NC Legislature 2008

On Saturday, June 14, we'll be canvassing precinct 18-03, Al's home precinct, with Congressman David Price, who has graciously agreed to go to his constituents' doors and tell them why Al should be the next representative from the 36th district.

Let me introduce myself. I’m Al Swanstrom, and I’m running for the NC House of Representatives in District 36, which my friend Greer Beaty almost won in 2006. It covers parts of Cary, Apex, and Swift Creek.

A list of Democrats who filed for North Carolina State Senate.

In North Carolina we have a problem. While we control the State House and State Senate, we have some Democrats who are closer to Republicans than anything else. When you are conservative on social matters, and a moderate on economic issues, I dont know what else to call someone besides a DINO.

Personally I dont really want to spend time worrying about which Democrats deserve to be primaried and which dont. I think that process is often counter productive.

However, we need more Progressive Democrats, and we need to give some allies to the friends that we have in the General Assembly. So, walk with me as I take a look at some districts worthy of attention.

There has been some talk on the site about the creation of a 100 county strategy for the state in 2008. I have been thinking about it since before the election and I have come up with some ideas. Let me say that I know that I am new to NC so some of my planks are more general and could be (and I believe should be) applied to all states, but I still think that they are good ideas. The second thing is that in my experience working in politics, the majority of what I have done has been field work. This has made me a devoted advocate of field. I truly believe that I dollar spent in field is worth 5 spent on TV ads.

So here is the plan:

1) Hold all current office holders accountable. This includes everything from Dog Catcher up to Gov., Sen., etc.

2) Create, support and help fund local county organizations in every county. Even here in Buncombe there are precincts that do not have leadership. This needs to be fixed in every county in the State.