David
Woodson

Our county and municipal leaders are more than capable of delivering, if Raleigh gives them the resources, incentives, and support to do it. My job would be to remove the barriers in their way. I'll work with our commissioners, municipalities, NCDOT, and fellow legislators to identify priority projects and push hard for funding until those needs are met — including helping rural communities secure state and federal infrastructure dollars so the burden doesn't fall entirely on local ratepayers.

I also want to cut the regulatory drag that makes it harder for families to improve older homes and harder for small businesses to grow here. Not health and safety protections — the layers that add cost and delay without protecting anyone. A corporation can afford a compliance department. A homeowner or a small-business owner can't.

I'll work directly with each county's Board of Commissioners to identify and pursue the projects that matter most locally. We need good-paying jobs and business sites that fit a rural district — not development for its own sake, and not a district that becomes the state's dumping ground.

That means the right infrastructure in the right places, while protecting property rights, agricultural land, and the character of our communities. The goal is simple: bring investment to District 27 without sacrificing who we are.

Families shouldn't feel forced to sell their land or accept development that doesn't fit. Keeping farming viable means giving landowners flexibility to use their property productively, improving rural infrastructure, and connecting farmers to new markets.

There's real opportunity in diversification: livestock, specialty crops, orchards, nurseries, and vineyards. Value-added processing, packaging, and canning so farmers capture more of what they grow. Farm stands, farm-to-table, agritourism, harvest festivals, livestock shows, and legal hunting and fishing that bring visitors and dollars into the district. Timber and forestry management for long-term income. Better farm roads, irrigation, drainage, storage, and broadband — productivity gains that don't require another acre.

Low population density makes it hard to sustain rural hospitals, clinics, and practices. We need to recruit doctors and nurses to rural communities, expand telehealth where it makes sense, support our rural hospitals and emergency services, and cut the barriers driving up costs.

EMS and volunteer rescue organizations are healthcare too. They need modern equipment, ongoing training, adequate staffing, and reliable funding. In a rural county, the first few minutes decide the outcome — and this is an area where we can add good-paying jobs.

Many of our residents already travel to ECU Health facilities for care. Positioned along I-95 and I-85, we have a real opportunity to build on that existing network and bring quality care closer to home. As your representative, I'll work to encourage and support the partnerships that make that happen.

Teachers should be paid as the professionals they are, and we should be honest about whether students are actually learning. Schools must equip children with strong reading, writing, and math, critical thinking and problem-solving, an understanding of our shared history, and the foundation to become responsible, independent, productive citizens.

Education is a partnership — administrators, parents, teachers, and students — and everyone has to do their part. If we keep governing schools the same way, we shouldn't expect different results.

I want to explore a Parent Governance Board with defined statutory authority alongside the elected school board. Not a duplicate of it — a second body with concurrent authority over a defined set of decisions:

Made up primarily of parents with currently enrolled students, independently selected rather than appointed, holding public meetings and issuing written recommendations. It isn't about power. It's about parents having a real seat at the table — and taking on real responsibility for preparing students for college, careers, the trades, entrepreneurship, or military service.

Tier 1 funding brings state resources into our district, and sales taxes and other state funds feed local revenue. Our property taxes have gone up. Taxpayers should be able to see where the money comes from, where it goes, and what we're getting back. We should measure government by what it accomplishes — not by how much it spends.

I'll fight to make sure District 27 gets its fair share of state funding while insisting every dollar is treated as a responsibility, not an entitlement. Tax policy should encourage people to invest, start businesses, create jobs, and stay in North Carolina. Government should set the conditions for growth — not try to control the outcome. Growth should happen with a community, not to it.

On property rights: if you lawfully own a farm, a home, a business, or a piece of land, you should have a real voice in what happens to it. Property rights aren't only about land — they're about liberty, economic opportunity, and the limits of government power. Secure property rights are what give people the confidence to invest, build, and create jobs. I'll defend the rights of law-abiding property owners.

Public safety starts with supporting law enforcement and giving our communities the officers and resources to stay safe — recruiting and retaining qualified officers, making sure our courts function, and holding people who commit crimes accountable.

We shouldn't confuse compassion with a lack of accountability. People who commit crimes should answer for it, and those struggling with addiction or mental illness should have access to treatment that breaks the cycle of repeat offenses. Immigration is a public safety and rule-of-law issue: enforce the law, cooperate with federal authorities, hold criminals accountable regardless of status, and respect due process.

