Welcome And Ballot Basics

Amanda Benbow Lunn 0:08

Hello friends, this is Amanda Benbow Lunn. I'm your host with the NC Deep Dive. We are delving into yet another candidate conversation for the 2026 general election. By my best accounting, it looks like we have 18 contested races with 46 candidates in southern Wake County, specifically within Holly Springs and Fuquay Varina. There are other races that have only one candidate, but since there's only one candidate, we are not covering those in this segment. Of course, the races on your particular ballot will vary based on your address and the specific districts your residence falls within. You can always find your jurisdictions and eventually your sample ballot by searching NC Voter Search, and that's made available by the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Once you get to the page, you'll enter in your information. It will populate with all those who share your name or the information you provided. You'll scroll until you find yours. You'll click on it, verify your name and address are indeed correct, and then you'll scroll down to the appropriate sections you're looking for. Since there are so many races, please remember that your ballot will have a front and back. Keep in mind, if your time is short, you can either look at the various chapter titles for the particular questions we're asking and just listen to those that most interest you, or you can see each episode's transcripts at www.ncdeepdive.com. In this episode, we are delving into the North Carolina Senate race for District 13. There are two candidates running, and you will have the opportunity to vote for one of them. The two candidates are Robert van Brederode for the Republican Party and Lisa Grafstein for the Democratic Party. Without further ado, my friends, let's dive in.

Lisa Grafstein: Intro, Why, & Experience

Amanda Benbow Lunn 2:02

I am honored to be speaking with Lisa Grafstein, who is running for re-election for the North Carolina State Senate for District 13. Welcome, Lisa. I'm glad to have you on the NC Deep Dive.

Lisa Grafstein 2:14

Thank you, Amanda.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 2:15

If you want to take a few minutes, introduce yourself, why you're running for this office, and what experiences have prepared you to serve in the role. Sure. Thanks.

Lisa Grafstein 2:22

And Amanda, thank you so much for having me and for doing this podcast. It really is a great public service. So I appreciate that.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 2:28

Thank you.

Lisa Grafstein 2:29

So I initially ran, I'm in my second term now, I'm running for my third term. I initially ran for this office in the Senate because I care a lot about the rights of people with disabilities. And I spent a lot of my career working on employee worker rights and more recently in civil rights on behalf of, as I said, people with disabilities. And one of the things that I learned kind of in that 30-year trajectory of my career is that there's a lot that can be done at the policy level that it's really hard to do as a litigator. So as a civil rights lawyer for a long time, I certainly tried to make change. And I think we we did some good things over that time. And I'm still working in that capacity and still trying to make that change. But it felt like it was time to try another avenue to create the sort of change that I felt like needed to happen at a policy level. And so that was my initial reason for running. I will say now that I've served, not quite two tier full terms, there are a lot of other issues that drive me because, you know, once you get to serve and sort of see how the sausage is made and see kind of all the issues that are affecting people's lives and affecting our democracy, there's just a whole lot more reasons beyond what originally drove me, but all of them really come back to trying to find ways to make people's lives better and make government work for people. And that's really what I'm what I'm aiming to do in running for election.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 3:37

Okay.

Biggest Challenge For District 13

Amanda Benbow Lunn 3:38

What do you believe is the most important issue or challenge facing the people you would represent?

Lisa Grafstein 3:43

Right now, I think the biggest challenge for people is just the cost of everything and the fact that things are getting worse rather than better in terms of people's personal economies. You know, people talk a lot about what's going on with the economy and what's Wall Street doing, but the reality is what matters most to people is what's happening in their individual financial lives. Right now, that's been a big driver. As I've gone around and talked to people, that's a huge issue on their mind. So to me, it's about taking on some of the policy issues around things like energy costs and just costs in general, pricing and the fit way that uh a lot of things have gotten out of hand. And some of that is driven at the federal level by the war in Iran and issues around access to fuel and that sort of thing. But a lot of it really is stuff that can be addressed at the state policy level that we're not doing. And some of those have to do with power that's been given away to large corporations and taken out of the hands of individuals and protections for people that are not in place. It also has a lot to do with the what people sort of technically call a K-shaped recovery, right? A lot of folks who came out of some of the financial crises are doing a lot better, but a lot of people are not. Wages are stagnant and incomes just haven't camped up with inflation. So we see a lot of that. So a lot of it really is about an economic issues at this point, in an individual level, but also in the grand scheme of things, we cannot sustain this kind of disparity in income over time. And part of that is because, you know, the the way that the economy grows is that people have money to spend and can keep job growth growing and be job creators by being able to, you know, live a middle class life. And in the broader sense, you know, the bigger issues of democracy and making sure that we maintain our democracy to me are key because for people to have the leverage to um to act collectively to take on and defend themselves really against large corporate interests, they have to be able to have a democracy where they can elect people to represent them. So those are sort of the two big topic areas, I guess, where a lot of the work that I do follow in.

