ROCKINGHAM — Rep. Scott Brewer announced Thursday that he intends to run to keep the District 66 seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
Brewer, former chief district court judge, was appointed to the seat in April by Gov. Roy Cooper, following the resignation of Ken Goodman — who stepped down after being appointed to the N.C. Industrial Commission.
“When I was growing up, North Carolina was the envy of the South when it came to taking care of our people,” Brewer, D-Richmond, said in a statement. “Politicians in Raleigh had disagreements over politics, but that never got in the way of making sure we had well-funded public schools or good paying jobs.
“But somewhere along the way, that promise got lost. Republicans first took control of the General Assembly in 2010 on a guarantee of helping our rural areas, but they’ve refused to address even the biggest issues facing places like Richmond County,” he continued. “Year after year they’ve put our public schools and universities on the chopping block, and many of our rural hospitals are now on the verge of closing due to their refusal to expand Medicaid.”
Brewer said the promise of the state has “always been to make sure our people have the opportunities to get ahead – but the promise of this General Assembly has been to make sure that their campaign donors have a head start.”
“It has been my honor to serve my community as a prosecutor, as a chief district court judge, and now as a Representative. I’m running for House District 66 because I believe we can restore the promise of North Carolina so that everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.”
The district currently comprises Richmond and Montgomery counties, as well as part of Stanly County.
Goodman was first elected to the seat in 2010. Before him, the seat was held for a combined seven terms by current state Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Goodwin (four) and his wife, Melanie (three).
Although district lines and numbers have changed over the years, Goodman previously told the RO that the seat has been held by a Richmond County Democrat as far back as he can remember.
There are several Republican candidates hoping to break that streak.
Richmond County Commissioner Ben Moss announced in January that he was planning to run for the seat and reaffirmed his intent Thursday.
Another Richmond County Republican, Joshua Flores, also announced his intent to run earlier in the year.
Flores may have a tougher time in the primary after being convicted Jan. 29 on one misdemeanor count each of larceny and financial card fraud in Stanly County.
Joey Davis, who challenged Goodman last year, is also running again.
Davis secured nearly 47 percent with 12,338 — less than 1,000 behind Goodman — garnering the majority of votes in both Montgomery and Stanly counties.
Green Party candidate Justin Miller came in at 2.12 percent with 556 votes.
Filing for state legislative seats opens Dec. 2 and runs through Dec. 20.
