Shutdown shuts down N.C. GOP fundraiser

Chalk up another casualty of the federal government shutdown. And this one will cost the North Carolina Republican Party.

The state party had scheduled an Oct. 9 fundraiser at The Capitol Hill Club, with guests paying up to $2,500. The event was to be headlined by GOP Sen. Richard Burr, the state's nine Republican House members and Gov. Pat McCrory.

Republican national Chairman Reince Priebus was expected to put in an appearance.

But Friday, with the shutdown in its fourth day and no end in sight, GOP leaders decided to postpone the event.

"In light of the government shutdown the North Carolina Republican Party thought it would be best to put our Washington D.C. fundraiser on hold," said Todd Poole, the party's executive director. "In the meantime we hope our Democrat friends on Capitol Hill will come to their senses and join Republicans at the negotiating table and end the shutdown."

One member of the state delegation, by the way, is getting credit, or blame, for initiating the shutdown.

Freshman GOP Rep Mark Meadows of Jackson County got 79 members to sign onto a letter in August urging their colleagues to tie continued government funding to dismantling Obamacare. He's gotten attention in the national media. CNN called him "the architect of the brink."


  

Democrats target three N.C. House members in shutdown fight

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting three N.C. congressmen with robo-calls over the government shutdown, including Republican Rep. Robert Pittenger of Charlotte.

The DCCC began the calls Tuesday, hours after the shutdown went into effect.

"While you were sleeping, Congressman Robert Pittenger shut down the government," the calls say. "You heard that right. But even worse – Congressman Pittenger is still getting paid – and he’s not listening to our frustration. All because of his demand to take away your benefits and protect insurance company profits. Call Congressman Pittenger ... to end the shutdown."

The DCCC also is targeting GOP Reps. Richard Hudson of the 8th District and George Holding of the 13th. They're among 63 Republican congressmen across the country whose districts are getting similar calls.

What's unusual about targeting Pittenger is that his 9th District is solidly Republican and has been for 60 years.

Pittenger spokesman Jamie Bowers said their offices haven't reported getting any of the robo-calls.

The DCCC did not target other N.C. members who voted to defund Obamacare, including Rep. Mike McIntyre of the 7th District. He was one of just two Democrats in the country who voted with Republicans.

Mark Harris recruits another former NCGOP official

Rev. Mark Harris won't officially enter North Carolina's U.S. Senate race until next week. But he's already snared another former official of the state Republican Party to run his campaign.

Harris announced that Mike Rusher will manage his campaign. Rusher, former chief of staff for the state GOP, joins former state party chairman Robin Hayes, who will co-chair the Harris campaign.

Harris is pastor of Charlotte's First Baptist Church and president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. He plans a fly-around announcement tour on Oct. 2, starting in Wilmington and ending in Charlotte.

Rusher headed the national GOP Victory Campaign in North Carolina in 2012. Before that he was an aide to state Senate Leader Phil Berger. The announcement of his position with the Harris campaign comes a day after Berger formally bowed out of the Senate race.

Harris will be the fourth Republican to announce for the seat of Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, joining House Speaker Thom Tillis, Cary physician Greg Brannon and Wilkesboro nurse Heather Grant.

UPDATE: Rusher was victory director from January to August 2012. He left to join the N.C. GOP first as operations director then as chief of staff.

Graham asks Holder to intervene on voting law

Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Graham of Charlotte has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate North Carolina's new voter law.

“It’s a clear attempt at voter suppression, and it will disproportionately impact students, minorities, the poor and senior citizens,” Graham wrote Holder. “I urge you to come to North Carolina now and stop this law from taking our state backward. We should be approving laws that encourage every American to vote – not make it more difficult.”

The law, signed this summer by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, requires voters to show a photo ID starting in 2016. It also ends straight-ticket voting and same-day registration and compresses the period for early voting.

The Justice Department went to court in August to block a new voter ID bill in Texas.

Graham's letter comes a day before she's scheduled to talk about the law at the Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro and at a panel at Johnson C. Smith University. Graham is among several candidates interested in running for the 12th Congressional District seat that would become vacant if Rep. Mel Watt is confirmed as head of the Housing Finance Agency. The district runs from Charlotte to Greensboro.

Foxx: 'Everybody got behind' streetcar?

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx wrote a blog this week commemorating the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a "Dream" speech. The former Charlotte mayor wrote about the role transportation has played in the Civil Rights movement, including Rosa Park's celebrated bus ride in Montgomery.

He went on to tout the Obama administration's investments in transportation infrastructure.

But in commemorating history, did Foxx rewrite it? Here's part of his blog:

"And when I was Mayor of Charlotte, I fought to bring a streetcar system to our city.  The whole community got behind it. That streetcar is the first effort in Charlotte’s recent history to connect a poor part of the city with modern transit."

The proposed streetcar - dubbed the "Gold Line" - certainly has its proponents. But to say the whole community got behind it seems to forget resistance from some on the city council, and not just the Republicans. Even some Democrats were reluctant to support it. That was one reason Foxx's proposed capital plan didn't pass the first time around.

After some initial bumps, the streetcar is on track.

Black Caucus endorses Patrick Cannon

Democrat Patrick Cannon has gotten a big boost in his mayoral campaign, winning the endorsement of the Black Political Caucus.

Caucus endorsements are usually important, especially in a Democratic primary. They're distributed at polls and at sites for early voting, which starts Thursday for the Sept. 10 primary.

