn from the race, but their names will remain on the ballot.

Republican primary (vote for 1)

Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

Donald Trump (i): A former businessman and television personality, Donald Trump won election to the White House in 2016 using a mix of fearmongering and populist tropes.

In December 2019, Trump became the third president in the history of the country to be impeached on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, stemming from his efforts to illegally coerce the Ukrainian president to investigate political rival and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Since 2017, Trump has rolled back numerous protections on the environment, instituted travel bans against Muslim-majority countries which were narrowly upheld by the Supreme Court, implemented a family-separation policy for migrants which resulted in hundreds of migrant children being detained and ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, which escalated the US’s conflict with Iran.

William Weld: Governor of Massachusetts from 1991-97, William Weld first ran in a federal election in 2016 as the Libertarian vice-presidential nominee alongside Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson. Weld has positioned himself as a fiscal conservative who supports tax cuts and opposes government spending, but also a social liberal who supports gay marriage, abortion and marijuana legalization. Weld also supports addressing climate change and has said that he would re-enter the Paris climate accord if elected. * Joe Walsh has withdrawn from the race, but his name will remain on the ballot.

Opinion

one from 2016, including single-payer universal healthcare, cancelling student debt and reducing military spending. In 2019, Sanders came out in support of the Green New Deal, a comprehensive legislative package that aims to address climate change and economic inequality through a push towards using 100 percent, zero-emission, renewable energy within the next 10 years.

Tom Steyer: Another billionaire candidate, Tom Steyer accumulated his wealth as a hedgefund manager for Farallon Capital, a San Franciscobased firm he founded in 1986. In 2012, Steyer stepped down from Farallon to advocate for alternative energy. However, news reports have found that Steyer divested his holdings in companies that produce fossil fuels and fund private prisons. His top priorities, according to news interviews, include breaking up the influence of corporations and addressing climate change. In 2017, he founded the group Need to Impeach, in which he spent more than $10 million in television ads and a digital campaign calling for the Trump’s impeachment.

Elizabeth Warren: A senator from Massachusetts, Warren has emerged in recent years, along with fellow candidate Bernie Sanders, as one of most progressive voices within the party. A former law professor, Warren helped establish the Consumer Protection Bureau under President Obama and runs on a platform that includes increasing taxes on the wealthy and eliminating student debt for most borrowers. In November, Warren dialed back her ambitious Medicare For All plan and opted for an expansion of public health insurance with a plan to pass Medicare For All by her third year in office. Known as one of the most detail-oriented candidates, Warren has more than 70 plans listed on her website including proposals for addressing maternal mortality and ending private prisons. * Michael Bennet, Cory Booker, Julian Castro, John K. Delaney, De-

News

Joseph R. Biden: As Barack Obama’s vice president, Joe Biden is hoping to benefit from warm feelings towards the nation’s first black (or biracial) president, while positioning himself as someone who can restore the status quo after Donald Trump upended the American political system. Biden’s consistent pitch has been that he’s the candidate with the best shot at attracting votes from Republicans and independents dismayed by Trump’s presidency, but after a poor showing in Iowa and New Hampshire, Biden is struggling to defend the moderate lane against opponents Mike Bloomberg and Pete Buttigieg.

Michael R. Bloomberg: The former New York City mayor is heavily focused on Super Tuesday states including North Carolina, hoping to pick up the baton as a centrist alternative to Bernie Sanders while other candidates stumble. Bloomberg has racked up an impressive list of endorsements from Democratic mayors and other officials, including Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles and US Rep. Bobby Rush of Virginia, even as damaging stories about his defense of his controversial “stop-and-frisk” policy and redlining have emerged. In addition to spending heavily on campaign advertising, the billionaire candidate has lavished money on a range of causes, from curbing climate change to gun control.

Pete Buttigieg: A Harvard-educated military veteran with combat experience in Afghanistan, Pete Buttigieg is a presidential candidate straight out of central casting, except that he would be the first openly gay president. The fact that his political experience consists of being mayor of South Bend, Ind. — a

city less than half the size of Greensboro — has been wielded against him by opponents like Amy Klobuchar, but Buttigieg argues that it grounds him in real America, versus the Washington bubble.

His tie with Bernie Sanders in Iowa and second-place finish in New Hampshire gives Buttigieg a plausible claim to being the leading centrist candidate.

Tulsi Gabbard: A congresswoman from Hawaii, Tulsi Gabbard is the strongest voice in the Democratic field for reining in the United States’ endless military interventions abroad. It’s a position that potentially appeals to voters across ideological and party lines, but Gabbard has a number of liabilities that have prevented her from gaining traction with Democratic base voters. Those include a 2017 meeting with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, widely viewed as a war criminal and human-rights abuser, and ties to the Hindu nationalist movement.

Despite disappointing fifth-place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, Gabbard is still in the race as of publication.

Amy Klobuchar: Despite serving as the senator for Minnesota since 2007, former attorney Amy Klobuchar didn’t rise to mainstream consciousness until she announced her run for presidency last February. Considered a moderate Democrat, Klobuchar has surged in the polls recently, given her strong finish in third after the New Hampshire primaries. Her platforms include a Medicaid buy-in program and a $100 billion plan to combat drug and alcohol addiction.

In February 2019, Buzzfeed reported instances of Klobuchar’s at-times abusive treatment towards former staff.

Bernie Sanders: As of the writing of this guide, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is the leading Democratic candidate in the presidential race, coming off of a close tie with former South Bend, Ind. mayor Pete Buttigieg during the Iowa caucuses and a strong win during the New Hampshire primaries. Sanders is running on a campaign similar to his

Up Front

There’s nothing more urgent on this primary ballot than choosing the best equipped Democratic candidate to go up against Donald Trump. North Carolina is joining a slate of 13 other states in the “Super Tuesday” election, with the nominating contest still pretty much wide open.

Beyond that, this is the first election in North Carolina in 12 years in which president of the United States, a US Senate seat and governor are on the ballot at the same time, not to mention a new, urban, Democratic-leaning US House seat. Winston-Salem’s mayoral and city council seats are also up for election, with two open seats and others that are hotly contested. Beyond that, voters only have to worry about council of state, state House, county commission, school board, clerk of superior court and judicial contests. Pro tip: Look up you voter registration at vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/ and review your sample ballot so you can narrow down to the races that affect you before you peruse this voter guide.

Feb. 20-26, 2020

Triad City Beat 2020 primary election guide

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Puzzles

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

News

Up Front

Feb. 20-26, 2020

Senate

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Democratic primary (vote for 1) Cal Cunningham: Born and raised in North Carolina, Cal Cunningham first took political office in 2001 when he was elected to represent District 23, which covered parts of Davidson, Rowan and Iredell counties, in the state Senate. Trained as a lawyer, Cunningham has also served in the armed forces.

According to his website, Cunningham prioritizes building upon the Affordable Care Act, bolstering education, fighting climate change, curbing gun violence and enacting sensible immigration reform as some of his key platforms.

News reports from early February found that Republican operatives were flooding airwaves in support of Cunningham against his rival, Erica Smith, for the Democratic primary.

Trevor M. Fuller: Trevor Fuller is currently serving as the at-large member of the Mecklenburg County Commission, a seat he has held since 2014. According to his campaign website, Fuller supports Medicare For All and increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour as well as universal pre-K for children until age 5. Fuller also supports combating climate change and has voiced his support for the Green New Deal.

Atul Goel: According to his campaign website, Atul Goel states that he is the “only the Democratic candidate that can win the general election in November” because he is willing to canvass and appeal to unaffiliated voters.

Goel, who has a background in medicine, supports expanding the current healthcare system rather than opting for a single-payer system. As a veteran, Goel also advocates for improving healthcare for veterans, although specifics are not given on his website.

Erica D. Smith: Erica Smith has represented District 3 in the state Senate since 2015. In the past year, Smith sponsored 27 bills including a bill to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment as well as a bill to establish a citizens’ redistricting commission. In a recent interview, Smith also stated that she fully supports Medicare For All as well as the Green New Deal. In February, news reports found that Republican operatives were flooding airwaves with ads supporting Smith’s biggest rival in the race, Cal Cunning-

ham, which Smith described was an act of “voter suppression.” Smith has also talked about the importance of representation, pointing out that only two African-American women have served in the US Senate.

Steve Swenson: Not much is known about candidate Steve Swenson, who according to his filing information, hails from Bunnlevel. According to his website, Swenson advocates for abortion rights and passing a reparations act totaling $2 trillion.

Republican primary (vote for 1) Thom Tillis (i): A one-term incumbent, Thom Tillis went to Washington as a businessfriendly establishment Republican. He pushed an immigration-reform initiative that never got off the ground. And he made early sounds of standing up to Trump, including penning an op-ed in the Washington Post that said he opposed Trump’s national-emergency declaration to build a border wall.

And then, last May, he voted to support the national-emergency declaration.

Since then, Tillis has become one of the president’s most loyal foot soldiers, publicly stating that he had no interest in hearing from former National Security Advisor John Bolton during the Senate impeachment trial.

Larry Holmquist: Larry Holmquist of Greensboro is hitting the incumbent from the right. Holmquist says on his campaign website that he’s running for Senate for one reason: “Like many of you, I am disgusted by Thom Tillis’ ‘flip-flopping’ and inconsistency on issues that are critical to conservatives, and his failure to vigorously defend President Trump!” In an interview with TCB in January, Holmquist joined Tillis in supporting Trump order to carry out a targeted killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. “If the president feels that a proactive strike is the best way to protect people,” Holmquist said, “I trust him.”

