Brunswick County Democratic Party

2008 Vision Statement

The Brunswick County Democratic Party supports leadership that is sensitive to the current needs of our citizens, yet always looking forward to economic growth that responsibly uses our natural resources and the talents of our citizenry. We will lead with compassion as we work for inclusiveness and social justice for all the people of Brunswick County. Our policies will offer promise to our young through education and job opportunities, respect to our seniors, and fiscal accountability to all. We take pride in our political heritage and commitment to the preservation of the freedoms guaranteed to all by our Constitution and Bill of Rights

Platform

HERITAGE AND HISTORY – We take pride in our cultural heritage and history while maintaining our humanitarian values. We support cultural tourism as an expanding segment of our tourist industry in Brunswick County. We support a thorough historical survey of all historical and cultural symbols, to include all cemeteries in Brunswick County.

FAMILIES – We are committed to Brunswick County’s future being built by families from all walks of life, improving the lives of children and families by promoting responsible parenting and furthering programs that support and strengthen them.

EDUCATION – Our Board of Education is responsible for efficient and effective educational policies with commitment and support from County commissioners and state legislators who will provide sufficient funding of our public education. We support the recruitment of highly qualified educators and administrators with fair compensation for all school system employees. We support the continuing effort to raise the salary of our teachers and classified employees while encouraging the efficient allocation of resources and maintaining a positive and safe environment.

TRANSPORTATION/INFRASTRUCTURE – The economic health of Brunswick County, dependent upon sustained and balanced growth, is contingent upon the infrastructure to support it: roads, water supplies, sewer, emergency preparedness programs and other public services amenities. Funding, above and beyond the NCDOT TIP, is needed to improve roads on emergency routes ensuring rapid evacuations with the safety of our residents and visitors in case of emergency or natural disaster. We are committed to paving and upgrading all county roads. A review and revision of current policies is supported, to ensure an equitable distribution of funds to fire departments throughout Brunswick County, while earmarking and returning tax revenues on gasoline sold to watercraft at marinas to the local government for use on waterway, river or inlet needs. We support the completion of the Brunswick County portion of the Wilmington outer loop from Highway 421 to Winnabow, as a non-toll road. Two (2) of the major roads planned by DOT are I-74 from Supply to the South Carolina border and Highway 87 to Southport. To minimize the impact on established residential communities, we recommend that I-74 be sited north of Old CC Road and that Highway 87 should be routed around the town of Boiling Springs Lakes.

VETERANS – We stand in support of protecting the citizens of our great Nation and the State of North Carolina. We recognize that freedom does come with a price. We stand up for all members of the armed forces who have proudly served and are currently serving our great country. Our active duty reservists and National Guard have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We honor those who currently serve and those veterans whose past service has made this nation and our state an example of democracy throughout the world. We support our veterans during times of conflict, natural disaster and beyond. We support educational assistance, health care, housing, small business, burial and other benefits offered to members of the armed forces, veterans and their families. We support improving combat-related trauma centers and expanding medical and prosthetic research. We commend Congressman Mike McIntyre’s effort to provide a community outpatient clinic for our veterans in the Supply area of Brunswick County.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES – We are proud of Brunswick County’s success in weaving programs into the fabric of everyday life that benefit all. All Brunswick County human service agencies: Veterans, Health Department, Social Services, Mental Health, Public Housing, and Agencies for Aging, should function well above the state average. We support improving health care services, including mental health and preventative care for all types of illness or injury. We support universal health care and access to basic treatment for all citizens of Brunswick County, regardless of age, income or location.

LABOR, EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – We strongly support the protection of our County’s workforce. We encourage assistance for workers, job creation and new investment in economically hard-hit areas. We support a minimum wage that gives workers and their families a proud standard of living with a continual emphasis on equality of opportunity with hiring policies that prohibit discrimination based on race, sex, disability or age. We will encourage planned and accountable business growth with an active recruitment of industries that are sensitive to environmental concerns of our county and adjacent communities.

