About T. Greg

“We need more adults in the General Assembly.”

There was more to that conversation, but as I was sitting in my Durham office talking with a pair of clients about the state of our State, that line stuck out. “We need more adults in the General Assembly.”

Me, waiting to take my federal oath of office
Me, waiting to take my federal oath of office

Because when you stop to think about… ain’t that the truth?

[READ: Fault Lines “cross examines” T. Greg about his life (LINK)]

Take my State Senator, the one I’m running against. Plenty of folks will tell you that he’s a nice guy and a solid public servant. But venture over to his Facebook page and the most frequent comment you’ll see is some variation of “I told you so.” When taxpayers needed him to stand up and fight the lightning-quick rush to pass what became known as “HB2,” what did he do? He walked out. Didn’t debate, didn’t try to amend anything, didn’t even vote. He just left.

Now that’s not to pretend like my party is all that better. Like many of you, I helped elect our current crop of legislators for them to focus on improving our economy and strengthening our schools. Instead we’ve gotten all sorts of tax hikes, to pay for $1,000,000,000.00+ in new spending that none of us asked for, all on top of legislation that actively hurts the public — including things like H972, making all police dashcam and bodycam video secret by default.

(My State Senator? He stuck around to vote “Yes” on that one.)

Ladies and gentlemen we DO need more adults in the General Assembly, not the grown children who are in charge now. I am running to be one more adult in the room because none of us have time for the shenanigans.

*****

Now I’ll be up front with you: I’m not your typical candidate for office, and certainly not your typical Republican.

Me again, back when I still had hair
Me in 2004, when I still had hair

I grew up in the type of home many would consider “white trash.” Poor, frequent substance abuse, more frequent domestic violence (something so “normal” in my life I didn’t even know it was called “domestic violence” until law school).

In 1998 I moved out on my own to attend N.C. State University in Raleigh. I was 17 at the time and even had enough AP credits to start out as a sophomore. But just two years later I was broke and homeless, kicked out of college because I couldn’t afford it, and relying on my then-girlfriend to help me survive.

[WATCH: T. Greg talks with NC State’s Libraries about being a college dropout (LINK)]

With her help I eventually got back on my feet, but it took me five years before I was able to finally get back into N.C. State. During that time I had worked several jobs in the legal field and knew I wanted to become an attorney. I graduated college with my bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in 2009; that August, I started law school at North Carolina Central University’s School of Law, one of only six historically black law schools in the nation.

During my time at NCCU School of Law I developed my passion for trial work and protecting others. At the end of my second year I was also chosen by my classmates to be the President of the law school’s Student Government, only the 5th white student to lead the organization in the historically black law school’s 77-year history.

I’ve spent the past four years as an attorney here in Durham putting the lessons I learned at NC State and NC Central into practice. I believe in personal responsibility, but I also know that our lives should not be measured just by our worst moments. I am naturally skeptical of government, but apply that skepticism uniformly whether it’s the federal IRS, the state DMV, or — yes — our local law enforcement agencies. And I believe the best way for us to uplift people is to ensure we have a strong economy where folks can find jobs, thriving schools educating our sons and daughters of North Carolina, and a court system that is focused on actual justice instead of raising revenue for the state.

I am T. Greg Doucette, and I am asking for your vote as our next State Senator for District 22.

*****

T. GREG AT A GLANCE

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT & PHILANTHROPY:

  • Achievement Academy of Durham (Board of Directors)
  • Durham Jaycees (Management Vice President)
  • Gordon Services (Board of Directors)
  • NC Bar Association (Chairman, Solo, Small Firm, and General Practice Section)
  • NCCU Eagle Club (Treasurer)
  • NCCU School of Law Alumni Association (Vice Chairman)
  • NCSU Friends of the Library (Board of Directors)
  • Salvation Army of Durham’s Boys & Girls Club (Board of Advisors)
  • UNC System Board of Governors (Member, 2008-2010)

PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION:

  • American Society of Legal Advocates Top 40 Under 40 in Litigation (2016)
  • Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite (2014, 2015, 2016)
  • NC Lawyer’s Weekly Leaders in the Law (2016)
  • NC NAACP’s Humanitarian of the Year Award (2014)
  • North Carolina Central University’s 40 Under 40 Award (2014)

EDUCATION:

  • North Carolina Central University School of Law (May 2012)
    • J.D. in Law, cum laude
    • Concentrations in (i) Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Law (Intellectual Property), and (ii) Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • North Carolina State University (June 2009)
    • B.S. in Computer Science
    • Minors in (i) Political Science and (ii) Economics