Crowded Field Seeks To Succeed Rep. Alma Adams In HD 58 | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Sam A. Hieb, who is a contributor to the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

Four Democrats compete to represent Guilford County district

    GREENSBORO — A crowded field is squaring off in the N.C. House District 58 race. Incumbent Rep. Alma Adams is making a run for the 12th District Congressional seat formerly held by U.S. Rep. Mel Watt. District 58 covers Guilford County's midsection, including much of Greensboro.

    There are no Republicans running for the District 58 seat, which sets up the May 6 primary as a winner-take-all event, barring a write-in or unaffiliated candidate in the Nov. 4 general election. But with four candidates running, the likelihood of a primary runoff is strong.

    The district is classified strong Democratic by the North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation. Registered voters are 64.7 percent Democrat and 54.9 percent black. In 2012 President Obama received 72.4 percent of the vote, and Democrat gubernatorial candidate Walter Dalton got 66.7 percent.

    Carolina Journal interviewed three of the candidates — Kerry Graves, Dan Koenig, and Tigress McDaniel. The fourth candidate, Ralph Johnson, did not respond to requests for an interview.

    Koenig, Graves, and McDaniel largely hold similar views on the issues confronting the state. For the most part, they disagree with many of the policies enacted by the Republican-controlled legislature and Gov. Pat McCrory.

    "I've become concerned about the recent turns in politics," Koenig told CJ. "It saddens me when I hear people say they despise government, that they don't trust their elected officials, that they feel like government is the enemy. We need to restore people's trust in government. I hope to be able to restore that trust."

    Koenig, a Greensboro attorney, said he was motivated to get into politics following the debate over Amendment One, the constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman that passed in 2012.

    While Koenig says he understands the religious perspective of those opposing same-sex marriage, he nevertheless describes Amendment One as "a sad, disappointing event in our state's history" that makes North Carolina "look backward to the rest of the country."

    Koenig believes voter ID legislation that passed last year "should be pretty much undone" because he has seen "no evidence of fraud in any meaningful nature."

    Koenig also disagrees with the vote not to expand Medicaid in North Carolina under the Affordable Care Act. He dismissed the notion that the state's Medicaid system is broken and should be fixed before it is expanded.

    "It's not necessarily a perfect system, but its goals are laudable and should be given a chance to succeed if everyone would quit playing politics," Koenig said.

    Koenig does not support the new law revoking teacher tenure, arguing that "the statute that passed is vague and unclear."

    Koenig also believes now is not the time for policies that expand charter schools.

    "Given the funding challenges we face, we don't need to be spreading our dollars any thinner than they are right now, and I think that's what charter schools do right now," he said.

    Graves is an Army veteran and former schoolteacher who now runs a local private investigation service.

    Like Koenig, he also is bothered by what he perceives to be a radical change in state politics.

    "The atmosphere I see is one of hostility," Graves said. "We went from A to Z almost overnight. Voter ID, overnight. Redistricting, overnight. Racial Justice Act [repeal], overnight."

    Graves called the vote not to expand Medicaid "irresponsible," especially since the federal government was going to pay for the first three years.

    "Why wouldn't you want that? For me it's a hard sell to say we don't want any part of that," he said.

    Like Koenig, he believes charter schools are "pulling money away from our public school system."

    Graves also disagrees with doing away with teacher tenure. He believes there should be more accountability in the classroom, but said measuring teachers' performance is a difficult task.

    "It's a very tough question, and I know people want answers," Graves said. "But if they spent a day in the classroom, they'd probably say 'How do you gauge that?'"

    Graves said the best course would be better oversight by local boards and superintendents. "If you're a board member, you can't cry, 'I didn't know what was going on,'" he said. "I'm checking in with the regional superintendent twice a week. Better yet, I'm visiting these schools with the regional director."

    McDaniel is a local doctoral student and entrepreneur who calls herself "Queen Get 'Er Done."

    When asked about Medicaid expansion, McDaniel said "definitely yes," but that it should come with "accountability similar to that of private insurance companies."

    "But if [Medicaid recipients] are held to standards — I always say standards only offend those who have none — then it weeds out the traffic coming in to social services [offices] wanting what they expect to get," she said.

    McDaniel called the law doing away with teacher tenure "antagonistic," and said she "without question would raise teacher salaries."

    However, she has a unique recommendation for holding teachers accountable — put video cameras in every classroom. "Then you have accountability [for] students' behavior," McDaniel said. "Surveillance is everywhere else. This is not a big brother-type thing — this is about accountability, transparency, and, again, standards."

    Johnson is a self-employed contractor who sits on the Greensboro Zoning Commission and has also been a longtime leader of Concerned Citizens of Northeast Greensboro.

    Johnson ran unsuccessfully against Adams in 2010. But now, as the Greensboro News & Record wrote in its endorsement, he is "the right candidate at the right time."