VERMANNO'S PLATFORM
Healthcare should be a human right and not a privilege. No one should have to choose between seeing a doctor and paying rent. Under universal healthcare, every American is covered period including dental, vision, and hearing care.
This system ends medical debt, medical bankruptcies, and price gouging by insurance and pharmaceutical corporations. It cuts out wasteful middlemen, lowers costs for families, and saves taxpayers billions. While other countries guarantee care for all, our broken system leaves millions uninsured while charging the highest prices in the world. Universal healthcare puts people over profits. It delivers better care, lower costs, and peace of mind for every family. Americans deserve healthcare that works for them, not for corporations.
Public education is the great equalizer and it must remain a promise to every family in Charlotte not a privilege for a few. Every child deserves a fully funded school modern classrooms and teachers who are respected and paid what they are worth no matter their ZIP code.
For too long politicians have underfunded public schools while pushing privatization schemes that drain resources from classrooms and leave working families behind. I will fight to fully fund public education by supporting smaller class sizes safe facilities updated technology and strong programs in arts music skilled trades and career education.
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At the heart of our schools are teachers yet too many educators are forced to work second jobs just to survive. North Carolina should lead the South in teacher pay not trail behind. I support competitive salaries strong benefits ending the cap on veteran teacher pay and giving educators the respect they deserve because when teachers thrive students succeed.
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I also support fully implementing the Leandro Plan as required by our state constitution to ensure every child receives a sound basic education. That means investing more in high need communities and ensuring schools have counselors nurses and mental health professionals not just textbooks.
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I oppose the expansion of private school vouchers that divert public dollars into unaccountable private institutions. Public money should strengthen public schools which serve every student and operate with transparency.
As someone who grew up in a working class family and attended public schools I know firsthand what education makes possible. I am running to make sure District 106 has a representative who will stand up for students families and educators and fight for a public education system that truly works for everyone.
Charlotte’s housing crisis didn’t happen by accident it’s the result of outdated zoning laws, corporate greed, and weak tenant protections. Working families are being priced out while Wall Street landlords buy up our neighborhoods. That’s unacceptable.
I support modernizing zoning laws so we can build more attainable housing like duplexes, triplexes, and townhomes in areas where they’re currently banned. More housing options mean lower costs and stronger communities.
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I’ll fight to cap how much property large corporations can buy, so families - not hedge funds can afford to live here. I also support banning predatory lease practices, hidden fees, and junk charges, and placing reasonable limits on extreme rent hikes that force families out with no warning. Housing is personal to me. I’ve lived the consequences of bad housing policy, and I’m running to fix what career politicians have ignored. In a city where tens of thousands of residents spend over half their income just to keep a roof over their heads, inaction is not an option. Housing is a human and God-given right. I’m running to make sure every family in District 106 has a fair shot at a stable, affordable home.
Climate change is the greatest threat facing our planet and working people are paying the price while corporate polluters get a free pass. For too long, career politicians have sided with fossil fuel corporations instead of the communities they were elected to serve. If we don’t act now, the damage will become irreversible.
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I support a Green New Deal to aggressively cut pollution while creating good-paying union jobs not starvation wages. That means ending subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuel corporations, making polluters pay through a greenhouse gas emissions tax, and holding companies like Duke Energy accountable for environmental disasters like the Dan River coal ash spill without sticking families with the cleanup bill.
Climate change affects our air, our water, and the safety of our neighborhoods. I’ve spent years standing up for communities at risk, demanding accountability from corporate polluters and fighting for real solutions.
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I believe in a future powered by clean, renewable energy with stronger infrastructure, more green spaces, expanded public transit, electric vehicle investment, and climate education. I’ll fight to ensure every community has access to clean air, clean water, and a livable future.
Protecting our planet and protecting working people go hand in hand and I’m ready to fight for both.
If our state and our nation are going to have any hope, working people must be able to live with dignity. No one should have to work two or three jobs just to survive. That’s why I support raising the minimum wage to $16 an hour and going up from there, increasing the state minimum wage annually. So workers can pay their bills, support their families, and actually get ahead. A living wage strengthens our entire economy.
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Major employers have already shown this works. Companies like Best Buy, Bank of America, and Costco raised wages and saw higher retention, better productivity, and stronger customer loyalty. When workers do better, businesses and communities do better too.
Fair wages aren’t radical—they’re common sense. I’m fighting for an economy that works for working people, not just the wealthy few.
No one in Charlotte should be forced to live on the streets. Housing is a human right, and our city must treat it that way.
My plan puts housing first by expanding affordable housing, converting vacant and underused buildings into permanent homes, and holding developers accountable to build housing regular people can actually afford. Community land trusts can protect neighborhoods from displacement and keep homes affordable long-term.
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We also have to stop homelessness before it starts. That means stronger renter protections, rental assistance, and limits on extreme rent hikes and unfair evictions that push families out of their homes with no warning. Wall Street investors buying up housing and pricing out entire neighborhoods must be held in check homes should be for people, not corporate profit.
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Ending homelessness also means addressing root causes. I support expanding access to mental health care, substance-use treatment, childcare, job training, and raising wages so full time workers aren’t one missed paycheck away from losing their home.
This crisis demands accountability and collaboration. I’ll fight for strong partnerships between local government, nonprofits, businesses, and faith communities while ensuring public dollars are spent transparently and effectively. With the right leadership, Charlotte can be a city where everyone has dignity, stability, and a place to call home.
Our criminal justice system should protect and serve all members of our community fairly and equitably. I'm committed to creating a Charlotte where justice is not determined by race, income, or zip code, and where public safety and community trust go hand in hand.
My plan focuses on three priorities: ending mass incarceration, promoting fairness in policing, and supporting rehabilitation and reentry. We must reduce reliance on incarceration for non-violent offenses and invest instead in diversion programs, mental health care, and substance use treatment.
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Policing in Charlotte should be accountable, transparent, and community driven. That means implementing stronger oversight, independent review of misconduct, and community engagement to build trust between law enforcement and the neighborhoods they serve.
Also, to ensure that everyone who has served their sentence can successfully reintegrate into society. That includes expanding reentry programs, job training, education, and housing support so returning citizens have the tools to succeed, reduce recidivism, and contribute to our community.
In the North Carolina General Assembly, we’ve had far too many career politicians who continue to serve in the best interests of their campaign donors and larger corporations rather than serve their constituents that elected them into office. Our state legislature is currently made up of most politicians that have been in office for decades and passing bills that benefit only the rich and wealthy rather than the working and middle-class people of our state. It’s long overdue that we enact term limits on our state legislature that will create more competitive elections, end the greed for power, end the corruption of establishment politicians, restore trust in our elections, and do away with the status quo. I will fight for term limits to give every aspiring leader in North Carolina a chance to enact real change, not out of
fear of running against an entrenched incumbent who has been holding onto their political office for decades. Term limits will also get rid of the chokehold that the fossil industry and Corporate America have on our state government.
By investing our tax dollars in roads, bridges, water systems, and public buildings, we can put people back to work and rebuild the backbone of our state. These are good, skilled jobs that strengthen our economy today while giving our children a future they can be proud of.
Across our city, crumbling infrastructure is costing families time, money, and safety. I’ll fight to repair our roads, improve water quality, and make sure public services actually deliver value for the tax dollars working people already pay.
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We must also modernize our electrical grid and invest in clean, renewable energy that protects our environment and lowers long-term costs rather than relying on outdated and polluting energy sources. Rebuilding our infrastructure means creating jobs, protecting communities, and laying a strong foundation for generations to come.