Martin (Tony) Denning
Today I am formally announcing my candidacy for the Democratic Primary for North Carolina House District 22. At present House District 22 is comprised of Bladen County and a portion of Sampson County. Currently the courts and the North Carolina Legislature are determining the final district lines for House 22.
I am a native of Sampson County and currently reside in Bladen County. In 1975 I graduated from Lakewood High School and I am a member of the Class of 1979 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Additionally, I completed post-graduate work at Fayetteville State University.
It has been my pleasure to serve as an educator in Sampson, Bladen, and Cumberland counties for over thirty years. For most of those years I also served as women’s basketball coach and football coach at the high school level.
I am married (wife, Kim Daughtry Denning) and have two adult children (daughter, Marilee and son, Kenan).
While the concerns of the citizens of N.C. House 22 reflect many of the same concerns of all North Carolinians, it is my desire to represent District 22 and work to bring specific development and growth to our area. District 22 has fallen behind other areas of our state in economic growth, infrastructure improvements, and educational resources due to, among other reasons, a lack of vision and action by our current representation.
As a member of the North Carolina House I will work to secure the completion of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in an environmentally safe way to bring greater economic development to southeastern North Carolina. The ACP can be constructed in such a way as to protect the environment while also being an engine to spur economic growth.
I will also strive to secure the benefits and retirement programs for our educators and work to provide adequate and responsible compensation packages to keep our experienced teachers in state while also offering incentives, including the NC Teaching Fellows Program, to prospective teachers and competitive starting salaries for new teachers.
As the representative for N.C. House 22 I will also address criminal justice issues and seek to keep partisan politics out of the process for electing judges. I will work with local law enforcement agencies to help secure the resources they need to serve and protect our communities. I will challenge any attempt to make our courts a partisan controlled system that potentially limits our citizens access to a fair and equitable legal system. Political gerrymandering has negatively impacted our legislature; we dare not let that happen to our court system.
The citizens of N.C. House District 22 deserve a representative who will speak for all of the people; work to provide economic and educational opportunities; promote the continual improvements of the infrastructure needs of District 22; and hold true to the promises made during the campaign.
I am a conservative Democrat. I will address every issue on the merits of the law and not to follow in lock step with any political party. However, I will not abandon a party label in the middle of an elected term to “fit in” to a party structure, garner partisan support, or promote my own political future.
I seek the support of those within House 22 who are not concerned about party politics but concerned about the economic growth for the region and the prosperity of all of the citizens of House 22 and the state of North Carolina.
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