Priorities & Hopes for Accomplishment

Amanda Benbow Lunn 5:35

If elected, what would you prioritize and what specifically would you hope to accomplish during your term?

Lisa Grafstein 5:41

A lot of that depends on if I win, who else wins, and whether I continue to serve in the minority or whether I serve in a majority or in a minority that at least is not a super minority, which is where we are right now. And what I hope to accomplish really is to work across the partisan divide on these kinds of uh pocketbook issues that are affecting people's lives, and then really to try to restore North Carolina really as a purple state, right? So we have this is a state where you know I'm a Democrat, but we have Republicans with good ideas, we have Democrats with good ideas, and we've really sort of lost our way in terms of working together on solutions. So that's the main, you know, wherever we end up in the power trajectory. That's been my approach serving in the superminority. But if we are able to balance things better in our state, my hope is that that balance will give us a better opportunity to work together.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 6:26

And for those who might not know, what is a supermajority or minority?

Lisa Grafstein 6:31

Yes, thanks. So the Senate is comprised of 50 seats, and right now there are 30 Republicans and 20 Democrats. So a supermajority in our context is holding three-fifths of the seats or more. And so right now in the Senate, Republicans hold three-fifths of the seats. And that means that if the governor, who was elected by all the people by a wide margin, uh if the governor vetoes a bill because he doesn't think it's good policy, then the Senate can override that veto. And so that takes away some of the ability for the two branches to work together, for the governor and the legislature to work together, because if the legislature can override the governor, then they don't really have to have a working relationship with the governor. The governor has done a great job developing bipartisan relationships and working with folks across the aisle. But there are definitely some issues where Republicans have been able to override vetoes because they disagree with the governor, and I think we need to kind of restore balance there too.

Infrastructure For Fast Growing Communities

Amanda Benbow Lunn 7:21

Okay. How should the state respond to rapid growth in Wake County and the surrounding region, making sure infrastructure keeps pace?

Lisa Grafstein 7:28

Gosh, that is a really big issue as I talk to people just in southern Wake County. As you know, Amanda, traffic is a real problem. We don't have the infrastructure. We have a lot of still a lot of two-lane roads where 540 comes in and empties out onto, you know, someplace like Old Stage Road, and you have all kinds of traffic because there are development in the area. And listen, the growth that's come in Wake County has been phenomenal, and there are a lot of really important things happening, particularly in Southern Wake, in terms of just a lot of the biopharma and other uh folks coming here that are bringing good jobs. So, you know, we have to plan for growth. We shouldn't be afraid of growth, but I think why people get upset is not because we have growth, but because we have not done uh put the infrastructure in place. And a lot of that really has to do with the ways in which the General Assembly has kind of hamstrung local governments. You know, we can't have impact fees at the local government level to help get ahead of some of these infrastructure costs. So I hear over and over again from people, why don't we build the road bigger before we put the development in? Which makes logical sense, but there's not really a cost way to do that because of the way funding works at the state level for Department of Transportation and for road development. So we we need to have better partnership with the between the state and the local governments because a lot of the local folks are trying their best to manage development and manage growth because again, they want to see people come here. That increases our tax base and means that we can have nice things that we can all share the cost of. But it also means we have to be much more collaborative. And again, in my almost four years now in the General Assembly, uh, we we really haven't seen that, particularly for a county like Wake, where we really need a much better partnership at the state level.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 9:00

And you mentioned impact fees. What are impact fees?

