Tony Gurley position statements

I am running for lieutenant governor to help promote economic growth, create government transparency and to be a champion for small business.

The answer to growing our economy is not more government action. The answer is getting government out of the way so that North Carolina's job creators can go back to work doing what they do best – growing our economy. North Carolina deserves better. We deserve leaders in Raleigh who understand that jobs are created not by government action but by private sector investment and innovation. As a small business owner, I understand the importance of lowering taxes and reducing the regulatory burden on small businesses to turn the economy around.

North Carolinians also deserve a more transparent, more accountable and more responsive government. As a Wake County commissioner, I championed a program called Wake Watch, which allows Wake County residents to go online to search the county budget and see every expenditure. Can you imagine what concerned citizens around the state would find if we put the state budget online in a searchable and accessible format?

I also want to be Small Business Ambassador for our local small businesses. Creating a business-friendly environment for North Carolina begins with listening to our small-business leaders and understanding which government policies are making it harder for them to hire and do business in North Carolina.

As lieutenant governor, I would be appointed to several boards by the governor that I could help create economic growth, one board being the State Board for the North Carolina Community College System. The way to get North Carolina working again is to celebrate those who have unique and important technical skills and provide them with the opportunity to succeed through education and job training, as done at the community college level. A better trained workforce helps to create jobs and boost our economy.

I support the constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. As a current Wake County commissioner, I recently voted in favor or a resolution that adds an amendment to our constitution protecting marriage. Marriage offers stability, basic balance and meaning to relationships across the board. Children from a traditional marriage are seven times less likely to live in poverty, six times less likely to commit suicide and less than half as likely to commit a crime. Marriage also promotes a stable economy, providing children who will eventually be employed as well as lowering welfare costs. The facts and statistics don’t lie: traditional marriage benefits the couple and their children, our economy and our society.

No, I do not support any tax increase on North Carolinians.