RALEIGH —Nigel Bristow, the Democratic candidate in the three-way race in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, said he wants to “give the people someone to vote for” in an interview with North State Journal.
“I see that a lot of voters and people feel that their voices aren’t being heard by their representatives, that their representatives don’t serve their best interest,” said Bristow, who is running against Republican incumbent Richard Hudson and independent Shelane Etchison in November’s general election.
Bristow was born and raised in Staten Island, New York, and moved to North Carolina after retiring from a 20-year career in the New York City Police Department. He spent 14 of those years as a detective and in his spare time was a substitute teacher at his high school alma mater.
Bristow, 53, is married with two young children and resides in the Richmond County city of Hamlet. He moved to North Carolina in 2011 and has worked almost 14 years for the state of North Carolina as a probation and parole officer. He currently holds the title of chief of probation parole.
“After living and growing up in New York City, I wanted to be able to have a better quality of life and a lower cost of living,” Bristow said of the move to the Tarheel State. “Because, as you know, as with any big city, it’s very expensive to live and once you retire, you know you have to make some adjustments. And I already had land here in North Carolina and I wanted to come back to where my family’s roots were from and pretty much wanted to be able to give back to the community that produced my family.”
Bristow chairs multiple organizations, including the Richmond County Local Reentry Council, the New Horizons Life and Family Services, Survivors in Richmond County, the Ashley Chapel Community Center organization and the Community Center Coalition of Richmond County.
Bristow described New Horizons Life and Family Services as a “domestic violence agency that services domestic violence survivors.”
“So, for example, if there’s a victim of a domestic violence crime or sexual assault, they have the agency that’s tasked with providing resources for the client,” said Briston. He added that the organization provides various resources to victims, including child care assistance, legal help, shelter and appropriate medical treatment.
This is not Bristow’s first campaign. In 2022, he ran for Richmond County sheriff but did not make it past the primary.
“I don’t count it as a loss because it allowed me to connect with the community and to learn what the needs were,” said Bristow of the 2022 campaign. “And that kind of strengthened my resolve and encouraged me to continue with my outreach and being involved in the community and further involved in the Democratic Party.”
Bristow said the economy and inflation are impacting the 9th District.
“A lot of it has to do with simply — I like the term that Mike Morgan uses — ‘pocketbook issues,’” said Bristow. “Just people suffering as far as not having enough money to be able to have a better life.”
He gave examples of not enough funding for child care and health care while alluding to abortion access.
“There’s women out there that have issues as far as they want to be able to have unrestricted and confidential health care,” he said
“Seniors have an issue, they wanna be able to have dignity and retirement,” he added, saying many senior citizens need transportation.
He also said senior citizens should be able to “take classes at a community college to further their education or to give them something to do,” and that older adults are worried about Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid because “they hear every day that there’s a threat that they may lose some of that.”
“And minimum wage is another thing with some of the younger folks,” said Bristow. “That they want to be able to have a living wage pretty much.”
Bristow said immigration is a national issue that impacts North Carolina.
“You know, what used to work does not work today, and it’s certainly not going to work tomorrow, so that’s a big issue,” he said.
Bristow said abortion, voter suppression, clean air and water, and the “dependency on fossil fuels energy” are also key national issues.
“Essentially my whole life has been spent in public service, basically caring for, defending, protecting, listening and addressing the needs of people, and that is the most important quality,” Bristow told North State Journal.
He added that his experience with community organizations allows him to know what the community needed and “that’s what a representative should be finding out: What do you need? How can I make your life better? Let me get you those resources to do just that.”
Additional details about Briston can be accessed on his campaign website, nigelbristowforcongress.com.
