Editor’s note: Candidates for the 3rd Congressional District seat include 17 Republicans, six Democrats, two Libertarians and one with the Constitution Party. Primary elections will be held on April 30. The questionnaires are printed in the candidate’s words as submitted, edited only for length. One of several questions answered has been printed here, and candidates were given a 150 word limit. Republican candidates Graham Boyd, Chimer Davis and Donald Cox and Democratic candidate Gregory Humphrey did not respond with answers to the questions. Constitution Party candidate Greg Holt does not have a primary, and his questionnaire can be found online. To read the full, unedited questionnaire filled out by candidates visit JDNews.com, NewBernSJ.com or Kinston.com.

Question: How would you help address budget constraints on Eastern North Carolina counties following the devastation of Hurricane Florence?


Kevin Baiko: "Freedom comes with risks. Inviting the federal government to minimize risk is inviting it to undermine our property rights and liberties. Taxpayers should not subsidize the inevitable losses arising from federal flood insurance and disaster relief. We can and will take care of our own."

Paul Beaumont: "I would work to ensure all affected regions in our District and state receive the appropriate level of funding on the Federal level."

Celeste Cairns: "As a conservative, I believe the government should not be overly-involved in such matters. However, as long as the government continues to tax away our resources, I will work to claw back what I can to provide relief to the people of Eastern North Carolina in such instances."

Gary Ceres: "I will seek an extension of income tax relief for individuals and businesses in the 3rd District that were affected by Hurricane Florence. In addition, I will aggressively seek out and facilitate private-public partnerships to rebuild affected areas and to entice new businesses to locate in the District in order to promote economic growth and development."

Phil Law: "Conservative economic theory understands that you cannot borrow your way to prosperity despite what the Democrats preach. Each county must decide for themselves whether or not to raise taxes on the citizens to meet the challenges from the storm. I encourage them to remember our people are suffering economically now and those that recklessly raise taxes will face the voters again sooner or later."

Francis De Luca: "With the federal government already over $23 trillion in debt, Counties and states are going to have to carry more of the load. I will do what is necessary to make sure all federal agencies do what they are supposed to do."

Jeffrey Moore: "The surest way to alleviate budget constraints is to bring more revenues to the counties in the Third District, and the surest way to do that is by laying the groundwork for continued economic growth. Much of the Third District is poor, relative to other parts of the state. We know that more government is not the path to prosperity; limited, small government whose focus is securing our right to life, liberty,and the pursuit of happiness is. We must get the government's heavy hand out of our economic affairs so that we can ore fully realize the fruits of our labor, free small-business owners to do what they do best, and allow the people of eastern North Carolina to provide the spark that will ignite growth and subsequently bolster local budgets."


Michelle Nix: "Hurricanes are a great concern for those in Eastern North Carolina. When hurricanes hit, the best and most equipped leaders to restore communities are the local and state governments. When I am in Congress, I will work with the NC delegation and communicate with local governments in the event of a natural disaster."

Mike Payment: "Get the President to make a visit to our area and see 1st hand how this is effective our area. Then I would get support from others in Congress to agree on steps to get the appropriate measures in place to get our area back to where is was. This will take someone with good communication skills which I possess."


Eric Rouse: "As a Lenoir county commissioner, hurricane Florence and flooding significantly impacted my community. In congress I’ll work to make sure Eastern North Carolina has the resources they need to prepare for future hurricanes and recover from previous ones."

Phil Shepard: "I will support legislation that would create a disaster relief fund from the Federal government that would coordinate with state and local authorities to establish funds and matching grants ensuring that our counties in Eastern NC have the funds available to repair infrastructure, provide services, and meet other needs."




Ike Johnson: "I will work for more grants. I support low/no interest loans to help those affected get their lives back in order."

Dana Outlaw: "As Mayor I’ve been closely involved with addressing budget constraints and rebuilding after Hurricane Florence. I’ve teamed up with community leaders and other mayors to meet with the DOT, the Department of Education, and various other agencies to get the ball moving on rebuilding our neighborhoods. It’s unacceptable that we have kids out of school for thirty days and roads that are still undrivable. We need to rebuild stronger than ever and ensure that we’re prepared for future storms. One such way is investing in rural broadband infrastructure so our kids can still finish their homework even if they’re displaced."

Ernest Reeves: "1) I would consult with FEMA, SBA, HUD, and DOE to see if there are any grants or additional disaster programs available to help those affected counties. 2) I would invite the SBA Administrator to the region to tour the affected areas with me and set up temporary offices in the district. “In the wake of a disaster, SBA provides low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and private, nonprofit organizations? In the aftermath of hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, wildfires, tornadoes and other disasters, SBA is the primary source of money from the federal government for long-term recovery assistance.”"

Allen Thomas: "As the former Mayor of Greenville and Executive Director of the NC Global TransPark, my experiences working on hurricane relief in previous storms at the local level with our state and federal agencies gives me the unique understanding that there are artificial barriers that currently exist and hinder our ability as a region to improve our speed and effectiveness of the response. Our region needs long term solutions that include working with the Army Corp of Engineers for infrastructure measures that help mitigate risks- especially for our most vulnerable populations. We also deserve a leader who is going to work across the aisle with state and federal agencies to ensure that we have standing dedicated funds to reinforce small businesses who provide vital recovery resources to our communities."