Sharon Hudson: A longtime Mecklenburg County Republican Party volunteer, Sharon Hudson has played an active role in efforts to fight the addition of toll lanes on Interstate 77, while faulting Tillis for pushing that initiative as Republican leader of the North Carolina House before he was elected to the Senate. She says on her website that she wants a seat on the Senate so she can en-

sure citizens have a voice as the federal government undertakes infrastructure improvements. “When an elected official goes to great lengths to ignore the wishes of his constituents,” she says, “he does not deserve to be re-elected.”

Paul M. Wright: Paul Wright calls illegal immigration a “war against American citizens” and “an engine for revolution,” while arguing that congressional “tampering” with the Second Amendment is “causing unrest among the people.” The headers alone for his extensive campaign platform express his far-right stance: “Seek the Lord. Restrain the courts. Stop abortion. Immigration or revolution? Resist gun control.

No war with Russia. Terror. Christian America — the great debate. Patrick Henry. De-Christianization. What must be done! Reverse it. End GMO farming.” Among the Republican candidates, Wright articulates the strongest position on limiting executive power and foreign military intervention.

US House District 6 (open seat) Democratic primary (vote for 1) Bruce Davis: Among the four black candidates in the race for the new Democratic-leaning 6th Congressional District seat, former Guilford County Commissioner Bruce Davis has claimed the moderate lane. A retired Marine and daycare owner, Davis supports building on the Affordable Care Act as opposed to scrapping it in favor of Medicare for All. Davis aligns closely on many issues important to Democrats, including addressing climate change and protecting reproductive rights. During a candidate forum in Winston-Salem earlier this month he said, “I believe in doing what is right at the end of the day, and I don’t let much sway me.”

Rhonda Foxx: Having worked as a staffer for more than six different politicians, including most recently, US Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC), Foxx decided to use her background knowledge to run for office for the first time. A former attorney, Foxx is the only candidate in the race besides Manning who has never held political office and is the only black woman in the race. In addition to being strongly opposed to the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, Foxx prioritizes supporting Medicare for All, funding for HBCUs, and working on criminal

justice reform. Foxx also talked about the importance of ensuring security of online information and pointed to 2018 legislation in Europe, also known as the General Data Protection Regulation, as an example of what the United States should be doing.

Ed Hanes Jr.: Ed Hanes Jr. represented state House District 72 from 2012-18, when he personally tapped campaign opponent Derwin Montgomery for the seat. Hanes supports expanding the Affordable Care Act, and helped pass legislation in the General Assembly that resulted in more police officers being equipped with body cameras. Hanes also faced political scandal in 2018 when issues of illegal campaign contributions were brought to light. As a former representative, Hanes emphasizes his experience working and building relationships within the Republican-controlled state legislature.

Kathy Manning: A Greensboro philanthropist and immigration lawyer, Kathy Manning was the 2018 Democratic nominee in the old 13th Congressional District, where she made a respectable showing against GOP incumbent Ted Budd. She’s had to recalibrate from her 2018 campaign, when she described herself to the News & Record as a “businessoriented moderate” and promised to stand up to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, now promising in a TV ad to fight President Trump’s “dangerous, hate-filled agenda.” Manning says, “I was willing to take on the tough fight in 2018 to run for Congress, even though it was a Republican district because I was so worried about the future of this country.”

Derwin Montgomery: Derwin Montgomery represented the East Ward on Winston-Salem City Council for nine years before accepting appointment to the state House. He’s also a pastor who operates the Bethesda Center for the Homeless, helping to round out his appreciation of constituents’ needs.

More so than many politicians, Montgomery is thoroughly a policy wonk who likes to talk about his “2021 Equity Package,” which includes a “Farming Modernization Act.” His pitch is to help farmers, but also legalize marijuana and “expunge criminal records for individuals who have been convicted of marijuana charges that are nonviolent.”

Republican primary (vote for 1)

Puzzles

Buddy Bengel: A former professional baseball player-turned restaurateur, Buddy Bengel entered the race for lieutenant governor to use “business background to be an advocate for economic development and job creation across the state,” according to his campaign website. In 2018, in the wake of Hurricane Florence, Bengel formed the New Bern Relief Fund which raised more than $350,000 in two months to help rebuild homes in New Bern.

Deborah Cochran: Former Mt. Airy mayor Deborah Cochran is using her

Shot in the Triad

Republican primary (vote for 1)

Culture

Roy Cooper (i): In 2016, Cooper narrowly defeated incumbent Pat McCrory to become the first challenger since 1850 to defeat a sitting governor. Prior to becoming governor, Cooper served as the state’s attorney general for 16 years, most notably using his powers to dismiss the case against three Durham lacrosse players who had been falsely accused of rape. As governor, Cooper has vetoed several bills brought forth by

Chaz Beasley: A state lawmaker from Mecklenburg County, Chaz Beasley earned the endorsement of Equality NC. During a candidate forum in Greensboro, Beasley highlighted his vote against HB 142, the compromise bill that modified the infamous HB 2.

Contrasting himself against opponents Yvonne Lewis Holley and Terry Van Duyn, who voted for HB 142, Beasley said, “We need somebody in the role of lieutenant governor, who, if they are the last stop for a bill, that you know they will not vote for a bill that enshrines discrimination in law.” (The lieutenant governor casts the tie-breaking vote in a deadlocked Senate.)

Yvonne Lewis Holley: A state lawmaker from Raleigh, Yvonne Lewis Holley said her vote for HB 142 was “the most difficult decision that she ever had to make” and that she “literally cried on the floor of the General Assembly,” but that she did so because her AfricanAmerican constituents were pleading that they needed employment opportunities from sporting events. “As an African American who has fought discrimination all my life, because I am a child of the Civil Rights Era,” Holley said, “I know sometimes that you don’t win it all, and you don’t win it all quickly.”

Ron Newton: Formerly a business manager for AFSCME Local 77 representing staff at Duke University, Ron Newton runs a financial-services company in Durham. He’s making his second run for lieutenant governor after making an unsuccessful bid in 2016. Newton’s core message is that you can’t trust anyone else. “Election after election, we have experienced candidates coming into our communities presenting promises with no solutions,” he says, while calling for universal healthcare, criminal-justice reform, a fund to “create poverty repair zones,” increased funding for public education, legislation to close the wealth gap and eliminating fossil fuels.

Allen Thomas: A Hoke County commissioner, Allen Thomas persuaded his colleagues to allocate $100,000 in county funds for food vouchers when federal aid after Hurricane Matthew was

Opinion

Democratic primary (vote for 1)

Democratic primary (vote for 1)

News

Governor

Dan Forest: Currently serving as lieutenant governor, Dan Forest is closely aligned with the Christian right. After a 2017 investigation by the Associated Press highlighted accounts by dozens of former members of Word of Faith Fellowship members assaulting congregants to expel “homosexual demons,” the News & Observer obtained a photo of Forest at a fundraiser with a leader of the church.

And last September, NC Policy Watch reported that Forest shared the stage at a Charlotte event with an array of extremists, including a pastor who called for “anyone not committed to the US as an explicitly Judeo-Christian nation” to leave.

Holly Grange: A lawmaker from Wilmington, Holly Grange serves as the deputy conference chair for the Republican leadership team in the state House. A member of the third class of women cadets to graduate from West Point, Grange is currently employed as director of community relations for Osprey Global Solutions, described on her campaign website as “specializing in remote medical, logistics, security, training and business intelligence services.”

Grange boasts the endorsement of the NC Police Benevolent Association, and the self-avowed “Trump supporter” says she “led the charge to pass a tough im-

Lieutenant governor (open seat)

delayed, and he calls ending poverty his “cornerstone issue.” Using the office of lieutenant governor as a bully pulpit, he wants to advocate for full funding for daycare assistance; a ballot initiative to allow voters to decide whether North Carolina should legalize marijuana; making low corporate tax rates dependent on companies maintaining worker-friendly policies such as paying a living wage, providing parental leave and programs to assist in student loan repayment.

Bill Toole: A Winston-Salem native, Bill Toole retired last year after 27 years as an environmental lawyer in Charlotte.

A self-described “pragmatic, progressive Democrat,” Toole said during a recent candidate forum: “I have a plan for controlled access to cannabis that would allow us to automatically expunge the records of those who have been incarcerated with an ounce and a half — nonviolent possession — or less.”

He wants the state to ensure that there’s a teacher assistant in every classroom from pre-K to third grade. Like his opponent, Chaz Beasley, Toole says he opposed HB 142.

Terry Van Duyn: A state senator from Asheville, Terry Van Duyn told voters during a recent candidate forum that she was the top fundraiser for the Democratic caucus when the party flipped six seats last year to give Gov. Roy Cooper veto power. She argued she has the relationships to effectively leverage the clout of the office of lieutenant governor. “The reason I am running,” Van Duyn said, “is because I appreciate Gov. Cooper’s vision for North Carolina — one where we are healthier, where we are better educated and we have more money in our pockets.”

Up Front

STATE RACES

Republican primary (vote for 1)

migration law that would require sheriffs to cooperate with ICE.”

Feb. 20-26, 2020

Lee Haywood: Lee Haywood, who has been the GOP chairman of the 6th Congressional District for the past two years, said in a statement on Facebook that despite the likelihood that a Democrat will win the newlydrawn district, that he entered the race because he refused “to sit by and let the Democrat Party obtain this seat without any competition.” In other posts, Haywood highlighted eliminating the national debt, overhauling the immigration system, protecting gun rights and fixing the education system as reasons for his campaign. In a Fox 8 news report, Haywood mentioned his skepticism for the Affordable Care Act stating, “[I]f we took government out of it as much as we possibly can and left it to the people to decide the level of healthcare coverage that they actually need, I think the cost would come down and it would be affordable for everybody.”

Laura Pichardo: A political newcomer, Laura Pichardo comes across as a fiscal conservative with progressive social politics.

