Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

Stephanie grew up in Johnston County and has always had a deep love for North Carolina's people, history, and culture. A 1996 graduate from N.C. State, Stephanie fell in love with Raleigh and was happy to return in 2003 after having lived in Rockingham, Guilford, and Mecklenburg counties throughout her career. Stephanie has been a libertarian activist for five years, and she's excited about the opportunity to bring a voice of Liberty to the N.C. General Assembly.

After obtaining her degree in Mathematics Education, Stephanie started her career teaching seventh and eighth grade for three years in Rockingham County. Though she enjoyed teaching math and touching lives, Stephanie decided to train at ECPI College of Technology and transition to a career in Information Technologies. This move led to positions training and writing in the IT industry. Today, Stephanie is a technical writer for software company rPath, Inc., in Raleigh, and she does freelance writing for HowStuffWorks.com under the pen name Stephanie Crawford.

Stephanie lives with her 12-year-old cockatiel, Monty, and she enjoys computers, crochet, board games, and spending time with family, friends. Stephanie has recently taken the Webmaster position for the Libertarian Party of North Carolina after serving over a year as Recording Secretary for the party, and she is an enthusiastic volunteer for libertarian causes across the state.

In the N.C. Senate, I look forward to addressing issues that are important to Morrisville, Cary, and Raleigh, and which resonate for every North Carolinian.

My top priority is to ensure an equal playing field for businesses in North Carolina. To do this, we must end the trend of providing tax incentives which favor certain hand-selected businesses at the expense of others who ultimately make up the difference. Businesses should come to N.C. for the right reasons: because they've discovered an economically viable reason to do business here. Businesses that come under government incentives, instead, are gambling with the people and resources of the state, and they'll leave when that gamble doesn't pay off. We've seen this happen with Dell, who gambled with tax incentives in 2004, then left in 2009, resulting in a loss of 905 jobs. For lasting jobs and sustainable growth across the state, let's make N.C. an attractive, economically viable place to do business for everyone.

My other priorities are no less important. I look forward to joining the fight within the legislature through bills like S.B. 494 which provide meaningful annexation reform in N.C. and restore the rights of the people being annexed. I also want to sponsor or co-sponsor legislation that puts all options on the table as a possible way for parents who have paid into the state tax system to choose how that money is allocated for their kids' education. Additionally, I want to co-sponsor legislation like H.B. 1380 that allows medical patients in N.C. to legally obtain and use marijuana in place of dangerous, addictive, and sometimes ineffective prescriptions.

For more details about my positions on these key issues, visit GoLiberty.net. I ask for your donations and your vote to help the flame of Liberty burn bright in North Carolina.