And in Charlotte, 63 percent of registered Democrats are African American.

The caucus tapped Cannon over James Mitchell, a fellow city council member and fellow African American. They're the leaders in a field that also includes Lucille Puckett and Gary Dunn.

The caucus also endorsed other Democrats:

-- At-large: Vi Alexander Lyles, David Howard, Michael Barnes and Beth Pickering.
-- District 1: Patsy Kinsey.
-- District 2: Al Austin.
-- District 4: Wil Russell.
-- District 5: John Autry.

UPDATE 1:45 pm: An earlier posting noted that incumbent Democrat LaWana Mayfield wasn't endorsed. The caucus lists only primary endorsements. She's the only incumbent without a primary.

A chance for airport diplomacy?

On Monday, former Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx will be in Atlanta for one of his first public speeches since becoming U.S. Transportation Secretary. There he'll speak to a transportation "summit" sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Among the 40 lawmakers from around the country at the summit will be state Rep. Bill Brawley, a Matthews Republican who co-chairs the N.C. House Transportation Committee. He also shepherded Gov. Pat McCrory's transportation initiative, the Strategic Mobility Forumula, through the General Assembly.

Brawley and Foxx have been on opposite sides of the Charlotte airport battle. Brawley introduced a bill to create an airport authority. When Republican leaders switched course at the 11th hour and passed a bill for an airport commission, he voted for that. Before going to Washington, Foxx fought hard to keep the airport in city hands.

Now the matter is in the hands of the FAA, which will decide whether a commission can operate the airport. The FAA is part of the transportation department.

So will Brawley hold a summit of his own with Foxx?

"If the opportunity presents itself, I'd certainly want to discuss issues with the secretary," Brawley says.

A congressional district - and campaigns - in limbo

U.S. Rep. Mel Watt is spending the August recess doing what he does every year: "Trading Places" with constituents in his 12th Congressional District. On Wednesday he worked as a postal carrier, pharmacy technician and quality control inspector in the Triad.

But the job he really wants is in Washington. The Charlotte Democrat is waiting for Senate confirmation as head of the Housing Finance Agency.

But Watt's confirmation appears to be in limbo, as do the campaigns of several would be successors.

Politico ran a story today that says some Capitol Hill Democrats worry about Watt's confirmation. He made it out of the Senate Banking Committee on a party line vote. But Senate Democratic leaders didn't push hard for hhis confirmation before the month-long recess started last week. He needs 60 votes to overcome any Republican filibuster.

While Watt waits, so do at least a half-dozen people interested in his seat. Several already have filed papers with the Federal Election Commission.

“The only thing you can do is run your campaign and be ready when it's time to be ready,” says state Rep. Marcus Brandon, a two-term Democrat from High Point.

Sen. Malcolm Graham is in the same boat. He's already lined up a shadow team of consultants.

"Obviously we’ve got a team that's ready in the dugout, ready to come out and play if there's a resignation," he says.

If Watt were to be confirmed when Congress returns in September, it's unclear when a special election would be held. The longer it takes to actually have a vacancy, the more difficult it will be to prepare ballots by November.

Bill Brawley gets choice post

In the crunch of legislation, and legislative wrangling, at the end of last week, one announcement was overlooked. Rep. Bill Brawley was named a co-chair of the influential House Finance Committee.

House Speaker Thom Tillis named the Matthews Republican to the vacant post on Friday.

It capped a busy session for Brawley. He was a House sponsor of bills to help the Carolina Panthers and to create an authority for Charlotte Douglas International Airport, a bill passed and then repealed late last week. He also shepherded Gov. Pat McCrory's transportation overhaul to passage through the House and Senate.

"(Brawley) has become a very effective legislator in just his second term," Tillis said in a statement. "He handles complex issues in truthful and honorable ways, and his ability to build consensus around legislation is continually impressive."

Said Brawley: "I'm honored. I think it's an expression of confidence in my ability to get good legislation done.”

Brawley replaces another Brawley. GOP Rep. Robert Brawley of Mooresville held the Finance Post until turning in his gavel in May after publicly criticizing Tillis.

Sen. Bob Rucho: 'I'm back'

A few weeks after going into a sort of self-imposed exile, Sen. Bob Rucho returned to the gavel this week as chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

"I think we've got the issue resolved," he said this morning.

Last month the Matthews Republican, frustrated when Senate leaders backed off his ambitious tax overhaul plan, offered his resignation as committee chair -- which wasn't accepted -- and fired off a letter criticizing Gov. Pat McCrory and House Speaker Thom Tillis, both Mecklenburg County Republicans.

"It is a huge disappointment that the governor and the speaker ... did not provide the leadership or have the political backbone to fight the special interest groups," he wrote.

This week the governor, speaker and Senate president all agreed on a tax plan that cuts personal and corporate income tax rates. Rucho said he's come to terms with the plan, even though it doesn't go as far as he'd like. He wanted to eliminate the personal income in favor of a much broader sales, or as he calls it, consumption, tax.

"This was the first step toward accomplishing something," he said.

Surprises not surprising near session's end

Surprises keep on coming in the waning days of North Carolina's legislative session.

Last week it was the N.C. Senate which, in a hastily called committee meeting, inserted controversial new abortion proposals into a bill on Sharia law.

