Mark Barrett

mbarrett@citizen-times.com

Libertarian William Meredith and Democratic Sen. Terry Van Duyn are running against each other in state Senate District 49, which takes in most of Buncombe County except for some communities along the Henderson County line. Meredith declined to submit answers to the Citizen-Times questionnaire.

Terry Van Duyn

Home: Biltmore Forest

Current job: North Carolina state senator

Experience: Twenty years of volunteer nonprofit service in Buncombe County, member of the county Health and Human Services Board, appointed to Senate in 2013, elected in 2014, N.C. Senate Democratic Whip

Education: B.A. in economics, University of Illinois; Master of Business Administration, University of Connecticut

Age: 65

What would be your top priorities over the next two years?

Restoring education funding to pre-recession levels. Our students still do not have current textbooks, too many students are having to share textbooks, and teachers are spending their own money to supply their students with basic supplies. Closing the health insurance coverage gap by expanding Medicaid. Almost half a million people in North Carolina go without healthcare because Gov. McCrory and the state legislature stubbornly send our tax dollars to other states rather than letting it stay here where it would create jobs and provide healthcare for people who desperately need it.

What, if anything, do you think the state should do next on House Bill 2?

We need to repeal it as soon as possible. I introduced a full repeal bill during the last session that was not allowed a debate, but I’m willing to go to Raleigh at a moment’s notice to undo the damage this terrible law is doing to our economy, our reputation, and the people of our state, especially the LGBT community.

What steps should state government take to grow the North Carolina economy?

There are some things we could do that would have immediate impact, including 1) repealing HB2 and 2) taking the Medicaid expansion. Those two steps alone would bring billions of dollars back into our economy.

Over the last four years, the state has reduced some taxes and shifted more of the tax burden from income to sales taxes. What is your view of this trend and should it continue?

A robust, sustainable economy is driven by consumer spending. When working people have money to spend, our businesses thrive. Cutting corporate taxes and taxes for the wealthy may help campaign donors but doesn’t “trickle down” to the rest of us. However, a tax on car repairs hurts people who are least able to afford it. The direction the General Assembly is going is not only morally wrong, it is wrong for our economy.

What are the next steps you think the state should take regarding education?

We need to get back to basics: 1) get teacher pay back up to the national average, 2) eliminate the waiting list for pre-K, 3) restore textbook funding to pre-recession levels ASAP, 4) measure our schools fairly, based on the growth teachers are able to achieve in their classrooms rather than performance on high stakes tests, and 5) give teachers more time to teach by eliminating unnecessary standardized testing.

Let’s start paying attention to our schools, rather than diverting resources from them with gimmicky schemes like voucher programs and for-profit charters.