In a recent interview with TCB, Pichardo lamented the Republican party’s increasingly right-leaning views, saying she wants to “start a rebellion” within the party. “It’s moving way too far right. I believe in treating people with dignity and respect, no matter what our economic or racial background is.”

Pichardo also mentioned wanting to install solar panels on government buildings to harness renewable energy and making sure people’s tax dollars benefit the local community. “I’m tired of seeing our tax dollars go overseas. If we’re paying taxes, our tax benefits should stay at home.”

the Republican-led legislature, including anti-abortion bills as well as a bill that would have required sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration agents.

Cooper also vetoed the proposed state budget in June, because of its corporate tax cuts, lack of Medicaid expansion and robust pay raises for teachers and because it didn’t rely on bonds for school construction.

Ernest T. Reeves: Ernest Reeves is no stranger to running for political office. A retired military officer from Greenville, Reeves has unsuccessfully launched campaigns for the state’s 3rd Congressional District, Greenville City Council and state House District 3 in recent years. For this go-around, Reeves is running on a platform that includes support for expanding the Affordable Care Act and starting a Social Security program for younger individuals. He also states on his website that he wants to tackle the state’s opioid crisis with a “comprehensive statewide and county plan”

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political experience combined with her time as a public education teacher in her run for lieutenant governor. Cochran currently works as a business education teacher at John F. Kennedy High School in Winston-Salem and calls herself a devout Christian with a working-class background according to a campaign video. In a story published by First In Freedom Daily, Cochran emphasizes bolstering existing business sectors such as agriculture while bringing in new industries.

Renee Ellmers: After narrowly beating Democratic incumbent Bob Ethridge in 2010, Ellmers represented the state’s 2nd Congressional District for seven years. During the 2010 campaign, Ellmers ran a political ad against Ethridge in which she tied him to then-president Barack Obama, stating that Obama wanted to build a “victory mosque” at Ground Zero. She frequently opposed Obama’s initiatives and said that she entered the state congressional race because of the Affordable Care Act and is a vocal supporter of President Trump. “I was the first female member of Congress to endorse Donald J. Trump for president of the United States during the 2016 Republican primary,” she said in her announcement to run for lieutenant governor. “I stand proudly today supporting President Donald J. Trumpmp [SIC].”

Greg Gebhardt: A current major in the NC National Guard, Greg Gebhardt first began to influence politics during his time as a policy advisor in the state House where he worked to craft Voter ID legislation that required voters to present identification before voting.

According to his campaign website, Gebhardt is a supporter of immigration enforcement and gun rights, and is prolife. He also mentions the need to “fight against the left’s socialist agenda.”

Mark Johnson: Currently serving as state superintendent of public instruction, Mark Johnson recently became embroiled in a political scandal after he used his position to send 540,000 text messages and 800,000 email messages to parents and educators on Feb. 11 about his opposition to Common Core, a major part of his political campaign, according to the News & Observer. Since then, about a dozen ethics complaints have been filed with the state’s ethics commission. Johnson previously served on the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education from 2014 to 2016.

Last year, Johnson supported a plan to provide a 5 percent salary increase to all teachers by 2030.

John L. Ritter: Lawyer John Ritter is running on a platform that mostly emphasizes the importance of education and infrastructure. On his campaign website, Ritter voices his support for community colleges, stating that “vocational and technical education in high schools and community colleges will be of particular importance in the next 20 years.” Ritter also advocates wiser spending and budgeting to bolster infrastructure needs such as roads and utilities.

Mark Robinson: Mark Robinson from Greensboro became known as a vocal conservative after he spoke during a Greensboro city council meeting in support of the Second Amendment in April 2018. The video of his city council speech went viral, landing him some time on Fox News. Since then, Robinson has been active supporter of gun rights, often leading rallies about the issue. He was even invited as a speaker during the 2018 NRA convention. As a political candidate, Robinson opposes abortion and NAFTA, and has called undocumented immigrants “invaders.”

Scott Stone: Prior to running for lieutenant governor, Scott Stone represented state House District 105 in Mecklenburg County, for a single term from 2016-18. Stone currently serves as president of American Engineering, a regional civil-engineering and survey firm in Charlotte. Stone supports reducing corporate and personal income taxes and is a supporter of gun rights as well as anti-abortion bills such as the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which was vetoed by Gov. RoyCooper last year. Stone opposes “sanctuary sheriffs,” stating on his campaign website that they should “be compelled to honor ICE detainers.”

Andy Wells: Andy Wells has served in the state Senate, representing District 42 in Alexander and Catawba counties since 2015, and prior to that served on term in the state House. Like Stone, Wells has been outspoken against sheriffs who refused to honor ICE detainers, and was also an outspoken critic of those who supported the removal of Silent Sam. Wells also supported the Voter ID law, which was blocked by a federal judge in December. Wells sponsored a bill in April that would have given every

licensed teacher in North Carolina $400 to pay for classroom supplies.

Attorney general Republican primary (vote for 1) Sam Hayes: Sam Hayes has practiced law for the past 20 years, according to his campaign website, and in 2015, he served as general counsel of the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources, now the Department of Environmental Quality. There, he assisted in the implementation of the Coal Ash Management Act which addressed the problem of coal-ash contamination. According to his website, Hayes supports Voter ID, reducing the rape-kit backlog, backs the Second Amendment and wants to help the agriculture sector.

Hayes said he would “ask the General Assembly for the authority to hold sanctuary sheriffs accountable” and that he supports “capital punishment” for “sanctuary sheriffs.”

Christine Mumma: Christine Mumma has been working as the executive director of the NC Center on Actual Innocence, which works to get wrongfully convicted people out of prison, since 2001. Prior to working for NCCAI, Mumma served as a clerk for now-deceased Supreme Court Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr. In a campaign announcement, Mumma described herself as “the only candidate who will stand up for the rule of law and enforce President Trump’s policies on immigration, defend the sanctity of life, and safeguard the Second Amendment.”

Jim O’Neill: This will be Jim O’Neill’s second time running for attorney general. In 2016, O’Neill lost to Buck Newton in the Republican primary.

O’Neill has served as district attorney in Forsyth County since 2009. According to his campaign website, O’Neill spearheaded a state program to help those struggling with opioid addiction and started an Elder Abuse Task Force.

A resident of Winston-Salem, O’Neill states on his website that he will focus on clearing the decades-old backlog of untested rape kits, defending capital case murder convictions, and combating the heroin and opioid crisis.

Superintendent of public instruction (open seat)

Democratic primary (vote for 1) James Barrett: James Barrett has been the at-large member on the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Board of Education since 2011. On his campaign website, Barrett lists specific plans for many of his platforms including changing school testing, promoting equity in schools, making sure schools have necessary funds and resources and promoting school safety. His plan for overhauling school testing is one of the most detailed and includes “more frequent but much lower-stakes assessments that will genuinely help teachers adjust instruction.”

Constance (Lav) Johnson: Constance Johnson is a former K-12 teacher, school counselor and school administrator. According to a document outlining her positions, Johnson has some of the most ambitious goals among the candidates including free lunches for all students and selling school recycling to help pay for supplies. Johnson also advocates for a harsh gun-control measure which she calls GLUP21 which indict parents of children under the age of 21 who brings a gun into a school. The proposal would also penalize parents who teach children under the age of 21 to shoot.

Michael Maher: Michael Maher has worked as an educator at the high school level as a science teacher for public schools in Forsyth and Wake counties, as well as a professor at Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh. A first-time political candidate, Maher currently serves as the president of the NC Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators. On his website, Maher advocates for equity in schools, calling for a transition from a report-card system to a public-accountability dashboard that would rate schools based on access to programs, suspension rates, principal experience, school safety and other measures rather than on test scores.

Jen Mangrum: Prior to becoming an associate professor at UNCG, Jen Mangrum spent 14 years teaching at elementary schools in Onslow and Guilford counties. In 2004, Mangrum started the Elementary Education program at NC State University. In 2018, Mangrum lost to Republican Phil Berger in the race for the seat in state Senate District 30. On her campaign website, Mangrum lists securing a living wage for all school personnel, prioritizing recruit-

Evelyn Terry (i): Evelyn Terry was elected to the state House in 2012, when the Republicans won a supermajority in the General Assembly and control of the governor’s office. Since then, Democrats took back the governor’s office in 2016 and broke the Republican supermajority in 2018, but much of Terry’s tenure has been marked by frustration with Republican non-cooperation. A member of the House Appropriations-Health and Human Services Committee Terry complained during a candidate forum at the Winston-Salem Urban League that North Carolina lacks the funds to address many healthcare needs because of the Republican majority’s refusal to expand Medicaid.

Kanika Brown: Kanika Brown told voters during the candidate forum that incumbent Evelyn Terry invited her to her home and asked her to run for the District 71 seat, but then changed her mind and decided she wanted to run for re-election after all. During the forum, Brown took aim at Terry’s vote against a 2017 law that allows school districts to place cameras on buses to record drivers who illegally pass stopped buses. “Those cameras protect our children, our teachers and our bus drivers,” Brown said.

NC House District 72 (open seat) Democratic primary (vote for 1)

Puzzles

Amber M. Baker: Amber Baker, who has been the principal of Kimberley Park Elementary in Winston-Salem for the past 12 years, told TCB that she was inspired to run for political office to build on her experience as an educator. Among her priorities as a candidate are increasing affordable housing and funding for public education. Baker also voiced her support for a mandatory African-American studies course, but said that individual school districts should be allowed to design the course curriculums for students to graduate.

