Senator Michael Walters, a lifelong resident of Robeson County, filed for election to the Senate post to which he was appointed last November on Tuesday, February 2010.

“I will continue to work hard every day to be a strong voice for Robeson and Hoke counties in the State Senate. I will run an issue-based campaign that focuses on putting people back to work and investing in our public schools, community colleges and universities,” Walters said.

Walters was the unanimous choice of the District 13 Senatorial Committee after Senator David Weinstein was appointed head of the Governor’s Highway Safety Committee.

“I was deeply honored to be chosen, and I pledge to our citizens that I intend to fight hard for them in the North Carolina Senate and that I will make sure that their collective voices are heard.”

Walters has been serving his Robeson and Hoke constituents since November, attending Senate committee meeting and handling other duties in Raleigh and in the 13th Senate District.

Walters is president of his family’s farming and timber brokering business that operates over eastern North Carolina and all of South Carolina. The timber business was started by his grandfather, passed on to his father later and to him.

The senator’s wife, Barbara, spent 30 years serving the public schools of Robeson County and Robeson County Community College. The couple has three daughters, one grandson and another on the way. The Senator is on the Boards of Directors of the Lumberton Area Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Robeson County. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Southeastern Regional Medical Center. He and Mrs. Walters are active members of Proctorville Baptist Church.

A graduate of NC State University, Senator Walters is a member of the Board of Directors of the Wolfpack Club.

The Senator says his priorities in the State Senate will be helping to create good paying jobs, supporting the public schools, community colleges and universities, and maintaining and improving our highways. “Education remains the key ingredient to recruiting and keeping good paying jobs,” Walters said.

“Our statewide unemployment rate is more than 11 percent. That is unacceptable. Our priority must be getting people back to work. Until that happens, we aren’t going to be able to do much,” he added.

Having a wife who has spent her life in public education, Senator Walters is a firm supporter of the public schools. “We have to pay our teachers better. We have to keep class sizes down. We have to listen to our teachers more and ask for their opinions. With the cuts that were made last year, we risk increasing class sizes across the state, and that is not acceptable,” he said.

Walters said Robeson County Community College is a key ally in the fight to reduce the unemployment rate in the District 13 area with its job training activities and its programs that provide a pathway to a university education. He cited the excellent work being done through workforce development and the allied health program at the college.

The University of North Carolina at Pembroke comes in for particular praise from Senator Walters. “Our university is the jewel in District 13’s crown. I will fight to protect it, enhance it, and make it possible for it to provide more service. It has been suggested we put an optometry school at Pembroke. That, or some other postgraduate school, makes sense to me. We can get more bang for the buck in Pembroke than we can anywhere else in the University System.”

“I have seen what the medical school did for East Carolina University, Greenville, Pitt County and the surrounding area. Why not replicate that lesson at UNC-Pembroke?” he asked.

Senator Walters also said he believes District 13 could eventually become a tourist destination, if the right investments are made. “Just think of what it would mean if even a small percentage of the individuals going up and down I-95 could be enticed to spend one day in our area? What would that mean for hotels and restaurants? We have a good start at attracting the equestrian crowd with the Southeastern Regional Agricultural Center and Farmer’s Market and Horse Arena, along with the Carolina Horse Park at Five Points in Raeford,” Walters said.

“We have a wonderful area, and we ought to share its glories with others, and I will be putting my efforts into making this a reality.”

Walters said he was “fully, totally supportive” of the pending federal Recognition of the Lumbee Tribe. “While this decision now rests in the hands of the U.S. Congress, I will continue pressing our representatives in Washington to move quickly with that recognition that is so far past due,” he said.

Senator Walters said the base realignment and closure (BRAC) situation at Fort Bragg also bodes well for the District 13 area. “We have up to 20,000 more individuals who will be serving our nation out of Fort Bragg. They will need houses, schools, entertainment and recreation. I want our local contractors to build some of those houses and provide the goods those families will need. BRAC should be an economic stimulus for this whole area.”

Senator Walters said he will divide his time from now and the Democratic Primary Election on May 4 between handling his duties as State Senator and running a spirited campaign.

“I will be meeting and talking with as many people as possible,” Walters said. “I will be answering their questions with open, honest answers. I want the voters to be as excited as I am that this area’s best days are ahead of us if we just work together.”