But we wanted to get your attention to talk about a candidate with her name on the ballot, Deborah Ross.
There were two BIG pieces of news in North Carolina this week:
1) In a report from The Morning Consult, Deborah Ross’ radical tenure at the North Carolina ACLU was examined for her opposition to the North Carolina sex offender registry, justification of flag burning, and new information about her defense of the Ku Klux Klan and Confederate flag. The new information is particularly interesting in light of Ross’ comments in last week’s debate where she claimed she had “experience working on racial bias issues,” a statement seemingly at odds with her work experience. From The Morning Consult:
So far, Burr and his allies have not spent money on a message that they hope lure African Americans voters to his camp. In 1997, her work for the ACLU sided her with Ku Klux Klan members hoping to demonstrate in Asheville. She also defended the Sons of Confederate Veterans as it sought a license plate from the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles emblazoned with a Confederate emblem. In 2000, she supported students who were sent home for wearing shirts featuring the Confederate flag.
During a debate with Burr last week, Ross said she had “experience working on racial bias issues,” adding that she “worked on one of the comprehensive anti-racial profiling laws in the country.”
Read the details about Deborah Ross siding with the KKK, here.
2) McClatchy reported that Deborah Ross is refusing to say whether she paid zero state or federal income taxes in some years. Ross “benefited substantially from the historic tax credits she helped champion” to the tune of $267,000. Senator Burr challenged Ross to release her tax summaries to ascertain whether Ross’ actions in the state legislature allowed her to avoid paying taxes. In a show of transparency, Burr promised to do the same. Unsurprisingly, Deborah Ross quickly refused to release her tax summaries. The question remains: Did Deborah Ross avoid paying state and federal income taxes because of the historic tax credits she helped champion?