Frank McNeill, candidate for NC Senate District 21
Name: Frank McNeill
Political party: Democrat
Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 66
Campaign website: mcneillfornc.com
Occupation: President of McNeill Oil and Propane
Education: Appalachian State University, 1978, BS in Business Administration
Have you run for elected office before? Served on Aberdeen Town Board 1979-89, Aberdeen Mayor 1989-92, Moore County School Board 1998-2002
Please list highlights of your civic involvement: Elected as Aberdeen Town Board member, Aberdeen mayor, and Moore County School Board member. Past president of the Aberdeen Lions Club, member of the Moore County Chamber of Commerce. Received the 2022 Distinguished Citizen Award by the Boy Scouts of America Sandhills District.
What are the three issues that you see as most important to your district and what will you do to address them?
Growing our economy by combating prices; fully funding public schools; protecting women’s rights.
At a time when costs are rising, state government has a surplus. How should it be used?
As mayor of Aberdeen, I worked with a team to expand city services while lowering property taxes. We did it by being fiscally responsible and remaining focused on improving life for all city residents. In the State Senate, I’ll support the same type of fiscally responsible policies that maturely spends our tax dollars on critical services, like fully funding our public schools, investing in infrastructure for smart economic development and protecting our environment.
Will you vote for Medicaid expansion in North Carolina?
Yes.
What has the legislature gotten right, and what has it gotten wrong, about public education in North Carolina?
When the legislature implemented the Education Lottery, they codified it as a substitute for state funding for public schools. That was a mistake, and if elected, I’ll support a bill to ensure that lottery funds are only used to supplement — not substitute — state funds for public schools. The Republican legislature has not gotten anything right with public education, as they have minimally raised teacher pay while slashing Master’s pay, and decreased the dollars we spend on every student.
Should North Carolina change its abortion laws? How?
There should be fewer restrictions on abortion after 20 weeks.
Please add anything else voters should know about your position on the legality or availability of abortion in North Carolina.
Currently in North Carolina, all abortions are illegal after 20 weeks, even in cases of rape and incest. My opponent, Tom McInnis, is backed by extremists that want to ban abortion and even put women in jail who choose to have an abortion, even victims of rape or incest. I’ll uphold Gov. Cooper’s veto of those dangerous bills, and instead push for policies to support young families. By focusing on solving the root of the problem, we can ensure abortions are safe, legal, and rare.
Should medical marijuana be legalized in North Carolina?
Yes.
What, if anything, should the legislature to do shape curriculum dealing with topics of race, sexuality and gender?
I support giving parents more of a say in our children’ education, and I wish many more parents were actively involved in PTA’s and booster clubs to support our schools. It is dangerous for the legislature to insert themselves into classrooms to pick and choose books to ban. Nothing good in history has ever come from politicians censoring speech that they don’t like. There can be a better process to involve parents and educators on the local level.
Do you accept the results of the 2020 presidential election?
Yes.
