SOUTHEASTERN, N.C. — James Dawkins is running for his first state-level seat in House District 19. Dawkins lives in Southport and works as a computer security technician.
Dawkins will face Marica Morgan in the Democratic 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 is March 3. This is a partisan primary, meaning only voters registered as Democrats can cast a vote for Dawkins or Morgan.
Charlie Miller and David Perry will appear on the ballot for House District 19 in the Republican ballot.
Note: Answers to interview questions appear unedited as provided.
Why are you running?
I announced on the day the Chairman of the NC Republican Party was indicted for bribery. He pled guilty and is serving his sentence now. The Republican party that has controlled the NC Senate and Legislature for the past decade or so is one of the most corrupt administrations in the country. They disregard the needs of the people and kowtow to their Big Donor’s and Big PAC’s wishes.
I won’t take a dime of money that isn’t grassroots or from an organization who doesn’t believe how we believe. We are against xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism and for caring for your fellow man, helping the poor working class and elderly, and putting forth a progressive agenda for the future of North Carolina and its people.
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 this district for 20 years and have clients that I do computer work for in Southport, Supply, Oak Island and Wilmington. I travel back and forth frequently and have met the people from both districts and know their problems first hand. I met a gaffer who hasn’t worked at home in Wilmington for 4 years because of the Republicans’ destruction of the film business. It’s time to bring that back. It all comes down to who you know, and I know the people, and have lived and worked among them for most of my life. The coast is my home, and I plan on never leaving, except to fulfill my duties in Raleigh as a legislator
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?
The Republican mantra is “Starve the Beast”. They get elected, cut the funding for every agency causing them to be less effective, point it out and say, “Look how bad government is, we should privatize it,” which then introduces the profit motive for their buddies who donated to their campaign. It’s corruption plain and simple and crosses over into “bribery” territory. I believe strong public institutions brought this country out of the Great Depression and it’s the lack of them, due to Republican interference, that has caused the bounce back from the Great Recession to be less than stellar for the people at the bottom. The people at the top made a killing, but they always win out. It’s us at the bottom that have to fight and scrape for every dollar we make. I believe we can fund the DEQ at 3 times what it is now and beyond, but further than that we must investigate, prosecute, fine and jail these polluters, as our state needs to stay beautiful and our residents need to stay healthy. I drink the water everyday that Chemours and Dupont poisoned, and not one person has been held responsible. I’ll change that in a heartbeat.
Should the state increase teacher pay?
Teachers should make the national average +10%. That would attract world class teachers to our state, and we should also fund schools from one big pot, instead of regionally, as that would end up with equality in experience for all of our students. The education budget should be significantly increased, and we should protect the education lottery fund from being raided for pet projects by our more unscrupulous memebrs of the General Assembly.
What is your opinion of the current budget stalemate?
I support the Governor’s veto of the Republicans’ terrible budget bill. It doesn’t do enough for anyone; teachers, our poor, working class and the elderly or our young families. They’re all shafted in this bill and it must die on the table. We can do better, and we should wait until the Democrats take the House in 2020 to write a REAL budget bill that addresses the concerns of the people, not the corporations and donor class.
If elected, what local issues do you plan to advocate for at the state level?
Expanding Medicaid, beefing up our public transportation infrastructure, legalizing marijuana and using the fund to pay for addiction services and education, and keeping our coasts clear of pollution, seismic exploration of oil, and oil drilling are some of the most important things. But, fully repealing HB2 and raising the state minimum wage is very high on my list, along with ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment.
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?
If elected I certainly will advocate for better water quality testing, but I believe the actual way to fix this problem is by investigating, prosecuting, heavily fining and jailing those who knew and directed activities which pollute our water and land. That would send a message to the companies trying to poison us to save a buck that we will not tolerate those who do this, and if you want to pollute you won’t be allowed to do business in North Carolina.
