By Peter Vankevich
One more candidate in the March 15 primary visited Ocracoke to share her views on her candidacy.
Judy Justice, a Democratic candidate for N.C. State House District 6, who was unable to attend the Feb. 25 candidates’ night, was a guest at the Ocracoke Civic and Business Association’s monthly meeting March 9.
Justice grew up in Swansboro, a small fishing village in Onslow County and currently lives in Manteo.
As a former teacher and school administrator, which included two years as an administrator in Hyde County, she emphasized the need to improve education in North Carolina, which in her opinion has suffered due to decisions made by the state General Assembly.
“From 2008 to 2016, teacher’s salaries have gone from twenty-fourth in the nation to forty-seventh,” she said “Our pupil per expenditure is done to forty-ninth to in the United Sates and that is the biggest embarrassment of all.
“It is systematically being cut back. This is the reason I got into politics. We need to make changes as to how education is appropriated.”
She emphasized she is against tolling the Hatteras ferry, and the proposed fee-based passenger ferry needs to be carefully studied.
“The shoaling needs to be addressed,” she continue. “There is huge difference between 40 minutes (the time for closed short run) to one hour.”
She supports taking the ferry replacements out of the RPO funding.
On another issue, Justice said she is against off-shore drilling and sees it unnecessary. She said she sees alternative energy replacement to fossil fuels as the wave of the future.
She is against seismic testing that is harming marine mammals.
One of the issues she is interested is encouraging diversification of jobs for the region.
Earlier she had filed written comments from our request and can be read here.
We are presenting an audio clip of her comments.
