Wednesday, December 4, 2024

2020 primary: Charlie Miller, Republican candidate for House District 19 [Free read]

Charlie Miller is running to serve House District 19. (Port City Daily photo/Courtesy Charlie Miller)

SOUTHEASTERN, N.C. — Charlie Miller is running for his first state-level position, the representative seat for House District 19. Miller lives in Southport and is currently Chief Deputy of the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office. He also serves on the Brunswick County School board.

Miller will face David Perry in the Republican primary.

House District 19 was recently redrawn to include southeastern Brunswick County and southern New Hanover County.

Early voting starts Feb. 13. Same-day registration is available during the early voting period through Feb. 29. Election day for the primaries is March 3. This is a partisan primary, meaning only voters registered as Republicans can cast a vote for Miller or Perry. Unaffiliated voters may select either a Republican, Democratic, or Libertarian ballot during the partisan primary.

James Dawkins and Marcia Morgan will appear on the ballot for House District 19 in the Democratic ballot.

Note: Answers to interview questions appear unedited as provided.

Why are you running?

I’m running for State House because the voters of Brunswick and New Hanover counties want a true conservative representative who shares their values and will support President Trump’s economic agenda at the state level.

House District 19 has been redrawn and now includes no incumbent. It crosses county lines including coastal communities in both New Hanover and Brunswick County that aren’t connected by land. How do you plan to represent all of these different communities?

I’ve lived in Brunswick County all my life. Obviously, I feel like I know this community and share the values of the people here. But I will work harder than anyone to meet the voters in New Hanover County and earn their votes. I believe I represent the values of voters in both counties. If elected, I will schedule town halls and office hours in each county, listening to the concerns of members of each community. My agenda is to bring jobs and opportunity to Southeastern North Carolina – both sides of the Cape Fear River.

Over the past decade, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has lost more than one-third of its funding. Should the state increase funding for DEQ?

No. The state budget has grown at a sustainable rate since Republicans took the majority of the General Assembly. When the Democrats controlled the legislature, they dug a fiscal hole of $2 billion that we had to climb out of. I am a fiscal conservative and do not believe in increasing spending just for the sake of increasing spending. Every taxpayer dollar the state government spends needs to be accounted for and have a return on investment. If elected, I will take the oversight role of the job very seriously, making sure that government agencies have what they need to protect the people and the environment, but not a dollar more than is necessary to fulfill that duty.

Should the state increase teacher pay?

Yes. And the state has increased teacher pay in five consecutive budgets. Teachers would receive two more years of pay increases, this year and next year, if Roy Cooper and Democrats in the legislature would end their obstruction of a responsible and broadly popular budget. My only daughter is a teacher in our community. If I’m elected, I will fight for her and teachers across the state.

What is your opinion of the current budget stalemate?

This is a budget that increases teacher pay for the sixth and seventh consecutive years. This is a budget that cuts taxes for working families so that the first $21,500 a family earns is tax-free. Why are Roy Cooper and Democrats blocking it? Because they demand Medicaid expansion – even if the votes to expand Medicaid are not there in the legislature – and would rather block teacher raises and tax cuts if they can’t have their way.

If elected, what local issues do you plan to advocate for at the state level?

The biggest challenge I’ve worked on in our community – and the toughest challenge for many families here – is the opioid epidemic. As the Chief Deputy Sheriff in Brunswick County, I’ve seen too many lives cut short by drugs. In the NC House, I will bring my experience – trying to stop overdoses, educate the public, and help people put their lives back together in the face of addiction – to help solve this crisis for our community.

If elected, do you plan to advocate for stronger water quality monitoring and contaminant limitations of public drinking water and discharges? If yes, what specific solutions do you think are needed at the state level to address the region’s water quality concerns?

Yes, I will be an advocate for public drinking water. It’s is not only a concern but essential. We need to make sure we have stronger water quality monitoring and containment limitations of public drinking water.

Learn more about Charlie Miller on his campaign Facebook page.


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