Baker also voiced support for an increase

Shot in the Triad

Jon Hardister (i): Since his election to the state House in 2012, Jon Hardister has

Ryan A. Blankenship: Currently working as a manager for Morgan’s Farm, Ryan Blankenship writes on his campaign’s Facebook page that he is “no career politician nor [does he] want to be.” Blankenship served overseas as part of the Marine Corps and worked as an elementary school teacher for Guilford County Schools. According to his Facebook page, Blankenship supports limited government, stating that “the economy thrives when the government gets out of the way of innovation and entrepreneurship. Lower taxes, deregulation and pro-growth policies are the best way to boost our economy.” Blankenship also opposes the Affordable Care Act writing “deregulations brings choice, choice brings about customizable plans at affordable prices while ensuring individuals with pre-existing conditions are not left behind.”

Frank Ragsdale: Frank Ragsdale supports increasing teacher pay and expanding Medicaid, two stances that set the first-time political candidate apart from his fellow Republicans, according to reporting by WXII News.

“Medical cost is no secret,” Ragsdale

Democratic primary (vote for 1)

Culture

Republican primary (vote for 1)

Republican primary (vote for 1)

NC House District 71

Opinion

Treasurer

NC House District 59

NC House District 60

told the station. “Medical costs are rising tremendous amounts.” Still, like many Republicans, Ragsdale supports President Trump, calling him “a true leader” who has “turned this country around.”

News

Craig Horn: A former Russian linguist in the US Air Force, Craig Horn was elected to the state House in the redwave election of 2010. Now serving his fifth term, Horn chairs two key education committees in the House.

Although he’s running for the office, he’s on record as supporting legislative change to make superintendent of public instruction an appointed position. “What makes good sense is to go out and hire the best possible person in the country for that job,” he told NC Policy Watch, “not the most popular person, not the person who fills a political need.”

Catherine Truitt: Now chancellor of the nonprofit, online Western Governors University North Carolina, Catherine Truitt previously served as senior advisor on education to Gov. Pat McCrory. Like her opponent, Craig Horn, Truitt supports universal pre-K to all 4-year-olds free of cost and opposes a cap on the number of charter schools in North Carolina. Among the six priorities listed on her campaign website is “mak[ing] certain there is a highly qualified teacher in every classroom across the state” and “collaborat[ing] with experts to solve our statewide challenge around equitable funding for public schools.”

Dimple Ajmera: An immigrant who came to the United States with her family at the age of 16, Dimple Ajmera graduated from the University of Southern California and became a certified public accountant before getting elected to Charlotte City Council. “I literally went from cleaning hotel rooms to pay for college to managing multimillion-dollar budgets,” she says in her campaign literature. As state treasurer, Ajmera wants to apply her experience to the job of managing North Carolina’s $100 billion pension fund and $3 billion state employee healthcare fund. “I will be a fighter for you,” she says, “and respectfully ask for your vote.”

Ronnie Chatterji: Ronnie Chatterji, a Duke University business professor and former senior economist in the Obama administration, and his opponent, Matt Leatherman, agreed on many issues when they addressed voters during a Jan. 26 candidate forum in Greensboro. They agreed that more of the state pension fund should be shifted from savings to market investments, and that funds should be steered towards women and minority managers. Chatterji said his election would be a rebuke to the crowd that chanted “send her back” at a Trump rally in Greenville last summer.

“They’re talking about people like me, my kids,” Chatterji said. “People like me need to stand up and run for office in this cycle, and show another narrative.”

Matt Leatherman: Matt Leatherman and opponent Ronnie Chatterji both agreed that the next state treasurer needs to use their position as a bully pulpit to advocate that the General Assembly expand Medicaid.

But Leatherman, who served as policy director under former state Treasurer Janet Cowell, said his experience sets him apart. “You’re going to hear a lot of similar ideas and values here on the stage here today,” Leatherman told voters in Greensboro on Jan. 26. “I’m going to try to differentiate myself as a person who has done the work before in this office.”

ascended to the position of majority whip. He’s shepherded some bipartisan legislation, like the so-called “Brunch Bill” that allowed local governments to authorize restaurants to sell alcohol after 10 a.m. on Sunday morning, but he also angered Democratic constituents with his vote for HB 2 in 2016. The remedial maps adopted last year make rural District 59 slightly more competitive, and Democratic challenger Nicole Quick is lined up for the November general election. But first, Hardister will have to dispatch Allen Chappell in the Republican primary.

Allen Chappell: A retired colonel in the Army Special Forces and Global War on Terrorism veteran, Allen Chappell said he doesn’t have any criticism of Hardister. “I’ve never met the gentleman,” Chappell told WXII News. “I’ve never seen him around.” The 57-yearold Chappell who recently purchased a horse farm in Liberty, describes himself on his Facebook page as “a neighbor fighting to bring tax dollars back to our community for broadband connectivity, road upkeep and safer communities.”

Up Front

Republican primary (vote for 1)

Democratic primary (vote for 1)

Feb. 20-26, 2020

ment of educators of color, expanding access to early childhood education with a goal of providing universal pre-K in the next five years as well as increasing teacher pay to the national average as part of her priorities.

Keith A. Sutton: A member of the Wake County School Board, Keith A. Sutton is an educational consultant with a strong public-policy background, having previously served as a policydevelopment analyst and programdevelopment coordinator for the state Department of Public Safety and as legislative-affairs program manager for the state Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Among the priorities listed on Sutton’s campaign website are continuing “innovations in addressing the academic and socialemotional learning needs of students wherever they are performing” and providing “more targeted support to struggling schools and underperforming schools.”

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in base salaries for teachers as well as more flexibility in who can be hired as ways to improve education in the state.

LaShun Huntley: For the past several years, LaShun Huntley has worked as the CEO of United Health Services, a network of health clinics in Winston-Salem. Through his work at United Health Services, Huntley said he sees a lot of issues with the healthcare system and would work to get Medicaid expanded if he were elected. Huntley, who worked as a biology and earth science teacher at Parkland High School in 1993 and 1994, also supports an increase in teacher pay. In an interview, Huntley said his longtime residency and ties to the district make him the best candidate for the seat.

NC House District 75

Puzzles

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

Democratic primary (vote for 1)

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Gardenia Henley: An Air Force veteran and retired US State Department inspector general, Gardenia Henley made an unsuccessful run for state House in 2010, and then for governor, Congress and Winston-Salem mayor. As an inspector general, Henley said she reviewed federal legislation to “make sure it was working correctly, that the tax dollars were going to the correct location…. I was fighting fraud, waste and mismanagement.” Henley pledged during a candidate forum at the WinstonSalem Urban League that if she gets to Raleigh, “the first thing I will do is look at that budget, and I’m going to tear that budget apart.”

Elisabeth Motsinger: First elected to the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board in 2006, Elisabeth Motsinger is the longest-serving at-large member among her Democratic colleagues, and in 2012 she was the Democratic nominee for the 5th Congressional District. Given the Republican advantage in House District 75, Motsinger noted during the candidate forum that if she beats incumbent Donny Lambeth in November, “that means the Democrats are in charge. And it means we have to be focused and immediately work to pass Medicaid expansion.” She also wants to expand a $15 minimum wage for state workers to also include public education employees.

Republican primary (vote for 1) Donny Lambeth (i): A retired hospital CEO, Donny Lambeth has taken the lead role in driving healthcare policy for the Republican majority.

Since 2017, Lambeth has been working to come up with a compromise Medicaid expansion bill with a work requirement and subscriber buy-in that would be amenable to his Republican colleagues.

“I can’t get a very conservative General Assembly to move on it because it’s tied up in some of the politics in Raleigh,” Lambeth recently told the Winston-Salem Journal. “Whether it ever sees the light of day, I don’t know.”

Jacob Baum: At just 20 years old, Jacob Baum would be the youngest person to ever serve in the General Assembly if he’s elected. (He turns 21 — the minimum age — in April. Though he’s currently a student at UNC-Charlotte, where he studies political science and writes for the Niner Times, Baum is registered to vote in Kernersville, where he grew up. Baum’s father was killed when his vehicle was hit by a tractor trailer on Highway 52 while he was returning from work — a formative experience that the candidate talks about on his website.

LOCAL RACES Guilford County Commission District 5 (open seat) Democratic primary (vote for 1) Carly Cooke: Carly Cooke, who owns a real estate business with her husband, said education is the main reason why she decided to run for county commission. As a mother of two children in Guilford County Schools, Cooke talked about how she has experienced the school system personally. To pay for the $1.5 billion need that was found for Guilford County School facilities last year, Cooke said she would consider tax increases or additional bonds. Cooke also cited public health as well as increasing revenue as priorities. “Ensuring that all of our Guilford County citizens have access to vital health services is really important,” Cooke said.

Macon Sullivan: Not much is known about Macon Sullivan, who according to his campaign filing, resides in Greensboro. According to his

Facebook page, Sullivan served in the US Army from 1992 to 1994 and went to high school in Georgia and then in Louisiana.

Republican primary (vote for 1) Cyndy Hayworth: Cyndy Hayworth, who lived in Summerfield for 15 years before moving to Greensboro, ran for city council in 2007 when she was registered as a Democrat and again in 2011,. She works as the operation manager for Midtown Financial Advisers, a position she’s had since 2016. Hayworth said her priorities lie in the board’s responsibility to fund education in the county, noting support for an education bond or a tax increase to help fund schools. Hayworth told TCB that she has supported Democratic candidates such as Kay Cashion, for whom Hayworth organized a fundraiser in 2014 and that her willingness to work with Democrats makes her the stronger candidate.

Troy Lawson: Troy Lawson, who moved to Greensboro five years ago said in an interview with TCB that his priorities lie in education as well as maintaining the conservative majority on the board. Lawson was the first AfricanAmerican chairman of the Guilford County GOP, a position he held from 2017-19. In 2018, he ran for state House District 57, losing to Democrat Ashton Clemmons by about 36 percentage points. Lawson noted that schools needed funding, but declined to say whether or not he supports a bond or a tax increase to pay for school fixes.

