A heartfelt thanks to all in District 118
By Rhonda Cole Schandevel • Guest Columnist
Good day to all who will take the time to read my long and final post as your past candidate for N.C. House District 118. I will not apologize for the length of my remarks. My family and I have sacrificed three years of our lives to gain this seat and to bring back civility to our community through kindness and compassion. Therefore, there are several things that my heart must share.
I first want to thank my family and friends, old and new, for your unwavering support and love. As well as the hundreds, if not thousands of volunteers and supporters who gave so freely of their time and resources. And to the voters who took the time to use their vote as a voice in this democratic process.
I strongly and adamantly believe that partisan ideology and political gerrymandering is an unbeatable opponent! But I am at peace with the dignity and grace that our campaign put forth. We never stooped to the level of ugliness that my opponent stooped to. I will forever be proud of the honest, clean and heartfelt race that our team ran.
My prayer for my life has been to give a voice to those who could not speak for themselves and to bring leadership and attention to our rural communities, a voice that goes unheard and unnoticed so much of the time. We are at a crossroads in our community, our state and our nation. We must have a vision for the future and not just a reaction to the present!
I believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Rep. Michele Presnell believes that healthcare is a privilege. She votes with insurance companies that make our premiums one of the top 10 highest in the country. And if you are fortunate enough to have insurance like my husband and I do, it is almost useless because the deductibles and co-pays are so high.
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She has also refused to expand Medicaid. This would provide thousands of hard-working adults in our district with health insurance as well as to support our struggling rural hospitals. These facilities are vital to our communities. Expanding Medicaid would create jobs in our healthcare system and would be an economic engine in our communities. It would provide valuable resources and treatment options that would begin to heal our district from this terrible opioid epidemic. Plus, we have already paid taxes to the federal government for this program. And people, it's just the morally right thing to do to care for our fellow man.
And then there are our public schools. Michele Presnell has voted time and time again to underfund our public schools. This is especially difficult for rural counties like ours because we do not have the tax base to compete with other counties who can provide a more attractive supplement pay to our teachers. We cannot retain or attract the best and the brightest educators to care for and educate our most valuable resource. She throws out crumbs to our schools during election times but does nothing policy-wise that will aid in the success and survival of our public schools. Please remember that our state constitution mandates that every child in this state will receive a free and appropriate education.
We are dealing with a horrific opioid epidemic that is literally tearing our families and communities apart. Michele Presnell has never met with any of our law enforcement officials in Haywood County in her six years as our representative. When I confronted her about this at the Mountaineer forum in The Haywood County Courthouse, she responded by saying that they are busy people and that they know how to get in touch with her. This is unacceptable!
A sweet lady in my church said that she could not vote for me because I wanted to let immigrants come into our country. Which, by the way, has anyone heard about the caravan since Election Day? We are a nation of laws and refugees and we have an immigration reform problem. I can do very little if anything about the immigrants who walk into this country ... but I can walk into our law enforcement offices and sit down with our sheriff and police chiefs to work together to fight this life-threatening and life-ending disaster.
When you elect a representative who runs only on her stance of being a lifetime NRA member and her pride in the fact that she has her concealed weapons permit, we, as a community, will continue to deal with these issues that affect our lives on a daily basis. Fear and hate is the only mantra that she seems to understand.
And just for the record, I grew up in these mountains and I belong to a responsible gun-owning family. My husband is a historic relic gun collector. Simply put, I would be divorced from this amazing man if I were going to take away anybody's guns.
Rep. Presnell calls me a pro-abortionist in mailers and on TV, but she does not have the guts to confront me face to face. Yes, I am pro-life. Aren't we all??!!! I am not advocating for anyone to terminate their pregnancy. What I am advocating for is the right for a woman to make that healthcare decision. If many of you would take the time to investigate my life and my story as a mother to a disabled son, you might, just might, be able to begin to understand this complex issue.
I do know this, when I have a medical issue of any kind, I seek the expert advice and counsel of my doctor and the prayerful guidance of my Lord and Savior, not Michele Presnell or any other politician.
Again, thank you for allowing me the honor of being a candidate for the N.C. House. I will forever be grateful and humbled by the kindness and love that has been shown to me, but especially to my sweet and supportive family. Many of you have literally moved Heaven and Earth for me. There are no sufficient words, so I will close with "I love each and everyone one of you! Yes, ALL of you!"
