A MAJOR VICTORY FOR EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA: HB 442 IS DEAD
Statement from Harvey West Jr., Chairman, First District NC GOP
Eastern North Carolina stood up—and we won.
House Bill 442, which was hijacked in the Senate to include an attack on our shrimping industry, is officially dead. Let’s call this what it was: political overreach. The kind of nonsense that comes from Raleigh elites who’ve never set foot on a shrimp boat or lookeda commercial fisherman in the eye.
This was never about protecting the environment. This was about power—stripping our working families of their livelihoods in the name of control.
Well, not on our watch.
Thanks to the leadership of Senator Bobby Hanig and Rep. Ed Goodwin and a unified grassroots coalition, the voices of Eastern North Carolina were heard loud and clear. We will not allow unelected bureaucrats or tone-deaf politicians to destroy the traditions, jobs, and freedoms of our coastal communities.
We stand with our watermen, our working families, and every North Carolinian who still believes in the dignity of honest labor. Let this be a warning: Eastern North Carolina is not for sale! We will fight to protect it every step of the way. We will fight for what is right in Eastern North Carolina.
God bless our coast, our fishermen, and all who had the courage to stand and fight for our faith and families. Special thanks to our fellow republican activists in the Third Congressional District proving that unity is achievable.
—Harvey West Jr.
Chairman, First District NC Republican Party