Special to Iredell Free News
Sen. Vickie Sawyer has officially filed for re-election for a third term in the N.C. Senate.
A Republican who represents the 37th District, Sawyer currently serves as the chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee. She is also a member of the Senate Finance, Commerce and Insurance, Rules, and Appropriations Committees.
“One of my proudest accomplishments is securing an additional $650 million annually for North Carolina’s transportation infrastructure without raising taxes,” Sawyer said in her official campaign announcement.
Prior to this achievement, the NCDOT Board had removed Mooresville’s Cornelius Road Interchange Exit 38, along with other local projects, from the State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP). Sawyer said she worked to ensure the NCDOT added Exit 38 back to the 10-year schedule.
Candidate filing began December 4 and end Friday, December 15,
During her time in Raleigh, Sawyer founded NC TEN and led the bipartisan working group to address the issue of diversifying transportation funding to supplement the NC Gas Tax.
“Nearly half of North Carolina’s transportation dollars come from the tax on gasoline sales,” she explained. “Transportation funding will decrease with the growth of electric and more fuel-efficient vehicles just at the time we need more investment in our transportation infrastructure.”
Several NC TEN funding initiatives have already been included in the past two state budgets. Sawyer said she is committed to continuing to lead NC TEN in finding solutions to the transportation funding crisis.
On a local level, Iredell County and North Mecklenburg, which make up the 37th District, will benefit from nearly $1.8 billion in transportation projects over the next decade.
Meanwhile, Sawyer said she will continue to facilitate communication between communities and the NCDOT as major transportation projects, such as Highway 150, Williamson Road, Brawley School Road, and the Town of Cornelius’ Exit 28 upgrades, are underway. In anticipation of these projects, Sawyer has worked with the local NCDOT Division to implement interim measures, including additional turn lanes, installation of stop lights, realignment of exit lanes, and extension of turn lanes.
Sawyer said she is also proud of the $16 million investment she secured for the expansion of the terminal and addition of hangars at the Statesville Regional Airport. This investment will contribute to economic development in the region. Additionally, through collaborative efforts with local N.C. House members, Sawyer’s district has received significant investments for water and sewer projects, athletic facilities for public schools, tourism assets, a public defender’s office, volunteer fire departments, and the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.
As a former athlete and coach of female teams, Sawyer has been a strong advocate for protecting women’s sports from biological men competing. She worked to correct a rule adopted by the NCHSAA in 2019 that allowed biological men to compete against biological women in high school sports.
Sawyer’s efforts in have not gone unnoticed. She has received multiple awards, including 2023 Legislator of the Year from the N.C. Travel Industry Association, the 2023 Jobs Champion by the N.C. Chamber, 2023 Legislator of the Year by N.C. Family Values, the 2023 Contribution to Transportation Award from NCSITE, 2023 Legislator of the Year for the N.C. Trucking Association, the Defender of Public Safety Award from the Sheriffs’ Association, and a 100 percent score from the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
The general election is scheduled for November 5, 2024. The primary is set for March 5.
Bought and paid for by lobbyists. We need term limits.
Term Limits. Time to go home and let others govern. This is not a lifetime appointment.
@Kat and Steven I agree with you both and will add, everyone should pay close attention to her ‘2023 award as Legislator of the Year from the NC Travel Industry Association.’ Interesting as the vote for school calendar keeps getting moved and was again during Iredell Statesville Schools Board of Education meeting last night (12/11/2023). I was angered in 2005 when I learned the Travel and Tourism lobbyists successfully hijacked this decision-making ability away from the school districts. This should have been brought to the public for a vote or simply left to die as it was a bad decision! School districts in NC should be able to pick their school calendar as it best benefits the students, teachers, and staff. Most want an early calendar with fall semester ending at Christmas break. The Travel Industry should HAVE ZERO say. Citizens, I beg you all to question Sawyer on this!
Vickie has been an awesome leader and has secured so much for our region. She is one of the good ones. Happy to have the opportunity to vote for her again.
And she’s done what for Mooresville? Construction for 150 pushed back another two years? Time to give someone else a chance.
She also made a lot of waves about working on the cancer cluster. Don’t hear anything about that anymore.