Brad Hessel
Libertarian | North Carolina
Candidate Profile*
Leans Liberal
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Brad Hessel
Party
Libertarian
Election Year
2024
Election
General
Race
State Senate, Dist. 18
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Brown University, Providence, RI, BA, 1975
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Capital Area Soccer League, Rec High School Subdivision Coordinator and team coach, Beth Meyer Social Action Committee
member, Wake County Libertarian Party, Treasurer, Information Broker
Libertarian Party of North Carolina, Executive Director, Information Broker
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
NC Senate, 2016, 2018
ENDORSEMENTS*
LIBERAL (1)
*The Forward Party
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (1)
North Carolina Forward Party
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (1)
Dale Folwell (2024)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (0)
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
I don’t see a role for government in restricting the absolute right of a pregnant person to evict a fetus. However, in the case of a fetus that is potentially viable outside the womb, the pregnant person should agree to adoption and the medical provider should use the birthing technique that offers the best chance to preserve the life of the fetus/have the capability of caring for the baby or an arrangement to transport her/him to another facility with robust premature birth care capability.
Chemical abortion drugs should meet essential safety standards (such as in-person consultation with a medical doctor) and require reporting to gather evidence on reactions and outcomes.
Disagree
As things stand now, I agree with enforcing the same essential safety standards as with any other drug: testing for safety and efficacy prior to approval. (I am not a fan of the FDA, but that is another topic which is not germane for a candidate running for NC Senate.)
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Agree
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
ECONOMY
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
What is your position on the minimum wage?
There should not be one.
Should environmental and social issues, like ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings, be used as criteria in deciding where to invest public monies?
Choose not to answer
That decision should be made by the fund investment managers informed by the best interests of/instructions from the fund owners. Use of ESG ratings to inform investment decisions should neither be required nor prohibited.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
The church is on fire or subject to imminent danger; e.g., bomb threat, flooding, invasion, impending meteor strike. Exception: does not apply in the case of a dinosaur-killer-size meteor.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
I support the right of free association, And speaking personally, I would find it helpful to know if a business discriminates; in most cases I would prefer to avoid patronizing that business.
Should religious schools which accept state funds be allowed to only admit families and students who agree to adhere to their statement of faith?
Choose not to answer
The government should neither be funding nor regulating educational services.
HEALTHCARE
What most closely matches your view on healthcare: A) Healthcare for all should be guaranteed and funded by the government with no private healthcare option. (includes "universal healthcare," "medicare for all," etc.) B) Healthcare insurance funded by the government should be available for all who want it, along with private healthcare options. C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. D) Taxpayer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be defunded.
D with the provisos that folks currently enrolled must be offered the choice of a buyout (everything they paid in plus interest) or continued program service for life and folks who have paid in but are not on the program automatically get refunds (everything they paid in plus interest).
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
For humans: Government: as a condition of employment Schools and Employers: leave it up to each school and business For non-humans: generally ok with current practice (but open to hearing any complaints)
NATIONAL SECURITY
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Disagree
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
This topic is not germane to someone running for NC Senate. However, IMO we should not be engaging in or promoting wars. If folks want to buy weapons from us, fine. If elected, I will introduce or co-sponsor Defend the Guard legislation to restrict the deployment of our North Carolina National Guard troops overseas other than in pursuit of a Declared War (by the US Congress).
EDUCATION
The state should fund education by allowing dollars to follow the child through programs which protect parents' freedom to choose their child's school – public, private, or homeschool.
Strongly Agree
I would work to replace the current voucher system—that has the potential of subjecting private schools to the same corrosive regulatory regime that the public schools have to contend with—with a “backpack budgeting” system where parents direct the tax dollars allocated to their children’s education as they see fit.
VALUES
Taxpayer funds should be used to provide gender transition services.
Strongly Disagree
To reiterate a previous answer, government should not be funding any health care.
No healthcare diagnosis or treatment, whether mental, reproductive, or otherwise, should be given to a child without first receiving written consent from the parent unless an emergency situation arises risking immediate death.
Agree
With exceptions such as a minor impregnated via rape or incest who wants to abort but cannot obtain parental consent.
