7th District GOP candidate Rouzer visits with Clayton’s emergency services

CLAYTON -- State Sen. David Rouzer spent the day in Johnston County last Friday, making a stop in Clayton to have lunch at the fire department.

After speaking at a Greater Cleveland Chamber of Commerce breakfast and visiting disabled veterans in Smithfield, Rouzer came to Clayton to host a lunch for emergency responders at the downtown fire station.

“We thought an appreciation lunch for first responders would be a way to recognize and thank them for all they do in the community, particularly here on the eve of 9/11,” Rouzer said.

Rouzer, who is running against incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre to represent North Carolina’s 7thcongressional district, spent the luncheon catching up with friends and supporters, including Clayton councilman Bob Satterfield.

As Rouzer chatted with members of the Clayton Police Department, Clayton firefighters rushed in and out on emergency calls, barely getting a chance to sit down and eat their own appreciation lunch.

Between now and November, Rouzer will be busy along a route stretching from Wilmington to Clayton, getting to know an expanded district that stretches from Johnston County to Pender and New Hanover counties.

Well known as a state senator representing Johnston and Wayne Counties, Rouzer says he’ll be spending a lot of time in the coming months in Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender Counties, where folks didn’t know him, ahead of the election.

His campaign is working to build a strong grass-roots team in each county to help raise money, man phones and canvass door to door.

Rouzer said he’s found a lot of commonalities across the district, particularly in regard to what constituents want to see happen in Washington.

“What I have found as I campaign throughout the district is that the concerns of citizens here in Johnston County are the same as the concerns of citizens in Brunswick County,” Rouzer said.

“They believe the federal government needs to get out of the way of businesses and entrepreneurs so we can get this economy moving again.”

Across the district, Rouzer is focusing on distinguishing himself from McIntyre.

Rouzer says a major distinction between the two men is that after two terms in the N.C. Senate, Rouzer has voted on two balanced budgets without raising taxes, while McIntyre has been in the U.S. House for 16 years and holds partial responsibility for the nation’s $16 trillion deficit.

“The federal government needs to start living within its means,” Rouzer said.

If elected to Congress, Rouzer said he’ll do what he did in the state Senate, which included cutting red tape and getting rid of unnecessary rules and regulations that stand in the way of business interests.

He’s also looking to repeal the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health care reform law.