Laura Fjeld inexperienced, but eager

Laura Fjeld isn’t a career politician.

The Democrat from Orange County is a self-proclaimed newcomer to the realm of politics — she has spent the last five years as vice president and general counsel for the UNC system.

But she firmly believes Congress needs a fresh voice like hers.

“Our existing representatives and Congress are so broken. The system is broken,” she said.

Fjeld is the only Democratic candidate so far to announce a campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives’ 6th District seat, occupied for the last 15 terms by Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C., who will not be running for re-election. Coble won in 2012 with 60.9 percent of the vote in the district, which encompasses portions of Orange County and the Triad.

Three Republicans are vying for the GOP nomination in May — Phil Berger Jr., the district attorney of Rockingham County, Don Webb, a High Point financial adviser, and Rev. Mark Walker, a Baptist pastor of worship and music in Greensboro. Berger, who announced his candidacy Wednesday, is the son of N.C. Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger.

Fjeld has spent the last three decades as a lawyer for various firms and as a North Carolina-certified mediator — a role in which she said her key responsibility is listening.

“One of the reasons that I’m running for Congress is because I think that people aren’t listening,” she said. “We’re in the mess that we’re in because representatives aren’t listening to the people who they represent, and they’re not open-minded to each other’s viewpoints either.”

Fjeld has built her platform on building the economy and encouraging job creation.

And given her tenure with the UNC system, she said education would be a top priority. She left her job in the system this spring and announced her campaign in August.

Fjeld said she wants to do everything possible to support public higher education — not only because of its critical role in the state’s economy, but also because it allows people to go back to school, obtain a steady job and support their families.

“The UNC system is the jewel in the crown among our state assets,” she said.

Thomas Shanahan, who replaced Fjeld in the UNC system, said anyone who worked in the system would bring knowledge about higher education and the issues its leaders face to the legislative process.

While it is against the Board of Governors’ policy and state law for the UNC system to endorse any political candidate, Shanahan said Fjeld was a great asset to the system.

“I think it is fair to say the university would wish her well,” he said.

Fjeld said she’s committed to bringing the government back to a place of compromise and open-mindedness.

“Voters are tired of the extremism and the extreme partisan politics that we have all been in the grip of for the last several years,” she said.

Despite her lack of political experience, Fjeld said she isn’t focusing on the challenges of the campaign — she said it’s all about the opportunity.

“Eventually we will have an identified opponent, and I look forward to the opportunity to debate that individual, whoever it turns out to be, and to meet the voters,” she said.

Fjeld was endorsed Tuesday by EMILY’s List, a national organization that aims to elect pro-abortion rights women to office. Fjeld would be the first woman elected to the district.

Matt Hughes, chairman of the Orange County Democratic Party, said Fjeld will make a competitive candidate.

“I really believe she can make a strong case for herself.”

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