Lisa Grafstein 9:04

Right. So impact fees, which is just one tool. So just to be clear, whether it's impact fees or some other mechanism, but impact fees are ways that developers, when they come to do a development, they can discuss with the local government, here's what we think we're gonna need, and the local government can say, it looks like we're gonna have to build that road a little wider. It looks like we're gonna have to add some capacity for our infrastructure, whether that's water, sewer, or all the things that go into serving a new community of people, and build that into some of the costs so that the developer is not bringing cost burdens on the local government without matching that. So uh you it might be a fee that comes out of the cost of the house that is wrapped into the cost of the housing because that infrastructure is gonna have to be built for that community. So it's really just a mechanism that's available in some other states that less gives local governments an option, nothing not one they have to use, but an option to make sure that they have the adequate resources when they are looking at where development's gonna happen.

Data Centers: Thoughts & State Role

Amanda Benbow Lunn 9:58

Okay. What role do you believe the state should play in balancing the potential economic and technological opportunities of data centers with their potential costs and community impacts? And where should the authority of the state end and local control begin?

Lisa Grafstein 10:13

Right. Well, I I mean I support uh what's happening in a lot of communities where communities are stepping up and saying we want to take a pause before we move forward with data centers. And I think that's wise. I think what's unfortunate is that that leadership is coming from the local level and from local communities where the state has not really stepped in to put any parameters in place. And we did some of us, again in the minority, are concerned about these issues, have put forward some ideas and legislation to try to manage uh data center development in the state. But what I think the uh proper relationship is is that there's some uh management at the state level because you know we we can't have necessarily a lot of disparities from community to community and make it harder to understand and manage the regulatory environment. Um so the state can put some basics in place about the environmental protections, making sure, for example, uh that data centers pay rates that are specific to large load users, like they are, that are different than the rates that are paid by homeowners and renters and ratepayers at that level. So there are things we can do about the rate structure to ensure that energy companies are not passing on data center costs. There are things that can be done at the state level to address the environmental concerns and make sure that noise and water issues are addressed in the initial processes. But um but at the local level, I think what's happening now, like I said, is a reaction to the lack of that uh guidance at the state level. And then I think local governments have to decide in terms of placement and zoning how they want to address that potential in their areas. But I think we have a long way to go before we have a reasonable infrastructure in place to make good decisions about data centers. So I I really support these local um moratoriums.

Public Education: Balancing Needs, Funding, & School Options

Amanda Benbow Lunn 11:52

Okay. What should the General Assembly do to improve public education? And how should that be balanced with charter and private school options in regards to funding?

Lisa Grafstein 12:01

Right. So the first thing we should do is adequately fund our public schools, which we have not done here. We continue to be toward the bottom and in funding. We are last when it comes to uh school funding as a as a function of gross domestic product or you know, uh essentially the the uh the pro the economic power of our state. You know, we are not a poor state, but we are underfunding our schools as if we don't have the ability in this state to generate revenue, which we do. So I think it's really key for people to know and understand that we have school choice. In Wake County, for example, you know, you have public schools, you have regular neighborhoods, public schools, you have magnet schools, we have charter schools, there are a lot of different options. And for people who want to go to send their kids to private school, there are private schools available. What I don't think is appropriate is for the state to pay for private schools for people who can otherwise afford it, but also who just prefer them as opposed to having some valid reason. So, you know, I work in the context uh in my day job with people with disabilities. And sometimes, you know, occasionally there'll be a student with a disability who has very specialized needs and needs a specialized school. And then it in in that kind of case, it may be appropriate to for the state to say, you know, um, you know, there's a uh an expenditure to here's an expenditure to help pay for that private school that you need. But by and large, I don't think the state should be paying for using public dollars to pay for private uh education. And I think what we see with the voucher program right now is really outrageous that something like 80% of the students who are are receiving voucher funds never even went to public school. So this is not a question of their local public school couldn't serve them or that there was some issue that they didn't feel like they were getting a proper education. It really is just subsidizing private school tuition for folks who can afford it. As you know, or and and maybe a lot of your listeners know, the private school vouchers pay somewhere between three and seven thousand dollars depending on your income level. But for most private schools, that's really doesn't meet the costs. So that's why a lot of low-income folks really can't use vouchers because they can't make up the difference and they can't do the uh transportation that's necessary. They cannot provide the other kind of peripheral services that schools provide. And a lot of private these private schools who are getting lots and lots of state dollars are discriminatory. If they keep out kids with disabilities, they might discriminate based on religion, and that's not something that really, to me, is is an American value that we are going to use public dollars to allow schools to discriminate, keep certain kids out, and keep certain kids in.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 14:22

Do you believe that private schools and or charter schools are held to the same standards and regulations requirements as public schools?