Guilford County Commission District 6 (open seat) Republican primary (vote for 1) Jim Davis: Jim Davis served on High Point City Council from 201217, and even filled in as mayor for three months in 2014, after Bernita Sims resigned. In an interview with TCB, Davis said education is his main concern in running for the seat. “I know this bond issue for the schools is going to hit us front and center,” Davis said. “I am not an advocate for property taxes because our county has one of the highest property taxes in the country.” Davis also mentioned the importance of infrastructure when it comes to needs at the sheriff’s department as well as concerns about the opioid crisis and how it affects residents

in the district as well as countywide.

Jason Ewing: Jason Ewing served on High Point City Council from 2012-19, losing his seat to Michael Holmes by just a handful of votes. In his run for county commission, Ewing mentioned that he would be in favor of a sales-tax increase over a property-tax increase if it comes down to a decision between the two to pay for a potential education bond. Ewing also pointed to economic development and affordable housing as his other concerns for the county. “I’m focused on bringing new businesses here,” Ewing said. “But to do that, you’ve got to make sure you have strong schools and strong infrastructure in place, and be welcoming to the businesses.”

Guilford County Commission District 8 Democratic primary (vote for 1) Skip Alston (i): Skip Alston makes the case for his re-election based on his years of experience in the seat. He first held the seat from 1992-2012, then returned in 2017 to fill the unexpired term of Ray Trapp. “I’ve gone through 22 budgets,” Alston said in an interview with TCB. “More than anyone on the entire board. It would be selfish of me to not lend my knowledge and experience at this crucial time.” Similar to other county commission candidates, Alston prioritizes funding education on his platform. In order to do so, Alston said he would work to get a $1 billion package to start and then phase in another approach for the remaining $1 billion. He also mentioned the need for an increase in teacher pay and more economic development in the county.

Fahiym Hanna: Fahiym Hanna first ran for county commission in a special election in 2018 against incumbent Skip Alston when he lost by 40 points. This year, Hanna is running on a platform built entirely around what he calls the Correct Priority Society model, a county-wide work program that would ensure residents’ basic needs like food, water, shelter and access to education and infrastructure. Under the model, participants would work from 7 to 14 hours a week in any of a number of basic-needs sectors, and in exchange they would receive access to all of their basic needs in the amount needed, according to Hanna.

Democratic primary (vote for 1)

Winston-Salem mayor Democratic primary (vote for 1)

Puzzles

Allen Joines (i): Allen Joines has been the mayor of WinstonSalem for 18 years, a longer tenure than his counterparts in Greensboro and High Point, combined. Joines is also the president of the Winston-Salem Alliance, an economic development organization that has pumped money into the revitalization of downtown, and it can be hard to tell where one position ends and the other begins. But his re-election campaign is focusing on his efforts to reduce poverty, including a recently announced grant by BB&T Corp. to pay for community college for all low-income graduates of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.

JoAnne Allen: A frequent presence during the public-speaker portion of city council meetings, JoAnne Allen is known for her scorching criticism of the mayor and city council. She charges — without evidence, it must be said — that the city’s current leadership is incompetent and corrupt, with the city falling

Shot in the Triad

Richard V. Linville (i): The doughnut-shaped District B includes three seats, over which Republicans have held a lock for at least three decades, so the Republican primary will eliminate one of the contenders, and three survivors will go forward to contend with three Democratic candidates in November.

A farmer from rural, northeast Forsyth County, Richard Linville has served on the county commission since 1980.

Among the most challenging issues facing the county, Linville says, is operating volunteer fire departments in unincorporated areas of the county. “The commissioners as a whole in the last two years has worked on some issues related to that,” he said. “So, whenever issues come up that has to have extra attention, that’s what we do: We try to work it out.”

David R. Plyler (i): Currently chairman, David Plyler of Kernersville was first elected to the Forsyth County Commission in 1994 after retiring from a career in broadcasting. One of two moderate Republicans on a commission, Plyler has shepherded a number of capital improvement projects. “This library wasn’t here a few years ago, not the way it is now,” Plyler said during a recent forum at the Forsyth County Library in downtown Winston-Salem. “I helped play a role in what we now call our new library. And this is one of the most wonderful things county commissioners can do.” Next up: a new county courthouse.

Culture

Byron Gladden (i): Byron Gladden, who has represented District 7 since 2017, said that the biggest concern facing his district is equity. “Not just with an equitable share as it relates to new facilities,” Gladden said, “and not just to keeping neighborhood schools open, but

Renita Thompkins Linville (i): Renita Thompkins Linville was appointed to the position of Forsyth County clerk of superior court by Superior Court Judge Todd Burke to fill the unexpired term of Susan Frye in July 2019, but this will be her first election.

“My first priorities were to make sure that I got to know the staff,” Linville said during a Jan. 27 candidate forum. She said she worked with security to improve evacuation procedures in the event of an emergency. Overall, she said, “There’s always room for improvement. However, the staff is functioning very well.”

Republican primary (vote for up to 3)

Opinion

Democratic primary (vote for 1)

Democratic primary (vote for 1)

Forsyth County Commission District B

Gloria D. Whisenhunt (i): One of the board’s two conservative Republicans, alongside Linville, Gloria Whisenhunt was first elected to the county commission in 1996, following a career in cosmetology. Whisenhunt highlights workforce development as one of the county’s biggest challenges. “There’s no need in us handing out these incentives if we don’t have the workforce,” she said. Whisenhunt also noted that Forsyth County has the highest tax rate among the five most populous counties in the state. “I’m not proud of that at all,” she said, “and I think that hurts us in attracting business to our county.”

Terri Mrazek: The “newcomer” in the Republican primary, Terri Mrazek of Kernersville describes herself as a “strong conservative candidate.”

Mentioning that she once taught at Oak Ridge Military Academy for low pay, she said, “I think if you’re a good teacher you’re gonna base your qualities on the love and passion you have for each of your students. So, I am that candidate that’s not really for raising your taxes.”

Doing so, she said, could put residents with limited means in a position where they couldn’t afford to buy clothing.

News

Guilford County School Board District 7

Forsyth County Clerk of Superior Court

Denise Hines: Denise Hines currently serves as chief magistrate judge for Forsyth County.

She said her priority would be to “train and develop responsive clerks,” and “to evaluate staff, resources, processes — what’s working, what’s not.” Hines said that as a magistrate judge, she’s attempted to reach a clerk and no one picked up the phone.

“If you don’t answer the phone when a magistrate judge is calling and she has a defendant in front of her who may need to be released,” Hines said, “I can’t imagine what you all, the community, are getting when you call.”

Up Front

Dianne Bellamy-Small (i): Greensboro resident Dianne Bellamy-Small, who has represented District 1 since 2017, noted several primary concerns for her district, including school safety, achievement levels for students, competitive pay for teachers and staff, and more medical and mental-health services for students. When it comes to the $1.5 billion need for school facilities, Bellamy-Small said she supports the leadership of Superintendent Sharon Contreras, and trusts Contreras and her staff to guide the priorities for the county.

Jeff Golden: Jeff Golden, who served on High Point City Council from 2012-19, said in an interview with TCB that he believes the school board needs a voice from High Point. “People don’t feel like High Point is represented,” Golden said. He noted an imbalance in the county’s schools and emphasized a need to find adequate funding to help some of the poorer, older schools. “We can’t take our most risky students and most at-need and put them up in one school,” Golden said.

Ron Tuck: Ron Tuck, an independent contractor in Greensboro, advocates for the implementation of more apprenticeship programs for students as part of his platform. “I have a plan for the youth to become workable in this area,” he said. Tuck also noted school safety as one of his priorities and concerns within the district and opted for a face-to-face approach in dealing with students who may pose problems.

“You have to sit down with them on a one and one and bring their parents in at the same time,” Tuck said. “You have to be stern.”

putting programming in those schools that will attract kids from all over.” Gladden also noted the need for high-quality teachers in east Greensboro. To promote equity, Gladden said representatives should look at reducing the achievement gap as well as reconsider some school district lines. He also noted the importance of listening to constituents. “I feel that we should have community input every step of the way.”

Bettye Taylor Jenkins: A former teacher’s assistant for Guilford County Schools, Bettye Jenkins ran for the seat in the 2016, losing to Gladden in the general election by more than 30 points.

In an interview with TCB, Jenkins noted her 33-year tenure of working within the education system, where she served as a teacher’s assistant, school social worker and more. She noted her support for increasing career and technical education courses, resources for students with disabilities and pay increases for employees as some of her platform points.

Jayvon Johnson: Before becoming the youth pastor at Mount Zion Baptist Church of Greensboro, Jayvon Johnson served as the at-large member on the Guilford County Council of PTAs. Johnson cites systemic concerns with regard to economics, racial tolerance and societal trust as the main issues facing District 7. When it comes to school safety, Johnson said he will work with police officers in schools, educate families on the student handbook, and create mini scenario workshops to train for different events.

Feb. 20-26, 2020

Guilford County School Board District 1

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Feb. 20-26, 2020 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

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behind as a result. “If you don’t understand government — civics 101 — how can you fix it?” she asked at a candidate forum in late January. “If we don’t have a group of individuals that’s making policy for the good and the welfare of the people, we end up right back where we started.”

Winston-Salem City Council, East Ward Democratic primary (vote for 1) Annette Scippio (i): A retired nonprofit leader and corporate manager, Annette Scippio was appointed to city council to fill the unexpired term of Derwin Montgomery in 2018. In her relatively short tenure on council, Scippio has made waves suspending a plan to revitalize the newly designated East End, a signature project of her predecessor. The incumbent speaks nostalgically about a past when manufacturing provided ample employment to residents of the economically struggling ward, but she also emphasizes personal responsibility.

