Nicole Sidman, Democratic NC House District 105 candidate, answers our questions
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NC House District 105
Democrat Nicole Sidman is challenging Republican Rep. Tricia Cotham in the N.C. House District 105 election, which covers parts of east and south Mecklenburg County.
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To help inform voters in the Nov. 5, 2024, election, this candidate questionnaire is available to be republished by local publications in North Carolina without any cost. Please consider subscribing to The Charlotte Observer to help make this coverage possible.
Name: Nicole Sidman
Birth date (month, day and year): 7/15/72
Campaign website or social media page: nicolefornc.com
Occupation: Director of Congregational Life, Temple Beth El
Education: University of Michigan (BA ‘93, JD ‘96)
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought or held)
No
Please list your highlights of civic involvement
Director of Congregational Life, Temple Beth El
Volunteer fundraiser, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Volunteer, Second Harvest Food Bank
PTA President and Pre-K volunteer teacher aid, P.S. 40
Volunteer, Carolina Refugee Resettlement Agency
Campaign Manager, Christy Clark for NC House
Charlotte, Mecklenburg County and most of the county’s towns are on board with draft legislation to get permission from the legislature for a sales tax referendum to pay for public transit and other transportation. If elected, would you support a bill that allows the sales tax increase to appear on the ballot? Why or why not?
I support a referendum for a mobility sales tax. Charlotte-area drivers have one of the longest average commutes in the country, and mass transit options are critical as we continue to grow. Approximately 30% of Americans can’t or don’t drive a car, and we can’t leave out such a large segment of our economy. However, because one tax proposal would change CATS into a regional authority, and the current proposal leaves out Matthews and the Silver Line, my vote would depend on the final bill.
In North Carolina, abortion is banned after 12 weeks. State politicians, including gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, have said they want to restrict abortion even further. Do you support the state’s current abortion restrictions, and what is your approach to legislating issues related to reproductive health?
I am opposed to the abortion ban. The U.S. has a maternal health crisis, and data shows mortality and morbidity rates for moms are higher in states with restrictions on abortion care. My approach to reproductive health is simple: a woman’s health care choices are private, and between her and her doctor. My opponent was the decisive vote to enable North Carolina’s abortion ban, and it was her betrayal of a decade of promises to North Carolina women that led me to run.
What would you say is the biggest issue facing your constituents, and what would you do to address it if elected?
Recent legislation from the NCGA is harming our public schools. Rep Cotham’s private school voucher plan takes $800 million dollars from our state budget by next decade and budgets more money for private schools than for teacher raises. Together with the NCGA’s elimination of corporate taxes, this voucher program is an unsustainable drain on both state and public school budgets. I would vote to repeal the program and instead move funding back to our public schools where it belongs.
While violent crime rates are decreasing nationwide they are growing in large North Carolina cities like Charlotte and Raleigh. How would you tackle the issue of rising violent crime rates and what do you believe is the legislature’s role when it comes to public safety?
We need adequate resources to prosecute violent offenders. NCGA budgets consistently shortchange the Charlotte criminal justice system, leaving the county to fill the gap by funding resource for the police and District Attorney’s office. Moreover, we cannot address crime without better laws, including background checks, to prevent criminals, domestic abusers and sexual predators from getting deadly weapons, and safe storage laws to protect our children from guns getting in the wrong hands.
While inflation has slowed, rising prices continue to concern North Carolina residents. How will you ensure your constituents are able to afford basic necessities like health care, food and housing?
The General Assembly can’t control inflation, but it can control the state minimum wage, which last increased over 15 years ago. The median monthly rent in Charlotte is now over $2,000. This is impossible to afford on a minimum wage salary, and that’s before the cost of food, transportation, taxes and health care. North Carolinians can’t survive on $7.25. I would support raising our state minimum wage to a level that can afford the cost of living.
Is there any policy by your party that you disagree with?
I’m my own person, so while I am a proud Democrat, I don’t agree with all aspects of the Democratic Party platform. For example, while I believe in treatment programs for people suffering from addiction, diversion programs and a compassionate approach to first-time offenders, I do not support or endorse legalizing hard drugs or prostitution, or decriminalizing drug trafficking or sex trafficking.
This story was originally published October 14, 2024 at 5:09 PM.