Wednesday it was the House. Committee members meeting to debate a bill on motorcycle safety found the bill had picked up a new sidecar: the abortion proposals. They were similar to the Senate's, but revised at the urging of Gov. Pat McCrory's administration.

They caught some lawmakers by surprise. But Rep. Ruth Samuelson, a Charlotte Republican handling the abortion provisions, told reporters, "We’re nearing the end of session. Things move quickly."

Then came more surprises.

They came in a regulatory reform bill, or as critics call it, the "Billboards Forever" bill.

Inserted into a bill involving various regulations were several seen publicly for the first time. Among them: provisions to allow more clearing of trees and other vegetation around billboards and to essentially prevent cities and towns from regulating existing billboards.

"The bottom line for us is that this legislation says, in effect, that billboards are forever," says Ben Hitchings, president of the N.C. Chapter of the American Planning Association. "The fact that this hasn't been vetted in any substantive way is a real concern."

The bill, SB 112, has other provisions that concern local officials.

It prohibits local governments from enacting environmental or other regulations more stringent than state or federal regulations. And it repeals zoning protest petitions, which give citizens more say in nearby development.

Paul Meyer of the N.C. League of Municipalities says the bill essentially puts city ordinances "in the hands of various state environmental agencies."

"Municipalities enact these environmental ordinances to respond to environmental threats, protect life and property, and streamline local development procedures," he said in a statement.

The bill is on Thursday's House calendar. If passed, and if the Senate concurs with its changes, the bill could present a dilemma for McCrory.

Last year, as a candidate for governor, he said he opposed GOP legislation that would curb local governments' ability to regulate billboards.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/10/3021199/mccrory-will-veto-abortion-bill.html#storylink=cpy

12th District race is off and running

Nevermind that U.S. Rep. Mel Watt is still in the 12th District congressional seat he's had since 1993. The race to succeed him is on.

Watt, a Democrat, is President Obama's choice to become director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Though he has yet to be confirmed by the Senate -- and faced some harsh questions at his confirmation hearing last month -- candidates are already lining up for an expected special election.

Charlotte lawyer George Battle III on Wednesday becomes the first candidate to formally announce for Watt's seat. He has events planned in Greensboro and Charlotte.

Other expected candidates include state Sen. Malcolm Graham and Rep. Rodney Moore, both Charlotte Democrats. Several other legislators are also exploring the race.

On Tuesday, Public Policy Polling came out with a new poll on the prospective race. It showed Graham leading several challengers with 31 percent of the vote. Rep. Alma Adams from Greensboro had 22 percent.

Battle had 8 percent.

One Republican goes rogue on abortion bills

The battle lines among spectators were pretty clear at today's House hearing on a Senate abortion bill. They were even colorful: Pink-clad abortion rights activists on one side of the hearing room and blue-shirted abortion opponents on the other.

The lines between legislators were pretty clear as well. Republicans for the bill. Democrats against.

With at least one exception.

Freshman GOP Rep. Charles Jeter of Huntersville said he's inclined to not support, or concur, with the Senate bill. Abortion supporters say would limit women's rights; abortion opponents say it would ensure abortion facilities are safe. Both sides say if the bill passes, and is signed by Gov. Pat McCrory, only one abortion clinic in the state would meet the requirements.

Jeter said he thinks the proposed new standards for abortion clinics -- to match those of ambulatory surgery centers -- should apply to all places that do surgery, including dental offices. As for cutting the number of abortion clinics from 16 to 1: "I don't know how that makes women's health safer," he says.

Last week Jeter was one of only two Republicans to vote against a bill to include in school curriculums the belief that abortions could contribute to pre-term births in pregnancies.

"I didn't come up here to vote on social issues," he says. I came up here to get jobs back."

From pulpit to politics? Mark Harris hires staffer

The effort to draft Rev. Mark Harris is beginning to look more like a campaign.

The committee to draft the Charlotte Republican for the U.S. Senate Wednesday announced the hiring of a new political director. Tracy Bengston of Davidson worked as scheduler for Republican Dan Forest's 2012 campaign for lieutenant governor. This month she managed Joyce Krawiec's campaign for vice chair of the state GOP.

Rev. Harris is pastor of Charlotte's 1st Baptist church and president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

Last month his supporters filed papers for an exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission. He's on a "listening" tour of the state and is expected to make a decision later this summer.

House Speaker Thom Tillis of Cornelius and Cary physician Greg Brannon are the only announced GOP  candidates for the seat held by Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan.

Rucho tries to set record straight against Watt

The 12th Congressional District, once the nation's most litigated, was back in court this week -- and sparked a war of words between two of Mecklenburg County's most influential politicians.

In a Raleigh courtroom, a special three-judge panel heard arguments in a case challenging the state's 2011 redistricting.

Testifying Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, recounted a conversation with Republican Sen. Bob Rucho of Matthews, who chaired the Senate Redistricting Committee.

According to the Associated Press, Watt said Rucho told him that Republican leaders "had told him that they were going to ramp the 12th Congressional District up to over 50 percent black" and "had given him the task of going out and selling this to the black community as being in their interest."

“He was telling me that he was going to have to sell this to the African-American community,” Watt recalled Tuesday, adding that Rucho asked for his help.

