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Brad Hessel - Libertarian Candidate for NC Senate 18
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NC Problem Solvers Caucus

Problem Solvers Caucus

How can we move beyond partisan gridlock and deliver real results for North Carolinians?

Summary

  • Too often, the North Carolina General Assembly is driven by party leadership, partisan strategy, and ideological battles—not practical solutions.
  • When cooperation and consensus-building are viewed as weakness instead of strength, we get legislation that prioritizes partisan “wins” over smart policy, and a loss of public trust in government.
  • North Carolinians deserve better: we need a nonpartisan Problem Solvers Caucus—spanning both the House and Senate—focused on getting results, not on scoring political points.

A partisan legislature is an ineffective legislature

We face real, pressing challenges: rising costs, an uneven economy, crumbling infrastructure, and persistent gaps in healthcare and education. Yet too often, the General Assembly’s response to these challenges is shaped more by partisan calculation than by practical problem-solving. Bills succeed or die based on who sponsors them, regardless of their  merit. Even legislative proposals that command broad public support stall if they do not neatly align with partisan narratives.

Partisanship is failing North Carolinians

When the General Assembly operates as two warring camps rather than one deliberative body, the costs fall on ordinary North Carolinians. Critical investments get delayed. Cross-party compromise gets treated as weakness rather than wisdom. And the voters—many of whom hold views that don’t fit neatly into any party’s platform—find themselves without a real voice. The structural incentives of our current legislative culture reward obstruction and punish cooperation, producing outcomes that serve the parties rather than the public.

A Problem Solvers Caucus can change how the General Assembly works

North Carolina is a politically diverse state; for solutions to be credible and durable, they require buy-in from all sides. A North Carolina Problem Solvers Caucus—drawing members from both the Senate and the House—would constitute a standing institution promoting nonpartisan collaboration at every level of state lawmaking. Members would commit to engaging in good faith with colleagues across all aisles, to prioritizing outcomes over optics, and to advancing legislation on the merits rather than partisan considerations. By spanning both chambers, the caucus would be uniquely positioned to bridge not just partisan divides, but the institutional divide between the Senate and the House as well.

The focus would be prioritizing consensus-driven legislation, promoting bills that both offer practical solutions to serious issues and can earn across-the-aisles political support. The caucus would also champion procedural reforms in both the House and Senate to ensure that broadly supported bills actually receive hearings and votes, instead of being blocked by leadership or committee bottlenecks and that individual Representatives and Senators have adequate opportunity to provide feedback on bills during markup and review and debate the final bill before voting on it.

A bicameral Problem Solvers Caucus gives North Carolina something it currently lacks: a durable, organized coalition of legislators who are more committed to governing than to winning. It creates the conditions for practical progress on the issues where broad agreement already exists among the public, even when partisan-focused party leadership have little incentive to act. And it signals to voters—especially the growing number of independent voters who now make up the largest registration bloc in the state—that their legislature is capable of working for everyone.

An effective Problem Solvers Caucus would:

  • Produce more effective  policy
  • Reduce partisan swings when power changes hands
  • Deliver results that reflect the will of a broader majority of voters
  • Restore public trust in government

Real, practical, effective steps to achieve better state government

  • Recruit Republican and Democratic members from both the NC Senate and NC House to establish a founding caucus with genuine cross-chamber, cross-party representation.
  • Adopt a formal caucus charter committing to regular joint meetings, transparent policy development, and good-faith engagement with legislative proposals brought forward by caucus members.
  • Establish a joint policy agenda each legislative session, identifying issues where broad agreement exists and prioritizing those for collaborative action.
  • Create a public accountability mechanism, such as an annual report to constituents, documenting the caucus’s activity: the bills and process improvements it has advanced, and the outcomes achieved.
  • Build relationships with the US House Problem Solvers Caucus members in North Carolina’s congressional delegation to align state and Federal nonpartisan efforts on issues of shared NC/national concern.