Lisa Grafstein 14:32

Oh, they're not, right. I mean, I think that's one of the things that's become really clear about, particularly the voucher schools, that we have the weakest or one of the weakest oversight and accountability structures in the country when it comes to the private school voucher money, that there's not really the testing requirements, the reporting requirements, and even the ones that were in place have really been watered down to where it's only a sampling of schools. So and I know that there are also concerns about charter schools and whether those have proper oversight. And I think that's a bit of a different category, but the same issue applies. If we're going to make sure that every kid has access to a great school and we're going to put public dollars into those schools, we should have the same level of accountability for each.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 15:11

Okay.

Security & Oversight Versus Privacy & Due Process Rights

Amanda Benbow Lunn 15:12

North Carolina agencies and law enforcement increasingly have access to personal information through technology and government databases, including automated license plate readers like flock cameras, healthcare and benefits records, and voter registration information. Where do you believe the line should exist between legitimate government oversight, fraud prevention, and public safety, and an individual's rights to privacy and due process?

Lisa Grafstein 15:37

Great question. And a big, big topic right now, obviously. You know, in terms of where the line is, I think we're well over it at this point. Uh and where it ends up uh being drawn or where it should be drawn, I think, you know, there's probably it's probably going to depend on the specific subject area, right? So for example, we have seen lots of things in the news about flock cameras, and a lot of even red states are backtracking on flock cameras and the use of just constant surveillance of the public. I am against that. I don't think it's appropriate for all of our data to be collected and stored, even if it's for a short period of time. There are definitely law enforcement concerns around trying to identify people. But I think as I grew up and learned kind of what the relationship was between our criminal justice system and what it means to be free, you know, we all want to live in a safe community, we all want safety and security. But if we are giving up our data, if we are constantly under surveillance, we're really not free in that same way. And the people who have this data, the, you know, it's government agencies. And for the most part, we have to have a society where we can trust those who hold our data. And the issue that I'm seeing with flock cameras and other items right now is that there isn't really good control over that. So the constant surveillance really to me is way overkill. It's not appropriate and it doesn't really strike me as the American way. But and you also have things like the data collection that's happening around just when we're on our computers and the data that's being tracked when we shop. I filed a bill some months ago about surveillance pricing, right? So you go online to shop and the retailer knows who you are and they and they price their goods accordingly. To me, that's price gouging and it ought to be illegal. So that kind of surveillance, I feel like we're almost getting too comfortable with it, that it's it's just constant in our lives. I think we need to take a step back from all of it and really have an honest conversation about how much we want ourselves exposed to just having our data everywhere. But the the flock cameras are on the news right now, but I think there's a much deeper problem with just this sense that we have no control anymore over who knows what about us. And I think that's something we're gonna have to figure out how to unwind as a society.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 17:39

With some of the information, do you think that a warrant or other judicial authorization should be required for different government agencies to gain access to that?

Lisa Grafstein 17:50

It should. It should. Nobody should be able to track our movements, right? Nobody should be able to know our whereabouts unless there's a good reason for the government to know. And that's really the bottom line. That is a due process issue in my view, because again, that's just a piece of our freedom. The right to travel is a constitutional right that the Supreme Court has recognized. The right to move about freely is really a basic human right and need, and we shouldn't have to worry who, you know, who is watching us. In part because it's just a freedom issue, but also because, you know, what a paranoid society to live in. I just remember growing up and not worried who's looking over my shoulder, right? You would just go play in the streets and do your thing, and we didn't all worry about, you know, what was going to show up online about us. So it's just not a state of being that I think is conducive to people's mental health uh or just ability to live a meaningful and kind of rich life without feeling like you're constantly under surveillance. It's just not a not a healthy way for society to be.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 18:44

Okay.

Approach to the Responsibilities and Decision-Making Authority of this Office

Amanda Benbow Lunn 18:45

How would you approach the responsibilities and decision-making authority of this particular office?