“Children were nurtured by neighbors, churches and teachers,” she said. “They were given expectations and aspirations.

That doesn’t exist now.”

Phil Carter: A longtime Democratic Party volunteer and previous candidate for city council, Phil Carter said as representative of the East Ward, he would emphasize “keeping the people first” and “inclusive governance.” In response to the challenge of maintaining affordable housing — a particular challenge in the East Ward — Carter wants Winston-Salem to emulate a program in Chattanooga, Tenn., which uses state funds to offset the cost of any property tax increase for low-income homeowners who are elderly, disabled or military veterans.

Kismet Loftin-Bell: A consultant and community college instructor, Kismet LoftinBell is also concerned about preserving affordable housing. She wants to enlist churches and recreation centers in educating residents on “after-life planning,” so that families can preserve wealth and housing. Her pitch to voters is that she understands the needs of the ward because she’s experienced its struggles firsthand. “I am the East Ward,” Loftin-Bell told TCB. “I understand what it’s like to be a child going home to little food. I understand what it’s like to be a young mother.”

George Redd IV: George Redd IV’s roots in the ward grow deep.

His grandfather was one of the first African-American officers to serve on the WinstonSalem Police Department, and his uncle retired as an assistant chief. Redd, who is the program-services director for Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County, decided to run for city council after going through the City University of WinstonSalem program. He pointed to the city’s Transforming Urban Residential Neighborhoods program as a resource for helping homeowners finance repairs to aging housing, and said he would work hard to get the word out.

Winston-Salem City Council, North Ward Democratic primary (vote for 1) DD Adams (i): Since she was first elected to city council in 2009, DD Adams voted with her colleagues for most of the financial-incentives packages that helped stimulate redevelopment in downtown. But in this election, Adams is positioning herself as a change-maker, while touting her success at persuading retired NFL player Chris Harris to build housing at Whitaker Park, the shuttered RJ Reynolds plant in the North Ward.

She also stands behind the city’s $1.5 million investment in a hydroponics project — an effort by a local CDC to provide jobs and food.

Eunice Campbell: An analyst with a corporate travel agency, challenger Eunice Campbell is running as a change agent, questioning what she sees as lack of progress in the North Ward.

She wants the city to levy higher taxes on vacant land to discourage real estate speculation, a program that’s been tried in Washington, DC and Pittsburgh. She also questioned the benefit of the Whitaker Park development, arguing that a proposed transportation plan linked to the development will prevent current residents from benefiting. And during a recent candidate forum, Campbell took aim at the hydroponics project, charging that it “has no real return on investment.”

Winston-Salem City Council, Northeast Ward (open seat) Democratic primary (vote for 1)

Barbara Hanes Burke: The political retirement of Vivian Burke, who has served on city council for 42 years, means the Northeast Ward is guaranteed to have new representation.

Among the contenders is Barbara Hanes Burke, Vivian Burke’s daughter-in-law and the wife of Superior Court Judge L. Todd Burke. Burke’s run for city council comes one year into her first term on the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board, where she led an unsuccessful charge for mandatory African-American studies, created a community volunteer literacy council to improve third-grade reading scores, and organized a college and career fair.

Keith King: Keith King takes it as a point of pride that he lost twice to Vivian Burke, first as an independent candidate in 2013 and then as a Democrat in 2017; she was a formidable opponent.

King owns Kingz Downtown Market, a fixture on Liberty Street that draws a significant portion of its clientele from the Northeast Ward. The position gives King a vantage point for understanding the ward’s challenges. “I am on the ground with the people,” King said.

“People talk to me. I see how people live.

I see eye to eye with them.”

Morticia (Tee-Tee) Parmon: Like Barbara Hanes Burke, Morticia (Tee-Tee) Parmon comes from a Winston-Salem political dynasty as the daughter of the late Earline Parmon. “I was cut from the cloth of the late Sen. Earline Parmon,” the candidate told TCB. “All I know how to do is fight for the people.”

Parmon has already chalked up an accomplishment for the community. In September 2019, after years of delays in the replacement of Ashley Elementary, Parmon addressed city council to ask why an item proposing the sale of land to the school district had been removed from the agenda. A month later, council members voted unanimously to approve the sale.

Winston-Salem City Council, South Ward Democratic primary (vote for 1) John Larson (i): A historian who retired in 2016 as the vice president of restoration for Old Salem Museum & Gardens, Larson was elected that year as the hand-picked successor to Molly Leight, who represented the

South Ward for 11 years prior to that.

In his first term, Larson spoke up for West Salem residents unhappy about a needle exchange operating out of a neighborhood church, and cast a vote against dropping the name “Dixie” from the city’s annual fair, winding up on the losing side. But he’s not one to focus on negatives, declaring, “The trajectory is that Winston-Salem is a city that’s reinventing itself.”

Mackenzie Cates-Allen: After working for the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership for a couple years, Mackenzie Cates-Allen started her own organization, Winston-Salem Ambassadors and her civic engagement has propelled her into a run for city council.

Cates-Allen is calling for a more transparent and user-friendly city government, but shares the incumbent’s preference for playing up the city’s strengths instead of dwelling on its shortcomings.

Rather than bemoan the loss of corporate headquarters, she wants to celebrate entrepreneurial startups. “Those are the innovators I want to talk about,” she said. “It’s our job as city council to let people know the opportunities.”

Carolyn Highsmith: A retired nurse, Carolyn Highsmith set up a community watch in Konnoak Hills in 2007, when construction of BB&T Ballpark displaced crime and caused a wave of break-ins in her neighborhood.

Highsmith mounted two unsuccessful challenges against Molly Leight, the ward’s former representative, and then ran against Larson in 2016. Highsmith narrowly won the primary, but the election was thrown out because of irregularities, and Larson ultimately prevailed in a do-over contest. “Only a certain number of businesses are benefiting from the largesse of city council,” Highsmith charged in an interview with TCB. “They tend to be developers or the pet projects of certain council members.”

Winston-Salem City Council, Southwest Ward (open seat) Democratic primary (vote for 1) Scott Andree-Bowen: Dan Besse, who has represented the Southwest Ward since 2001, is vacating the seat to run for state House District 74. (He doesn’t have an opponent in the primary, and will face Republican Jeff Zenger in the November general election.) Scott

Republican primary (vote for 1)

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Robert Clark (i): Robert Clark, who has represented the West Ward since 2001, is the sole Republican member of Winston-Salem City Council.

His primary focus, he says, is economic development. “The city is doing well,” he says. “Now is the time to push harder on the accelerator.” The one area where a citizen survey showed dissatisfaction, he said, was road maintenance, including pothole and sidewalk repair.

“They’re not where they need to be and we need to allocate the resources and do a better job.” As a Republican, Clark says, “I hope I bring a measure of reasonableness to the council.”

George K. Ware: According to information from OnYourBallot.com, Ware is a real estate broker who joined the race because of his concerns about the city’s budget and spending. “WS City Officials and City Council Members are seriously failing in [budget] management and its ability to find ways to rationally balance it as well as the way it inter-

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Constitutionalist primary for president: Don Blankenship, Charles Kraut Libertarian primary for president: Max Abramson, Ken Armstrong, Dan Behrman, Kenneth Blevins, Souraya Faas, Erik Gerhardt, Jedidiah Hill, Jacob Hornberger, Jo Jorgensen, Adam Kokesh, John McAfee, James Orlando Ogle, Steve Richey, Kim Ruff, Vermin Supreme, Arvin Vohra Democratic primary for state auditor: Beth A. Wood (i), Luis A. Toledo Republican primary for state auditor: Anthony Wayne (Tony) Street, Tim Hoegemeyer Democratic primary for state commissioner of agriculture: Walter Smith, Jenna Wadsworth, Donovan Alexander Watson Republican primary for state commissioner of insurance: Mike Causey (i), Ronald Pierce Republican primary for state commissioner of labor (open seat): Josh Dobson, Pearl Burris Floyd, Chuck Stanley Republican primary for NC secretary of state: Chad Brown, Michael LaPaglia, EC Sykes Nonpartisan primary for District Court Judge District 18 Seat 4 (vote for 1): Tomakio Gause, Caroline Tomlinson-Pemberton Democratic primary for District Court Judge District 18 Seat 7 (vote for 1): Angela C. Foster, Michele Lee Democratic primary for District Court Judge District 18 Seat 12 (vote for 1): Gavin Reardon, Kelvin Smith Democratic primary for District Court Judge District 18 Seat 13 (vote for 1): Moshera Mills, Brian Tomlin

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acts with its citizens,” Ware writes. He also advocates for addressing employee salaries.

Due to space constraints, this voter guide does not cover the following contests on the Guilford and Forsyth county ballots:

Feb. 20-26, 2020

Andree-Bowen, one of the candidates vying to replace Besse for the Southwest Ward seat on city council, is the director of youth and food-pantry ministries at a local church who serves on the WinstonSalem Urban Food Policy Council and on Mayor Allen Joines’ Think Orange campaign. Andree-Bowen is unique among candidates for city council in calling on the city to take steps to combat climate change. He also wants to enhance the visibility and authority of the Citizen’s Police Review Board.

Kevin Mundy: Now the program and alumni coordinator for Leadership Winston-Salem, Kevin Mundy previously served as community relations director for Sara Lee Apparel (now Hanesbrands). Like his opponent, Mundy emphasizes compassionate governance. He would be the first openly gay member of city council, and he argues his representation would bring diversity to the body. Mundy has received the endorsement of the NC Police Benevolent Association. He also says Winston-Salem needs to invest more in the arts, arguing that the City of Arts and Innovation “has missed the mark” in not building a performing arts center like Greensboro, Durham and Charlotte.

