Archive for the 'Bev Perdue' Category

My crystal ball is still cloudy

December 22nd, 2011, 7:07 pm by Barry Smith

As the end of the year approaches, it’s time to take another look back to a column/blog post I made in January. I tried to take on the role of prognosticator. From the results, I think that Punxsutawney Phil and North Carolina’s own Sir Walter Wally are better than predicting the future than I am.

Here’s a look how I did on my predictions:

1. Republicans will try to repeal the healthcare bill adopted last year, but they’ll fail. Two things will stand in their way. First, the GOP is still in the minority in the Senate. Second, even if repeal did get through the Senate, President Obama still has the veto stamp.

Bingo! I got this one right. But really, knowing politicians, this one was a no-brainer.

2. The year will come and go once again without Congress agreeing on comprehensive immigration reform. Sooner or later, Washington is going to have to own up to its responsibility and modernize the nation’s immigration system. But this won’t be the year.

Right again! I doubt 2012 will be the year either. So far I’m two-for-two.

3. Republicans in the N.C. General Assembly will work with Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue to pass a balanced budget that doesn’t raise taxes.

Republicans, with the help of a handful of House Democrats, did keep their promise of crafting a balanced budget without increasing taxes. Perdue vetoed the budget. The veto was promptly overridden.

4. Changes are in store for alcohol and gambling across the Tar Heel state. Lawmakers will privatize the state’s liquor sales system. And video poker/Internet sweepstakes will make a comeback, all with the blessing of the powers that be in Raleigh.

Wrong and wrong again. Now I’m two-for-four.

5. The GOP majority will approve a bill requiring a photo ID to vote. But they won’t have enough support for the bill to override a governor’s veto.

I get a check mark on that one.

6. This won’t be the year for social conservative legislation, such as a proposed amendment to the N.C. Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. Lawmakers will spend their time working on the economy and the budget.

What was I thinking? See you at the polls in May.

7. Four teams from North Carolina will make the NCAA basketball tournament, with at least one making it to the Final Four.

Only three made it to March Madness. None made it to the Final Four.

8. The Carolina Panthers will have a losing season again in 2011. Meanwhile, their former head coach, John Fox, will land a job where he’ll have a winning season.

The Panthers, while improved over last year, won’t have a winning season. Fox’s new team, the Denver Broncos, need just one more win in their final two regular-season games to have a winning season.

9. The Panthers won’t sign a No. 1 draft pick either.

They signed Cam Newton. I’m glad I got this one wrong.

10. The Carolina Hurricanes will, on the other hand, continue to improve and make the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year.

Wrong again!

I went four for 10. That’d make a good baseball batting average, but that’s about it.

Posted in: Alcohol • Bev Perdue • Budget • Constitutional Amendments • Gambling • General Assembly • Government spending • Health • Immigration • Politics • Same-sex marriage • Social Issues • Sports • State government • Taxes • Veto | Post a Comment »

Sterilization task force sends get well wishes to Rep. Larry Womble

December 6th, 2011, 5:46 pm by Barry Smith

State Rep. Larry Womble, who was injured in a head-on collision in Winston-Salem Friday night, has been a leader in pushing for compensation for forced sterilization victims in North Carolina. On Tuesday, the Eugenics Compensation Task Force

Rep. Larry Womble

met for the first time since Womble’s injury.

His absence was noted, and the task force leaders issued a statement regarding Womble, a Forsyth County Democrat who is in the hospital recovering from the injuries.

Said Dr. Laura Gerald, chairwoman, of the task force:

“This Task Force was established by Governor Perdue to examine issues related to the sterilization of North Carolina citizens and to recommend possible forms of compensation. Its work would not be possible, however, without the advocacy of its foremost champion – Rep. Larry Womble of Winston-Salem, who has made it his mission to recognize those whose lives were forever changed by the former N.C. Eugenics Board Program.

“Today marks the first time we have gathered as a Task Force without him in the room. We send our prayers and well wishes to Rep. Womble and his family as he fights to recover from his injuries. We likewise extend condolences to the family of Mr. David Carmichael.”

Said Charmaine Fuller Cooper, director of the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation:

“While Rep. Womble is not physically here, his inspiring presence is with us. Rep. Womble touches the hearts of all who meet him and he has certainly touched mine and many here today. The Foundation has received numerous calls from victims, reporters, researchers and supporters, all concerned and praying for Rep. Womble’s recovery and the strength of his son, Mr. Jamal Womble, and the family of Mr. David Carmichael.

