Greg Antoine, Democrat for North Carolina

 

 VOTING RIGHTS

*NUMBER 1 PRIORITY*

 The right to vote and determine how your government should work is sacrosanct and Greg will be a fierce defender and FIGHT for your right to vote and have your vote count.  We must "Fight Like Hell " to maintain our democracy and the right of self-determination. We are facing an onslaught, by right wing brigands, on the very foundation of what makes us a free country, the right to vote and choose our representation. I will work tirelessly to ensure democracy survives perpetually. We must work to ensure President Lincoln’s words, “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”, remain paramount in our national consciousness. I will not back down or compromise on our right to vote. You will not have to guess where Greg stands on voting rights.

Between Janu­ary 1 and Decem­ber 7, 2021 at least 19 states passed 34 laws restrict­ing access to voting. More than 440 bills with provi­sions that restrict voting access have been intro­duced in 49 states in the 2021 legis­lat­ive sessions.

The BIG LIE about voter fraud that drove this unpre­ced­en­ted wave of vote suppres­sion bills CONTINUES TO BE SPREAD. There is no doubt that these efforts to restrict and under­mine the vote will continue to be a seri­ous threat in 2022.

I want us to focus our attention on the potential corruption of the counting of the ballots, the certification of elections, and the Congressional provisions for accepting and counting a slate of electors. This is where the lying election fraud conspirators focused, and continue to be focused, in their attempt in the 2020 election to subvert democracy and stop the peaceful transfer of power. 

Everything that we as Americans want our country to be springs from the people and their voice. If our government’s levers of power are controlled by the few, opinions of the majority will not matter. We have witnessed this during the last administration. We had a President with few if any guardrails that tested the limits on the power of the Presidency. He made a mockery of our country throughout the world.  He won the election while losing the popular vote. We have states that are actively purging voter rolls with little or no oversight. America lost its standing in the eyes of the world. We had a congress of the same party that failed to perform its constitutional duty as a check and balance on the Executive branch of government.

We tout the benefits of Democracy. Democracy involves making concessions and decisions inclusively hearing and listening to everyone's voice. Democracy is not the few controlling the many. Modern democracies reference ancient democracies when stressing the value of the citizens participating, with their voice, in the country's decision making.

Your right to vote is YOUR VOICE!

YOUR VOICE allows you to determine your happiness

YOUR VOICE allows you to make changes

YOUR VOICE allows you to speak your truth

YOUR VOICE allows you to express your passion

YOUR VOICE allows you to determine what kind of society you want for your future, your family and most importantly your happiness.

I want to ensure that your voice is heard forever and your Vote is Counted.

IMMIGRATION

Greg believes that we must gain control of all our borders. He believes that with the current issues of the COVID Pandemic, inflation and the ongoing Opioid epidemic, that seems to all but be forgotten, that the United States should focus on solving these problems as priorities. We should look for efficiencies in the customs and Border Patrol agencies as a start. Greg believes that an expansion of resources focused on securing our borders and ports of entry is warranted.

The U.S. Border Patrol budget has increased from $363 million in 1993 to over $4.9 billion in 2020 and continues to expand. The humanitarian risks to adults and children, the rise of narc-terrorist organizations that have contributed to America’s opioid addiction crisis, and the risk to life and limb of our Border Patrol Agents, warrants a concentrated effort to slow this continuous flow of problems at our borders.

Immigration has wide-ranging impacts on society and culture, and its economic effects are no less substantial. Great industries were built by internal migrants and immigrants moving to the USA from around the world and from around the country for jobs in factories, mills, and machine shops. This strong ethic to work and build communities is no less today than at that time in our history. Greg will work tirelessly on finding a solution to provide long-term certainty for undocumented children who were brought to the United States through no fault of their own.

CRIME

As a physician I have seen the ravages of violent crime up front and personal. Violent crime affects the lives of many people and families both of those not directly involved in either the action or consequences of the crime. I will support ending cash bail for minor nonviolent first time offenders. All mandatory minimum sentences should be reviewed and studied, keeping those that are in the best interest of the community and eliminating those that are don’t serve the community within the parameters of the law.

In North Carolina, there are over 8,000 unprocessed rape kits. The backlog of testing comprises two distinct but related problems. The backlog occurs when rape kits are collected and booked into evidence, but police and/or prosecutors do not request DNA analysis. The second part of the backlog occurs in crime laboratory facilities, where rape kits that have been submitted for testing are awaiting DNA analysis.

Greg will work to put in place a national network of laboratories using Federal funding to expedite the testing of these kits nationally. I will work to make it mandatory that all rape kits be processed and not leave it up to a request having to be made, this leads to human error. The goal should be to have all the evidence to investigate and solve the crime. North Carolina is second only to California in unprocessed rape kits.