Lisa Grafstein 18:51

So the General Assembly has a tremendous amount of power in North Carolina, and in fact, we have one of the most powerful General Assemblies in the country. And that's in large part because so much power has been taken from the governor and that there's a lot of power that's been concentrated in the General Assembly, and even in terms of oversight of the courts and appointment of judges and things like that. So it's a very powerful entity. Individual members don't necessarily have all that power. Right now, power is concentrated in a few hands. And again, I go back to my comment that a lot depends on what happens in this next election as to whether that power is more balanced and evenly distributed across the folks who represent all the different parts of the state. So the way I approach that power is that I believe in a citizen legislature. I believe that the decisions that we make should not be influenced by who our contributors are, shouldn't be influenced by interest groups, but we should take things into account about the public good and the public interest, and that we should do things with transparency. I think one of the biggest problems we've had in the General Assembly is the lack of transparency into things like the drafting of a 600-page budget that nobody gets to see until it's just about to pass. To me, those items of transparency really are there are ways in which if you are the person who holds the pen to write that bill and can move it forward, you can. You can just ignore public input, you can ignore transparency and ability of people to weigh in, but that's not what we're there to do. So it's there's a bit of self-restraint involved in exercising power. And to me, that's a key part of what it means to be a good legislator is understanding your role, understanding you're not there to just get your way, but that you're there to do the will of the people and to take the people's input. So that's to me the biggest and most important check on the power of the General Assembly.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 20:30

Okay.

Balancing Taxes, Obligations, Investments, & Fiscal Responsibility

Amanda Benbow Lunn 20:31

North Carolina has to balance keeping taxes and the cost of government reasonable with paying its obligations and investing in infrastructure, roads, public safety, schools, and other services residents rely on. How do you balance that and what does fiscal responsibility mean to you?

Lisa Grafstein 20:47

Right. Well, I will tell you a little bit of a background. In the last budget cycle, the central staff, who are nonpartisan central staff, they don't make political decisions, they provide factual information to the General Assembly. They told us that based on the revenue reductions that we've had, things like the corporate tax going down to zero in a couple of years and on a steady decline, that because of the revenue cuts that have been put in place, we are facing a structural deficit in our budget, which means that they'll become a point very soon when the current obligations of the General Assembly, the things we've already said we're paying for year over year, those will exceed our revenues. So that was a very complicated way to say there have been lots and lots of drastic tax cuts that have been aimed at mostly large corporations and I would say wealthier individuals. Right now in North Carolina, we have a flat tax, which means that somebody, a middle class earner, pays the same rate as someone who makes seven figures. And that means that when there's a quarter percent tax cut, a lot of money gets lost in revenue because we don't have the ability to just make a targeted tax cut for middle class people and that kind of thing. So the tax structure really is set up in a very regressive way. And that means that when we have to pay for schools, when we need to raise Teacher pay, when the roads are not getting built fast enough, when all the things that are going on in healthcare mean that those costs are going up, we're leaving ourselves very vulnerable to not being able to pay those bills. And what I've said many times is that we don't have a budget surplus in North Carolina, because sometimes the budget writers who are cutting taxes say, well, we have a budget surplus. What we actually have is unpaid bills, right? If you're losing a third of your teachers in a year, if you have infrastructure that's crumbling because you have not invested in it, that's not really a savings in the long run. You're not investing in the things you need to invest in. And it's, you know, the obvious sort of metaphor is if you don't repair your roof, then you're going to have a lot more repair costs down the road. And that's sort of where we are headed in North Carolina. So, you know, I think it's really concerning that we are in this position. It's a very tough one to get out of because nobody wants their taxes to go up. But what happens is if you don't have enough revenue from personal income tax and corporate income tax, then you have to do things like raise the sales tax. And that's regressive. And that hurts people who have to buy groceries and have to do the things that drive sales tax revenue. So my concern is that we're not in a good place. We are still a growing state. So I think there's still a way for us to pull back from the brink if we are responsible going forward, because with more people moving in, with more tax revenue, we may be able to avoid catastrophe, but we have to stop cutting off the resources that we need to serve the people of the state.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 23:17

Okay. When you believe taxes should be cut or services added, how do you determine if the state can afford the reduction or the expense?

