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Bob Brinson 

Residence: New Bern 

Highest level of education: Master of Public Administration

Occupation: NC Senator 

Political affiliation: Republican 

Personal statement: 

I currently serve as your NC Senator. I decided in High School government class that I would live a life of public service. I graduated from New Bern High School and received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. I retired from the Army after a 28-year career and served as a Helicopter Pilot and a company and battalion commander.

I served on various government and volunteer boards in service and veteran organizations for the betterment of our community. A hallmark of my time as a New Bern Alderman and now my time as a State Senator has been constituent services – helping people navigate the challenges of a government bureaucracy to get things accomplished for their benefit and for our community.

During my time as New Bern alderman, I learned the difficult, but necessary responsibility of working to meet the needs of the community while controlling the growth in spending.  This is especially important today when we see high levels of inflation impacting our daily lives.

We must protect our children. I support the Parents’ Bill of Rights to keep our parents informed and involved with their children in school. I want to continue opportunity scholarships so that parents can choose to send their students to an institution that aligns with their values and beliefs. We must supply our law enforcement and first responders with the tools they need to combat the open US southern border that allows drugs and criminals into our state. We must work to make our rural areas more attractive for economic development projects. We are facing a behavioral and mental health crisis with a lack of services for our veterans and our school-aged children. North Carolina has five veterans’ homes, and at least one should have mental and behavioral health services. Then, we can look regionally at public-private partnerships for mental and behavioral health services for school-aged children, especially for our rural counties.

My wife, Amy, also happens to be a West Point graduate and retired Army Officer.  We have been married for 32 years and have raised three adult children.

Charles Dudley

Residence: Havelock 

Highest level of education: Bachelor’s degree 

Occupation: Senior Pastor 

Political affiliation: Democrat 

Personal statement: 

My life has been one of service, from taking care of my younger siblings as the second of six children, to mentoring younger Marines in my 20+ years in the USMC, to working with my wife to pastor the church we founded in Havelock 22 years ago. Now, I want to go outside the walls of the church to expand our mission of helping others across the state as a legislator.

As a member of several boards, I’ve been involved with education (from Head Start to community college), housing (Habitat for Humanity), fire safety (tax commissioner), and law enforcement (sheriff’s advisory committee in Craven County).  I want to restore funding for public education in North Carolina; expand health care opportunities for all, especially in the areas of reproductive health and mental health; and sustain everyone’s voting rights. I believe in helping keep our climate resilient and providing excellent jobs with excellent pay for the people of North Carolina.

My mother, who raised six children as a single parent, and my grandmother taught me to be strong, fair, and compassionate and I apply those values to every decision I make. I will work across the aisle to make things happen to keep North Carolina a great state in which to learn, work,  live, and thrive.