Democrat Sophia Chitlik, candidate for NC Senate District 22, answers our questions

To help inform voters about the Nov. 5, 2024, election, this candidate questionnaire is available to be republished by local publications in North Carolina without any cost. Please consider subscribing to The News & Observer to help make this coverage possible.

Name: Sophia Chitlik

District/seat: NC Senate District 22

County or counties represented: Durham

Political party: Democrat

Age as of Nov. 5, 2024: 35

Campaign website: https://sophiafornc.com/

Current occupation: Self Employed, investor and fractional Chief Operating Officer.

Professional experience: I began my career on the Obama campaign and later served in the White House and the Department of Labor as a political appointee. I went on to work as a chief of staff, eventually rising to become a chief operating officer of an eight-figure education nonprofit. For many years, I’ve been a strategic planning consultant, partnering with CEOs in the public and private sector. I have spent the past five years investing in women-led companies and nonprofits in Durham and beyond.

Education: New York University, Bachelor of Arts, Individualized Study (Magna Cum Laude), Concentration in Political Community Building.

Please list any notable government or civic involvement . I have worked at the intersection of politics, policy and community engagement for my entire career, including serving at the U.S. Department of Labor. Additional civic involvement includes: Founding Board Member Aya Birth & Community Wellness; pro-bono advisor to Mi Malatin; Member, NC Funders for Maternal Health; Jewish For Good Young Leadership Award Winner; Narrow Bridge Fund, Co-Founder; At The Well Founding Board Secretary; Startingbloc Fellow.

What would be your top priority if elected?

Supporting working families by safeguarding public education and stabilizing the child care industry. We need to end the disastrous voucher program that is privatizing education and draining resources from our public schools. We must fully fund NC pre-K, Head Start and Early Start, and clear the waitlist for child care subsidies. We have the resources to do this; we need new leadership in our legislature to make it happen.

By percentage, what raises should state employees, school staff and teachers receive in the next state budget?

State employees: 8.5%; teachers and school staff: 10%

What legislation would you support to improve Triangle transportation, housing or infrastructure? Please be specific.

North Carolina is one of 11 states that reinforce historically exclusionary development by blocking communities from pursuing inclusionary zoning, which is why I support House Bill 645, the latest effort to eliminate these barriers. We need to build more housing, which begins by investing more money into our North Carolina Housing Trust Fund. I support Senate Bill 809 which allocates $30 million to this fund, but that’s really just the beginning.

Do you think the legislature should fund about $500 million for private school vouchers through the Opportunity Scholarship program? Why or why not?

Absolutely not. Instead of investing in our public schools, our NC General Assembly has chosen to bribe people to leave them. Voucher programs don’t improve educational outcomes, but they do pour money into the hands of unregulated schools that can discriminate against North Carolinians at will. They take our tax dollars away from critical priorities that benefit everyone (like pre-K) and give handouts to the few; almost a quarter of the families receiving this latest voucher expansion make $250,000-plus annually.

Is there an issue on which you disagree with your party? What is your position on that issue?

There is not yet broad consensus within either party about the expansion of midwifery, which is an issue I would lead on if elected. We’re facing a maternal mortality crisis that is disproportionately impacting Black families, especially in District 22. We need to make it legal for Certified Professional Midwives to practice in North Carolina (as they do in 36 other states), which is why I support House Bill 751 and the North Carolina MOMnibus Bill introduced by Sen. (Natalie) Murdock.

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