“Rep. Womble has fought on behalf of eugenics victims for years and always states that he is not finished until justice is found. I am proud to know him. As the Task Force moves forward, the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation will continue to carry out the Governor’s directives to assist victims and asks the media and the public to persist in helping us to reach out to those affected by the state’s former Eugenics Board program.”

Posted in: Bev Perdue • General Assembly • State government | Post a Comment »

Rep. Bill Faison suggests that Gov. Bev Perdue step aside in 2012 bid

November 29th, 2011, 5:44 pm by Barry Smith

State Rep. Bill Faison, D-Orange, who for years has been considered a potential candidate for higher office, has said that he won’t challenge incumbent Gov. Bev Perdue in a Democratic primary.

But as WRAL.com’s Laura Leslie reports, Faison believes that Perdue will step aside and not seek re-election next year. Faison made the statement Tuesday, a day after three Perdue campaign aides were indicted on campaign-related charges.

While Faison suggested that Perdue isn’t acting like she’s running again, her campaign office says differently. Her campaign announced her re-election bid a year ago and there’s been no change in her status.

If Perdue steps aside, that would leave room for Faison – and others — to launch a campaign bid.

Posted in: 2012 Election • Bev Perdue • Campaign Finance • General Assembly • Politics • State government | Post a Comment »

They’re coming back, right after Thanksgiving weekend

November 9th, 2011, 6:15 pm by Barry Smith

When lawmakers reconvene in Raleigh just after Thanksgiving, their scope will be limited to almost a dozen possible topics. However, some of the topics are so broad that you could drive the proverbial dump truck through it.

One particularly broad provision allows lawmakers to consider “concurrence in any committee substitute or amendment.”

A “committee substitute” is a legislative phrase that allows lawmakers to take a bill, gut its contents and put totally different content matter in it.

For example, at the one-day session held Monday to tidy up redistricting mistakes the other day, lawmakers took a bill that would have given school systems more flexibility in their calendar if they miss days because of inclement weather and turned it into a bill to correct omissions in the state’s congressional redistricting plan.

Other matters eligible for consideration include:

– Bills related to redistricting, the Voting Rights Act or redistricting litigation.

– Bills related to election laws. Now that’s another broad topic.

– Bills providing for hurricane relief.

– Bills ratifying a compact between the governor and the Cherokee Indians over casinos.

– Efforts to override vetoes by the governor.

The General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene at 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27. That’s the Sunday after Thanksgiving Day. However, legislative leaders say that no action will be taken on that Sunday, other than technicalities.

Posted in: Bev Perdue • Gambling • General Assembly • Politics • Redistricting • State government • Veto | Post a Comment »

A full-time legislature?

November 7th, 2011, 7:28 pm by Barry Smith

North Carolina’s General Assembly has historically been considered a part-time, citizen legislature. Traditionally, lawmakers have met from six to eight months in odd-numbered years. That’s the long session. Then they’d come back in May of even-numbered years for the short session.

There were exceptions, of course. Special sessions have been called. And other sessions have gone longer.

This year, after meeting from late January to mid June, lawmakers have already come back to Raleigh three times. They came back in July for a redistricting session. In September, they came in and passed a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex domestic unions. And this week, they returned to Raleigh to correct problems with redistricting plans.

Now they’re planning on coming back the Sunday night after Thanksgiving. That week, they could consider a possible tribal gambling compact with the Cherokee Indians, in addition to a number of other bills. They’ve also scheduled sessions for mid February and late April, before coming back in mid-May for the short session.

Republican leaders have indicated that they want to come back periodically in case they need to deal with matters related to redistricting. While the governor could call them back into special session to deal with the issue, they’d prefer not to have to count on the governor for that.

Sen. Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe, the Senate minority leader, noted the frequency of sessions. He remarked that the repeated sessions make life tough for people who have jobs back home.

Posted in: Bev Perdue • Constitutional Amendments • General Assembly • Redistricting • State government | Post a Comment »

Radio talk: Southern hospitality, the DNC and GOP endorsements

October 21st, 2011, 4:08 pm by Barry Smith

I had the opportunity to join Barlow Herget and SGRToday.com’s Josh Ellis for State Government Radio’s Weekly News Review the other day.

We talked about President Obama’s tour to North Carolina, his hospitable reception, next year’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, Gov. Bev Perdue’s trip to China and the endorsements that GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney received from three North Carolina members of Congress.

You can click here to listen to the program.

