“I offer energetic and forward-thinking representation and want to give a voice in Raleigh to the values important in our community,” said Cunningham, who will speak tonight at the monthly meeting of the Rowan County Democratic Party.

The Rowan group meets at 7 p.m. at the Justice Center. Cunningham, who had announced his plans for a candidacy earlier, also will hold a kickoff reception for his Senate campaign next Tuesday at his father’s law office in Lexington.

Phillips announced late last year he would not seek re-election to a third term.

The 23rd District includes 20 voting precincts in Rowan County and 15 each in Iredell and Davidson counties. On the Republican side, J. Scott Keadle and Patricia “Peaches” Rickard have filed as candidates for the seat.

The filing period closes at noon Feb. 7.

Cunningham listed these campaign priorities:

• Improving education through higher public school standards, affordable college opportunities and more job training programs at community colleges.
• Holding government responsible for the way it does business and making officials more responsive to constituents.
• Protecting North Carolina families by making schools safer, cracking down on child abuse and neglect and pushing for swifter action from the justice system.

Cunningham says he has spent recent weeks crossing the district, meeting community leaders and raising money. He expects to have a Web site — www.CalforSenate.com — on line by the first week of February.

Cunningham, 26, recently graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law and hopes to complete his licensing to practice in February. He plans to practice law with his father in Lexington.

He also has a master’s of science degree in public administration and public policy from the London School of Economics. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1996.

At UNC-Chapel Hill, Cunningham served a two-term tenure as chief justice of the UNC Student Supreme Court and one year as president of the UNC student body.

Cunningham belongs to the U.S. Naval Reserve. He has worked under law student practice rules for the district attorney’s office in Alamance County and for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh.