Recorded June 8, 2026, and published as it aired. Some of the stories discussed, including Fayetteville's data center ordinance, have moved since.
Welcome to the Carolina Cabinet, Cumberland County's smartest hour of talk radio. Peter Pappas and Laura Mussler are joined in studio by local attorney Jonathan Strange, the Republican candidate for NC District Court Judge, District 14, Seat 5.
First up is school choice. The General Assembly overrode Governor Stein's veto, and the table debates whether education dollars should follow the student or the system, what happens to the kids who stay behind, and whether private schools that take public money should answer to public standards. Strange, a former teacher, warns that the same benchmarks could drag private schools into the hole public schools are in.
Then the data center fight in Fayetteville: the right to assemble versus showing up at a council member's workplace, why a moratorium and a pause are not the same thing in law, and the water and power questions behind a multibillion-dollar proposal.
In the back half, Strange makes his case for the bench: what district court handles, why he believes civil experience matters, and how he would run a courtroom. He sums up his judicial philosophy in one word: balanced.
Early voting begins Thursday, October 15, and Election Day is November 3. Find all of our candidate conversations at thecarolinacabinet.com.
00:00 Intro
00:23 Show open
07:50 School choice and community impact
13:17 Vouchers and enrollment
18:20 Private vs. public schools
21:45 Funding and benchmarks
26:52 The data center debate
33:41 Who should decide
39:37 Hearings, pause and moratorium
42:53 Water and legal precedent
52:22 Strange's start in district court
58:15 Civil experience on the bench
1:03:51 Civil jurisdiction
1:05:57 Understanding the judge's role
1:10:47 Tenant disputes
1:15:32 From teacher to attorney
1:20:56 Closing
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