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Feb. 20-26, 2020 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

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CITIZEN GREEN

OPINION

Will written consent stop the cops from over-policing black people?

After an October 2015, New York Times article held Greensboro up as a national example of shameful racial disparities in traffic stops, then-Chief Wayne Scott announced the department would discontinue stops for minor infractions like broken taillights.

Brian James, his successor, noted the change in a discussion with city council members on Tuesday. Even before that, James said, the number of traffic stops was on the decline, and it’s dropped from about 26,000 in 2015 to about 19,000 in 2019.

by Jordan Green The trend Greensboro tracks with many of the state’s other large law enforcement agencies, including the State Highway Patrol, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and Durham Police Department. It’s not clear, to me anyway, exactly what’s causing the de-escalation of policing, but it’s hard not to see a correlation with the rising consciousness about mass incarceration after the 2010 publication of The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, the rebellions against racial profiling and police killing unarmed black men from Baltimore to Baton Rouge from 2014 through 2016, and increased media scrutiny as a correlation. If conservative pundits worry about a “Ferguson effect” — with “the criminal element […] feeling empowered,” as St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson worried in 2014 — maybe there’s also a concurrent benefit of ordinary people Council members Sharon Hightower (center) and Goldie Wells (right) listen to JORDAN finding some breathing space to drive to work without being harassed for minor equipment comments by Greensboro Criminal Justice Advisory Committee member Tom Phillips.

GREEN violations.

But the trends in traffic stops are not all salutary. While the African-American share of tance to any attempts to rein in harmful police practices.

Greensboro’s population has remained steady over the past decade at about 41 percent, “Can someone tell me where this came from, because I’m a little confused, and here we their share of police traffic searches has increased from 68 percent in 2010 to 82 percent are trying to make a policy for our police department, which we are becoming micro-manin 2019, compared to a decline from 25 percent to 13 percent for white drivers, according agers for,” at-large Councilwoman Marikay Abuzuaiter said, adding that she was “having to statewide traffic-stop data published by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice on the some heartburn with this.”

Open Data Policing website.

Councilwoman Tammi Thurm, who represents District 5, said she and at-large CouncilIt’s even worse in Durham, where the black population is 39.5 percent, but the black woman Michelle Kennedy initiated the review, meeting several months ago with Chief share of traffic searched has climbed from 78 percent to 88 percent, while whites’ share has Scott. Thurm said she was concerned when Scott acknowledged that officers do not tell dropped from 11 percent to 7 percent. drivers that they have the right to refuse a search. (The Fourth Amendment of the ConstiPolicing that maintains these disparities is not fair, or effective: The contraband “hit rate” tution guarantees the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.) for black and white drivers in Greensboro is exactly the same: 33 percent. In Durham, it’s 29 “He said, ‘Well, we just ask them: ‘Hey, can we look in your car,’” Thurm recounted. “And percent for black drivers and 26 percent for white drivers.

I asked him: ‘Do you ever tell them: ‘You have the right to say, no, we can’t look in the car.’

These disconcerting trends seem relevant to a growing discussion about whether And he said, ‘No, we don’t say that.’ And so that prompted me to say, ‘Okay, we’re only Greensboro should require police officers to obtain written consent from drivers before talking about half of the right, and we’re not really talking about their whole rights here.’” conducting vehicle searches when they do not have probable Chief James acknowledged what many council members cause. left unspoken — that the issue underlying the call for reform is The Greensboro Criminal Justice Advisory Committee the racial disparity. But he hinted at a counter-current against The Greensboro Criminal Justice brought a recommendation to do just that to city council on the relaxed policing model that has defined the past five years.

Tuesday, while also calling for requirement that officers verbally Advisory Committee meets on “What I will also tell you is that there’s also a disproporinform drivers of their right to refuse a search without any tionality in where crime is occurring,” he said. “We’re looking Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Tannenconsequence, much like a Miranda notice. at where officers need to be. And I’ll tell you: As I’m going The Durham Police Department implemented a policy baum-Sternberger Room. Commuaround the community and talking to people, a lot of people requiring completion of a consent form prior to conducting are saying, ‘We want to see you more in our community nity members plan on showing up a vehicle or building search In October 2014. Unfortunately, because we’re having some crime issues.’ And a lot of time that the results can only be considered disheartening. A report to advocate for a written consent activity is driven by calls for service, and also by requests from on traffic stop data published by the Durham Police Departcitizens. So, will it solve the disparity problem? I don’t know if policy and de-prioritizing enforcement showed that the gap between black and white drivers for it will.” consent searches virtually closed from January through June ment of marijuana laws.

Council members ultimately decided to postpone a deci2019, with less than 1 percent of stops resulting in searches for sion, asking the Greensboro Criminal Justice Advisory Comboth groups. Yet probable cause searches, in which officers mittee to analyze a random sample of police body camera must articulate reasonable grounds, have surged against black videos recording vehicle searches, and bring back a report. The call for further study did drivers. A graph in the DPD report shows a probable cause search rate of 7 percent for not inspire confidence in Casey Thomas, a community member wants the city to adopt a black drivers, compared to less than 2 percent for white drivers. Academic researchers who written consent policy. study racial disparities in policing call it the “substitution effect.”

“We’re likely to hear the same argument when they come back: It’s fine because more “In terms of probable cause, officers use things that fall far short of seeing contraband,” crime is being committed in black communities,” she said. “Unless something really said Councilman Justin Outling, a lawyer by profession who represents District 3. “For exdramatic happens between now and then, I’m not sure that everyone will prioritize making ample, I was involved in a case in which the probable cause offered by the officer was that the change just because it’s the right thing to do to fix a policy that violates black people’s ‘a black man lost the color from his face.’… I’m just saying there’s a lot of leeway here.” rights.”

Whatever the merits of a written consent policy, some council members signaled resis-

EDITORIAL

by Clay Jones

Up Front News

claytoonz.com

Opinion Culture

“In all the years that I’ve served on the vides a supplement. One of the five largschool board, every single school board est school districts in the state, Winstonmember has wanted to raise teacher Salem/Forsyth County Schools ranks 19th salaries, every single superintendent has in average teacher supplement, behind wanted to raise salaries,” says WinstonGuilford County Schools (10th), Durham Salem/Forsyth County School Board County Schools (6th), Wake County member Elisabeth Motsinger, a DemoSchools (3rd) and Charlotte-Mecklenburg crat, in a video on the district’s Facebook County Schools (2nd). page. “Every single teacher has wanted The school board and the county comus to raise their salaries. And here is an mission in Forsyth finally came together opportunity to do just that.” to find a way to fund a proper teacherYou won’t find many issues where local pay supplement. It’s not a big ask for elected Democrats and Revoters. publicans, where members “Do we want to get the You won’t find of both the school board best teachers we can?” and the Forsyth County Dave Plyer, the Repubmany issues Commission, are in accord. lican chair of the county where DemoBut a ballot initiative in commission, asked during Forsyth County to add a recent candidate forum crats and a quarter-cent sales tax at the Central Library in Republicans to pay for a teacher-pay downtown Winston-Salem.

“Or do we want to take the supplement is one issue are in accord. cheapest teachers we can where they agree. afford, and just roll along Former Commissioner and sing a song? I think that’s wrong, and Everette Witherspoon memorably imI think we need to continue what we’re plored the former superintendent, Bevgoing to do. And when I mentioned erly Emory, during her May 2018 budget presentation: “What this county has done March 3rd, I mentioned that because we with supplement funding is abysmal. And are asking you — the commissioners and the school board — to take one quarter hopefully y’all come and ask the county of a penny added to a sales tax, which this year during our budget for the will provide between $13- and $14 million funding…. You have the votes to get the supplement done. It’s just, do you and the for the teachers. That could be between $2,000-$3,000 more for them, and will school board have the will to ask for it?” make us more competitive. We’ve got to The state pays public school teachers do that.” their base salaries, but every county pro-

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Feb. 20-26, 2020

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Nik Snacks National Margarita Day arrives in the Triad with local flair

A

lot of folklore, misgivings and untruths surround the origin of the Margarita.

This Mexican

by Nikki Miller-Ka import, which means “Daisy” in English, has a whole backstory worthy of a documentary series on Netflix or Hulu. Most begin in Mexico and end with the drink being named after a beautiful woman. There’s even a version of the story that begins with a popular cocktail from the 1930s similar to the Margarita named Daisy, that is made with Brandy instead of tequila. While several people claim to be the originators of the drink, the general consensus is that lime, tequila, triple sec, sugar and salt are all it takes to create the classic drink.

Saturday is National Margarita Day. The date may seem arbitrary to us commoners, but it actually serves as an opportunity for bars and restaurants to showcase their cocktail programs and line the rims with salt. On a mission to find the most interesting Margaritas in the Triad, I found that this lime and tequila-forward beverage has morphed into an eclectic, creative cocktail that is a far cry from its 1930s origins. Traditionally, the classic Margarita is served in a coupe glass that looks like a longstemmed champagne flute with an extra compartment on the bottom for holding more drink. These glasses are more apt to hold shrimp cocktail than an actual liquid cocktail these days. Modern mixology eschews these classic pieces of stemware and utilizes pint glasses, glass canning jars and repurposed jam jars more often than not.

Before the Porch Kitchen and Cantina opened in Winston-Salem, owner Claire Calvin had a Margarita party and invited her friends and neighbors to the empty restaurant space in order to decide the components of the new restaurant’s signature drink. Fresh squeezed lime juice, cilantro leaves and agave with the omission of triple sec won out over sugar and the addition of other liquors. It was unanimous amongst the guests that this combo was the most interesting one.

