THE WORK
AHEAD.
Cumberland County has tremendous assets, and real challenges.
My approach is straightforward: create opportunity, remove barriers, invest where it matters and expect results.
The goal isn't simply to manage the problems we have.
It's to unlock Cumberland County's full potential.
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
A good job matters. But I want more Cumberland County families to move beyond making ends meet toward financial security, ownership and wealth.
That means preparing people for good careers—and helping more people build businesses of their own.
Small businesses create jobs, build wealth and keep more dollars circulating in our community. We should make it easier for entrepreneurs to access capital, technical assistance, government contracting opportunities and the support they need to start, survive and grow.
And economic development shouldn't only be about recruiting the next large company.
We should grow more of our own.
Cumberland County already has extraordinary assets—Fort Bragg, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville Technical Community College, healthcare institutions, veterans, military spouses, entrepreneurs and a diverse workforce.
Our challenge is connecting those assets: education to careers, talent to employers, entrepreneurs to capital and local businesses to new markets.
That's how we unlock Cumberland County's full potential.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
EVERY CHILD DESERVES A PATH TO OPPORTUNITY.
Strong public schools require excellent teachers, safe classrooms, high expectations and engaged parents.
We also need education that helps students see where they're going. College should be one pathway. So should skilled trades, apprenticeships, military service, entrepreneurship, certifications and technical careers.
Schools have an enormous responsibility for educating children. Parents have an enormous responsibility for raising them. And communities have a responsibility to support both.
Our children deserve all three working together.
MILITARY FAMILIES & VETERANS
SERVICE DESERVES MORE THAN WORDS.
In Cumberland County, military families and veterans aren't an abstract constituency. They're our neighbors, and I understand that life because I lived it.
Supporting them means more than saying “thank you for your service.”
It means healthcare, employment, education, housing, transition assistance and making sure veterans receive the benefits they've earned.
North Carolina has one of America's largest military and veteran populations.
We should set the standard for where military families and veterans choose to live, work, build careers and put down roots.
HEALTHCARE
PROTECT ACCESS. PREPARE FOR WHAT'S NEXT.
North Carolina's expansion of Medicaid extended healthcare access to hundreds of thousands of people. Now we face new challenges.
My focus is protecting access where we can, strengthening behavioral health, addressing workforce shortages and supporting the providers and communities people depend upon.
Healthcare isn't only about having insurance. It's about whether you can actually get the care you need.
HOUSING
AFFORDABILITY AND OWNERSHIP.
Young adults are struggling to buy their first homes. Working families face rising rents. Seniors worry about whether they can afford to stay in homes they've spent decades paying for.
We need more attainable housing at different price points—and stronger pathways to homeownership for families who are ready, housing provides stability.
And whenever possible, that stability should become a foundation for something more.
CLEAN WATER & INFRASTRUCTURE.
THE BASICS HAVE TO WORK.
Clean water shouldn't depend on your ZIP code.
Progress is being made to extend public water infrastructure to PFAS-affected communities in Gray's Creek. But Gray's Creek isn't the only community affected.
Cedar Creek and other communities cannot be forgotten, and the same principle applies to roads, broadband, sewer, stormwater and transportation.
These issues aren't glamorous, but when the basics don't work, almost everything else becomes harder.
SAFE & STRONG COMMUNITIES
PREVENTION. ACCOUNTABILITY. OPPORTUNITY.
People deserve to feel safe in their homes, schools and neighborhoods.
That requires effective, accountable law enforcement. It also means addressing mental health, substance use, disconnected young people, family instability and lack of opportunity before problems become crises.
Strong communities require both opportunity and accountability.
We should provide second chances. We should also expect people to use them.
VOTING RIGHTS & FAIR MAPS
SECURE ELECTIONS. FAIR MAPS. ACCESSIBLE VOTING.
Election security matters. So does access to the ballot.
Those principles aren't in conflict, we can protect the integrity of our elections without creating unnecessary barriers for eligible voters—including military members serving around the world.
And political districts should belong to voters, not politicians.
Voters should choose their representatives. Representatives shouldn't choose their voters.
ONE CUMBERLAND
EDUCATION. JOBS. HOUSING. HEALTHCARE. PUBLIC SAFETY. INFRASTRUCTURE.
These aren't separate problems in people's lives, and we shouldn't treat them that way in government.
Government can't solve everything. Neither can businesses, nonprofits, schools, churches, families or individuals working alone.
But working together, we can build a Cumberland County where more people have the opportunity to succeed.
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Our future is about building on what makes Cumberland County unique.
Val Applewhite
STATE SENATOR