WS Chronicle

Roy Cooper

To the Editor:
As a candidate for Governor in 2016, I read with great interest your Editorial entitled “Cooper Does Not Deserve Our Vote.” I found it quite informative and consistent with what I have been hearing for over the past year as I have traveled our state, and spoken with scores of North Carolina’s citizens. The vast majority of people I’ve spoken with are deeply concerned about casting their ballot for someone who’s more concerned with their political image, than the well being of the people of North Carolina.

Still, prominent Democrats and the Party Kingmakers have “anointed and appointed” Roy Cooper as the “Next Governor of North Carolina.” The problem is that the people of North Carolina deserve better, and their vote should not be taken for granted.  Fortunately for the people of this state, in 2016 voters will have a clear choice between a hand picked career politician and a candidate who is picked by the people, one vote at a time.

For decades, we have had no choice but to follow the Party Kingmakers’ decisions because only a select few have had the courage to challenge the money and perceived power they wield. Often, many of these statewide office seekers have been more concerned about their own personal political careers, than they have been about the personal concerns of the people of this state.

I have also been one of the 2.6 million loyal North Carolina Democrats who have gone to the polls and voted for our Democratic statewide office seekers, because the other candidates clearly didn’t seek our support or stand for equal opportunity and racial tolerance, or support other core Democratic values of caring and compassion.

For 2016, this is going to change. As a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor, I am bound and determined to be a voice for the millions of Democrats and Unaffiliated Voters who feel left out of the decision-making process for determining whom our nominee will be. Roy Cooper will not be pre-ordained, anointed or appointed as the Democratic nominee.  There will be a Democratic primary and the people, not the kingmakers or insiders, will decide whom our nominee will be. This election will be a choice between the people’s voices being heard or the inside kingmakers’ perceived power being continued. I rest my fate with the people.

Roy Cooper will have to answer for his record and failure of leadership as a N.C. Attorney General. His leadership has been lacking from the very beginning, as it seems his office leads him into court, more than Cooper is leading his own office. An effective Attorney General should possess courage and strength to resist every direction the political winds blow, but rather set a steady course where justice prevails and innocent people don’t languish in jail while the guilty are still on the loose and where the law and the constitution are followed to the letter.

On voter suppression, teacher tenure, private school vouchers and marriage equality, Roy Cooper’s office has sided in court with and defended Governor Pat McCrory and his Republican legislature every step of the way.  Superior Court Judges have ruled against Roy Cooper’s office in most of these cases, saying that their arguments failed, and were not consistent with the law and the Constitution. If Roy Cooper can’t effectively lead as North Carolina’s Attorney General, then how can we expect him to be an effective Governor?
What I find in your editorial to be quite salient and thought provoking is your statement that “Cooper Needs A Wake Up Call.” I couldn’t agree more. Quite frankly, I also feel our Party needs a wake up call. Our hard working party workers and the people of North Carolina should never be taken for granted again. All voters and citizens should be respected and appreciated. Our Party can do more, and the so-called Party Bosses need to demonstrate a sincere respect and appreciation for all of the citizens of North Carolina.

In conclusion, I am laying it on the line for the people of North Carolina and I strongly believe that the people of this state no longer are satisfied with “business as usual” and want to move this state in a new direction with a candidate who is seeking to “serve” the people and not one who seeks to be promoted just because he has been waiting in line as a “career politician.” Your editorial was courageous and enlightening, and I want to thank the Chronicle for being a voice for the people.

Sincerely,
Ken Spaulding, 2016 Gubernatorial candidate

Ted Kazakos

To the Editor:
It is an honor to be submitting a letter on behalf of Assistant District Attorney and District Court Judge Candidate Ted Kazakos. Over the past two years that I have worked for him, he has become an incredible mentor to me. Ted Kazakos has gone out of his way to answer questions and to provide advice and guidance to me. As an undergraduate student at Wake Forest my understanding of the law is limited, but Ted Kazakos has always made me feel empowered by the knowledge that I do have and has encouraged my learning in and out of the courthouse.

Ted Kazakos has several important qualities that I believe a judge should possess. He is intelligent, fair, grounded, but above all of those, Ted Kazakos has a pure heart. He has gone out of his way to support my learning, whether it has been by coming to an event that I have been involved in or by simply following up to see how my day has gone. Ted Kazakos genuinely cares about people and illustrates this quality in his daily interactions in the courtroom, his office and with his family.   It comes as no surprise that Ted has received such overwhelming support from the community in his race for district court judge and I feel grateful that I have been able to work for him.

Katherine Lane Ririe, Wake Forest University Class of 2015