“It’s balanced,” Calvin said. “I think the agave opens up the taste of the tequila and you can really taste it in the drink.”

The pepper-infused Margarita at Foothills utilizes mezcal and heirloom peppers.

At Alma Mexicana, Calvin’s other restaurant, the house Margarita is a mix of Espolon Blanco tequila, Gran Gala (an orange liqueur), fresh orange juice, lime and orange bitters. The lesser-known, but equally fresh fraternal sister of the Margarita, the Paloma, is also served at the restaurant. This straightforward alternative choice has fresh grapefruit juice and soda water to complete the tequila family photo.

At Foothills Brewing, bar manager, Nicole LaCarrubba goes beyond the draft list and infuses liquors and spirits to produce one-of-a-kind, off-menu options for those longtime patrons “in the know.” The pepper-infused Margarita is made with mezcal (derived from the agave plant, just like tequila but it’s cooked, giving the final product a smoky aroma and flavor), dried heirloom hot paper-lantern peppers and lemon-drop peppers. A smoked salt rim finishes it off. Very spicy and teetering on the line of savory and sweet, it pairs well with many of the menu selections at the Camel City’s oldest brewpub.

At Crafted, the Art of the Taco, the signature Margarita has an added citrus flair with fresh orange juice in addition to the fresh lime. The cumin/sea salt rim offers a unique and spicy take on the classic rim garnish.

Tipsy’z Urban Cantina in High Point

NIKKI MILLER-KA

is less than a week old, but already has a full Margarita menu to pair with its tacos, rice bowls and burritos. Their Margarita uses pineapple-infused tequila with vanilla bean, house sour mix, a chili/lime salted rim and a fresh pineapple wedge for garnish. The Haba-nother Margarita is the cantina’s signature and showcases habanero- infused tequila, Domaine de Canton, muddled ginger, agave, pineapple juice and a spicy salt rim. This is the only Margarita I found to be served in the classic coupe glass. The ingredients are anything but traditional but the presentation brings back nostalgia.

However you choose to commemorate National Margarita Day, on the rocks and pepper-infused or stirred with top shelf mezcal, the drink is a bar staple that can be customized to fit you and your taste.

• House Margarita, the Porch Kitchen and Cantina, W-S, theporchws.com • House Margarita, Crafted, the Art of the Taco, GSO, eatatcrafted.com • Pepper-infused Margarita, Foothills Brewing, W-S, foothillsbrewing. com • House Margarita, Alma Mexicana, W-S, almamexicanawsnc.com 492 Patterson Ave. • Margarita, Tipsy’z Urban Cantina, HP, tipzyztavern.com

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CULTURE The W-S Symphony showcases the majesty of John Williams

by Sayaka Matsuoka

T

he golden outline of a curvy sansserif font spelling out the words “Star Wars” flashes onto the screen. Almost simultaneously, the brash blare of brass instruments resonates through the theater and penetrates the earbuds of every viewing member. It’s triumphant; it’s optimistic; it’s Star Wars.

Since 1977, American composer John Williams has created the musical score for every single Star Wars film, including the most recent and final film of the story arc, Rise of Skywalker. And despite new characters, planets, creatures and storylines, each film begins with the same memorable tune. It elicits an almost Pavlovian response from viewers, a sense of excitement and nostalgia that swells in their chests.

On Sunday afternoon, the WinstonSalem Symphony aimed to evoke those same feelings by playing a concert dedicated to many of Williams’ most famous pieces of music. The 88-year-old is widely regarded as one of the greatest film composers of all time, and currently holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for a living person.

Only Walt Disney has more. The concert, which played to a crowd of adults and dozens of enthusiastic children, took place at the R. J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium.

“He’s changed the way we experience film,” says Travis Creed, the general manager of the symphony. “I think there’s built-in nostalgia with this music that’s built into the popular ethos. It’s built into our heads. Everybody will have a moment in the show where they have a visceral moment.”

Indeed, it’s hard to imagine 20th Century film without the work of Williams, who scored some of the most successful and memorable films in the modern era including Jaws, the Jurassic Park franchise, the Indiana Jones franchise, Superman, the first three Harry Potter films and Schindler’s List to name a few.

But the opening song played during Sunday’s concert wasn’t a piece that made it onto the big screen. Instead it was something that rallied the world’s best athletes during the 1984 Summer Olympics. Now recognized as one of the most famous Olympic themes, alongside Leo Arnaud’s “Bugler’s Dream,” Williams’ “Olympic Fanfare and Theme” opens again with a distinct brass section led by a group of repeating trum-

Conductor Timothy Redmond said it best during the concert: “John Williams adds pixie dust like no one else.”

SAYAKA MATSUOKA

pets that builds into a crescendo and lands into the steady the celesta, an instrument that looks like a piano but sounds beating of a reserved snare drum. According to an interview closer to a xylophone. The chaotic swirls of minor violins join on johnwilliams.org, Williams said he created the music to in as the wind instruments introduce a mysterious melody. express each of the athletes’ enormous efforts during the “Hedwig’s Theme” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone games. is like many of Williams’ pieces in that it acts as a leitmotif, or “It is difficult to describe how I feel about these athletes and a recurring theme, in a piece of music that’s associated with their performances without sounding pretentious, but their a particular person or situation. In fact, it’s exactly this kind struggle ennobles all of us,” Williams says. “I hope I express of writing that Williams used for much of his music for Star that in this piece.”

Wars.

During the concert, conductor Timothy Redmond repeat“Imperial March” which was first introduced in The Empire edly spoke about Williams’ genius and ability to convey the Strikes Back, has become a kind of calling card for Darth Vader. depths of human emotion so acutely and universally through In the film, the score plays in the background Vader’s looming his compositions. Before the performance Executor comes into focus. A from-behind of “Flight to Neverland” from Hook, shot captures the back of Darth Vader’s Redmond noted that “John Williams adds head, his hard breathing heard over the To learn more about the pixie dust like no one else.” aggressive blares of trumpet and tromAccording to Creed, concerts that bone. For the rest of the series, any time Winston-Salem Symphony, showcase Williams’ music often sell out Vader or his empire enters a storyline, the visit wssymphony.org. and are usually played as part of symphosame ominous theme can be heard. nies’ “Pops” concerts, but he says that On Sunday afternoon, Vader makes an audience members should know that appearance in person. the music is just as difficult as pieces by giants like Mozart or Accompanied by Boba Fett and a decked-out stormtrooper, Beethoven. he marches authoritatively onto the stage, his fist raised in “It is real classical music,” Creed says. “It is technically very triumphant glory. Kids who are getting sleepy and slouching in difficult. We actually have extra rehearsals because of the their seats suddenly perk upright, craning their necks to get a complexity of these pieces.” closer look. And that’s the magic of Williams’ creations, Creed Throughout the evening, the skilled musicians play score says. after score from film after film, until they arrive at the set of “His music really hits home with people,” he says. “You music that many in the audience, especially those of younger don’t have to be a classical music lover to love this show.” ages, have been waiting for.

A single high-pitched, whimsical melody begins playing on

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1 “You’re the Worst” star Chris 6 Gadot of “Wonder Woman” 9 DJ’s output 14 Pentium company 15 Have regret 16 Positive terminal 17 Liquid extracted from beer brewed by quarterback Elway?

19 Be indecisive 20 Margarine substitute 21 Dodge 23 Quagmire 24 Musical ability 25 Recognize 26 Cookies in sleeves ©2020 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) 28 British actor Garfield is angry?

32 Item thrown by Olympic athletes 35 They’re attracted to sugar 36 Compete 37 Work badge, e.g.

38 NBA tiebreakers 39 “That should do it” 41 Abbr. in want ads denoting fair hiring 42 Clothing company founded in Queens 44 Disallowed Answers from last issue 45 Sandwich grill belonging to comedian Short?

48 Movement started on social media in 2006 13 Gen ___ (post-boom kids) 49 Bale stuff 18 Mary Louise Parker Showtime series 50 Mini-menace 22 Lead-in to “while” 53 “No Ordinary Love” singer 25 Like some shirts or pajamas 55 ___-Kettering Institute 27 Molly’s cousin 57 “Million Dollar ___” (2006 “Simpsons” 28 Healthcare.gov statute, briefly episode featuring Homer’s dad) 29 Completely consume 58 Desktop images 30 “Your Majesty” 60 Result of an arson investigation on 31 Everything bagel bit Sesame Street?

32 Per ___ 62 Got up 33 Notion 63 20-20, e.g.

34 Winter house protection 64 Brownish eye color 38 Antiquated 65 “The Post” star Streep 40 Day planner divs.

66 Ken Jennings has four of them 43 Ones, in Juarez 67 Rub out 44 “Helps stop gas before it starts” product 46 Microscopic Down 47 Actor Ving of “Pulp Fiction” 1 Action figure with kung-fu grip 50 Resort island near Majorca 2 “Waterworld” girl with a map on her back 51 Boggy areas 3 It’ll knock you out 52 “Get Out” director Jordan 4 Slot machine city 53 “Anna and the King of ___” 5 Chicago transit trains 54 Part of a parcel, perhaps 6 President Cleveland 56 “Chocolat” actress Lena 7 Invisible vibes 57 “Bearing gifts, we traverse ___” 8 Disappointments 59 Poutine seasoning?

9 Like some sugar 61 “___-Hulk” (upcoming Disney+ series) 10 Beguile 11 Gets out of the way 12 Time to “beware”

EVENTS

Every Monday

Feb. 20-26, 2020

CROSSWORD ‘I’m No Saint’—shot out of the canon. SUDOKU

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