HOUSING – With the explosive growth that Brunswick County has experienced, there is a tremendous need for affordable housing. We support programs at all levels of government that help provide good quality affordable housing for residents and families with low- to moderate-income levels. We support the protection of private property rights and legislation that prevents the condemnation of private property solely for the sake of economic development. We support equal housing opportunities for all in Brunswick County.We support legislation that scrutinizes our current lending policies and addresses ways to assist families who have suffered the consequences of poor lending practices.

CIVIL AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE – All citizens should feel safe and secure in their homes, schools, businesses and public buildings. Law enforcement officials must be true public servants responsive to the needs of the citizens, treating them with professionalism, fairness, honesty and integrity. We support and defend Civil Rights statutes and the Constitution’s guarantee to freedom of petition, speech, assembly, religion and equal protection under the law. We support enactment of laws at the national and state level that create a national database that will enable local law enforcement to have easy access to the driving histories of people throughout the United States.

IMMIGRATION – We are a nation of immigrants. We have consistently fought for the rights of legal immigrants, as they are a vital part of North Carolina’s progress. We support the efforts of the federal government to secure our borders and urge Congress to adopt a comprehensive reform of our current immigration policy.

OUR COASTLINE AND NATURAL RESOURCES – We support progressive management of our beautiful coastline, wetlands and scenic forests. We support the protection of our beaches for cultural and environmental purposes by protecting natural coastal vegetation, using reasonable setbacks, continuing the prohibition of hardened coastline structures, and the renourishment of our beaches with State matching funds. We support public access to all beaches and all navigable river resources. We support the use of zoning and tax incentives to protect businesses that are involved in traditional commercial and recreational fishing. We support the preservation of our inland wetlands for flood prevention and the recharging of our underground aquifers. We support current laws that protect our ecosystems, natural habitats and water resources.

HORTICULTURE, AGRICULTURE, AQUACULTURE AND FISHING – Because of the cultural and economic importance of agriculture and fishing to our past development, as well as our current need for economic diversity and local food production, we support a multi-faceted approach to these industries. We support training opportunities, the development of markets, regulatory incentive for traditional establishments, crop transition incentives and social support for those who provide the manual labor in these industries. We support Brunswick County’s volunteer agriculture districts, which protects traditional farmland development.

WATER – We support evaluations of issues relating to water scarcity, availability and purity. Today we obtain 22% of water from groundwater and 78% from surface water (Cape Fear River). For future growth, we should encourage homeowners, developers and contractors to consider conservation methods such as holding-tank systems that would capture rainwater and condensation from A/C units.

EFFICIENT AND ETHICAL GOVERNMENT – We require openness and accountability in government for officials who implement laws and expend tax dollars. They are to be held accountable. We support the controlled growth of government, dictated by the needs of the people and not the desire of government. Our citizens are to enjoy growth and progress with a yearly balanced budget.

FAIR AND OPEN ELECTIONS – Because voting is the process through which all free people exercise their will, we believe in easy and accessible ballet boxes for all citizens and election results that are completely transparent. We support free and fair elections with voting procedures and equipment that provide a verifiable audit trail for every election and also campaign finance reforms that would constrain large contributions by special interests and their lobbyists.

PASSPORTS– We the Brunswick county Democratic Party support the creation of a Passport Agent located in Brunswick county in conjunction with the Brunswick County Register of Deeds. The Passport Agent will provide assistance to those who are seeking to obtain passports.

CONCLUSIONS

We believe in an honest, ethical, accountable and transparent government. We are a Nation of Laws and will uphold the laws for every Brunswick County citizen. We proudly support the sanctity of the American family. We offer a platform that protects the rights of our children and protects, promotes, and values the rights of all citizens of Brunswick County. We must ensure that all of our Brunswick County citizens have access to quality and affordable health care and human services. We need to address the issues relating to scarcity, availability and purity of water. We support the heritage of our country and encourage planned and controlled smart growth.

-Adopted at the Brunswick County Convention; April 19, 2008