Watt said he was later upset to hear that Rucho had been telling people that Watt had helped influence the shape of the redrawn district. Watt said he wanted to let the public know the new district was not his idea.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/06/04/2939315/testimony-questions-redrawn-nc.html#storylink=cpy

“I don’t lie to people,” Watt said. “I don’t expect them to lie about me either.”

Rucho, Watt's former dentist, didn't get a chance to testify until Wednesday. On Thursday he sat down again to set the record straight.

First a little about the district. Half its registered voters are African American, an increase from 43 percent under the old plan. Sixty-four percent of voters are Democrats. That an increase from 58 percent. By putting more Democrats in the 12th District, Republicans effectively made some neighboring districts -- particularly the 8th -- friendlier to Republicans.

Rucho said he and GOP leaders wanted to put more Democrats in the 12th, not African Americans. He said he never told Watt GOP leaders had asked him to put more minority voters in the district.

"When he said we were drawing majority-minority districts as if we were using race, that's totally erroneous," Rucho said Thursday.

He said he never implied that Watt had endorsed the redrawn district. And Rucho added, "I didn't like being called a liar."

"I didn't like it when he misrepresented the facts of the case and I'm wondering for what reason? Especially under oath."

Watt could not be reached.

Rep. Cotham resting after weekend scare

Rep. Tricia Cotham and her family were enjoying a weekend day at Tweetsie Railroad when she suddenly collapsed. Her mother, Mecklenburg commissioners Chair Pat Cotham, called for help. An ambulance took Tricia to Watauga Medical Center in Boone.

 

There she underwent heart tests and Sunday returned home to Matthews, where she was admitted to Novant Health Matthews for more tests. Cotham, nearly six months pregnant, was released and told to stay in bed and rest. She's also scheduled to see more specialists.

 

"I am very grateful for the outpouring of support and prayers from the community, constituents and other elected officials.

 

Her 2 1/2-year-old son Elliot, who was with her at Tweetsie, got more excitement than he expected at the mountain amusement park. 

 

"He has asked every day, '(Will) Mommy go in an ambulance today'," Cotham says.

 

 

Sheriff expects to hang up badge

Democrat Chipp Bailey, Mecklenburg County's sheriff since 2008, doesn't expect to run again when his term expires next year.

"I'm not going to make a definite decision until February," Bailey said Monday. "But I'll just say this. ... I'll have 41 years at the end of this term in law enforcement in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. And there's probably a lot of people tired of looking at me....

"It's been a good run but sooner or later somebody else has to do it."

Baily, 64, will be 66 at the end of his term. He won election in 2010 but was appointed in 2008 to succeed his friend, longtime Sheriff Jim Pendergraph.

The appointment that February followed weeks of controversy that saw Democratic Party officials pick Nick Mackey in a disputed election.

After weeks of political and legal challenges, county commissioners chose the low-key Bailey.

A hairy end to the legislative session?

General Assembly sessions have a tendency to drag out. Month to month. Winter to summer and sometimes beyond. Here's a clue for anybody wanting to know when this session will end. Watch the beard.

That would be the beard of House Speaker Thom Tillis. He plans to stop shaving the second week of June. Specifically, June 7.

The Cornelius Republican says it will be his own silent statement that a session that runs longer is too long. He wants the state budget, one of the legislature's final tasks, wrapped up in time for local governments to know where they stand by the time they do their own budgets in June.

 

Another name thrown out for 12th District race

Add another name for the potential vacancy in the 12th Congressional District.

George Battle III says he's considering a run for the seat that could be vacated by Democratic Rep. Mel Watt. Watt is President Obama's choice to lead the Housing Finance Agency.

"I'm listening to people," Battle says. "I'm flattered folks think enough of me to even mention my name.”


Battle, 40, is the son of Bishop George Battle Jr., a former school board chairman. He's general counsel for Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools.

Among other potential candidates in the overwhelmingly Democratic district: state Sen. Malcom Graham of Charlotte and Reps. Rodney Moore of Charlotte, Alma Adams of Greensboro, Marcus Brandon of High Point and Ed Hanes of Winston-Salem.

Republican apologizes for criticizing Tillis

Rep. Larry Pittman of Concord has apologized to House Speaker Thom Tillis for remarks he said damaged Tillis's reputation as well as their friendship.

The conservative Republican was videotaped talking to a tea party group recently.

"I was proud to vote for Thom Tillis to be the speaker again, when we got back up there this year," he told them. "Because last session, he was great. ... But, now he's running for U.S. Senate, or planning to. Things have changed. They tell us all the time about how bad it was when they were in the minority and the Democrat leadership wouldn't let them get their bills moved or anything. Well now the constitutional conservatives, the Republican part of the House, knows what that's like."

Wednesday Pittman apologized in a letter distributed to reporters.

"While we do still have some disagreement about process, I have done damage to his reputation in a manner in which I did not consider at the time. I regret that this has damaged our friendship, and I ask for his forgiveness, not for the disagreement, but for the manner in which I handled it."

Roberts rules out mayor's race, not mayor's job

Former Mecklenburg County commissioners' chair Jennifer Roberts says she's ruled out running for mayor of Charlotte. But not being mayor of Charlotte.

The job was coming open at the end of the year after Mayor Anthony Foxx's decision not to seek a third term. It could come open even earlier after Foxx's nomination Monday to be U.S. transportation secretary. If and when he resigns, council is expected to appoint an interim mayor to fill out his term. 

"I have not made a firm decision on the appointed part," Roberts, a Democrat, said Tuesday. "I've been asked to consider it."

