One of my most impactful memories from the campaign trail was the day I met Melissa. It was January 2024 — early in primary election season — and I knocked on Melissa’s door to ask for her vote. As we spoke about the issues affecting her family, she told me how she and her husband work multiple jobs to make ends meet; how they were skipping meals to make sure their children had enough to eat. It reminded me of the sacrifices my father made as a single parent raising two boys.
Standing at her front door, I told Melissa I’d do whatever I could to help her family.
A couple months later, I learned of the plan to toll Capital Boulevard. I sat with local stakeholders at Charron’s Deli in Youngsville as they laid out the plans under consideration. The proposed toll would cost the average person about $50 a month. The NC Department of Transportation had pulled funding that was previously allocated for this project, and unless we act soon, we may never get this road expanded…