Brad Hessel

Brad Hessel was born in New York, New York. He attended Sleepy Hollow High School and Phillips Exeter Academy. He earned a bachelor's degree from Brown University in 1975.[1] His career experience includes working in management consulting, simulation design and development, game and magazine publishing, technical writing and training, software pricing schema design, and corporate web architecture design. He has been affiliated with the Raleigh North Citizens Advisory Council, the Beth Meyer Social Action Committee, and the Wake County Libertarian Party.[2]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Born in Manhattan, raised in Westchester County north of NYC, and schooled in New England, Brad—along with the wife and three kids—moved to Raleigh in 1992.

Career includes work in game design, technical writing and training, marketing, and knowledge management consulting.

Coached adult softball teams and youth and adult soccer teams.

Started out as peace Democrat working for George McGovern in 1972, switched to Republican by way of John Anderson in 1980, then to independent after our insane invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and most recently to Libertarian by way of Ron Paul and Gary Johnson in 2012.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Smarter Education—more and better choices for parents, more control for parents and teachers, more affordability for students, less spending on administrationCost-Effective Health Care—more and better choices for patients, less red tape for providers, pricing transparencyStronger Economy—reduce the influence of established, well-connected interests who seek to inhibit competition from entrepreneurs and their innovative products and services

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Electoral reform aimed at reducing the power of partisan extremists: end political gerrymandering, achieve fairness for independents who are effectively barred from running for office or serving on the Board of Elections, and implement instant-runoff voting for municipal and county elections

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Thomas Jefferson, Ayn Rand, Friedrich von Hayek, Ron Paul…as a legislator I would seek to emulate Justin Amash on account of his possession of most of the characteristics I listed above

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Characteristics: honesty, diligence, intelligence/math skills, empathy/communications skills, and ability to work with others…principles: respect for individual rights

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Protect individuaL rights and don’t waste taxpayer dollars

What legacy would you like to leave?

Increase choice for the residents of North Carolina and reduce the level of uncivil partisanship in politics

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Baskin-Robbins staffer; one summer.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

There aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I want to and it’s hard to choose what to focus on and what to sacrifice

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

The NCGA should take the lead on setting policy and the governor should be implementing it without being micromanaged by the legislature

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Navigating through the effects of changing demography, warming climate, weakening dollar, and tech-fueled economic dislocation

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Absolutely. No one ever gets 100% of what he/she wants.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

North Carolina Forward Party

What was the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember?

Election of JFK in 1960.

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Knowledge management consultant, political campaign services manager, father of three kids raised in NC, grandfather, Wolfpack fan, occasional 5-Star-rated Uber driver…and candidate for NC Senate 18.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I have the best positions on the issues that matter most to voters in NC—the economy, healthcare, and education. They lean towards getting government out of the way…for example, eliminate the certificate-of-need law that enables existing favored healthcare providers to charge exorbitant prices by making it illegal for potential competitors to set up shop in the same area.

But my focus is on electoral reform. I am running is because I am unhappy with the toxic political climate. Many candidates spend more energy denigrating their opponents than addressing issues and policy. Some even insult their opponent’s supporters!

This is a national problem; we can’t entirely fix it at the state level. But 3 electoral reforms we can enact will help!1. Instant Runoff Voting (a/k/a Ranked-Choice Voting). Used in Alaska & Maine (statewide) and many municipalities (e.g., SF, Minneapolis, NYC). Provides incentive for candidates to reach out to voters beyond their base (as opposed to denigrating their opponents’ supporters which is common now), ensures every election winner gets a majority of the votes (under our current plurality voting system, we often get “winners” who most voters actually voted against), and saves money by eliminating the need to ever conduct a separate runoff election (which are not only expensive, but notoriously low-turnout affairs…not unheard of for the “winner” of a runoff to get fewer votes than the loser got in the original election due to turnout dropoff).2. Fairness for Independent Voters. Independents now amount to 38% of the electorate in NC, but are banned by law from serving on the Board of Elections—and thus have no say on voting sites and dates, candidate and party eligibility, resolving any Election Day problems or certifying election results…and they are also effectively banned from running for partisan office in NC by discriminatory petition requirements that do not apply to Ds or Rs.

3. Non-Partisan Redistricting. There are too many “safe” election districts, and political gerrymandering is largely to blame. Our constitution calls for districts to be compact and cohere to existing boundaries and too many are not. 160 years of leaving this to the parties proves that doesn’t work.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I want the NCGA to look closely at what Oregon did on a statewide basis to enable construction of denser housing—thus increasing supply—by limiting single family zoning. We should also consider criminal justice system reform, focusing law enforcement and the judicial process on crimes with victims (as opposed to ruining folks’ lives over victimless “crimes” such as possession of drugs for personal use). The money we save can be allocated to addiction treatment and education. And I support Defend the Guard legislation which would prohibit the deployment of the North Carolina National Guard overseas other than pursuant to a war duly declared by the US Congress; as Helene has clearly demonstrated, we need our National Guard troops here in NC.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

“Atlas Shrugged”

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The most important characteristic is to communicate effectively (both in and out). The most important principle is the same for government as for individuals: treat folks the way they want to be treated.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first election I remember was 1960. I was in second grade and Miss DePaul, our teacher, stapled magazine pictures of JFK and Richard Nixon on the class bulletin board. I was big for my age and growing fast. So there we were, Kevin Russell and I, standing in front of the bulletin board, me explaining why I was for JFK—I don’t remember what I said, but it definitely wasn’t the real reason, which was that my mother was virtually in love with him—and Kevin asked me about Mr. Nixon. Playfully, I reached out to pretend to tear that picture down…only both my reach and my grasp exceeded my intention, and the next thing I knew, Mr. Nixon was lying face down on the floor! I don’t know who was more horrified: Miss DePaul, my mother, or me. It resulted in the first and last involuntary visit to the principal’s office of my academic career.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Aging population, effects of AI/robotics on employment opportunities, effects of climate change.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Helpful but not a prerequisite.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Yes. I am willing to work across all aisles to deliver the very best results for North Carolina.

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

With set time limits, yes.

What is the first bill you would introduce if elected?

Add ranked-choice voting as an option for counties and municipalities to choose in running local elections.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Forward Party and Libertarian Party

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

We need more of both.

Would a state ballot initiative process be good or bad for your state?

It could be either but I would be supportive of enabling citizens to propose and petition for ballot initiatives.

Hessel's campaign Facebook page highlighted the following issues:

We believe in the people of North Carolina. We believe in their spirit, their ingenuity and their compassion. Our state is a place where individuals succeed through voluntary social cooperation solving humanity’s most critical challenges through free market innovation with dignity, respect, and understanding.

Government far too often stifles innovation through regulation, subverts compassion through bureaucracy, and suppresses achievement through economic manipulation. This limits the potential to work together voluntarily, to achieve shared successes, and to live for our individual fulfillment.

Libertarians believe that state, county, and local governments should never be allowed to stand as obstacles to the people of North Carolina…obstacles to who we are, who we can be, and what we can achieve, so long as each individual respects the rights of others.[13]

—Brad Hessel[14]