Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

For over 30 years I worked to assist adults to achieve their educational goals at Mars Hill College, retiring in February of 2010 as the Dean of the Adult ACCESS and Summer School program. My wife Dorothy and I are parents to two wonderful children, Jennifer Rapp Shelton and Aaron. Jennifer, the new principal at Fletcher Elementary in Henderson County, is married to Scott Shelton, a Hendersonville attorney. Jennifer and Scott live in Hendersonville and are proud parents of our granddaughters Laura (age 5) and Mary (age 3). Our 18-year old son Aaron is a Madison High School graduate and a rising sophomore at Mars Hill College.

Since coming to Mars Hill in 1977, I have served on numerous local and regional boards, commissions, and church councils. In 1993 I was elected to the Mars Hill Board of Aldermen, where I served until I was elected Mayor of Mars Hill in 1997. I served as Mayor until I was elected to the North Carolina House in 2002. Whether on the Board of Aldermen or in the State Legislature, my approach has been to bring people together, listen to all sides and try to forge mutually agreed upon solutions.

During the 2009-2010 session of the General Assembly, I served as a co-chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, vice-chairman of the Health Committee, and member of the Commerce, Education, UNC Board of Governors Nominating, and Transportation committees. I serve on seven select and study committees during the interim, including as chair of the House Select Committee on Comprehensive Rail Service, co-chair of the Joint Legislative Task Force on State Funded Student Financial Aid, and as co-chair of the Legislative Study Committee on the Consolidation of Early Childhood Education and Care.

Serving others has guided my life as an educator, parent and grandparent, volunteer and elected official. In the House, I have been actively involved in numerous initiatives to improve public education, including efforts to create a seamless and coordinated birth-to-kindergarten program, improve our system of state funded student financial aid, and create an equitable method of funding school systems throughout the state. I have led efforts to expand passenger and freight rail service to Western North Carolina and I have sponsored several safety-related laws, including the "Amber Alert" law, an improved "Move Over" law, and a ban on cell phone use by school bus drivers.

The state budget shortfall as a result of the global recession occupied most of my time in 2009-2010 as co-chair of the Education Appropriations Subcommittee. While we were forced to make many cuts that would not have been made in normal times, some of the cuts were easy decisions, and I am proud that we were able to preserve our most critical investments in the classroom. In the end, we preserved 5,000 teaching jobs, fully funded community college and university enrollment growth, increased student financial aid and kept North Carolina’s education system on a path to success.

In addition to my work with the budget, I have addressed the issue of home safety by leading the fight for safe steep slope construction legislation, an issue I will continue to pursue when re-elected. After voting against creating the North Carolina Lottery in 2005, I led the charge to rid the state of video poker in 2008 and 2010. And on the issue of ethics and campaign finance reform, I was one of the primary sponsors of the 2007 legislative ethics package that began the process of ending pay-to-play in Raleigh.

I would appreciate your vote and support this fall as I seek to continue working on behalf of Western North Carolina.