• Education - Our parents, students, and teachers need a strong voice in Raleigh to address the tough issues facing our schools. We must fulfill our past promises to pay and treat our teachers and educational employees as professionals and work daily to ensure that all of our students succeed and graduate ready to take the next educational step or begin work trained in a vocation. We must streamline our accountability and assessment system and return control to local agencies. Our educational system must be the most transparent, responsive and responsible aspect of state government. It is our responsibility to ensure that our parents, students and teachers have the resources the need to succeed.
  
  
  

• Public Safety/Criminal Justice Issues/Illegal Immigration - I have supported law enforcement officers my entire career. As a County Commissioner and administrator with the Department of Correction, I have witnessed first hand the dedication and duty exhibited each day by our law enforcement officers. I will work tirelessly each day to ensure that our local law enforcement officers receive the resources they need to do their jobs efficiently, effectively and safely. This includes my support of the 287(g) program to combat illegal immigration. I will work to secure the resources that local law enforcement agencies need to continue this successful program that is geared toward removing criminals that are residing here illegally.
  
  
  
• Mental Health - Action is necessary to fix our state's ailing mental health system. We must dedicate both the financial resources and the personnel resources to provide adequate and timely service to some of the most fragile citizens in North Carolina. I have witnessed the impact of this issue daily in my role as an administrator with the Department of Correction and as a locally elected official. I can honestly say there are hidden costs to not addressing the mental health issues facing North Carolina. This is an extremely important issue and the solutions are out there, but they require adequate funding, administration, dialogue and action.
  
  
  
• Involuntary Forced Annexation - I am strongly opposed to involuntary/forced annexation and I support the repeal of the 1959 Forced Annexation law. It is my belief that it is fundamentally wrong to force action on a group of people without a true and fair vote on the issue. Involuntary/forced annexation does not permit a straight up or down vote from the people impacted by the potential annexation. Involuntary annexation is solely used as a tool to increase tax revenue and this clear and present danger to personal property rights must end.
  
  
  
• Economic Development - Economic development is a very difficult process to describe. As noted by many who have worked with economic development, helping the public better understand the economic development process is critical to the success of any economic development strategic plan. Economic development and the creation of new jobs is the result of private businesses and individuals taking the initiative to provide a service or manufacture a product that others will buy. Government can best help this process by bringing business owners together or providing information and other assistance to help individuals make informed decisions on what business to pursue and where to locate. With few exceptions, such as the construction of the extension of water and sewer, government's role is best defined as a facilitator of information that allows businesses and individuals to make informed decisions that let them maximize their time, energy and capital.
  
  
  
• Affordable Health Care - This is an important issue for all levels of government. It will require creative leaders to find a solution. My experience funding health insurance for County Employees has given me a glimpse at the magnitude of this challenge. Positive change can be made in this area by Federal and State Government partnering with private business owners. I will work to solve the problem.
  
  
  
• Change the Culture of How Business is Conducted in Raleigh - It is my belief that we have to change the culture of how we do business in Raleigh. Elected officials should be held accountable for the way tax dollars are spent. It is my strong feeling that government officials have become too out of touch with mainstream North Carolina, they are no longer accessible and many are simply corrupt. Backdoor deals and closed session budget hearings must end in Raleigh if we are ever to truly become the "land where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great."
  
  The three characteristics that I feel are essential in public service, which by and large have been missing from the leadership of the North Carolina General Assembly, are integrity, a strong work ethic, and a commitment to serving the citizens of the State of North Carolina. The theme of my campaign is to move away from Government Solutions and move toward Individual Solutions; move away from Government Spending and move toward Individual Responsibility.
  
  
  

"At the county level, it is extremely important to have all the tools in the toolbox. I am supportive of programs that we have started at the local level to bring business to our community."   "What I will do is work hard with folks on the House side and Senate side ... even across the aisle to make things happen."         The Hendersonville Times-News was on hand for David's speech, and the related article can be found at their website.

Paid for by W.David Guice for NC House, Robert M. McKown, Treasurer