Greg Bass: Raise cigarette/beer taxes to pay teachers

In my last post introducing the candidates, I didn’t have much information on Jon “Greg” Bass, Sen. Ellie Kinnaird’s Republican opponent, as he doesn’t have a Web site. I spoke to Bass tonight, and he had a lot to say about his background, the state of politics in North Carolina and his plans if he’s elected.

Bass, 60, lives in Roxboro and is retired from the automobile industry. He is also a veteran, having served four years in the Air Force. He holds a degree in history from High Point College (now High Point University) and attended graduate school at UNC-Greensboro. His wife, Ruth, teaches in the Person County School System, having taught for 35 years.

Due to the knowledge of schools he gets from his wife, improving the state of schools in North Carolina is Bass’s main goal if elected.

“I am ticked off at the way the state has handled education,” he said, noting what he sees as the misuse of funding for teacher bonuses. “When they get excellence they don’t pay for excellence.”

Bass said teacher salaries need to increase in order to improve the quality of education.

“We can’t have teachers making $4,300 below the national average,” he said. “Teachers need to be paid as professionals, not babysitters.”

And Bass’s plan to accomplish this goal is atypical of a Republican candidate- he wants to raise taxes, though only on cigarettes and beer.

“I propose to have a sensible tax increase on cigarettes,” Bass said. He added that North Carolina’s cigarette and beer taxes are some of the lowest in the country, while our gas tax rate is among the country’s highest. He said he wants to lower the gas tax while increasing taxes on cigarettes and beer.

“Cigarettes are an elective, gasoline is not,” he said.

Bass also said he wants to reform the way revenues from the N.C. Education Lottery are allocated, so that more of it is directed to teacher salaries.

“I want to change the lottery so it truly benefits teachers in K-12,” he said.

And to further demonstrate his commitment to education, Bass said he would donate half of his salary as a senator to fund scholarships at Piedmont Community College in Roxboro.

“The job doesn’t pay very much, but they can have it,” he said.

Another goal for Bass is bringing new industries and jobs into Person and Orange counties, which he said have little to offer their residents in employment. He blames the state’s high corporate taxes for making economic development unattractive.

“I propose to slash those daggum corporate taxes in half,” Bass said. “North Carolina has to be a leader, not in taxes, in technology.”

Since Kinnaird resides in Carrboro, Bass said he is better qualified to represent the interests of Person and northern Orange, which are predominantly rural. He also disputes any claims that the election might be a cakewalk for his incumbent opponent.

“Her constituents are basically Chapel Hill and Carrboro,” he said. “She’s under the misconception that she’s got a lock on this thing.”

Bass said he decided to run for the office, which would be his first elected position, because he is unhappy with the state of politics in North Carolina.

“I had just had enough of the bickering and back and forth,” he said. “It’s time to bring some common sense to the electoral process.”

Next week, I’ll hopefully have a similar profile of Roger Gerber, the Republican challenger in District 18. Because their campaigns lack extensive funding, there’s less information about them than the incumbents. I’m also planning to post lengthy video interviews with each of the four candidates, as well as provide coverage of debates and other issues related to the campaigns.