WECT/WHQR/Port City Daily Town Hall Candidate Forum, October 19 at Union Station Auditorium, Cape Fear Community College (pictured, Eric Terashima and Deb Butler). Photo Credit: Joanne Levitan
WECT news anchor Jon Evans moderated the Town Hall for Brunswick and New Hanover County candidates for state legislative office, including Eric Terashima for House District 17 in Brunswick Co. and his opponent, Frank Iler (6-term incumbent).
Terashima hit a home run with his performance! He was dynamic, confident, and commanding. He directly and assuredly answered questions from Jon Evans and other reporters on a range of issues of import to the residents of Brunswick County.
Terashima was a marked contrast with Iler, who looked "asleep at the wheel," as Eric noted about Iler's performance in the NC General Assembly. Iler touted his committee chairmanships and experience, yet he had nothing to show for them. Notably, he had no answer for his failure to make progress on the Cape Fear Bridge replacement, despite being chair of the Transportation Committee for years.
Eric, unlike his opponent, was prominently quoted in WECT's online coverage:
Candidates were also asked what they would do to regulate gun violence, referencing last week’s mass shooting in Raleigh that left five people dead.
“I served in the Marine Corps for thirty years and did eight combat tours, I know what these weapons can do up close and personally,” Eric Terishima said. “Marines had their weapons locked in an armory most of the time. They are given a lot of training to be able to use them, and they are given a lot of supervision when they are given ammo especially. So no, there should not be easy and unfettered access to assault weapons in particular to the general public.”
Team Terashima showed up in force at the event, many wearing Eric's campaign t-shirts, to support our outstanding candidate.
Video of the entire event. Be sure to leave a favorable comment!
*If you do not have time to watch the whole forum, we highly encourage you to view Eric and Iler's short opening and closing statements. Eric knocked his out of the park!
*YouTube video of Terashima's and Iler's opening and closing statements only, < 7 minutes. Credit to Larry Widman for creating the edited video)
Photo credit: Jan Stocklinski
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