Jonah Garson, candidate for NC House of Representative District 56
READ MORE
Candidates for NC House District 56
Democrats Allen Buansi and Jonah Garson are running for the North Carolina House of Representatives in District 56 in Orange County. They are the only two candidates running to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Verla Insko, who is stepping down in May.
Expand All
Name: Jonah Garson
Political Party: Democratic
Age on election night: 36
Website: www.jonahgarson.com
Occupation: Attorney at Parry Law, PLLC, a Chapel Hill-based law firm, with an individual practice focused on civil litigation, voting rights, and election law.
Education: I am a proud alumnus of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (Frank Porter Graham Elementary School, Culbreth Middle School, Chapel Hill High School ‘05). I earned my B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill (2009) and my J.D. from Columbia Law School (2014), where I was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.
Have you run for elected office before? I am a first-time candidate running in an open Democratic Primary for NC House 56. I am a grassroots organizer, attorney, former legislative staffer, and former voter protection director running to build Democratic power statewide so we can finally win the progressive policies our community needs.
Civic involvement: Chair, Orange County Democratic Party; field coordinator for dozens of state legislative candidates across North Carolina; DNC/NCDP Director of Voter Protection and Civic Engagement Member, Executive Committee of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP Chair, New North Carolina Project Foundation
School test scores dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic. What should North Carolina do to improve student performance?
Per Leandro, we must provide funding to ensure that every North Carolinian receives a high-quality education. I support dramatic pay raises for educators and staff, programs to recruit/retain teachers of color, and incentive pay for graduate degrees. I oppose test score-based “merit pay.”
What do you want to happen in North Carolina if Roe v. Wade is overturned?
I believe that reproductive health care is a right, including abortion care. I will fight to defeat any new legislation undermining that right and advocate for the repeal of recently-enacted anti-abortion laws. I will continue my work to elect pro-choice Democrats statewide.
What should North Carolina do to reduce violent crime?
First, invest in education, behavioral health care, and affordable housing. Next, pass commonsense gun control laws: background checks on every gun sale, red flag laws, and requirements for safe storage, among others. Fund violence prevention systems to break cycles of retaliatory violence.
Should medical marijuana be legalized in North Carolina?
Yes and I believe all uses should be legalized. Legalization should be equitable, addressing the racialized harms of the War on Drugs/over-policing of communities of color. Legalization will bring hundreds of millions of dollars into our state’s economy, and end decades of senseless punitive policy.
What should the state’s minimum wage be? What policies would you support to help struggling North Carolinians?
We must raise the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour, indexed to inflation. I will fight for sick day minimums and family leave, broadly defined; paid apprenticeship programs; measures to curtail worker misclassification; the right to collective bargaining; and robust unemployment benefits.
Should North Carolina expand Medicaid, and how?
Good, affordable health care is a right. I will work tirelessly to expand Medicaid (without any work requirement) on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of uninsured North Carolinians, bringing resources to our rural hospitals and good-paying jobs to our state.
Is there an area where you disagree with your party? Why?
As a progressive in the big-tent Democratic Party, I sometimes disagree with fellow Dems about the role of the state in enabling people to thrive, and the role of private markets in delivering certain public goods. In a healthy and fully-functioning democracy, this discourse is healthy and useful.
What are your top three issues?
Health care; education; voting and elections
This story was originally published April 25, 2022 at 10:59 AM.