Candidate Questionnaire: Dan Besse, candidate for Lieutenant Governor

Environmental champion Dan Besse is seeking our endorsement in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor. Below are his responses to our questionnaire, with our questions in bold.

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

1. Why are you running?

I'm involved in politics, and have served in appointed or elected office since 1985, because I am passionate about using public service and the democratic process to work for environmental stewardship, and for equal opportunity for all.

I'm running now for Lieutenant Governor because we have the opportunity this year to bring a major shift toward progressive policies and vision for our state. For the first time, a majority of North Carolina voters clearly understand the urgent necessity of implementing wise long-term management of our limited natural resources (water, air, forests, land) and managing our growth in a sustainable manner.

North Carolina voters are also anxious for us to address the persistent gaps in equal opportunity in our society. These include equity in educational opportunity, economic development which meets the needs of lower-income families and communities, and action to deal with the crisis in health care costs and coverage.

I have the experience and commitment to use the office of Lieutenant Governor effectively to pursue these goals.

2. What are the three biggest challenges facing North Carolina, and, briefly, how would you use your position as lieutenant governor to address them?

a) Twin challenges of booming growth in our urban regions, and continuing economic decline in many rural areas. I will use the "bully pulpit" independent voice of Lieutenant Governor to inject into state policy debate that critical understanding of how these challenges intertwine, yet require different tools and approaches. Areas stressed by rapid growth must have stronger growth management tools, from better stormwater management to transit/land use planning, and the means to require new development to pay for itself. Areas in continuing economic decline must receive focused efforts to help them share in the economic benefits of our booming regions. Statewide, we require better planning for our stressed water resources, improved conservation of our forests and farmland, protection of clean air, an energy policy which relies on efficiency and renewables, and reform of our transportation system.

b) Health care. Skyrocketing costs of coverage for everyone, and the complete lack of coverage for over 1.4 million of our people, have created a crisis in both economic and human terms. I will use the Lieutenant Governor's roles as presiding officer of the State Senate, and as a working member of the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission, to press for affordable health care coverage for all. There are immediate steps which our state can take to guarantee affordable coverage for all children, bring the costs of coverage down for high-risk adults, and assist small employers in obtaining affordable group coverage. In the medium run, we should commit to a system of universal coverage. This can be achieved best through participation in a national program. However, if that is not under implementation within two years, we should develop and implement our own state-level program.

c) Educational equity. I will use the Lieutenant Governor's position as a working member of both the State Board of Education and the State Board of Community Colleges to press for equal educational opportunity for all. In particular, we must address the resource gaps that keep too many of our poorer school systems and communities from meeting their students' needs. We must also move away from the disastrous over-emphasis on standardized testing, which drains resources, strangles creativity, and further disadvantages children from minority communities.

3. Why should voters in western North Carolina support your candidacy?

You'll get a working Lieutenant Governor who grew up in western North Carolina, still has family there, and has a strong feel for the needs of the people of our foothills and mountains. I know the region and understand both its environmental and economic challenges.

When I was a young child, my family lived on the edge of a mill village in Hickory. I went to sleep listening to the hum of the hosiery mill on the next block. Most of my family worked at the furniture plant down the street. One of my earliest memories of my father was of watching him head off to his second-shift job at the transformer plant, where he worked while he and my mother were putting themselves through school. The problem is that none of those plants is still operating today. I understand that we have to do a better job of meeting the challenges of our changing economy, because I grew up in a working family. I won't forget that.

Today, I serve in elected office in a growing urban region that (like much of western North Carolina) is still facing the loss of traditional industrial jobs, but is simultaneously wrestling with the stresses of booming population growth. I understand how we must deal with both sets of stresses and demands simultaneously.

4. Would you support public campaign financing in the lieutenant governor race?

Absolutely. I wish it were available this year. The endless money hunt by candidates permits big-money special interests to distort the democratic process far away from service to the public's interests.

5. What about your background and experience makes you qualified to be a candidate and to serve as lieutenant governor?

I have the combination of public service and practical experience required to understand the role of Lieutenant Governor and fully use its potential as an agent for positive change. I also know our state from the mountains to the sea.

I have hands-on experience in meeting the challenges of growth in one of our largest urban regions—Winston-Salem and the Piedmont Triad. At the same time, I have the practical experience of living and working in our small towns and rural areas. I grew up in Hickory and our foothills, and later spent a decade working as a Legal Aid attorney for poor families in rural counties of eastern North Carolina.

I have both local elected experience, and extensive public service in policy-making roles at the state level. These have been publicly accountable roles, not mere advisory positions.

I have been elected and re-elected to local office as a progressive Democrat in a Republican-leaning district of our state's fourth-largest city, Winston-Salem. I have also acted as my city's representative in effective regional efforts for both economic and environmental quality. I represent my city on the board of directors of one of our nation's ten most effective regional economic development organizations. I also led our effective regional effort to meet federal clean air standards for ground-level ozone.

At the state level, I have over 20 years of experience working on state policy-making boards (including the Environmental Management Commission). I have helped craft and implement state programs on air and water resources, land conservation, and emergency response. I understand in depth the workings of both the executive and legislative branches of our state government.

6. Would you call yourself a progressive?

Yes—in fact, I present myself in this race as "the progressive Democrat with the record to prove it".