Children are the most vulnerable members of society and must be protected from abuse, including gender ideology, grooming, and bodily mutilation.
Neutral
I don’t disagree with the statement per se. However, government should not be interfering in parental healthcare decisions. Parents and their selected healthcare professional advisors are in the best position to make those decisions.
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition.
Strongly Disagree
Marriage is the province of religion. The state should offer civil unions and dissolutions to consenting adults and leave anything beyond that to the individuals involved and their spiritual/religious advisors.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
Conservative Jew; member of Beth Meyer in Raleigh.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
Voting absentee by mail ballot should be limited to those meeting at least one of the following criteria: 1) 65 years of age or older on Election Day, 2) sick or disabled, 3) expecting to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day, or 4) confirmed to be absent from the county of registration during voting.
Strongly Disagree
Our voter participation rates are embarrassing. Anything we can do to incentivize folks to participate in our Republic is beneficial for all of us, because it affords legitimacy to the government and makes it more likely that policy decisions will more accurately represent the will of the people. If elected, I will propose extending the franchise to 16-year-olds for School Board elections. Sort of a learner’s permit for representative democracy: give students a say in pertinent public policy.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Given that racism sparked the War for Southern Independence in which 700k folks died—and a lot of Sturm und Drang since—the answer is manifestly “yes.” But we have made a lot of progress, so the threat, while still palpable, has materially diminished.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Choose not to answer
The essence of CRT is that one cannot meaningfully understand US history without appreciating the context of racism. So it’s not that “institutions…are fundamentally racist,” but rather that to a greater or lesser degree, racism played a part in the development of our institutions—along with many other factors—and consequently, there is likely to be some racist effect inherent in them. How material that is varies widely but ignoring or denying it altogether is foolish.
Biological males should not be allowed to participate in women's sports or occupy biological women's spaces whether it be bathrooms, locker rooms, sorority houses, women's shelters, or prison.
Choose not to answer
W/r/t women’s sports, HS-and-younger age leagues should restrict participation to those with a birth sex of female. For adults, sports leagues should have the option of effecting the same or less stringent restrictions (i.e., it might be reasonable to allow people who have surgically and chemically altered their sex to female to participate in female sports). As for bathrooms et al, kids with body dysmorphia need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Adults should make their own decisions.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Which comes closest to your view? (Select all that apply) A) Stricter environmental laws and regulations cost too many jobs and hurt the economy. B) Stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost. C) Stricter environmental laws undermine U.S. energy independence and deter development of reliable electricity sources. D) Climate change is real and requires urgent policy action.
Manifestly there are climate-related risks. And even if there were’t, being less profligate in our energy consumption makes good long-term sense. Having said that, the actions of individuals and organizations have more power to ameliorate environmental damage than the slow-moving bureaucracy of the government, beholden to special interests. Government should stop both trying to micro-manage everything and legally protecting Big Energy from responsibility for the harm they are causing.
ABOUT YOU
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
The government was designed to provide for the common defense, protect individual liberties, and support a stable currency to enable us to conduct our business smoothly. And originally, it did those things well. But over time, we have piled more and more functions on government which it was not designed to do and indeed does not do well. And now it doesn’t even perform any of the original three functions effectively. We need to strip government back down to those original functions.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.
No.
Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.
No.
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Choose not to answer
My personal beliefs are not particularly pertinent, except to myself and my family. I have no business telling you how to live your life and spend your money; you know yourself best. And so long as you are not hurting anyone else or their property, neither does government have any business ordering you about. If elected, I will not attempt to impose my beliefs on you and I will strive to prevent anyone else—in government or out—from attempting to do so.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
I support redirecting funds from police departments to community programs.
Disagree
I think we spend way too much on policing mainly because we have too many laws that make “crimes” out of activities that don’t actually harm anyone. And also partly because we waste money on over-militarizing our law enforcement agencies. I would focus the police on enforcing laws against real crimes against people and property and stop sending thousands of folks to prison for victimless “crimes.” But I would not direct the money saved to wasteful government programs; I would instead cut taxes.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
North Carolina is pretty good on 2A issues compared to most other places. I would vote for Constitutional Carry legislation.