In North Carolina rape was up 19% vehicle thefts, up 5% and vehicle break-ins up 4% all rose in 2021. The majority of the sexual assault increase was due to cases involving a non-stranger up 22%. Among the state’s four largest cities; Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro and Durham — two of them, Charlotte and Greensboro, broke records in 2020 for homicide. Durham saw a 35% increase in homicides.

Greg will work to equip all law enforcement agencies, criminal court systems and communities with the needed tools to tackle this issue of violent crime. It has a strangle hold on our communities, especially communities of color. We have to collaborate and use collective expertise to develop sustainable plans to break this ongoing pattern of violent crime. Communities cannot attract economic activity where there is unchecked criminal behavior and activities. These communities deserve to grow and flourish both culturally and economically and, should not have to worry about violent criminal behavior being the controlling factor for either to occur.

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

Greg will work to support investments in our state and nation’s infrastructure, in the research and development that drives innovation, in North Carolina’s growing technology and biotechnology sectors, in our human capital by supporting strong public education in both STEM and Industrial Arts education. Building an economy that works for all North Carolinian's means creating more opportunities for education, training, and good-paying jobs.

There are many paths to good-paying, middle class jobs, and one of the best ways to open these doors is by expanding access to apprenticeship and job training programs. Creating more opportunities for workers to get hands-on experience while learning a trade allows.

Agriculture is a critical segment of North Carolina’s economy and helping our farmers find new markets for their products and goods will be a priority during his tenure in office. North Carolina's food and agriculture represents 5.1 percent of the state's GDP.

North Carolina has a tax structure that keeps costs predictable, attracts and retains corporations. North Carolina has only a 3.2% unemployment rate. We must work hard to continue this trend of low unemployment. Greg will work across the aisle to ensure North Carolina continues to be a destination for new industry partners that bring new job opportunities to our state. We must expand our efforts to become energy independent and insulate our country's economic health from events that occur in other parts of the world.

VETERANS

Greg is acutely aware of the challenges Veterans currently face and the needs and challenges that veterans will continue to face into the future. Greg will work tirelessly on behalf of our veterans by ensuring that their needs for now and the future, are capable of being met and taken care of. There have to be some fundamental changes in VA healthcare to meet these future needs. Greg oversaw the expansion of access to care for veterans as the former Chief of Staff of one of the fastest growing VA healthcare systems, Fayetteville VA Coastal Healthcare System. This encompassed 19 mostly rural counties in North Carolina. Under his leadership new construction and renovations were performed as well as adding additional sites of care throughout the coastal areas of North Carolina.

Under Greg's leadership the Fayetteville VA system brought on line almost 300,000 square feet of additional space. He oversaw the remodeling of both inpatient bed-space and operating rooms. Greg will ensure modernization and maintain quality standards occurs across the VA system. As a physician he understands the need for quality of care and quality of facilities.

Greg expanded the clinical pharmacy service and enhanced the affiliation with Campbell University Pharmacy School. This helped ensure veterans would get their medications in a timely manner and aided in the ability of the veterans to have easy access to a clinical pharmacist to discuss their medications.

In addition, Greg grew the relationship with UNC-Chapel Hill Ophthalmology residency service to expand eye care for veterans. Mental health training and treatment was enhanced by an affiliation he put in place with East Carolina School of Medicine Psychiatry Department as part of their Psychiatry residency training program.

Greg also put in place an infusion center that helped prevent excessive travel time to other facilities for our veterans getting chemotherapy cancer treatments. These are examples of his collaborative skills that enhanced care for our Veterans and his looking to the future for veterans health care issues.

Greg was integral in establishing the relationship that allows sharing of resources with Womack Army Medical Center and Ft. Bragg and Camp Lejeune. This is a collaborative partnership that serves both active-duty personnel and our veterans. Greg worked hard to remove both poorly performing and under-performing providers in the system.

As the VA undergoes a massive restructuring, proposed by the current Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary, Greg will be vigilant that any restructuring must not impose any additional hardships on our veterans to either access care or benefits.

He is the most qualified candidate to address Veterans and active-duty military healthcare issues facing us as a nation in the future. We are able to see the future now with this current Russian action and we must be prepared and maintain our readiness to care for our military and our veterans. Greg, as a partially disabled veteran is the only candidate in the race that understands the needs of the disabled veteran. He understands not only the veteran, but he understands the needs of the veterans’ spouses and family. He is the only candidate that understands what is needed to keep our military healthy during both peacetime and war.

HEALTHCARE

In North Carolina, 20 counties do not have a pediatrician; 26 counties do not have OB-GYN coverage. The rate of Black infant deaths was 2.66 times the rate for white infants, one of the widest disparities ever recorded in North Carolina, and 12% more than the rate two decades ago. The expansion of Medicaid in North Carolina will help to address some of the disparity issues but additional resources and access to care are required.

