Kalle Thompson

I was born and raised in Charlotte, within a mile of my current home. I attended Charlotte-Mecklenburg public schools, then graduated from Phillips Academy, in Andover MA. I graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Slavic Literature, and studied abroad in Russia three times. I held a variety of customer-service jobs across many industries, finally turning to my current profession as a childbirth educator, after the natural births of my three children. Along the way, I became a volunteer for several Republican campaigns, and found a love for politics. I can bring a fresh perspective to the state legislature, and work to improve education, employment opportunities for those who have struggled, public safety in our communities, and better maternity care. Improving outcomes for pregnant women, babies and small children is a cause near to my heart, stemming from my work as a childbirth educator. We must preserve school choice for our students, too; your child's future does not depend on your current address. Upward mobility through education and job training is critical. Improving infrastructure and transportation in the district is another key focus: as Charlotte continues its rapid growth, let's take care of our older neighborhoods and longtime residents, which deserve better roads, sidewalks, crosswalks, streetlights, and trash cleanup. District 100 is a diverse area with residents from all over the world, and I'm proud to live, work, and raise my children here.

• Education: School Choice and Improving Public Schools
• Public Safety: Tackling Crime and Ensuring Safe Communities
• Upward Mobility: Job Opportunities, Improving the Economy, and Pro-Business Climate of Low Taxes

I am passionate about medical freedom, and your right to decline medical treatments, based on personal or religious beliefs in addition to medical exemptions. I believe in birth freedom: the right of a birthing woman to give birth where and with whom she chooses. This stance includes the legal licensure of home birth midwives, something North Carolina has not yet accomplished. I am passionate about education, and I support all efforts to expand options for students and families. This includes charter schools, opportunity scholarships, supporting families that choose to homeschool, and greater access to trade school and apprenticeships for high school and college-age students. I also believe we must reform our criminal justice system, with clemency for those who committed nonviolent drug offenses. We must take care of our veterans, as well as those who are "veterans" of a tough justice system, by providing re-entry programs for those leaving prison. I support lower taxes across the board, and support reduced government spending, so that more of the taxpayers' dollars remain in their own pockets. I'm a firm supporter of the Second Amendment, private property rights, and in crafting a limited government. Personally, my most fervent passion does sit with the legalization of midwifery, the normalization of natural birth and breastfeeding, and support for the mothers who, in spite of challenges, choose Life for their babies. We must support those who take on that noble task.

I believe a core responsibility is responsiveness. Constituents may have concerns or issues that are beyond your purview, but they deserve a response. I have freely published my personal cell to this end, that I may always be reachable to hear your needs. Ethics are important, as is character. A representative operates from a core sense of service to others. In every decision weighed and made, consideration must be taken of the real needs of the plurality of a district's residents: working for the people, and not for special interests or pet causes.

I remember when the Soviet Union broke up, and the Commonwealth of Independent States was formed in the former USSR. I was nine. My civics teacher handed us a textbook that was paper-bound, and I felt the excitement of that newness, that fresh chapter, written so quickly that the book was merely paper. I went on to study abroad in Russia in the tenth grade, through a federal program, along with five of my West Charlotte classmates and our teacher. When I matriculated at boarding school the following year, I began studying the Russian language formally.

During my time in boarding school, the European Union was formed (1999). My gut told me that it was a bad idea. I firmly disbelieve in government control over the people. I disbelieve in the consolidation of power. On a nostalgic level, the eradication of national currencies such as the Franc and the Lira, in favor of the Euro for the Eurozone, made me sad. My gut told me the EU was not right for the people, and as we witnessed with Brexit recently, it appears that people in many places feel the same way. I studied socialist countries and their literature deeply throughout high school and college, which informed my view on totalitarian power grabs. Attending schools with such a rich history of service to our nation (Andover & Princeton) left me in awe of the greatness of these United States, and with an understanding of how incredibly important it is to protect our sovereignty and freedom.

I love "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith. I first read it when I was ten or eleven, and the mental pictures I formed of New York were powerful, even mythical. I read it again about twenty years later, and had a very different interpretation, a different set of mental images, since by then I'd been to Brooklyn and walked its streets. The descriptions lost their epic power, and the story became simpler and more relatable. It's a classic American tale that portrays a powerful mother-daughter relationship, and showcases New York in a bygone era.

To be honest, it's "Fishy On Me," a YouTube sensation for the kiddos. DO NOT listen to it, or it will get stuck with you, too. ;-)

It's not easy to admit this publicly, but I have a mental illness diagnosis, that I have handled now for 17 years. It has required hospitalization on occasion, and my experiences in inpatient behavioral health units have informed and humbled me. I understand what it's like inside those facilities, so when I work on healthcare issues in the legislature, I'm sure I will bring this personal experience with mental health treatment into the discussion.

I've had lows in my life, but I've also had tremendous blessings and grace, including the births of each of my three children, which led me into my work educating couples on the normal processes of labor and birth, work which I really love doing. I know that God gives each of us a major struggle, or three, to bear, and my experience navigating and thriving in spite of my diagnosis is something I don't take lightly, and is an experience I hope pays off in the form of empathy when it comes to serving the people, and improving mental health services in North Carolina.

North Carolina faces challenges related to its rapid population growth. We've built new tollways, new railways, and hundreds of new neighborhoods, relatively quickly, and we must make sure our highways, streetlights, pedestrian infrastructure, parks and open space, bike trails and airports properly serve our growing population. North Carolina is now the number one state in the country in which to do business, according to Forbes, so our growth is likely to continue. People love the way of life of the Carolinas, and our easy access to beautiful mountains and beaches. As a formerly Red state that's now decidedly Purple, we have new legislative challenges on our hands as we accommodate political diversity, while preserving the family-centric way of life that does make this state so appealing to millions. It's a balancing act, and I feel that new legislators who come from this younger generation will make an impact going forward.

Yes, it's absolutely beneficial to build relationships. That is how problems are solved, that is how perspectives are shared, and that is how better solutions are reached. I feel this is a fundamental aspect of the job, and that it plays directly into a legislator's success in accomplishing things for their district, since districts abut one another, and ultimately, larger decisions affect many millions of people, so we need to have open, strong communication to ensure we are doing right by the citizens of North Carolina.

Yes. Whether I win this race, or win on my second try, my calling to pursue this line of work is a deep one, and I plan to continue, developing my skills in this work, winning victories for my constituents, and doing my part to improve wellbeing and maintain freedom through the acts of legislating and leading.