If Democrats want to win voters, they should emulate these three in NC | Opinion

If Democratic politicians truly want to hear their constituents, they should take a page from the playbook of elected officials like Rep. Alma Adams, who consistently communicates through emails and events for her district.

Attorney General-Elect Jeff Jackson is another politician who stays in touch, and here in Mecklenburg County, Commissioner Mark Jerrell definitely connects with his district and always has.

These are the politicians who go out of their way to connect with voters, while others assume a copied letter in the media or no contact at all will suffice.

It’s about time politicians put on their best walking shoes, step out from behind their daisies and engage with the public. Voters want to hear from you directly, not just on the nightly news.

Priscilla Johnson, Charlotte

Condemn HB 10

The Carolina Migrant Network condemns the North Carolina General Assembly’s veto override to advance HB 10.

HB 10 doubles down on funding private school tuition costs with a $554 million expansion of private school vouchers, despite persistent questions around the program’s lack of proper financial oversight and potential for fraud. This funding would largely go to wealthy families who can already afford private school tuition.

Furthermore, it mandates cooperation between local law enforcement agencies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a measure that sows fear in immigrant communities and erodes trust in public institutions.

Stefanía Arteaga, Co-Executive Director of Carolina Migrant Network, Charlotte

Cotham’s spot on

The Observer’s nitpicking of state Rep. Tricia Cotham’s use of “predominance” to describe the under-performance of North Carolina schools gets an F for reporting.

The newspaper opted for semantics rather than reminding us that entering adulthood unprepared is an economic albatross. Cotham’s analysis is spot on for the state and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Last year CMS used its $2 billion budget to place tens of thousands of students in schools that got a D or F performance grade from the state. Well, at least 57,000 students aren’t a predominance.

Bolyn McClung, Pineville

Cotham misses mark

As unacceptable as it may be that a third of North Carolina’s public schools had a performance grade of D or F in the last school year, it appears state Republican Rep. Tricia Cotham needs to revisit her own lessons in both math and English.

Common synonyms for “predominance,” the word she used to trash NC public schools’ performance in general and to justify the General Assembly’s ongoing push to privatize K-12 education by greatly expanding eligibility for state-funded vouchers, are “greatest” and “highest.” Words matter because they pave the way for actions.

Dumont Clarke, Charlotte

Mace’s bathroom issue

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina introduced a resolution that would bar incoming Rep. Sarah McBride, who is transgender, the right to use women’s bathrooms in the U.S. Capitol. Speaker Mike Johnston supports the resolution. This is an example of the pettiness of Republicans these days.

Kent Rhodes, Charlotte

Immense damage

Contrary to what you will hear from the next president, his EPA Director or Interior Secretary for the next four years, there is absolutely no doubt about climate change being real, happening now and being caused by humans putting too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

With all the evidence available and with our own experiences with Hurricane Helene in the North Carolina mountains attesting to it, their words will only show their intentional ignorance or their subservient and greedy support for increasing the profits of fossil fuel companies, regardless of the immense damage they are causing us and our world.

Dean Kluesner, Charlotte

Tillis takes a knee

When Sen. Thom Tillis responds about Donald Trump as he has in past “concerns,” he will first talk tough like he really cares, and then he’ll simply take the knee to Trump.

Terry Keith, Charlotte