Tarik Woods spoke to the future of NC and earned a standing ovation from a room of active voters at the recent February Breakfast with Rowan County Democrats.
It was a packed house at local RCDP Headquarters as Democrats and Unaffiliated voters attended the monthly breakfast with guest speaker, Tarik Woods. Woods, a Salisbury native, is currently working with a policy think tank in Raleigh that serves as a nonpartisan connector focused on finding solutions to the state’s emerging and critical policy issues. Woods spoke to the future of NC and earned a standing ovation from a room of active voters.
Woods described how dramatically different NC will be by 2050 and the need for individuals to be aware and politically involved as our state prepares for our future. Quoting the late NC native and journalist Charles Kurault, Woods reminded the audience to remember what “binds us to this place” and how we must evolve and find ways to work together for NC, while still working relentlessly (and noisily) in support of Democratic values. He concluded with the assertion that “Educators are NC’s most valuable resource.”
Discussion followed and with serious questions of how to involve younger voters, Woods reminded the audience that as a teenager he needed the personal connection that he made with RCDP Chair Geoffrey Hoy and wife, Dottie in 2012. Those interactions provided a young man with the knowledge to realize that his values aligned with the Democratic Party. He cautioned that younger voters approach politics differently today and that personal interactions may help them understand how policies connect to their own wallet and help to engage them in actively voting. Woods also offered hope that the legislature will evolve as NC changes and that people will see an end to the current circumventing of concerns that actually unite us as a state. Woods said, “There are issues we agree upon. We are divided by what is publicized.”
In addition to the speaker, Kenneth Stutts, a member of the Rowan County Board of Elections, provided information about the upcoming primary including Early Voting, current deadlines and changes to absentee ballot voting, and answers to other questions about the voting process. Early Voting begins on Thursday, February, 15.
RCDP Chair Geoffrey Hoy introduced two candidates present at the breakfast, Shameka Jackson, candidate for Rowan County Commissioner, and Joanne Chesley, candidate for NC House District 83. Information about other local candidates and the primary election can be found at https://rowancountydemocrats.com/.
Chair Hoy also announced that the next breakfast on Saturday, March 9, will feature the Democratic candidates running for Rowan County Commissioners, NC House Districts 76, 77, and 83, and NC Senate District 33. None of these women face primary challengers.