{"id":282,"date":"2023-10-18T10:52:45","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T14:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press-releases\/more-than-1600-north-carolinians-attend-unitenc-town-halls\/"},"modified":"2023-10-18T10:52:45","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T14:52:45","slug":"more-than-1600-north-carolinians-attend-unitenc-town-halls","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/more-than-1600-north-carolinians-attend-unitenc-town-halls\/","title":{"rendered":"More than 1,600 North Carolinians attend #UniteNC Town Halls"},"template":"","class_list":["post-282","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"","featured_image":"","press_type":146,"authors":["{\"site_id\":\"68\",\"post_type\":\"person\",\"post_id\":190}"],"related_issues":[62,105,109,417,419],"related_work":false,"location":36},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":null,"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Two stops remain on Common Cause NC\u2019s 25+ county tour<\/i><\/h3>\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nRALEIGH \u2013 Since July 20, more than 1,600 North Carolinians have attended 23 town halls addressing their state lawmakers on issues ranging from voting rights to public schools, most recently in Havelock, Boone, Asheville, Fairmont, Hillsborough and Manteo.\r\n\r\nAs the legislative session winds to a close, North Carolinians repeatedly voiced their concern that big decisions impacting their lives are being made without their input or review. Attendees condemned voting maps being drawn behind closed doors; the expansion of charter and private school vouchers; and a state budget voted on with only hours to read and analyze.\r\n\r\n\u201cSome state lawmakers are hell-bent on dismantling our democracy, rushing through new restrictions on popular voting options and manipulating their districts for partisan gain, among other problematic proposals,\u201d said Gino Nuzzolillo, Campaigns Manager at Common Cause North Carolina<\/strong>. \u201cEvery issue before the legislature deserves robust public input, thoughtful debate and full transparency. Lawmakers are conducting \u2018the People\u2019s business\u2019 in the People\u2019s House. These #UniteNC Town Halls are meant to remind lawmakers who they work for \u2013 and remind the public that we\u2019re putting people over politics ahead of the important elections to come.\u201d\r\n\r\nIn Asheville, attendees listened to remarks from Sen. Julie Mayfield, Rep. Eric Ager and Rep. Lindsey Prather<\/strong>, while Boone participants held a dialogue with town council candidates absent a response from their county\u2019s delegation in the NC General Assembly. Manteo residents demanded to know which lawmaker snuck a controversial new development provision<\/a> impacting local affordable housing into the state budget.\r\n\r\nThe Asheville, Boone and Manteo #UniteNC Town Halls are among a total of 25 lawmaker accountability events hosted over the past four months in competitive voting districts by nonpartisan voting rights group Common Cause NC and the organization\u2019s state and local partners<\/a>. The centerpiece of each town hall gives residents a chance to ask questions of their elected representatives and respond to prompts such as \u201cwhat do you want the future of North Carolina to look like?\u201d\r\n\r\nThe #UniteNC Town Hall Tour makes two final stops Oct. 25 in Graham (Alamance County) and Oct. 26 in Winston-Salem (Forsyth County).<\/strong> Members of the public and media can RSVP to a town hall in their area by visiting ccnc.me\/UniteNC<\/strong><\/a>.\r\n\r\nMembers of the media can also find links to video footage from each town hall at ccnc.me\/UniteNC<\/a>.\r\n\r\nBelow are quotes from town hall attendees<\/strong>:\r\n\r\nRobeson County resident Shalonda Regan<\/strong> said: \u201cOur kids have experienced two natural disasters in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic. We need the extra resources here so we can all be on an even playing field, and that\u2019s what the Leandro<\/em> case is all about.\u201d\r\n\r\nDare County resident Jason Borland<\/strong> said: \u201cWe need transparency, accountability and integrity about this budget provision affecting our community. I wish we had some of our state and county representatives here to listen tonight.\u201d\r\n\r\nBuncombe County resident Hope Sykes<\/strong> commented: \u201cWe need to fund schools \u2013 specifically special education, those who get left behind in this conversation. Without traditional public schools, my brother wouldn\u2019t have gotten an education.\u201d\r\n\r\nCraven County resident Ruby M.<\/strong> commented: \u201cMy time is valuable. I came here to listen to my representatives, and some didn\u2019t even bother to respond. Do they even know we\u2019re here in Havelock?\u201d\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nCommon Cause NC is a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.<\/em>"}}]},"yoast_head":"\nMore than 1,600 North Carolinians attend #UniteNC Town Halls - Common Cause North Carolina<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press-releases\/more-than-1600-north-carolinians-attend-unitenc-town-halls\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More than 1,600 North Carolinians attend #UniteNC Town Halls\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/more-than-1600-north-carolinians-attend-unitenc-town-halls\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause North Carolina\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/common-cause-share-image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press-releases\/more-than-1600-north-carolinians-attend-unitenc-town-halls\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press-releases\/more-than-1600-north-carolinians-attend-unitenc-town-halls\/\",\"name\":\"More than 1,600 North Carolinians attend #UniteNC Town Halls - 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