Roberts declined to say who asked her to. Council members are obligated to appoint a Democrat, like Foxx. But they won't name any one who actually intends to run for the job. That includes at least two incumbent council members, Patrick Cannon and David Howard.

State Sen. Dan Clodfelter said Tuesday he's "favorably inclined" to run. Rep. Becky Carney is also thinking about it.

If Clodfelter were to run, and win, Roberts -- who lives four doors away -- might run for his Senate seat.

"That's something I would consider," she says.

Wheeler's trial balloon gives Democrats a target

When former Charlotte City Council member Lynn Wheeler told the Charlotte Business Journal she's considering a run for the U.S. Senate next year, she gave state Democrats a ripe target.

Wheeler, a Republican, told the Journal that people “are urging me to run, and I’ve told them I will think about it.” That got picked up by the News & Observer of Raleigh.

That was enough for Ben Ray, the state Democratic party's new Director of Rapid Response. His press release:

RALEIGH--Former Charlotte Mayor Pro Tempore Lynn Wheeler is considering running for Senate, reinforcing the weak and unsettled nature of the field of potential candidates against Senator Kay Hagan. Washington, D.C. Republicans have already seen two of their favored candidates, U. S. Representatives George Holding and Patrick McHenry, pass on the race.

Wheeler’s trial balloon makes an expensive and politically damaging primary campaign that much more likely. Each remaining potential candidate is deeply flawed, and will face substantial challenges to even emerge from a primary campaign...

Wheeler could not be reached.

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A 3rd party in the Palmetto State?

Jim Rex was South Carolina's last Democratic state official. Oscar Lovelace ran for governor as a Republican.

Now the two are trying to bring another voice to politics in South Carolina and maybe eventually, to the rest of the country.

They're touting a new "American Party" as an alternative to the two main parties. They've been pushing the idea around the state and on Wednesday plan to hold an informational meeting at 5:30 p.m. at Rock Hill's York Tech.

Their platform: Term limits, fiscal accountability and a "non-partisan problem-solving agenda." The point, says Rex, a former state superintendent of education, is to "give moderates a choice."

"What we're trying to do is change the game, not advantage or disadvantage one team or another," says Rex.

"If we're ever to going to change the system you've got to have a disruptive force from outside .... I've learned by being a candidate, and also by being an incumbent, the limitations of incumbency and candidacy in the duopoly we have in this country. The system persists and perseveres. Good people come and go."

Clodfelter eyes mayoral bid

A few weeks ago longtime Democratic Sen. Dan Clodfelter raised eyebrows when he said he might run for the Charlotte City Council. Now he might run for mayor.

"I'm very seriously considering it," he said Tuesday. "I've been getting a great deal of encouragement."

Clodfelter isn't the only one -- or only legislator -- looking at the race since incumbent Democrat Anthony Foxx said this month he won't run for a third term. Democratic Reps. Becky Carney and state Sen. Malcolm Graham have said they're considering it.

Clodfelter said he could make a decision by the end of the month.

"When people reach out to you," he said, "

you want to think seriously about what they're asking you to do."

Political family growing

Rep. Tricia Cotham will have a new agenda after the legislative session ends this summer.

Cotham is pregnant with her second child. The baby is due this fall.

It will be the second time the Matthews Democrat will have given birth since joining the legislature in 2007. Her son Elliot was born in 2010. Now, like then, she plans to continue her legislative career.

"I do think it's really important mothers and young women to have a voice in the General Assembly," she says. "I bring lots of different experiences to this body."

Cotham is marrited to Jerry Meek, a former chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party. Her mother Pat chairs the Mecklenburg County board of commissioners.

New GOP bills would curb early voting, public financing

Two new bills filed Thursday would change the way North Carolinians vote.

The state's early voting period would be shortened and Sunday voting eliminated under one bill. The bill from House Majority Leader Edgar Starnes of Caldwell County also would eliminate straight-ticket voting and same-day registration. And it would make non-partisan judicial elections partisan.

The bill could help Republicans.

It would lop a week off the early voting period, which Democrats have used more successfully than Republicans. It would also stop straight-ticket voting. Democrats cast 300,000 more straight tickets than Republicans in 2012. And by ending Sunday voting, it would stop the heavily Democratic "Souls to the Polls" efforts to get voters out after Sunday church services.

A bill introduced by Senate Rules Chairman Tom Apodaca of Hendersonville would eliminate public financing of judicial and other statewide races now eligible for it .
 

GOP chairman fight: Outsider v. outsider?

Jack Brosch, a Charlotte businessman who ran for Congress as a tea party candidate last year, calls himself a "New Republican" in the mold of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Now he wants to bring that outsider mentality to North Carolina's Republican Party.

Brosch hopes to get elected state chairman when the GOP meets for its state convention in Charlotte in June. He was prepared to challenge current Chairman Robin Hayes, before Hayes announced he wouldn't run.

Now he expects to face Claude Pope, a former chair of the Wake County GOP and cousin of conservative financier, and now state budget director, Art Pope. Claude Pope's campaign manager is a former executive director of the state party. His spokesman is Gov. Pat McCrory's nephew.

To Brosch, who lost to 12th District Democrat Mel Watt last fall, the choice is clear.

"These things add up to kind of an establishment candidate," he says.

