SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — James Carr Jr. is a candidate in the race for U.S. Senate. Carr must come out on top amongst the other Democrats in the primaries to secure his spot in the general election.
Port City Daily has sent a questionnaire to every candidate appearing on ballots in the tri-county region, even those unopposed. For federal and state offices, we asked candidates to address issues pertinent to the Cape Fear: PFAS, offshore wind and more.
The paywall is dropped on profiles to help voters make informed decisions.
As a reminder, the early voting period runs from Apr. 28 to May 14. The voter registration deadline is Apr. 22. Voters may partake in same-day registration throughout the two-week early voting period (check if your registration is active at your current address).
Primary Election Day is May 17. Voters will choose which candidates from their registered party they want to move forward in the formal election. Those who are registered as unaffiliated can choose which party’s primary they want to vote in.
Carr’s stances on issues are discussed below. All answers are included in full and the candidate’s opinions and statements are not a reflection of Port City Daily. Responses are edited only for grammar, spelling and clarity.
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Port City Daily (PCD): Name three projects that you would advocate for funding and why.
James Carr Jr. (JC): I would advocate for highspeed rail, 5g, and green technologies. Each of these will create additional entrepreneurial opportunities along with enhancing job mobility. I believe that it is the government’s responsibility to build the infrastructure which allows its citizens to transition through life, regardless of where their journey begins.
Investing in highspeed rail and 5g will allow the entire state to be available for commerce. It will also reduce housing cost in our urban areas and bring capital to our rural areas. Green technologies like green-house farms allow for produce to be sourced locally, which is a key to building our rural communities from within as opposed to relying on external capital from the big box stores of this world.
PCD: Do you support offshore wind development? Clean energy tax breaks? Explain.
JC: Yes, I support offshore wind development as part of a comprehension energy plan & cleaner energy. Although natural gas or nuclear-generated electricity is more economically viable, it doesn’t mean that unforeseen circumstances, Covid, may occur. I also support it as an investment strategy. If we can perfect the technology, it will allow us to expand this technology around the world. So, we need a comprehensive energy plan that prepares for the seen and for the unforeseen, protects our environment, and is a potential source of revenue from around the world.
In terms of tax breaks, I don’t support them as I believe that we need to simplify the tax code in general. Also, I believe that it’s more efficient to fund offshore wind development as a part of our overall infrastructure strategy.
PCD: Where do you stand on women’s rights to choose?
JC: I believe that all Americans have a right to their own bodies, and I will fight for a privacy bill of rights to codify, amongst other things, that specific right.
PCD: Are there any actions you support to increase equitability and opportunities for historically marginalized populations?
JC: I believe that we need to focus on policies that empower economic freedom. To do that we need to protect individual rights, we need to invest in infrastructure, we need to modernize our educational system, and we need to decouple benefits from jobs. These actions taken together will encourage entrepreneurship, true job mobility, and will improve the economic freedom of not just the marginalized populations but all Americans.
PCD: What needs to be done to address PFAs and other chemicals that are poisoning multiple states’ drinking water?
JC: I believe we need to force our governmental agencies to be transparent with all the data they collect. This data needs to be easily accessible and readable by the public. The goal is to give environmental groups the information they need to bring this danger to the people so that we have the power to force local, state, and the federal government to act.
PCD: What are the top issues in our K-12 schools right now and how would you work to address it?
JC: The top issues facing K-12 schools is that we are not taking the scholars dreams, goals, and aspirations into account. We are attempting to prepare them for the journey that we think they should take as opposed to the one they one want to take.
So, my answer is that starting around the 9th grade, our scholars, teachers, and parents, start the discussion on how the child wants to start their journey, not our journey for them, through life. This means assisting in the transition to adulthood regardless of whether they want to attend college. For students who want to go to college, including community college, ensure that they are taking the necessary courses and that they understand their financing options. For students who want to go straight to the workforce ensure that they start participating in work study and apprenticeship type programs. Of course, no child is locked in to either of these tracks, this is simply a guide to ease the transition into adult hood.
PCD: What resources do we need in place to continue to fight Covid-19? How should the US prepare for a future pandemic?
JC: In continuing the fight, our health agencies need to continue providing information as we gain a better understanding of the virus, especially as new variants are introduced, and as better treatment options are developed.
Also, we need to reopen the George Bush pandemic centers which were designed to address global pandemics. Finally, we need to rethink our infrastructure strategies. First and foremost, we need to ensure that our infrastructure is designed to efficiently move goods, services, produce, and information across the state and across the country. This will ensure that we have a stable supply chain if we are hit with another global pandemic.
PCD: Where do you stand on the decriminalization of marijuana? Explain.
JC: I think it should be legal. I think it’s less dangerous than alcohol and like alcohol we can eliminate the black market by simply making it easier and cheaper to go and buy it from a licensed seller.
PCD: What industries should the US be honing in on to create a better workforce and economy?
I believe we need to focus on increasing entrepreneurship and true job mobility. We need to release our human capital and let that be the driver for creating a better workforce and economy. I would do this by decoupling our benefits from jobs.
Healthcare is a huge expense for most corporations. For global businesses this means that when determining whether to hire a worker in America or hire a worker in their overseas business, it’s much cheaper to hire a worker overseas because American businesses must foot the bill for benefits whereas foreign companies do not. On top of that, small businesses find it difficult to compete with larger businesses for employee talent because of the benefits. Finally, if you have a family, it can be difficult to transition to other opportunities because changes in benefits must be considered. Therefore, I will work to transition our current healthcare system into one that is based on how auto insurance works. We will be able to purchase insurance from a private insurer and receive services from private healthcare providers. Like auto insurance, the system will be completely privatized with state and federal oversight. Please note that subsides would still be available as well.
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