Chapel Hill High School alumna Sydney Batch never expected to become a politician.
“If you had told me a year ago that I would run for office, I would have laughed,” she said.
Batch, a Democrat, won the November 6 election for representative of District 37, which is in southern Wake County, defeating Republican incumbent John Adcock to take a seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
Batch participated in various clubs and Student Government at Chapel Hill High School before graduating in 1997. English teacher Joanne McClelland was not surprised to hear Batch will become a representative in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
“As a student at Chapel Hill High School, she was driven and wanted to be a vehicle for change,” McClelland said.
Batch is a child welfare advocate and family law attorney. She opened a law firm in Raleigh with her husband in 2005.
“I went to law school to try and advocate for disadvantaged populations, so I want to advocate for underrepresented and vulnerable populations [in politics],” Batch said.
Batch said her experience sets her apart from past District 37 representatives.
“I feel that my experiences and the knowledge that I have would also help policy and hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians, not just the clients who come before me in my office,” Batch said.
She had considered running in 2017 after two groups, including Lillian’s List, an organization that trains and supports progressive female candidates in North Carolina, approached Batch.
“We talked a lot about the pros and cons of running, the sacrifices I’d be making and what I would want to do if I was able to serve in the General Assembly,” Batch said. She said she ultimately decided to run after the two groups took “the time to sit down with me and talk about what it’s like to run for office.”
Batch will strive to advocate for Medicaid expansion and health insurance in North Carolina. Batch, a small business owner, knows the expenses of paying health insurance for employees.
“Health insurance is one of the highest expenses every month for us, but I believe our employees deserve to have a well-paying job and benefits,” Batch said. “I want to make sure we can drive down the cost of health insurance so that it is accessible to all North Carolinians, not just those who can afford the best plans.”
Batch is also concerned about the state of public education across North Carolina, including teacher wages and “excessive” standardized testing.
“I think we need to increase pay for teachers, treat them with respect and give them the wages that they deserve,” Batch said. She believes that teachers “have less liberty” than they used to because there “seems to be a significant emphasis on teaching to the test.”
Batch was diagnosed with an early, non-invasive breast cancer in August and returned to campaigning in October.
“It was a long year with lots of challenges, and so I had to make lots of sacrifices, but it was all worth it,” Batch said.
In the November 6 election, Democrats broke the Republican supermajority in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
