North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein formally appointed Jonah Garson to the N.C. Senate District 23 seat – which covers Orange, Person and Caswell Counties – on Friday. The move came after Garson’s approval by local Democratic Party members on Apr. 4.
Before he headed to Raleigh to take part in the short session and get acclimated as a legislator, Garson visited the Chapel Hill Media Group studios and spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck to share his vision for what he hopes to accomplish in his new role.
Garson, who was serving as the first vice chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, set himself apart from the field of other Democrats vying for the nomination by sharing a wave of endorsements from across District 23. As an organizer with ties to past elected officials, he framed himself as a plug-and-play option to fill the Senate seat while pointing to the importance of keeping stability within the House’s Democratic caucus.
“My relationships in those places and my relationships across this county are what carried me,” Garson told 97.9 The Hill about the appointment process. “People know my work, and I think people see me as a workhorse and a great collaborator. And I’ve been doing work to advance progressive outcomes for folks in these places and this state for years.”
Jonah Garson (right) and 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck spoke on Monday, Apr. 6 following Garson’s designation for appointment to N.C. Senate District 23. (Photo by Aaron Keck/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
Beyond getting up to speed in office, Garson said his two biggest legislative priorities during this session are approving more relief funding for those impacted by flash flooding during Tropical Storm Chantal last July and passing a comprehensive statewide budget that’s nearly a full year behind. Both items would greatly help constituents in District 23 – and out of the legislature, Garson wants to start constituent services offices to help people on an individual basis. The Chapel Hillian said the effort is something he’s been pushing other lawmakers to explore and now he has the opportunity to create a blueprint.
“I’m still working on that,” Garson said of the idea, “but I think having volunteer-staffed, physical constituent services offices – whether or not shared with local parties – will be an important feature of this [time in office]. Sometimes it’s [providing] direct services, sometimes it’s serving as a services intermediary. And I think there’s a lot of work that a sitting legislator should do and could do to connect people with existing services.”
More direct connection of residents to local, state and federal services is one example of how Garson and state Democrats are trying to rebuild the party’s reputation, by reflecting how pro-government and progressive action can benefit people’s lives. While a champion and cheerleader of such policies when working as first vice chair, Garson acknowledged they will be significantly more difficult to put into law in Raleigh.
“You have to understand that you are going to face obstacles,” he said. “And you also just have to understand that behind the scenes, sweat equity and work and team-building is the only way we move forward from here. And that’s what Chair [Anderson] Clayton and I did, along with Kim Hardy and the rest of the gang to rebuild our state Democratic party. The only work I’ve ever done has been collaborative in nature, and this is a collaborative, collective action problem of enormous proportion.”
But Garson is optimistic about the opportunity presented to North Carolina Democrats right now. While still the minority party in both chambers, the upcoming change of Senate leadership paired with the current groundswell of support leading up to the mid-terms this fall has the District 23 senator and Democratic leaders excited. Garson said he hopes to cut through the “distractions” and “nonsense” out there in an attention-driven political landscape by putting focus on the “action that matters.” And by doing so, he hopes to build upon the groundwork laid by the state Democratic Party team of getting more progressive policy items considered and passed.
“What people want is honesty, and people want a plan,” said Garson. “People need to feel good about the people running that plan with them. That’s my job: my job is to do what I’ve done for years, which is to empower people into work that matters.
“Truly,” he added, “we have had a few years in a row now of marked successes. I think that the wind really is at our backs, and that the 2030s for progressive power and policy in this state – for outcomes for people, for policy that enables them to thrive… I think the 2030s will be a wonderful decade for North Carolina.”
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Garson Shares Vision for Serving District, Keeping Long-Term Policy Goals while Joining N.C. Senate Chapelboro.com.
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