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Saying
he wants to "bring government back home to the people,”
retired Baptist minister Steve Goss announced his candidacy on the
Democratic Party ticket for the North Carolina State Senate from
the 45th District, the seat currently held by John Garwood of Wilkes
County.
Goss says the High Country has not had effective representation
in Raleigh in years. "I was born and raised in western
North Carolina, and I believe it is time to bring the government
home to the people. We deserve to be represented in this district
by someone who knows and will stand firmly, without exception, for
the issues important to us. Many times it is not just the things
we choose, but those things that choose us which become important. To
my family and friends who have encouraged me to run, I say thank
you; this has become a calling. I love our people and our region,
and I believe it is time our voices from Alexander, Ashe, Watauga,
and Wilkes counties are heard in unison for a better region and
state. It is our turn to lead."
Goss says his childhood in Ashe County has shaped who he has become
and the issues important in his campaign. "I know what
it is to be impoverished and subsequently to overcome it. I
have met a lot of good people who helped me along the way." Goss
says that's why he is a strong supporter of public education, small
business, ethics in government, protecting the environment, taking
care of the elderly, working-class, and middle-class families.
Education - Goss says teachers need to be treated as the professionals
they are, with improved pay and support and smaller class sizes.
"The children of our region and North Carolina deserve the
very best education possible," Goss says. "After all,
they are America’s future, but we are responsible for them
today." He is also concerned that the recent large increases
in tuition at state public universities are pricing higher education
outside the reach of many families, when that education is the very
thing that will improve the future of those families.
Small business - Small businesses create most of the jobs in this
country, and some counties in our district have been hard hit by
the loss of service and non-service jobs in the past several years.
Compared to the mega-businesses that are headquartered outside the
district, small businesses are over-burdened by the weight of an
antiquated tax system.
Government ethics - "My campaign is based on honesty, integrity
and character. I am not a politician, and I will never become
a politician...this is a calling to me. My vote will always
represent the people."
The environment - "God gave us instructions to take care of
the world He created. That's part of who we are in western
North Carolina." Goss says past improvements in environmental
quality have faced huge setbacks in the last few years. He believes
that higher levels of pollution lead to increased asthma and
allergies among children and adults. Much of our pollution
is coming from the industrial upper Midwest, and it will take unified
action from North Carolina to challenge those states to
clean up their smokestacks.
The elderly - We have an obligation to our senior adults. The states
are being asked to pay for an ever higher portion of medical costs
with fewer and fewer dollars coming from the federal government. People
should not have to choose between medicine and food. We have to
find a solution to this problem.
Family values – There are many thousands of great people in
our region with the desire to live a good and moral life. Government
should be a catalyst to enable our people to have the opportunity
to attain the best that life has to offer. People in many of our
communities are being squeezed by taxes and a high cost of living.
We should never be one serious illness away from bankruptcy. Goss
says he wants “to respect families for who they are, and make
it possible for them to pursue the American Dream.”
Goss is a retired Baptist minister and former high school teacher
and coach. An Ashe County native, he has been married to the
former Phyllis Johnson for 36 years; they make their home, with
their dog, Max, in Watauga County where Phyllis teaches
middle school. He has been an active community volunteer, particularly
in coaching and tutoring young people, wherever he has worked as
a minister or missionary. He has a B.S. in Social Science from
Appalachian State University, and a Masters of Divinity from Southeastern
Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest. His daughter and
her husband, Kelly and David Sechrist, and their 3 children make
their home in Boone. His son, Andy, is on active duty with
the US Air Force, stationed with his wife Michelle and their child
in Fort Walton Beach, FL. Andy ships out for duty in Afghanistan
this May.
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