Cullie Needs Your Support in 2012!

I expect, with your help, to go back to Raleigh to represent you in the N C House. We plan to run an aggressive and active campaign and I will need your participation. I am running because our state is at a crossroads. Jonathan Jordan and the new majority have charted a path for our state that has and will continue to send us backwards. I am running because I believe that during tough times, it is even more important to continue fighting to move North Carolina forward. We can’t afford to give up on progress. We can’t afford to sacrifice the things that have made our state great.  I remind you that elections have consequences. We’ve seen the consequences of the 2010 election and from where I stand, Enough is Enough! The republican majority ran on creating jobs but the consequences of the election has destroyed jobs. What they ran on and what they actually did are totally different.  One of the worst consequences of the 2010 election has been of course the cuts to education that has not only destroyed jobs but set our state back to the low 40’s in the country in per pupil spending. The republican majority in the legislature have put this state’s education system on a backwards path by slashing nearly $1 billion from all levels of education in this state.  In Ashe and Watauga Counties we have fewer teaching and administration jobs in our public schools than just a few years ago. My opponent is proud to stand up and say, we balanced the budget. Well of course they did. Our State’s Constitution requires a balanced budget. What he’s not saying is that they balanced it on the backs of our students, teachers and educational professionals. That’s not something to be proud of. It’s not a badge of honor.  We owe our students the opportunity to get an education that will allow them to compete on a level playing field in this 21st century knowledge based economy. My opponent and the republican legislative leadership do not value public education. They have made devastating cuts to public education at a time when we were already asking students and teachers to do more with less. As a direct result of their budget Ashe and Watauga counties lost an estimated $1.99 million dollars in funding and 48 jobs this year. If my opponent does not change course and begin protecting education, we will face another $2.2 million in cuts this coming year. The truth is we have fewer teachers in our classrooms today than we had last year, fewer employees in the public school system, and fewer teacher assistants. These job cuts come as we face increasing enrollment. This is not sustainable and voters should be outraged.    Education is the key to economic recovery.  Our children and grandchildren no longer face competition for jobs from kids just from neighboring counties or states, but rather from countries all over the globe.  A quality education is essential to preparing them to face these challenges. A quality education creates a highly skilled and trained workforce that helps attract and retain businesses to North Carolina, so that our kids can find work right here at home. Education and jobs go hand-in-hand.

We must work to protect our world-class university system in North Carolina. Here in Ashe and Watauga, we see the overwhelming benefits of these colleges and universities firsthand because of the work of Appalachian State in our community. App State educates students from all across North Carolina. Keeping tuition rates down is essential to maintaining access. I will fight for our universities and for App State because I believe they are the best economic engines our state has and that their doors should be open to any qualified student, regardless of their economic background. Unfortunately, the cuts made to higher education are putting the cost of a college education at one of state universities out of the reach of many families even though our state constitution says that as far as is practicable, the benefits of our UNC institutions shall be extended to the people of our state free of expense but yet tuitions continue to rise to off set cuts made by the legislature. We can and we MUST do better.

I ask for your help and your vote.