Durham Democratic senator’s position on marijuana legalization, teacher pay
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sophia Chitlik wants to legalize marijuana both medical and recreational.
- She backs raising starting pay to $50,000 and $75K–$90K for experienced teachers.
- Does not want to cut taxes, wants to restore 2012 tax rates, before cuts.
To help voters learn which candidates are on their ballot and where they stand on important policy issues, The News & Observer is publishing candidate questionnaires in all state and federal races in North Carolina on the March 3, 2026, ballot.
Below are the candidates running for N.C. Senate District 22 who responded to our questionnaire, in order by the date their responses were received. This district is in Durham, and the incumbent is Sen. Sophia Chitlik. She is being challenged by DeDreana Freeman, a former Durham City Council member. Freeman did not respond. Chitlik’s answers are below.
Sophia Chitlik
Age as of March 3, 2026: 36
Political party: Democratic
Campaign website: https://sophiafornc.com
Current occupation: Fractional chief operating officer and strategic planning consultant; currently doing policy full-time
Professional experience: I began my career as an organizer and later went on to serve as one of the youngest political appointees in the Obama administration, then worked in education innovation as a chief of staff and chief operating officer. I spent the following decade as a strategic planning consultant, philanthropist and investor, building cross-sector companies that scale community-driven solutions in education and maternal health. I joined the state Senate in 2025.
Education: B.A. in political community building from New York University
Please list any notable government or civic involvement: I’ve been serving in the Senate for the past year. I serve on the board of Families & Communities Rising, our local Head Start provider. I am a fellow with the North Carolina Leadership Forum, an inaugural cohort member of the Hunt Institute Early Prenatal-to-3 Policy Academy, and a State Gender Policy Collective Fellow with the National Women’s Law Center. I am co-founder of Durham Delivers and a longtime investor and supporter of community-based C4s and nonprofits locally.
The legislature sets teacher base pay. What do you think the salary range should be for teachers, from starting to 30+ experience? We need to raise starting teacher pay from the lowest in the Southeast to $50,000, which would put us at the top. Experienced educators should be making between $75,000-$90,000. I’m the co-sponsor of multiple bills to raise teacher and staff pay, including the Restore Teacher Longevity Act (Senate Bill 433), and the School Workers Fair Pay Act (Senate Bill 434). I am the author of the Caring for Our Caregivers Act (Senate Bill 712), which would exempt every person who works in a school from income taxes.
As of January, North Carolina was the last state not to have passed a new, comprehensive budget. What would you do to help make sure a budget passes? This is why we need to break the supermajority, and why I’m raising money to make that possible: so that we can prevent one person or chamber from holding our entire state hostage. I’ve advocated for a clean Medicaid bill, higher teacher salaries and freezing corporate and personal income taxes – all things that Senate and House Democrats and even House Republicans agree on. We need to hold this coalition together and continue to center directly impacted North Carolinians in this fight.
What is the most important issue in your district and what do you want to do about it? Expanding access to affordable early childhood education is one of the most important things we can do to increase workforce participation, educational equity and GDP. Until I arrived in the legislature, child care was on a lot of people’s top three lists — but it was no one’s number one. This year, I co-authored our caucus’ Childcare Omnibus, which includes eight bills addressing every part of the child care crisis (SB 281, SB 592, SB 593, SB 594, SB 677, SB 678, SB 680, SB 712).
North Carolina’s income tax rate for individual taxpayers is 3.99%. Should that be reduced further? Absolutely not. Our state is in a fiscal crisis of the Republicans’ own creation. We’ve given tax breaks to corporations and billionaires at the expense of working families. I am a co-sponsor of the Reenact EITC Act (SB 304) and the first primary sponsor of a bill to reenact the child tax credit (SB 641). We need to bring corporate and personal income tax rates back to 2012 level and implement an equitable tax policy that generates enough revenue to cover our state’s growing needs.
Do you think the state is using taxpayer money efficiently? Why or why not? No. Putting billions of dollars of taxpayer money into school vouchers and crisis pregnancy centers — institutions that discriminate and have zero standards or accountability — is a gross misuse of taxpayer funds. Meanwhile, basic needs go unmet — including fully funding Medicaid, the needs of students with disabilities and cost of living increases for retirees. Our spending reflects our values, and Republican leadership’s values are out of step with those of our constituents.
QDo you support legalizing medical marijuana use? Why or why not? Yes, both for medical and recreational purposes. I’m a co-sponsor of the Marijuana Justice and Reinvestment Act (SB 350), which would legalize cannabis and create the Office of Community Reinvestment to invest in individuals who have been most harmed by our failed drug policies. Other states generate $25 billion in cumulative revenue from legal cannabis sales; we are leaving money on the table and losing the opportunity to keep marijuana out of the hands of children.
What do you see as the biggest barrier to health care access in your district, and what actions would you take to address it? Cost, which limits equitable access. The federal government is systemically targeting health care for low-wealth people by cutting Medicaid, Federally Qualified Health Centers’ funding and ACA tax credits — and the Republican legislature is playing along. We need to fully fund Medicaid and expand coverage for essential care like doulas, out of hospital birth and nutrition support. We urgently need a single-payer system that offers universal coverage because health care should be a right and not a privilege.
