Daniel Ulysses Lockwood

2020 Candidate Questionnaire - U.S. Congress, N.C. District 4, Democrat

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Daniel Ulysses Lockwood

Date/place of birth: 1992, Cary, N.C.

Current occupation: Web Designer

E-mail: committee@lockwood4nc.com

Campaign website/social media: lockwood4nc.com; facebook.com/Lockwood4NC; twitter.com/Lockwood4NC

Family (names & ages, as of Election Day, of immediate family members): N/A

Work history/experience: B.A. Journalism and Mass Communication, 2015, UNC-Chapel Hill; Client Website Coordinator, Etix, 2017-present; Advertisement Design Independent Contractor, The Charlotte Observer, 2016-2017; temp Video Editor, NCSU Friday Institute, 2016; Volunteer Designer, Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, 2016

Party affiliation: Democrat

Current and previous elected offices held or sought & terms of service: None

Why are you seeking this office?: Over half a million North Carolinians are under or uninsured, and many more are homeless or living in substandard housing. Black and brown men are being killed by police. Transgender people are being murdered. Our air and water are poisoned, and our planet is heating at an untenable rate. We destroy the homes of indigenous peoples, and wage endless wars in the name of oil. None of this is acceptable, and Daniel Ulysses Lockwood is running to fight it. 

Give us three goals that are specific, measurable and attainable you would have if elected: We must immediately work to pass a Green New Deal, pass a comprehensive Medicare for All bill, and end the War on Drugs. The climate crisis is already here and the GND is the only acceptable first step in that fight. Half a million North Carolinians are under or uninsured; Medicare for All is the only moral and economically-sound option designed to support them. The War on Drugs has been a racist disaster, incarcerating poor people for minor offenses. Its impact must be mitigated through the legalization of drugs and the expunging of records.

In your mind, what are the biggest issues facing the U.S. and what will you do in Congress to address those issues?: Many of the issues this country faces are interwoven—isolating them detracts from a comprehensive view of the situation and hampers our ability to mobilize support for change. Our solutions to these issues must be rooted in that understanding. We believe the economic disparity between the working and capitalist classes is the underlying cause of the many problems we have. Our system is not designed to solve the injustices we face. The inequalities of our system must be addressed through legislation designed to materially improve people’s lives. Daniel will fight for solutions that meet the scale of our problems.

If you were to win, what would your tenure mean for Chatham County and its residents?: We believe an elected official should be on the ground, talking to the organizations and individuals who understand the issues and have insight on how to solve them. Not only would residents be able to rely on Lockwood to listen to their needs, they can trust that he will show up for direct action—like standing in solidarity on the front lines against white supremacists occupying Pittsboro. They will have a leader who will work to pass bold policies that will improve their lives, like Medicare for All and a $15 minimum wage.

What differentiates you from your opponent, making you the better candidate to represent your party?: David Price is a capable and experienced statesman. Our concern with Price is that he is too safe, too defensive. Price has a habit of suggesting the most important thing in this country right now is to defeat Donald Trump. We believe the best way to do that is to pass legislation that will materially improve people’s lives, and get them excited to vote for those policies. We need a leader willing to champion bold efforts like the Green New Deal and Medicare for All, which Price has so far been unwilling to do.

Describe how you see immigration and border security and how you will approach them if elected: The effects of climate change are already starting to be felt around the globe. Increased temperatures, crop failures, and dying wildlife are pushing people away from the hottest areas of the world. These climate refugees, as well as traditional refugees and migrant workers, find themselves caught between an untenable world the US has helped create and the untenable immigration policies we enact. We have a moral imperative to act now to ensure our immigration policies are empathetic and provide a method for migrants to gain entry to our country. “Border security” should be a bridge, not a wall.

What is the role of the federal government in education and what legislation would you support to fulfill that role?: Research shows that students simply cannot learn while dealing with social issues, hunger, poor facilities and understaffed schools. We support legislation that would ensure the provision of at least one free hot meal to students per day, reduced class sizes, grants for modernizing facilities, and more social workers and counselors. We would like to address school funding so that money is distributed more equitably at the local level. We adamantly believe School Resource Officers should be removed from schools, as their presence does little to protect students, instead contributing heavily to the School to Prison Pipeline. 

Describe what you think should be our foreign policy priorities. If elected, how would you advance those priorities? Be specific: Throughout history, American foreign policy has been an exercise in imperialism, placing interests of American capital over the needs of the many. We believe humanity can move past the need for war. To do that, we must acknowledge how U.S. imperialism perpetuates a global economy rooted in war. Every dollar spent on missiles and tanks is a dollar kept from investing in our future. We need to disengage from the Middle East, cease funding Israel, and stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Our interests should be in rebuilding the communities we helped destroy, not in maintaining control over oil.

Do you think citizens should have more control over the information collected about them by corporations through the use of companies’ products and services? If so, how would you make that happen?: Facebook and other corporations that collect data about customers and users have made a fortune by selling that data to advertisers. Users are not only inundated with targeted ads, but are vulnerable to nefarious purposes of bad actors in the event of a leak. We must put a stop to this practice. A good place to start would be to look at Europe’s GDPR, designed to protect user data and privacy, as well as regulate how data can be transferred to ensure our information doesn’t get stolen. 

Describe what you think should be our country’s economic priorities. If elected, how would you advance those priorities? Be specific: The reality of the economic situation for a vast number of Americans is that we are one or two minor tragedies away from being evicted or one major tragedy away from crushing medical debt. We must do more to protect the more vulnerable members of our community. This means establishing a $15-minimum wage, mandatory paid parental leave, and mandatory paid sick leave, abolishing our private medical insurance industry and replacing it with Medicare for All.

What are the biggest challenges in Congress right now and how would you address them: Over 40 percent of Americans did not vote last election cycle, and we know how to inspire them. Democrats and Republicans alike have failed their constituents through compromise and misinformation. This campaign is taking a fundamentally different approach to this seat. We are fighting for issues by shifting the conversation further to the left, engaging in tactics outside of the current imagination, and empathetically developing meaningful relationships with individuals to form robust communities of organizers. We are responsible for carving a clear path forward. If we don’t stand strong in our convictions, who will?

Biographical Facts

Political/government hero(s): Bernie Sanders

Favorite book: “A Series of Unfortunate Events” by Lemony Snicket

Book most recently read: “The Laws of Simplicity” by John Maeda

Favorite film: “The Godfather”

Hobbies: Graphic and interior design, gaming, Magic: The Gathering, rock climbing

Church/civic involvement: Adult leader, Boy Scouts of America

Personal motto or one-line philosophy: Leave life better than we found it.

Strongest childhood ambition: Make something timeless and greater than myself.

Most significant life goal you’ve accomplished: Enduring failures and finding my path.

Goal you haven’t accomplished yet: Manifesting a world in Virtual Reality.