Source: News & Observer
Months before the midterm elections, the strength of Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto power was among many of the questions as the state was looking at a potential Republican legislature takeover.
However, North Carolina voters, particularly in Cabarrus County have stopped a Republican supermajority, and have protected Governor Cooper’s ability to veto discriminatory legislation in the upcoming year.
Diamond Staton-Williams, who is currently serving on the Harrisburg Town Council, ran for Cabarrus County’s District 73 in the NC House and defeated her Republican opponent Brian Echevarria.
As a registered nurse, and board member of Communities in Schools, a program that provides support for children in poverty, Staton-Williams ran on a platform focused on her community and being committed to increasing health care access and ensuring every student receives a quality education.
“I think it is incumbent upon all of us, because we can’t do this alone,” stated Staton-Williams. “We’re not in this world alone; we are in it together. And if we want to do great things and make sure that people prosper, we have to come in and do it together.
Through support from grassroots organizing groups like Down Home NC, Staton-Williams’ efforts to door-knock and engage with her community proved to be fruitful.
“We went in to knock doors, just to meet people where they are,” stated Staton-Williams in an interview with The News & Observer. “Going into neighborhoods that I haven’t traditionally been in, talking to voters who don’t traditionally vote in every election and just listening to see what their concerns were.”
In the days following the midterms, Echevarria had not conceded and waited for the final election numbers. With the remaining mail-in ballots and provisionals counted by the Cabarrus Board of Elections, Staton-Williams has won the seat and helped pushed back against a potential Republican supermajority.