Posted in: 2012 Election • Barack Obama • Bev Perdue • Democratic National Convention • Federal government • Government spending • Politics • State government | Post a Comment »

Governor to fill elections board vacancies after she returns from Asian trip

October 20th, 2011, 5:02 pm by Barry Smith

Gov. Bev Perdue’s office says the governor will fill two vacancies on the State Board of Elections sometime after she returns from her trip to Asia.

The state board is down two members following the resignations of Democrat Anita Earls and Republican Bill Peaslee. By state law, heads of the two parties are to give the governor a list of three candidates for their respective positions. Perdue will then select one Democrat and one Republican to fill the two slots.

“The governor has received a list of candidates from the Republican Party, and the Democratic Party is expected to provide a list soon,” Perdue spokesman Mark Johnson said Thursday. “When the governor returns from China, she will begin looking at the nominees.”

Earlier this week, Gary Bartlett, state director of elections, had expressed concern about the vacancies as more than 500 municipalities in North Carolina prepared for elections in November. He was concerned that the state board would not have sufficient membership to call for a new election should circumstances warrant one.

State law requires that at least four members support a motion to call for a new election. Having two vacancies on the five-member board means there are only three members remaining.

Posted in: Bev Perdue • Elections • Politics • State government | Post a Comment »

State Board of Elections down two members headed into municipal voting

October 19th, 2011, 4:29 pm by Barry Smith

The normally five-member State Board of Elections is down to three members following the resignations of two members.

Democrat Anita Earls and Republican Bill Peaslee both left the state board, said Gary Bartlett, state director of elections.

Peaslee was appointed to the state Property Tax Commission. Bartlett said that state law allows members of the State Board of Elections to serve on only one state board.

“This is because of the volume of business that we have to do,” Bartlett said.

Earls is executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and is a redistricting advocate. Bartlett said that Earls in her advocacy role could potentially bring a redistricting lawsuit against the state.

“Usually, when they have these lawsuits, the state board’s name is on it because we implement the elections, even though we don’t draw the plan,” Bartlett said.

The vacancies could pose a problem for the state board if they aren’t filled in the coming weeks, Bartlett said. That’s because elections will be held in November in more than 500 municipalities across the state. If any protests or challenges are filed and found to have merit, the State Board of Elections wouldn’t have enough members to call for a new election under the current membership. Support from four members of the State Board of Elections is required to call a new election, Bartlett said.

Bartlett said that the procedure for replacing the two members calls for their respective state party chairs to recommend three potential replacements to Gov. Bev Perdue, who would then appoint replacements from their two lists.

Posted in: Bev Perdue • Elections • State government | 1 Comment »

Battle over Pre-K is political, not judicial

October 11th, 2011, 4:21 pm by Barry Smith

Gov. Bev Perdue’s request for funding to pay for adding 6,300 children to the pre-kindergarten program formerly known as More at Four is more of a political move than an administrative attempt to comply with a judicial order.

While Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning did order the state to beef up the North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program back in the summer, a higher state court has already ruled that such an order amounts to judicial interdiction that “infringes on the constitutional duties and expectations of the legislative and executive branches of government.” That’s what the N.C. Supreme Court said in 2004 when it ruled on Manning’s previous order to establish a pre-K program in what is known as the Leandro ruling.

Perdue references Manning’s order and acknowledges that a notice of appeal has been filed on the order. However, Perdue says that the General Assembly should redirect state funds to pre-K programs regardless of the outcome of the appeal.

The pre-K dispute is a continuation of the budget battle that Perdue, a Democrat, had with the Republican legislative majority earlier this year. Perdue vetoed the GOP-backed budget, which allowed tax increases adopted two years ago to expire on June 30.

Five Democrats joined 67 Republicans and one then-independent to override the veto in the House. The veto was overridden in a party-line vote in the Senate.

It’s unlikely that the appeals courts will uphold Manning’s order, unless they decide to abandon precedent and somehow find a way to say that the N.C. Constitution requires the state to provide pre-kindergarten opportunities to North Carolina children.

I’ve been wrong before. But I’ll be stunned if the N.C. Supreme Court reverses course on this one.

The real debate has more to do with political philosophy than constitutional requirement. The real question: Is it the responsibility of the state or the parents to make sure their children are prepared for school?

In the past, the N.C. Supreme Court has said that’s a question to be decided by the governor and the General Assembly, not by the courts.

Posted in: Bev Perdue • Budget • General Assembly • Politics • State government | Post a Comment »

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