Candidate Biography (submitted by campaign):

Barbara Howe grew up in Wingate, NC. She attended Pfeiffer College and obtained a B. A. in English and psychology in 1975. She is married to Tom Howe, a computer programmer for IBM. They have three children.

Barbara has been an active member of the Libertarian Party since 1976. She has sought office as a Libertarian candidate on several occasions, most notably for US Senate in 1998 and Governor in 2000 and 2004. She also currently serves is as the Libertarian Party State Chair.

When she is not out politicking, Barbara keeps herself busy building a log house in Granville County, walking, reading, and volunteering for La Leche League (a support group for breast feeding mothers).

I love liberty and I love North Carolina. That's why I want to serve in the General Assembly.

I have lived in North Carolina for most of my life. I have seen a dramatic growth in government. Some government is necessary, but unless there is great vigilance, it easily gets out of control. Thomas Jefferson got it right when he said, "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground."

It distresses me that we are moving so far away from the foundation on which this country was formed, the foundation that celebrates individual freedom and personal responsibility.

I want to help move our state back toward its "first in freedom" roots. Government should protect us from people who might try to harm us, but otherwise leave us free to live our lives as we see fit, as long as we do not harm another.

While in the legislature, I will focus on four priorities:

1. Putting parents in charge of their children's education
2. Ending the practice of forced annexation and strictly limiting the use of eminent domain
3. Ending the practice of "corporate welfare," the policy of enticing big business to the state with costly tax incentives
4. Eliminating the use of the death penalty in North Carolina

I want to live in a North Carolina that trusts the individuals and celebrates freedom and personal responsibility. I pledge to work to that end.