If I look to scripture to guide my life, it is the Great Commandment that gives me direction “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Unfortunately, there are many issues facing our community that illustrate that our current leadership is not keeping love of neighbor and the dignity of every human being in the forefront of their decision-making process. 

The North Carolina Legislature, specifically under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Phil Berger, has left 500,000-plus North Carolinians without access to medical insurance because of the refusal to expand Medicaid. The fact that the Republicans hold a majority in the state House and a super majority in the state Senate has allowed them to kill any effort to expand access to medical services that folks in Western North Carolina desperately need. It is time to flip the Legislature so that medical care for our neighbors becomes a priority. 

Votes for Alan Jones for N.C. House 118, Joe Sam Queen for N.C. House 119, and Victoria Fox for N.C. Senate 50 are votes for Medicaid expansion, for a living wage, for preservation of our natural environment, and for so many more ways to love and care for our neighbors. I take my faith into the voting booth — I encourage you to do the same. When you are voting, think of the Great Commandment — “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” and then vote not for your own interests but for the common good.

Ann Holtz

Waynesville