“Tightening the Belt,” Lt. Governor Dan Forest
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Dan Forest is not your typical politician. He grew up in Charlotte, born and raised as a proud North Carolinian, and managed to become president of the largest architectural firm in the state. In 2012, he found his calling in serving the people and became the first Republican Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina in over 20 years and the second since 1900. Forest was reelected in 2016. Throughout his tenure, he has made remarkable changes in education and created economic prosperity within the state. Now, he has decided to run for the state’s governorship. AANN recently had the privilege to interview Mr. Forest to learn more about his leadership and campaign.
As Lieutenant Governor, Forest has played an important role by directly assisting the governor in his duties and even taking the lead on special occasions. Along the way, he has learned many valuable lessons, including time management, the importance of hiring the right people, and most importantly, transparency. As a leader, he believes that it is important to put aside natural tendencies to defend ourselves at the cost of others, and instead stand before the people and answer the tough questions.
Although Forest has already made an impressive impact on the lives of many North Carolinians, he feels the urge to do more during one of the most pivotal times of this country’s history. He asserts that “these will either be our darkest days or our brightest days and we need strong leaders to protect the things that make the U.S. great.” Forest stands for core American values like liberty, capitalism, and freedom, and wants his children and his grandchildren to grow up in a strong and vibrant state. To accomplish this goal, Forest commits to improving the economy and ensuring public safety.
“These will either be our darkest days or our brightest days and we need strong leaders to protect the things that make the U.S. great.”
As a leader with extensive business experience, Dan Forest has a fundamental understanding of the economy. He recognizes that 1.5 million people in North Carolina are unemployed and that many businesses are struggling with COVID-19 restrictions. To address these problems, he plans to lower taxes for all businesses – big and small – and continue to grow the state’s economic strengths such as technology and agriculture. On the administrative side, Forest will “tighten the belt” of our state government. He will attempt to fix the Department of Transportation, a mismanaged government agency that consumes billions of taxpayer dollars. Forest explains that “without good roads and infrastructure, it will be hard to get everything back on track.” He also plans on providing high-speed broadband internet to the whole state, in turn providing many people with better economic opportunities
All of these plans and ideas will never come to fruition if Dan Forest cannot campaign successfully. Forest states that his opposition, including current NC governor Roy Cooper, has spent thirty million dollars to campaign against him. Forest has found difficulty in speaking out, since most mainstream media tend to lean towards the left. Fortunately, his family has stood by him every step of the way. One of Forest’s daughters is his full-time scheduler, making sure that he can attend important events and meet his voters. Forest attests that “it isn’t worth campaigning without my family.”
Dan Forest has spent his life honing his skills as a leader and observing others around him. Some stood for what they believed, but unfortunately many others around him “fell into patterns” – leading to weak leadership and stifled growth. Forest offered this piece of advice to the community with his closing words: “Have your own mind, be able to challenge hard concepts. Speak up, be bold.”
