Bernard Holliday

Bernard Ansley Holliday (born 1932) is one of two Democrats currently running for the open U.S. Representative Congressional seat representing the newly re-districted. The new District 13 includes portions of nine counties, including Edgecombe, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Nash, Vance, Wake, Wayne, and Wilson, counties. He will face Charles Malone in the Democratic Party primary.
Redistricting and the Decision to Run
After the 2010 United States Census, Republicans who controlled the state's General Assembly redrew the districts. In the process, they placed Rep. Brad Miller into a district stretching from northern Raleigh all the way to Surry County on the other side of the state. While Barack Obama carried the old 13th fairly handily with 59 percent of the vote, John McCain would have won the reconfigured 13th with 56 percent of the vote.
However, after 1st District Congressman G. K. Butterfield raised objections that the new map violated the rights of African-American voters in the eastern part of the state, the state legislature was forced to redraw the map again. The new plan made the 13th more compact, taking in territory from Raleigh to Rocky Mount. However, it is still significantly more Republican than its predecessor; McCain would have won it with 54 percent. The new map also placed Miller's apartment complex 50 yards inside the , represented by fellow Democrat David Price, but left the rest of Miller's precinct in the 13th.
On January 26, 2012, Miller announced that he would not seek re-election to Congress. Bernard Holliday has cited what he called Republican-led gerrymandering of the district as a key motivating factor in his decision to run.
Political Platform
Holliday has pledged to aggressively pursue his "People's Agenda", which includes seven key priorities aimed at dealing with complex issues facing the United States and the 13th District in particular. Some key portions of his "agenda" include pursuing a green economy with a focus on new energy sources, obtaining additional funding to upgrade schools and healthcare facilities in the district's nine counties, retraining the workforce through community colleges, and reducing the Federal debt.
Education and Personal Life
Holliday earned a BA degree from Shaw University in 1955, and a Master of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School in 1959. He has authored three books.
Holliday is married with three adult children. He is an Associate Pastor at Freewill Baptist Church in Creedmoor, North Carolina. Holliday is also the director of a non-profit organization known as the Center for Living, which focuses on nurturing families and assisting senior citizens.

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