Lisa Grafstein 23:25

Yeah, I think it can't be a real formula. You know, you have to look at what are the consequences of not, for example, raising teacher pay or not paying state employees a cost of living increase, right? Are we going to lose people and then in the long run that costs more to replace them? Are we not going to provide services to people? So the balance to me is there is a sensitivity point in terms of income taxes. And that's also true of property taxes. And I think we have to figure out how to, you know, balance those at any given time. And I wish I could tell you that there's a formula or there's a nifty way to balance those, but I think every budget, right, is a moral statement. It's a statement of your priorities. And some in some years our priorities will have to be that we need to increase expenditures to get us to where we need to be on some of our critical infrastructure needs and some of our critical staffing needs. So I'm sorry I don't have a clear formula for you, but to me, every year, and and we all do this as families, right? You sit down and you look at your budget. How's our income going? What are our expenses increasing? Uh, and you have to make decisions about, you know, are we going to cut back here or are we going to, you know, have a good year and add Netflix or whatever? You know? So um, those are the decisions we have to make, but we have to make those decisions responsibly and looking at the long term and not just doing things that we think will make us popular, right? These are hard decisions.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 24:39

Do you have ideas of different ways to generate revenue and or specific services that you would want to cut?

Lisa Grafstein 24:45

So to me, the the best way to address revenue gaps is to go back to a graduated income tax where we are able to tax folks who could afford to pay more. So whether it's folks making over uh $400,000, any given year the number may be different. That's one that people have talked about in recent years. But you know, there's a bill actually that or an amendment that we proposed that would have cut income tax to zero for people making less than the median income, which is, I think, $58,000 in North Carolina. And you can fund that if you are progressive in your tax policy and you say people who are making over a million dollars a year have to pay, you know, 7% or something like that. So to me, it's going back to a graduated income tax. It's reversing the cuts on the corporate tax rate. Swear, our neighboring states, South Carolina and Virginia, the corporate tax rate there is 5%. If you ask a business in North Carolina what the corporate tax rate is, I guarantee you they don't know because it's not a significant part of their budget. And so I think restoring the corporate tax rate to something that's reasonable and similar to what our neighbors are doing, those are revenue pieces that it's not dramatic. It really is just rolling back some of the changes that have been made that have brought us to this sort of fiscal position that we're in. In terms of things to cut, you know, we have uh there's a lot of pork in the budget. What happens to some extent is that you just get these directed grants, they're called, and it really is about providing uh political favors and bolstering people in their political communities, in their districts, and that's often to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. I would also roll back the voucher program because again, we're looking at six, seven hundred million dollars that really could be funding, teacher pay raises, could be funding other things. So there are just spending decisions being made that really are about funding sort of political priorities that really are not about serving people as a whole. I'm not saying that there's an endless pot of money to be spread around, but as I said, we're not a poor state. The revenue is there, the resources are there, we just have to reprioritize what's happening with them.

Deciding What Takes Precedence

Amanda Benbow Lunn 26:38

Okay. When priorities compete or resources are limited, how would you decide what takes precedence?

Lisa Grafstein 26:44

To me, the two biggest line items in the budget are school, education funding, and healthcare. And those should be the two largest line items in the budget because that's the two things that are critical to a healthy and thriving and well educated society. To me, the first priority is making sure that we sustain the services that are in place and that are needed in our state. So, for example, education is one. But state employees across this state do a lot of work really for less than uh is the market rate. We have to make sure that we keep people in key positions and most positions at this point, after many years of cuts, are key positions. Because in the long run, if you lose people and have to replace them, that's a huge expenditure. And the biggest line item, right, across subject areas is staffing. It's people. And so we have to make sure that we are taking care of the people first who run our state. And to me, that's the biggest priority. And it might be that, you know, I'm not saying that everybody's going to have to get a large increase every year, but I think we have to be respectful of people and make sure that they are able to keep up with inflation, that their health benefits are secure and in a way that's not outside their reach. So that's the basic function of our budget is to make sure that we're running the basic services of our state. And that's all done through people.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 27:52

Okay.

Accountability And How Voters Push Back

Amanda Benbow Lunn 27:53

What should voters hold you accountable for if you're elected and how?

Lisa Grafstein 27:57

To me, I would say transparency. And one of the things that I want to see changed in our General Assembly is uh, you know, a bill will get come on to committee and then get to the floor and all, and and it will go through in a couple of days, and people don't really have the opportunity to weigh in. Uh, I would like to see that changed. Um, and if I have the ability to change that after the next election, then that's something that I would want people to hold me accountable for, that we don't just rush decisions, that we don't do major things without public input. And they can hold us accountable, not just me but others, by showing up and asking questions, by reaching out to your legislator and if they are not responsive, making sure people know that. And there are ways, you know, in this very connected time in our world, there are ways to let people know if you're not being properly represented. And I and uh I think that uh people don't necessarily realize that it does matter to call our office to email and say, I expected better of you. I thought you were going to do X, Y, or Z, and uh you've you're letting me down and I want to know. I want I want you to tell me what's going on and why and why you're doing what you're doing. So, you know, I'm not saying every legislator answers those, but if you send a personal email, it's not a mass email, it's not, you know, form you fill out and uh we get spammed, uh, you know, you should expect a response and hope that people continue to reach out to me when they have concerns about what we're doing at the General Assembly.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 29:15

Okay.