Expansion of Medicaid alone will not ensure access to care. Access and getting provider coverage in our rural areas must be a multi-pronged approach. A combination of investment in technology to deliver tele-medicine, human capital, and state resources must be deployed.  Having the appropriate infrastructure is an absolute must to ensure that all North Carolinians have timely access to needed quality care.

Greg will support investments into priorities that expand access to rural broadband and ensuring that it is quality broadband that will allow health care to be consistently delivered when it is needed. There will not be broadband that is up and working one minute and not available the next with "POOR CONNECTION".

Greg knows how this work is performed, because he did it for our Veterans in Fayetteville, he did it in Georgia. The COVID-19 pandemic required an immediate development of a robust tele-medicine operation to establish continuity of patient care. Greg will work with the governor and the legislature to do it for all North Carolinian's. Greg has over 40 years of healthcare experience. He has the best insight into healthcare issues facing North Carolinians of all the candidates in this senatorial race.

As a Doctor, Greg understands the ravishing of North Carolina communities that opioids and other elicit synthetic opioids have done and its human costs. In North Carolina, illicit drugs are now contributing to this problem in increasing numbers. The majority of overdose deaths now involve illicit opioids like heroin or fentanyl, a synthetic narcotic. From 2000-2020 more than 28,000 North Carolinians lost their lives to drug overdose. Greg will work to ensure that there are federal funds to help North Carolina expand and develop treatment programs to rehabilitate our citizens and return them to productive citizenship.

Overall, nearly nine in ten (88%) of Medicare recipients favor allowing the federal government to negotiate for lower prices on medications, including three-fourths (77%) of Republicans, nine in ten independents (89%) and 96% of Democrats, according to research performed by the Kaiser Family Fund. Greg will work to allow Medicare to negotiate, just as the Veterans Administration has done, on lowering prescription drug costs. There is absolutely no reason this shouldn’t occur. Seniors and those on fixed incomes should not have to make decisions between daily necessities and their prescription medication.

EDUCATION

Greg is a longtime supporter of early childhood education, and is committed to investments in our children through Head Start and other early childhood programs, such as universal Pre-K, that address the needs of young children. His father was a site director of one of the first Head Start programs in Mississippi.

Greg attended public school. His mother was a public-school teacher for 29 years. She believed every child could learn given the right tools, encouragement and support. She held a AAA teaching license. A strong Public Education system in North Carolina is a must. Alabama, West Virginia and South Carolina spend more per student than North Carolina. There are a significant number of under-performing schools and school districts in the state. North Carolina has fewer public school Masters degree teachers than Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi.

We must ensure that proper performance metrics are in place and used when evaluating student and teacher performance. North Carolina teachers must be compensated and valued because of the product we want them to produce, educated children at every public school that perform at a minimum of grade level in reading, writing and arithmetic.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic interruption of regular school attendance, we have to consider ways to help our children capture the lost hours of instruction. Learning loss can be devastating, especially for students who are from low-income families and underrepresented communities. A Mckinsey & Company 2020 report outlined, that while the average learning loss during the COVID-19 distance learning environment is seven months, Black students may fall behind 10.3 months, Hispanic students by 9.2 months and low-income students by more than a year. Greg suggests that; North Carolina has to consider additional instructional time for at risk and under performing school districts.

While the results of the recently released analysis of the COVID-19 impact give us helpful data points, I’m not clear that the “key takeaways” are adequate in formulating an action plan that would be successful. We owe our children that extra bit of effort to ensure they are and continue to be performing at grade level.

NCDPI Releases “COVID-19 Impact Analysis of Lost Instructional Time”

Greg believes that there should a re-emphasis on industrial arts training and expansion of STEM education to all schools in North Carolina. A Skilled workforce can be developed using both avenues of education. Greg understands the issues of education better than any other candidate in this race. He has spent almost his entire 46 year career as a Surgeon-Educator.

Child Tax Credit

The Child Tax Credit (CTC) has not only acted as a tool for decreasing child poverty in the short term but, also can serve as a tool for increasing family upward mobility in the long term. Lower-income families use their CTC to purchase more or better food and essential items. Greg will work across the aisle in congress to make this a permanent provision that serves working families.

STUDENT DEBT

Between 1993 and 2020, the average loan amount grew nearly three-fold, to over $30,000. Greg will work to pass legislation to both reduce and or eliminate your student loan debt. Balances on student loans in income-based debt repayment plans are increasing over time rather than decreasing. Greg believes these loans have detrimental effects on the U. S. economy especially going into the future. They are an impediment to wealth accumulation for the middle class.

Student loan debt in the United States totals $1.75 trillion and grows 6 times faster than the nation’s economy.

Greg, will work to unburden you from your crushing student loan debt load. It will unleash these dollars so you can spend your money to help our economy to continue to grow, create new jobs and brighten your economic future and of the middle class of America.