At the same time, overcriminalization is a real problem — one that falls hardest on lower-income citizens, small property owners, churches, and community organizations. I'd support a formal process to regularly review North Carolina's criminal laws and repeal offenses that are obsolete, redundant, or unnecessary, and to downgrade some offenses to civil or regulatory violations where criminal penalties don't fit the conduct. I'd also support limits on agencies and local governments creating new criminal penalties by rule without clear legislative authority. Tough on real crime, careful about inventing new crimes.

These centers offer medical and prenatal referrals, ultrasounds, pregnancy support, parenting education, diapers, transportation, food, housing assistance, and material help — much of it free. Many continue that assistance after the child is born.

My goal is to give women practical alternatives and real resources, particularly when financial hardship might otherwise make continuing a pregnancy extremely difficult. That is a reasonable argument for allowing these organizations to compete for public funding.

If North Carolina is serious about reducing unintended pregnancies and helping families become economically stable, we should support organizations that provide tangible assistance to women facing difficult pregnancies. The state can reasonably determine that helping women who choose to carry their pregnancies to term serves a legitimate public purpose. It is about supporting families and their children.

HB 549 — Expanded the State Auditor's authority to investigate potential misuse of state and federal funds, and set procedures for recovering debts resulting from fraud or misuse of public money. Stronger audit enforcement protects taxpayers from unrecovered losses. Voted against the veto override.

HB 402 — Increased legislative oversight of agency rules carrying significant projected costs, requiring legislative approval or higher voting thresholds above specified cost levels. It limits concentrated bureaucratic power and keeps expensive regulations from being imposed without legislative consent. Voted against the veto override.

HB 674 — Authorized lifetime concealed handgun permits, with changes affecting lapsed permits, storage arrangements and related liability protections. Voted against.

HB 193 — Combined firearm, school-safety, law-enforcement and criminal-penalty provisions. As enacted, it allowed authorized employees and volunteers at nonpublic schools to carry on school property; allowed concealed carry at certain schools located at places of worship during services; increased penalties for assaulting or threatening government officials; and required judicial determination of pretrial release conditions in those cases. Voted against, and against the override.

HB 318 — Established procedures for immigration-status verification, immigration detainers, and transfer of certain individuals in state or local custody to federal authorities. Requiring cooperation and limiting release when a valid detainer is issued strengthens the rule of law. Voted against the veto override.

HB 781 — Restricted regular camping and sleeping on public property, with exceptions for specified health, safety and shelter-capacity conditions. Compassion for those in need has to be balanced with responsible governance. Voted against.

HB 606 — Addressed the use of state funds for certain gender-transition procedures involving minors and prisoners, with related medical-liability provisions. Voted against.

HB 805 — Established statutory definitions concerning biological sex and addressed taxpayer funding of certain gender-transition procedures, parental rights, and birth certificates. It also allowed religious objections to classroom activities, required public access to school library catalogs, and restricted mixed-sex sleeping quarters on school trips. Voted against the veto override.

SB 442 — The Parents Protection Act. Parents could not be accused of abuse or neglect solely for raising a child according to the child's biological sex, giving them statutory protection against having their parenting characterized as abuse. Voted against.

SB 378 — Directed the state to discontinue Medicaid provider contracts with Planned Parenthood and certain affiliated abortion providers, and to transition affected services to other Medicaid providers. Our tax dollars should not pay for abortions. Voted against.

HB 859 — Restricted cities and counties from establishing recurring guaranteed-income programs of unconditional cash payments, while preserving programs tied to work, training or reemployment. Generosity must be voluntary, not coerced, and handouts are no substitute for jobs. Voted against.

HB 87 — Authorized North Carolina to participate in a federal tax-credit program supporting donations to qualifying scholarship-granting organizations, allowing scholarships for elementary and secondary education expenses including home schooling. Voted against.

SB 227 — Barred public school units from compelling students or employees to affirm defined divisive concepts, such as that one race or sex is inherently superior to another, or that a person bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex. Voted against.

HB 171 — Restricted state and local use of public funds for specified DEI programs, barred DEI considerations in hiring and contracting, prohibited required DEI training, and set civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation. Voted against.

HB 926 — Made broad changes to state and local regulatory authority covering permitting, inspections, zoning, property rights and administrative requirements. Voted against.

SB 316 — Restricted state and local agencies from requiring or disclosing identifying information about nonprofit members, donors and volunteers, with specified exceptions, and established remedies for violations. It safeguards associational privacy and limits state intrusion into lawful civic participation. Voted against the veto override.

HB 618 — Would have authorized a statewide standing order allowing pharmacists to dispense ivermectin without a prescription, subject to the bill's requirements. Ivermectin is FDA-approved for parasitic conditions including intestinal and filarial infections, scabies, head lice, and inflammatory lesions of rosacea. Voted against.