11th Congressional District candidate Vance Patterson, Republican, Burke County, says he will donate his salary to Western North Carolina nonprofits if elected. He faces eight GOP challengers in the May 8 primary for the district, redrawn this year to include his county and exclude most of Asheville, N.C. The 11th District is currently represented by Democrat Heath Shuler, who has announced he won’t run. Here’s Patterson’s full press release about donating his salary:
Patterson to donate Congressional salary to WNC non-profits if elected to Congress.
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
Last night was a huge night for the eight Republican Congressional Candidates seeking office in North Carolina’s 11th District. This has been a very tough race since the beginning. The 11th District has been controlled by Democratic incumbent Heath Shuler for the past six years, and upon Shuler’s’ statement that he will not be running again this term, the race sparked immediate local, state and nationwide attention.
Burke County, North Carolina, was the setting of last night’s GOP Candidate Forum, where all eight of the candidate hopefuls spoke. The evening began and ran smoothly, much like any other forum one might attend on any given day. The forum allowed time for each candidate to give an opening statement, followed by questions and answers and finished with closing statements.
Vance Patterson, businessman from Burke County, sent a shock throughout the open room when in his closing statement he stated, “if elected, I will donate my entire salary of $174,500 a year to charitable organizations in the 11th District of North Carolina.”
The energy in the room altered quickly and the shocked expressions on several of the competing candidates was noticeable, to say the least.
Giving more depth to Vance Patterson’s reasoning behind this statement, he continued to share the following statement.
“Let me give you an idea of what a Serial Entrepreneur can do for the 11th District. I take risks, because I am passionate about the ventures I enter. Sometimes those ventures struggle. It was a real struggle for my company back in 2009 when the great recession crushed small business, especially manufacturing. I had to borrow on my house just to keep the doors open and make payroll. I didn’t take a salary for seven months because I didn’t want to be a burden on my company. This is what entrepreneurs have to do sometimes.”
“I bring this attitude and this ethic to the 11th District. We are still struggling immensely with the great recession. For that reason, I will not be a burden on our district, and I will not accept any personal gain from this job,” Patterson said.
It was one of the most bold and compassionate statements made by any candidate, hands down. The audience’s reaction was comparable to those of the candidates, people looking at one another wandering if they all heard correctly. The audience settled just in time for Vance Patterson to make another eye popping statement.
“In addition to donating my entire salary, and as part of my jobs plan, I will set up a matching fund with a challenge going out to the business leaders to match my contribution. These funds will be used to develop jobs and train employees in Western North Carolina. This means that if elected, my one Congressional seat will contribute $700,000 over the next two years to the 11th District for job growth and safety net needs,” stated Patterson.
In finishing his closing speech, he closed with this statement:
“This is how true entrepreneurship works. I believe so much in the people of Western North Carolina and our quality of life, that I’m pushing everything onto the table. I’m leaving my businesses, I’m taking weeks away from my family, I’ve put a second mortgage on my house to self-finance my campaign, and now I’m giving up my salary. I’m pushing it all onto the table. I’m all in. With your support, I will bring companies and jobs from across the country and around the world to Western North Carolina. All I ask of you is for your vote, so that I can work for your family, for my family and to help save America for our future generations. Vote to hire me on May 8th! Thank you.”
AND THE CROWD WENT WILD!
If you have any questions or would like to know more about Vance Patterson and his platform, please visit: www.vancenc.com.
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