Says Pope: "I see myself very much as an outsider." If elected, he says he would pull together tea party and other conservatives.

"We want to work with all of those organizations to put together the kind of ground work it takes to build a majority," he said.



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North a tea

When North Carolina Republicans meet in Charlotte to pick a new state chairman in June, they'll have a choice of at least two men.

Rock Hill Republican co-chairs 'autopsy'

GOP national chairman Reince Priebus unveiled what he called a party  "autopsy" Monday, a report that presented a candid view of the party's problems and challenges.

Interviews and polls of more than 40,000 Americans provided some sobering feedback. "Asked to describe Republicans," the report said, "they said that the Party is 'scary,' 'narrow-minded,' and 'out of touch' and that we were a Party of 'stuffy old men.'"

The report was the result of the party's "Growth and Opportunity Project." Among the co-chairs: Rock Hill's Glenn McCall, the York County GOP chairman and a former Charlotte banker.

"Personally I did not understand how messaging and tone really mattered, especially to people in ethnic communities," he told me. One example: the issue of immigration, and Mitt Romney's call for "self-deportation" of undocumented immigrants.

"Even the Asian community said our tone and the way we addressed the issue really turned off a lot of their folks because we were not compassionate and caring," McCall said.

 McCall said he's doesn't think the report won't lay on a shelf like so many others. Priebus has already committed $10 million on staff who can help appeal to appeal to young and minority voters.

"I'm confident that this will be a long-term significant commitment on the RNC's part," he said. "We have no other choice. This election has changed the paradigm, with minorities by 2050 really becoming the majority in our country. We have to start somewhere.”

First shot of 2014? Tillis fundraiser features McCrory

Gov. Pat McCrory returned to Charlotte Friday to help House Speaker Thom Tillis raise campaign cash. For what campaign isn't clear.

McCrory was Tillis's guest at the Myers Park Country Club fundraiser that attracted some blue chip Charlotte hosts, including Tim Belk, Smokey Bissell, Tom Nelson, Allen Tate and Ed McMahan.

Tillis, holding himself to self-imposed term limits, has said he's in his last term in the House. But he's on the list of possible Republican candidates to challenger Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan in 2014.

Though Tillis couldn't use the state campaign money on a federal campaign, he could use it to get his name out or help other candidates throughout the state, which could help him indirectly.

One sponsor of Friday's fundraiser was Ned Curran, president of Bissell Companies. He said he was supporting Tillis for whatever he needed.

Said Curran: "I think it's part of him having resources for himself or for others to be effective at what he does."

If nominated, he will not run ....

A new poll on North Carolina's 2014 U.S. Senate race had a new name at the top.

Lt. Gov. Dan Forest led the potential Republican field of candidates who may take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan next year, according to Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling. It was the first time Forest's name had been included in the survey.

The poll put him at 18 percent, U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx at 13% percent, Labor commissioner Cherie Berry at 12 percent and U.S. Renee Ellmers at 10 percent. Senate President Phil Berger was at 8 percent and House Speaker Thom Tillis at 2 percent.


But don't expect Forest to run.   "Never contemplated it, never considered it," said the newly elected lieutenant governor. "I like being lieutenant governor That's not your typical political response is it?"   Forest, the son of former U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, said the poll reflects residual name recognition after last year's statewide campaign.   Along with Berry, he was one of only two of the potential GOP candidates with over 50 percent name recognition. .

Tangle or tango? Foxx and McCrory share a moment

Gov. Pat McCrory, in Charlotte for the second time this week, called out the Observer for a picture it published after his first visit.

It showed a stern-looking McCrory talking to an equally stern-looking Mayor Anthony Foxx. The two are not best friends.

"Mr. Mayor, let's get a picture of us smiling at each other," the governor said.

Here's the result, as worked up by WCNC's Jeremy Markovich.

A return to city council for Sen. Dan Clodfelter?

Veteran North Carolina Sen. Dan Clodfelter may return to where his political career began -- the Charlotte City Council.

"I've given some thought to it," he said in his legislative office Wednesday. "I think there are some important decisions facing the city and they're of interest and concern to me."

Clodfelter would run for one of four at-large seats, all now held by fellow Democrats. He's said he's been asked to run by "a fairly wide range of people," though he declined to say who.

Clodfelter, who served on council from 1987-1993, was once one of the most influential members of the Senate, even chairing the Finance Committee. Like other Democrats, he's seen that influence wane since Republicans took control after the 2010 elections.

He says that's not the reason he's considering a run for council.

"If I were to decide to (run), it would not be about that," he said.

Filing for the November council election opens in July.

McCrory and the other airport controversy

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory appeared to feel right at home Tuesday, meeting with a dozen members of the Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, a group he helped start when he was mayor of Charlotte.

At a news conference at the executive mansion, the mayors stood on a staircase behind him.  I asked the chairman of the group whether the city leaders had taken position on the effort to take control of Charlotte's airport from the city of Charlotte. No, said Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane.

Then McCrory offered, "I think this is an issue Charlotte needs to resolve among themselves .... I look forward to hearing the conclusion of the discussion."

One of the mayors standing behind the governor was Terry Bellamy, the mayor of Asheville. She felt blindsided last year by legislation transferring control of the airport there from the city to an authority. Before the news conference, she said, she talked to McCrory about it.

"I told him our business community was just as surprised as our council was," she said. "He was like, you all have to fix it at the local level. It's not a local issue. It's a state issue."