Last Thoughts

Amanda Benbow Lunn 29:16

As we wrap up, is there anything we haven't discussed that you would like voters to know or anything from our conversation that you'd like to expand upon or clarify?

Lisa Grafstein 29:25

I think what I want people to know uh is that this is their democracy, all right? This is their government. District 13 Senate seat is not my seat. It belongs to people. And I think uh folks have come to feel somewhat disempowered by how government has not been responsive, how gerrymandering has made it so that uh legislators aren't as responsive in some areas. Uh and I want people to know that whatever happens next is up to us and that they are the part of that us, right? And that it's really um it's really our democracy. It's not somebody else's. It's really hard not to get discouraged right now, but the reason that it matters to show up is that it's the showing up, it's the speaking up that really will take our democracy back in the right direction.

Where to Learn More

Amanda Benbow Lunn 30:08

All right. For voters who want to learn more about you, your platform, your campaign, endorsements, and priorities, where can they go to find that information?

Lisa Grafstein 30:17

Yeah, they can go to www.lisa grafstein.com and I'm on social media as well. I'm happy to be followed there and you know to interact with people. And they can also email me from my website and I'll get that and I'll respond personally.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 30:31

All right. Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Lisa, for joining me today. I really appreciate you taking the time and putting your trust in me to put this all together. So thank you.

Lisa Grafstein 30:40

Thank you, Amanda. I appreciate you and all you do. Thank

Closing Reflections & Voting Info

Lisa Grafstein 30:43

you.

Amanda Benbow Lunn 30:43

Democracy is built on participation. Politics can sometimes feel distant or abstract, but the decisions made by our elected officials at the county, state, and federal levels have a profound effect on the communities we call home and the way we live our lives. From the roads we drive on and the schools our children attend to public safety, parks and recreation, housing, health care, taxes, the economy, and the many other services and amenities that make up our communities. Government plays a role in shaping both our everyday experience and our future. That makes taking the time to understand the choices on your ballot and the people asking for your vote an important part of being an engaged member of your community. Early voting for the 2026 midterm election begins October 15th and runs through October 31st. In Southern Wake County, there will be early voting locations at the Hunt Center in Holly Springs, the Hilltop Needmore Town Park Clubhouse in Fuquay Varina, Beech Bluff County Park, and Southern Wake Tech Campus close by. Election Day is November 3rd. A general reminder that you will need a valid photo ID to vote, the regular voter registration deadline is October 9th, although you may still register when you vote during the early voting period. Please note that you cannot register to vote on Election Day itself, and that that day you will absolutely have to vote at your designated precinct location to have access to your full ballot. And because there are so many races and ballot measures this year, your ballot will likely be double-sided. It can be helpful to start on the back so that you don't accidentally overlook anything. You'll vote for the races that apply to your jurisdiction along with statewide amendments and for Southern Wake County voters, local Wake County bond referenda. Voting is one of the ways we take part in the communities we share. You don't have to agree with your neighbors or even with the candidates you've heard here to recognize that our communities are shaped by the people who show up, ask questions, learn about the choices before them, and cast their ballots. So please take the time to get informed, make your voice heard, and encourage the people around you to do the same. Your vote matters, your voice matters, and you absolutely matter, my friend. And with that, this episode of the NC Deep Dive has come to an end. Please feel free to check out this episode show notes at ncdeepdive.com for further information and relevant links for this candidate along with general election information. As always, if you have any topics or thoughts you'd like to share, you can find us on social media or email us at ncdeepdive at gmail.com. If you found value in this episode, I'd love for you to subscribe, rate, and share it so that others may more easily be informed. Please make sure to stay tuned for all the relevant candidate, amendment, and referenda episodes for the 2026 midterm election by visiting ncdeepdive.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, or wherever you currently listen to your podcast. Until next time, my friends, Namaste. The Love and Light in Me sees and honors the love and light in you.