news-record.com

Office you seek
NC House district 58

Age
62

Occupation
Bennett College Professor of Art

Address
2109 Liberty Valley Rd.
Greensboro, North Carolina 27406

Web site/e-mail
asadams@earthlink.net

Party affiliation
Democrat

Elective experience
2 years, Greensboro City School Board
9 years, Greensboro City Council
14 years, NC House

Other relevant experience (boards committees, etc)
Current Appropriations chair; Vice-Chair Local Government II, Chair Select
Committee on Housing; committee on Health, Education, Aging and
Universities; Former Subcommittee Chair- General Government ; Former - Local
Government II Chair. Chair NC Joint Women's Legislative Caucus; Former member
And Vice-Chair- American Legacy Foundation Board; NAACP Executive Board;
African American Atelier Board; Chair NC Legislative Black Caucus

Family
2 Adult children: Billy Adams III; Jeanelle Lindsay. 4 Grandchildren: Aaron, Jocelyn, Miracle and Billy

Why have you chosen to run for this office?
I have spent 25 years serving in elective office and enjoy the gratification which comes from making a difference. It has been a pleasure to serve the citizens of district 58 and Guilford County. I want to continue my work toward promoting a working families agenda; ensuring that people can earn a living wage, have decent affordable housing and are provided an opportunity to have a good quality of life for themselves and their families. I want to continue my fight to ensure that State Government is fair in its practices and equitable in the distribution of services and funding.

What distinguishes you most from your opponent?
Experience, knowledge of the Legislative process, skill and proven leadership
ability distinguishes me from my opponent.

What Key qualifications would you bring to the job?
Knowledge of the legislative process, proven skill and experience are key qualifications I would bring to the job. Having served in 2 local government offices and 14 years in the NC House, holding a number of key leadership positions including sub-committee Appropriations chairmanships and one of the key Appropriations Chairs and budget writers in the House, I have the knowledge needed for the job and have demonstrated a consistent level of accountability, accessibility and effectiveness to be able to get things done.

What is the most pressing need in your district?
Jobs and the economy, health care, education and safety are most pressing.
People are having a difficult time earning a decent living and providing for their families with the rising costs of food, gas and basic necessities. Too many of our citizens are without health care, educational disparities continue to exist in our schools -particularly between racial/ethnic groups and other students and crime continues to rise in all of our neighborhoods.

List your top three campaign issues and your stances on those issues.
Jobs and the Economy; Health Care and Education are my top 3 issues.

All citizens are entitled to the benefit of a good quality of life and should be provided educational opportunities and the necessary skill and training to earn a decent wage. NC must continue to invest in strengthening small business, provide livable wages and earned income tax credits, bring good paying high tech jobs to the state, perhaps expand current initiatives One NC and JDIG, and develop other creative ways to secure our state's economic future.

Investing in good healthy communities are beneficial to our state and citizens. We must continue to expand Access to Quality health care, ensure that it is Affordable and include in those expanded health care initiatives care for children, seniors and schools and improve our mental health system and provide the resources needed for that area.

Education under girds a good quality of life and should be available for all citizens. I support enhancing diverse academic program initiatives at the public school, community college and university levels, improving academic performance; eliminating disparities and achievement gaps; improving working conditions and providing competitive salaries for teachers and other academic support personnel including teacher assistants.

Did ethics reform in the legislature go far enough? Why or why not?
Yes ethics reform went far enough. The committees appointed to address the issues spent considerable time studying the problem and made the necessary recommendations to the General Assembly. Legislation was enacted that revised existing practices which ultimately created greater transparency and accountability and modified behavior among legislators

How should the state deal with the problems of mental health reform?
While there has been some internal studies done at the department level, an independent comprehensive study of the mental health system is needed to define problem areas, identify actual needs of mental health patients and their families and determine the best method of transitioning patients from institutional settings to community settings and to get a better handle overall on mental health services. The state has made some initial financial investments to implement some of the needed recommendations of the internal studies.

Where do you stand on the governor's proposal for managing state water use in a crisis?
I supported the governor's proposal and the legislation enacted. The proposal was thoughtful and necessary in view of the serious water problems the state has had. The proposal and legislation included recommendations by the Environmental Review Commission that will expand local government's ability to respond more effectively and quickly when drought conditions worsen. It will also require local governments to adopt and enforce water conservation measures and provide up to date information to the legislature about water usage.

Did the state House act correctly in expelling Thomas Wright and why or why not?
Yes. When the House enacted the expunction against Tom Wright, there was no other option left or available. In the final analysis, Tom Wright offered no reasonable or appropriate explanation for his actions when opportunities were given.

Do you favor an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission? Why or why not?
Currently, I do not. I am not convinced that any board or commission is truly non-partisan as the individuals who serve on them are connected with some party or other; and generally act (based on that party's beliefs and philosophy). Redistricting is a legislative responsibility and should remain so. If there was truly some way to ensure and guarantee that such a commission would be not only independent but non-partisan, I would take a close look at it.