McCrory, Bellamy said, "understands the long-term impact" of the airport.

The governor has said the dispute in Charlotte is between "factions." He's urged lawmakers to slow down a bill that has until recently been on the fast track.

For ex-lawmakers, retirement pays

It pays to be a legislative leader --- even when you're gone.

Or out of prison.

Former leaders head the list of those receiving pensions under North Carolina's Legislative Retirement System.

At the top of the list: former Democratic House Speaker Jim Black of Matthews, who served time in prison for corruption. He gets $3,607 a month, according to the state Treasurer's office.

His predecessor, Republican Harold Brubaker of Asheboro, gets $3,444 a month to supplement his income as a lobbyist representing more than a dozen clients including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and GlaxoSmithKline.

Among 260 former lawmakers getting pensions, former Democratic speakers Joe Hackney and Joe Mavretic are also in the Top 10. So is former Senate Democratic leader Marc Basnight.

At least three North Carolina congressmen, all Republicans, are getting legislative pensions. U.S. Reps. Virginia Foxx ($686/month); Robert Pittenger ($324) and Walter Jones Jr. ($276.)

Not all pensions are as generous. Former Gov. Jim Holshouser and Irwin Belk of Charlotte, an heir to the department store fortune, served in the General Assembly. Each gets $100 a month.

Here are the top 20 recipients of legislative pensions:

JAMES B BLACK $3,607.30


HAROLD J BRUBAKER $3,444.19

JOE HACKNEY $2,828.02

HENSON P BARNES $2,476.36

MARC BASNIGHT $2,364.42

MARIE W COLTON $2,281.60

JOSEPHUS L MAVRETIC $2,221.75

STEPHEN W WOOD $2,047.10

ROBERT C SOLES JR $2,005.55

CHARLIE S DANNELLY SR $1,951.27

JOHN J HUNT $1,924.89

BETSY L COCHRANE $1,847.82

DONALD R KINCAID $1,829.70

JOHN R GAMBLE JR $1,615.75

FRANK W BALLANCE $1,557.71

AARON E FUSSELL $1,484.02

DAN R SIMPSON $1,483.64

CHARLES F BUCHANAN $1,474.00

AARON W PLYLER $1,474.00

UPDATE: Pittenger donates his monthly state pension to a Charlotte charity, an aide said Wednesday.

Former McCrory aide starts lobbying firm

From 2008 to 2012, through two gubernatorial campaigns and in between, Chris Emanuel traveled the state with with Pat McCrory as the former Charlotte mayor's senior political director. Now, with McCrory in the governor's mansion, Emanuel is starting his own lobbying firm.

The former USAirways pilot is starting the CG Emanuel Group. He hopes to represent clients in Raleigh.

"My experience is over the past five years working with campaigns," he says."I've gotten to know many of the legislators."

Emanuel says he hopes to lobby on issues including education, construction and energy.

Memo-gate update

Blueprint North Carolina continues to catch heat for a series of memos leaked last week to the Observer and WRAL. The memos outlined strategies and talking points for progressives to attack state Republican leaders.

The most incendiary memo called for liberals to weaken the GOP's ability to govern by "crippling their leaders" and to "eviscerate their leadership," even by hiring private investigators.

The story on the memos has gotten a lot of play on conservative blogs and web sites, including the Drudge Report. Monday the N.C. Republican Party filed complaints with the the state board of elections and the IRS, claiming that the group violated its nonprofit status by wading into partisan politics.

Blueprint is a nonprofit that offers what executive director Sean Kosofsky calls "back office" services to other progressive advocacy groups. Kosofsky, who first confirmed his group emailed the memos, later distanced it from the "crippling" memo, saying his group didn't send it out and suggesting that somebody had done a memo mash-up to make his group look bad. 

He did acknowledge having seen the controversial memo at a December meeting of progressive groups. WRAL reporter Mark Binker picked up the story from there.

"Asked it was appropriate for his organization to participate in meetings where such memos are distributed and whether he endorsed all the ideas in the memo," Binker wrote, "Kosofsky replied via email:


"Darn right. C3 nonprofits should absolutely try to stop bad policies that hurt the poor and hurt the environment, women and the middle class. If they need to exploit weaknesses of lawmakers, they should. I stand by that.

"The meeting in December was of over 50 organizations. People bring their own idea. I am not going to claim or distance myself from things without greater context. The only thing that matters to Blueprint is what Blueprint does. I cannot speak for others. We cannot be held to what others do at meetings we are at. that is completely unfair.

"I am not going to cherry pick ideas from that draft plan and say which ones we approve of or disapprove of. I will say this...The stakes are high for the people of NC. This governor and legislature are approving raises for their cabinet while gutting benefits for folks already injured by unemployment. Blueprint and our partners are passionate advocates for policy passed in the public interest, not passed for special interests. Our partners can educate the public, educate lawmakers and absolutely hold them accountable when they vote against the interests of the people of NC. the public should know that charitable groups can and do advocate strongly. they should. Blueprint doesn't lobby or do any public advocacy. This isn't about us at all."

McCrory's unannounced visit

After giving his first State of the State address to a packed General Assembly Monday night, Gov. Pat McCrory took a detour on his way back to the governor's mansion.

