Fifth District

Democrats face off
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

Democratic candidates for the 5th District Congressional seat squared off for debate at the Belk Library on the Appalachian State University campus in Boone Monday.

The debate opened with statements from Roy Carter, a former Ashe County coach and teacher, and Diane Hamby, a former Iredell County commissioner. Carter’s opening statements criticized Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, saying people in the district were more united than divided and shared common problems.

He pledged to fight for low-interest loans for college students, health care and economic development.

“I had a passion to serve the working families of our district who have been betrayed by Virginia Foxx,” he said.

Hamby said her experience in local leadership and party politics would serve her as a representative and said her personal, public and political life had always been about “doing the right thing.”

“It’s long past time we took our government back and made it work for all of us,” Hamby said.

Carter said the country is the middle or beginning of a recession, saying high fuel costs are increasing the costs of goods. He said “the people in Washington” were responsible for the high cost of fuel and said the top 1 or 2 percent of income earners were the problem. He advocated small-business entrepreneurship.

Hamby said as a business owner she recognized the economy was tough and said jobs were critical. She favored changing the tax code to favor small businesses and create new jobs.

Hamby favored letting Iraq take responsibility for its own government, saying the Iraq War was poorly planned. Carter said the U.S. couldn’t afford to spend money in Iraq and it couldn’t force democracy on a country that didn’t want it. He said he would support a plan to withdraw troops within six months of being elected.

Both candidates supported comprehensive health care. Carter said Foxx “lined her pockets with special interest money” and said he would fight for those who don’t have a voice. Hamby said the mentally ill had suffered funding cuts because “those people don’t vote.”

Hamby opposed No Child Left Behind legislation and advocated finishing school after 11 years rather than 12. Hamby said the U.S. could draw on the educational success of other countries. Carter said after 40 years in education, No Child Left Behind had been the worst act in his career. He said the federal legislation stood in the way of graduation and drove the best teachers out of the profession.

Carter said car manufacturers should improve gas mileage and reduce emission standards. Hamby said people should plan for the future and look for technology to ease fuel consumption.

Regarding fiscal responsibility, Hamby said federal earmarks might address legitimate needs and each representative would have to decide what constituted “pork,” which she said were tax breaks for businesses taking jobs out of the country and supporting the war in Iraq. Carter said he would make sure his district got everything he needed and said he would “fight tooth and nail” to get what his constituents deserved.

Carter said it was time for change and was excited to see young people engaged in the political process and pledged not to accept money from oil or pharmaceutical companies in order to get elected. Hamby said as a business owner, she had seen things get “tougher and tougher” and said she would stand up and fight for change.

Hamby said political decisions affected people’s lives and said people should be involved and become part of the decision-making process. Carter said he entered the race because he wasn’t a politician but had a passion to serve and a reason to run.

Carter said a single renewal energy source would meet the needs and favored a broad approach to alternative energy to cut use of carbon fuels. Hamby said Duke Power had discouraged the use of solar energy and said the hydroelectric power grid could be redesigned to work in a drought. Carter said 470 mountaintops had been removed for coal in the Southeast and said the district should stop using so much coal, saying there would have to be concessions but “We’ve got to go green.”

Hamby said she was a “Democrat from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party,” while Carter said he was a progressive Democrat who was a member of the party of the people. Hamby said Democrats were always left “cleaning up the mess of the Republican Party.”

Asked about gay marriage, Carter said the government would never be able to regulate a “moral issue” and should stay out of people’s bedrooms and tell them how to live their lives. Hamby said the Republicans had used the issue as a “distraction” for years to serve a certain bloc of voters and said the country had “far greater problems than worrying about this.”

Hamby said she would find a balance in serving the entire district, which stretches from Winston-Salem to the High Country. Hamby said being accessible was the key to responding to constituent needs. Carter criticized Foxx’s use of full-color mailings, saying the $318,000 spent was a waste and advocated a staff member in each county.

Carter said the country must have a clear health-care plan and said he would join a Democratic plan so that everyone would have coverage. Hamby said many people couldn’t get health coverage and said the U.S. was the only wealthy nation without a health plan.

Hamby said, “No congressional seat is won for less than a million dollars,” and said fund-raising was important but running for office was “an expensive game” and advocated public campaign financing. Carter said his campaign had laid the groundwork to get on the national stage.

Hamby said an international force in Iraq should be “peace keeping only” and the U.S. would always be seen as an adversary. Carter said the “ill-advised war” had damaged the country’s standing in the world and said a skeleton force in Iraq would be unsafe.

The primary is May 6, with the winner to face Rep. Virginia Foxx in November.