Ashley Ward is running for the Democratic primary as representative for the U.S. House North Carolina District 4.
Ward is a local to Durham and earned a Ph.D. in medical geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2012.
As the only candidate with expertise on climate change, some of Ward's past professional experiences include working as a senior policy associate for the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University and as the climate-health lead for the NOAA RISA program for the Carolinas.
Here is what Ward plans to do if she becomes North Carolina's 4th District representative.
Alamance is a red county in a blue district, which hasn't been the case for a long time. How will you make this primary and her candidacy relevant to Alamance County voters?
According to Ballotpedia, as of 2022, the district had the largest percentage of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 (27%) and the largest percentage with a bachelor's degree (52%) in North Carolina. What are the impacts on your campaign and political goals?
WARD: My job is to get people to the table who normally don't talk to each other and help us identify the biggest challenges in their community and find solutions. I have lived and worked in rural areas most of my life and my career. I relate to those voters, specifically the challenges especially that rural communities face and the feeling that their voices are not heard. The same thing happens to young people. It's really about creating the space for people to be involved and have their voices heard and take an active role in the policymaking process.
How would you let local voters know their concerns are important and heard?
Ward: My job is to bring communities into the policymaking process. The idea is to build community coalitions both so that policymakers and scientists can engage with members of the community. So they can learn about what the concerns of the community are and most importantly so they can better understand what policies are most needed to address community concerns.
How do you stand out in such a crowded primary field?
WARD: My background in working in communities under really challenging circumstances and about really challenging issues is unique. My climate expertise is absolutely unique but it's about more than the scientific expertise I bring to Congress. I also have lived in this district my entire life in almost every corner. I come from a working-class background; I'm a community college graduate. When we talk about issues like healthcare and taxes, these are not political things to me. These are personal things to me because I have lived through these things.
How does your expertise on climate change impact how you would vote or represent the 4th District?
WARD: I would be the first person ever elected into Congress who has climate expertise. My experience spans the entire spectrum of federal policy experience. Consistent services [as a congressional representative] to me are about how do we build capacity in the district and connect people in the district with the resources that are available to them through federal policy, so people that live and work in the district can actually address the issues that they are facing.
Do you have any plans to expand voting rights?
WARD: I am in favor of a standalone anti-gerrymandering bill. A lot of this has to do with a lack of accountability for voters. If we end gerrymandering, which is the root of a lot of our antidemocracy activities, we can create an environment in Congress where we can move forward on some of the important work we have to do, including ensuring voter rights.
Do you have a tax structure for small businesses in rural and small urban communities?
WARD: It seems inherently unfair that small businesses, which employ over 60% of our labor force in this country, pay a higher tax rate than corporations. I am strongly in favor of rolling back those corporate tax cuts and extending those tax cuts to [small businesses]. We don't enable small businesses because they are facing such punitive rates, which makes it difficult for small businesses to pay higher wages and grow.
As a local to the 4th District, what are your main priorities?
WARD: Climate change is one of the things; it impacts our way of life and our ability to live safely and our well-being in the community. I also think healthcare. My family has occurred medical debt, I completely understand what it's like to carry medical debt. We have to address the healthcare crisis, the climate crisis, and voting rights. We have to create educational and economic opportunities for people. There's a rippling effect of this across our community and we have to attend to these things.
Any healthcare policies you are in support of?
WARD: I am in favor of Universal Healthcare but I think we need to go further than that. We need to support nontraditional practice in the low-access areas and bring back the community health center model. We need to do more to support in-home care because it reduces the cost of receiving care in an institutional setting.
Any climate change policies you are in support of?
WARD: The first is mitigation, which is really about reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and investing in renewable energy. The second is around resilience, which is where my particular area of expertise is. That's how fast people bounce back when a disaster happens. The third aspect is an adaptation, which is probably going to be one of the hardest. These are large, structural projects. How are we going to change our infrastructure to create more resilient communities, not just cities?
Destiniee Jaram is a community reporter for Burlington's The Times-News. She is always looking for tips relevant to the Alamance County community. Contact Destiniee at DJaram@gannett.com, follow her on Twitter @DestinieeJaram, or leave her a message at 336-626-6106.
This article originally appeared on Times-News: Meet Ashley Ward, the only expert on climate change running for the U.S. House North Carolina 4th District
