Why did you decide to seek public office?

Barrett: My reason for seeking reelection to the NC Senate is to serve the citizens of Davie and Forsyth counties. I am a proven conservative leader who has lived and worked as part of the Davie County community for many years. I will listen to all I represent and work on their behalf. My goal will be to help citizens and work with others to come up with workable solutions to the challenges facing us.  Help me return to the Senate to work for you.

Should private foundations created to support a state college or university be required to follow current open records law?

Barrett: I strongly favor transparency in decision-making by government entities. Our open meeting laws help accomplish transparency and accountability where public business is conducted. If private foundations are conducting public business, then they should be held to standards of transparency and accountability like other governmental entities.

What do you expect to be the top issue for Legislators next year and how would you deal with that issue?

Barrett: An issue that’s on everyone’s mind is school safety. Every parent deserves to know that their children will arrive home safely from school. I am actively partnering with Davie County efforts to implement increased safety measures. I am pushing for legislation to make it a felony to make an actual threat of mass violence on school property (right now such a threat is only a misdemeanor). We need to ensure we have trained School Resource Officers at every school. We must also do what we can to better identify, treat and take appropriate security measures with respect to those individuals who pose a potential threat for violence. And we must continue to work to improve communications between agencies that share responsibilities in this area (e.g. law enforcement, schools, social services; Dragonfly House).  Some want to use school violence as a pretext to threaten our Second Amendment rights. Let me be clear. I will not support any legislation that would in any way hinder our Constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

Other Issues

Barrett: One of my major objectives is to work for better communications between the legislature and the citizens we represent.  Good decisions are not made in a vacuum – they require listening, understanding, and working with others.

Specific issues that are priorities for me are:

(1) Achieving sustainable quality affordable healthcare for our citizens.  Over the course of nearly two decades, I have worked with others in our community to revitalize Davie County Hospital.  Our hospital was about to close in 2000; now, we have a new state of the art hospital built with no taxpayer funding along with greatly improved medical services. We are on the verge of repurposing the original hospital to provide a wonderful medical training facility for our community college students interested in healthcare professions.  I would like to use my experience and passion to continue efforts on behalf of affordable sustainable healthcare, both in our community and state-wide.

(2) Reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses. My career has been devoted to helping small businesses cope and thrive notwithstanding oppressive governmental regulations. I now serve on the legislative Administrative Oversight Committee, which allows me to use my experience to work to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses.

(3) Economic development. Davie County is a model for economic development efforts state-wide.  I will work as a partner in Raleigh to facilitate future economic development efforts and find new opportunities for job growth.  Road improvements will be a key part of that equation.

(4) Public education.  I have been in position to facilitate improved communications between education and legislative leaders, helping lead to successful resolution of the K-3 class size crisis.  I am committed to working constructively to address other critical education issues.

I am honored and privileged to serve Davie County citizens in the General Assembly.  I will continue to work diligently on behalf of all I represent.