Public Education

Allen is a proud product of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro public schools. He is also a proud son and nephew of public school teachers, and he knows the importance of investing in our education system and its people. Fully funding public schools is ultimately about our children and securing their opportunities and their future. He is committed to expanding access to quality education across the state, from pre-kindergarten to post-secondary education and training. 

• Pay our school personnel a fair and competitive wage. North Carolina ranks in the bottom half of states, on average, in teacher pay. We need to correct this.

• Commit state resources to close the achievement gap and properly fund school infrastructure, in dire need of repair. Right now, there is over $12 billion in needed school building repairs across the state. 

• Expand the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program, so it can accommodate many more slots. This will help to build a sustainable pipeline of teachers in North Carolina.

Environment

Many of Allen's first experiences with organizing came in learning from and helping communities fight for environmental justice. As a lawyer and in elected office, he has continued that battle in the years since. He knows we must work even harder on climate action in North Carolina - and he knows we must consider all North Carolinians when doing so. 

• Facilitate the growth of clean renewable energy like solar and wind, so we create jobs for North Carolinians and support energy independence.

• Support and enhance the aims of Governor Cooper’s Executive Order 246, with its direction to state agencies to incorporate environmental justice in agencies’ work.

• Devote more substantial resources to improving and providing public transit in all parts of North Carolina, especially in our rural areas.

Healthcare

Even in a community with world-class healthcare, disparities in healthcare access persist in Orange County. We must be committed to eliminating the barriers that many face in getting access to care and in Raleigh and has remained committed to the fight for affordable access to quality healthcare, including in our rural communities. 

• Reduce maternal mortality rates and improve care for mothers across our state. North Carolina’s overall rate of maternal death is higher than the U.S. average. We need to rectify this.

• Ensure there is at least one full-time nurse in every public school across North Carolina, so every student has access to care at school.

• Increase funding for our local departments of public health services, after a decade-plus of funding reductions. Currently, one percent of healthcare costs are devoted to preventive care in the United States. Local departments of public health serve a critical need in providing preventive care.

Reproductive Rights

We need to treat reproductive health seriously and comprehensively. It starts by recognizing that all women should have the right to choose for themselves and to have access to safe abortions. It continues with assessing unmet needs for contraceptives and supporting local health departments which struggle with the lack of OBGYNs and the lack of family planning services. 

• Protect pregnant workers from discrimination by employers. North Carolina is one of a few states left that provides no protections for pregnant workers against discrimination, outside of federal law.

• Increase funding to local public health departments, so each one may provide a OBGYN and family planning services.

• Codify abortion access, as it was before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roeand Casey, so women have access to the healthcare they need and keep autonomy over their own bodies.