Candidate Questionnaire: Avram Friedman, State House District 119

Avram Friedman, executive director of the Canary Coalition, is seeking our endorsement in the Democratic primary for state house district 119, which includes Haywood, Macon, Jackson, and Swain counties. Below are his responses to our candidate questionnaire, with our questions in bold.

For more about Avram's campaign, visit his website.

1. Why are you running for the General Assembly?

I'm running for General Assembly because the incumbent Representative in District 119, Phil Haire, is supporting Duke Energy's plan to build a new 800 megawatt coal-burning power plant at its Cliffside facility in Rutherford County. Haire also voted for Senate Bill 3 in the last legislative session. This bill contains several provisions with profoundly bad implications for public health and the environment, principle among which is the provision that ends a 25-year ban on the practice of the utility industry charging ratepayers for construction-work-in-progress on new polluting coal and nuclear power plants. This has the effect of removing risk from corporate shareholders and placing it on the back of ratepayers. This practice was banned in 1982 by the General Assembly when Carolina Power and Light (now Progress Energy) planned to build 6 nuclear plants at its Shearon Harris site in Wake County, but only completed one because of massive cost over-runs and the realization that they had vastly over-estimated energy demand in their projections. Ratepayers were charged tens of millions of dollars in planning and preliminary construction costs for the other five power plants, even though they were never completed.

Senate Bill 3 is a prescription for business-as-usual energy consumption and production at a time when we need to drastically cut back on energy consumption and greenhouse gas production. If elected I'll be a strong voice in the General Assembly calling for rate-restructuring and other measures to provide steep economic incentive for ratepayer investment in efficiency, conservation and independent renewable energy systems by residents, businesses and industry. My candidacy, win or lose, will send a message to Phil Haire that from now on there will be political consequences for voting against the environment in North Carolina. If I win the Primary on May 6, it will send that message to every legislator in the state.

2. What are the three biggest challenges facing North Carolina, and, briefly, how would you work to address them?

1. Meeting future energy demand in an environmentally responsible manner while maintaining a sustainable economy.
I would address this problem by nurturing industries that promote energy efficiency and renewable energy technology. I would work to remove the considerable legal obstacles to large-scale wind development. I would promote a new generation of recycling programs throughout the state that create small-scale industries that use recycled materials locally, increasing the value of recycled materials and saving energy in the process. I would de-emphasize dependence on large corporate industry and promote small, homegrown "green" industry.

2. Improving the quality of basic education in North Carolina.
We need to pay teachers competitive salaries so the best educators don't continue to move to other states.
We need more teachers and more classrooms to reduce the student/teacher ratio in NC classes.
All students should be thoroughly educated in the system of government we live under, and should learn their rights and responsibilities under this system.

3. Election reform
I would work to ban electronic voting machines.
I would work to limit or eliminate corporate PAC money from the electoral process.
I would work to provide a public financing option for all legislative races.

3. Do you have any differences with the House Democratic caucus and leadership? In what areas or issues would you seek to move your fellow Democrats in a different direction?

Energy issues are the biggest difference. The 2007 Senate Bill 3 needs to be reversed. The utility industry has a disproportionate and inappropriate influence in both political parties. I will fight to change this.

4. What's your campaign plan? Do you have a campaign manager? What are your fundraising goals?

I am holding a series of public forums on my candidacy and the issues that are important to me. I am doing a series of interviews with local newspapers and radio stations. If I have enough money, I'll do cable TV spots. I am using the internet for email communication and blogging with voters in my district. My webpage is www.friedmanfornchouse.com I am seeking public endorsement from NC Conservation Council, NC State Employees Association, Sierra Club's PAC and others.

Susan Anspacher is my campaign manager, Friedman4NCHouse@aol.com .

$20,000 is my goal for the Primary election.

5. What about your background and experience makes you qualified to be a candidate and a legislator?

I'm a 58 year-old resident and voter in North Carolina. I'm the Executive Director of a large regional organization. I have much experience in public speaking, the public hearing process, facilitation, studying legislative materials, working with government agencies. I studied political science at Hunter College in the Bronx, NYC, for two years. I am not intimidated by the political process. I've run for office twice before. In 1994, I ran for county commission in Jackson County. In 1988, I ran for Governor of North Carolina in the Democratic Primary. Lost, but learned.

6. Would you call yourself a progressive?

Yes, I believe most people who consider themselves progressives would consider me a progressive, as well.