Q&A with UNC grad running for N.C. House

Joe Parrish, a 2014 graduate of UNC, is running for the N.C. House of Representatives in District 2. Staff Writer Olivia Slagle talked with Parrish about his childhood interest in politics and his current campaign.

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The Daily Tar Heel: What is the number one thing you want voters to know about you?

Joe Parrish: The first thing I would say about me is that I like to think that we need a political revolution in this country. It cannot just be around one presidential candidate; it needs to be around many candidates and many offices at all levels of government. I consider myself a progressive who is a part of the political revolution who is dedicated to serving the many instead of the few.

DTH: How did studying political science at UNC affect your plans post-grad?

JP: When I see two sides arguing over an issue in American mainstream politics, there’s often a third option that’s just ignored. I like to look at the third option. That’s how I approach things.

Another way UNC influenced me was through the ROTC program. During the last year of the program, you’re just finishing up your degree and mentoring other cadets. Officer training helps you be a leader, plan, rally people, develop strategies, that sort of thing. They teach you not just to be a leader in a specifically military environment — they give you a broad philosophical lens by which to be a leader ...

DTH: Why do you find education to be a major issue?

JP: As for education, because of this attack we’ve been seeing on teacher compensation, we’re having teachers leaving the state, we’re having fewer people becoming qualified to be teachers and we’re about to have a big shortage of manpower in the classroom. That will not create a good learning environment for any students.

DTH: What makes your different from other politicians?

JP: ... If you look at politics right now, Mitch McConnell has said (Republicans) aren’t even going to consider any Supreme Court nomination by President (Barack) Obama.

Some Republicans have even said that if a Democrat is elected in 2016 that they’ll wait four more years to approve a nominee. That is just asinine. If I was in the Senate and a Republican was president, I would at least acknowledge their nominee, and then I would vote on whether or not I liked the nominee. I would at least try. I think one thing that sets me apart from politicians as they are now is that I’m willing to try ...

DTH: What does identifying as asexual have to do with running for office?

JP: I’ve believed since I was a kid that politics is important, and you need somebody to do the job, and that somebody needs to be the right guy. That was more or less a distinction I reached before I understood that I was asexual. I didn’t necessarily come to the realization that I am asexual until college, and I was already studying political science for two years before I came to that realization.

I don’t think it’s influenced how I approach things as a politician. It’s not a huge impact on me politically. If I’m going to do anything because of my asexuality, it would be to make sure it gets its fair mention in North Carolina sex education. Maybe if I had been taught about it sooner I would have come to this realization sooner. This doesn’t effect how I look at foreign policy or tax policy. I don’t want being asexual to be a big reason why I stick out from other candidates.

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