McCrory went to Duke University Hospital in Durham and visited Highway Patrol officer Michael Potts, an 11-year veteran who'd been shot during a routine traffic stop Monday, just an hour before McCrory delivered his speech. He spent time with the officer's family while Potts underwent surgery.

Potts was listed in fair condition Tuesday. Police later charged a prison parolee from Vermont with his shooting.

McCrory's visit was unannounced and unpublicized. A spokesman for the governor confirmed it to the Observer.

As mayor of Charlotte, McCrory prided himself on a close relationship with city police. He sometimes rode patrol with them. When he left office in 2009, he recalled a police shooting as his darkest hour. Two police officers, Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton, were shot and killed in 2006.

"That was a very emotional time . .. speaking at that funeral, both funerals," McCrory said at the time. "I didn't think I could make it."

Power shift: Clout grows for Mecklenburg towns

Along with the growing power of Republicans in Raleigh has come another phenomenon: the growing clout of Mecklenburg County's towns and suburbs.

Democrats may still control the county delegation (albeit by one vote) but the real power is on the other side.

Thom Tillis of Cornelius is the House speaker. Rep. Bill Brawley of Matthews, in only his second term, has emerged as a player on big issues like the proposed airport authority and the bid for state money to upgrade Bank of America Stadium.

As co-chair of Senate Finance, Bob Rucho of Matthews is leading the effort to change the state's tax system. And Sen. Jeff Tarte of Cornelius, a freshman who represents five of the county's six small towns, has hit the ground running. He'll be the point man on an issue sure to affect a lot of country residents -- fixing the revaluation mess.

Meanwhile, Democrats from Charlotte are still figuring out how to navigate the legislature in a position still foreign to those who've been around a while, as the minority. Former Democratic House Speaker Jim Black was from Matthews, but was part of a delegation dominated by Charlotte Democrats.

Mecklenburg's bi-partisan delegation?

It's a Democratic-dominated delegation in a Republican-led General Assembly. If you wouldn't expect everything to go perfectly smoothly, you wouldn't be disappointed.

Mecklenburg County's 17-member strong delegation meets Wednesday morning to begin parceling out local bills and looking at local agendas. It will be under the chairmanship of Sen. Malcolm Graham, a Charlotte Democrat.

But some Republicans had hoped to share the leadership, even though Mecklenburg Democrats outnumber them 9-8.

"Ideally you want your delegation to act in a non-partisan manner for the benefit of Mecklenburg County," says Rep. Bill Brawley, a Matthews Republican. "So the reason you would have co-chairs .... from each party is you’d have non-partisan leadership."

Brawley and some other Republicans are still chafed that Democrats convened their first delegation meeting in early January, at a time most Republicans had a conflict.

Graham says the group has always worked together, even under one chairman.

"We've always tried to work as a non-partisan group," he says. "Most of the issues locally are non-controversial.... If Bill will just come and participate, he’ll find that his voice will be heard just like everybody else."

Charlotte lawmaker pushes legalized marijuana

Two sessions ago, Democratic Rep. Kelly Alexander co-sponsored a bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state. It never went anywhere. Now he's trying again.

Alexander and fellow Democrat Pricey Harrison of Greensboro have introduced H. 84, a bill to have North Carolina join 18 other states in allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana.

"Many seriously and chronically ill persons, including many disabled veterans, get relief from their suffering from marijuana," Alexander, of Charlotte, said in a statement. "I cannot understand why we would not give seriously ill patients and veterans anything and everything that gives them relief. Should seriously ill patients be arrested and sent to prison for using marijuana with their doctor's approval?"

Efforts to legalize marijuana for any reason have faced opposition.

The last time Alexander tried it, the head of the N.C. Association of Chiefs of Police said such a bill could make people more accepting of other drugs.

UNCC dinner gets a surprise visitor

UNC Charlotte Chancellor Phil Dubois got a surprise visitor Wednesday night when he hosted a dinner in Raleigh for Mecklenburg County's legislative delegation.

Gov. Pat McCrory stopped by to say hello.

"It was really, really nice," said Betty Doster, a special assistant to Dubois. "He's got a great relationship with the chancellor."  

McCrory's visit brought two of the state's top officials to the meeting. House Speaker Thom Tillis, a Cornelius Republican, was there with 14 other county lawmakers.

Dubois was in town ahead of today's UNC Board of Governors meeting. The school is pushing for state help in promoting its data analytics program.

The growing university of 26,000 also has been promoting its regional ties. This week the six UNCC graduates in the state House posed together for a picture. The five men all wore their UNCC green ties.

Jennifer Roberts starts PAC for 2014

Filing for the 2014 elections is year away. But Democrat Jennifer Roberts is getting ready.

The former chairman of the Mecklenburg County commissioners, and unsuccessful candidate for Congress last year, has started a new political action committee. Organizational papers for the "Flowering Dogwood" PAC were filed last month with the state elections board.

Roberts, who lost to Republican Robert Pittenger in the 9th District, won't say what office she has in mind for next year. That, she says, "is still somewhat in the planning stage."

She announced the PAC last week at a reception for around 200 supporters.

"My main message to the supporters is that I'm staying active politically," she says. "I'm really not leaning toward anything at this point. There are a lot of issues I'm concerned about, education, job creation ...

"I think there are many positions and opportunities that would help us move these issues forward."

Roberts warned against reading anything into the fact she registered her PAC in Raleigh, not Washington.

"Because it's a state PAC not a federal PAC doesn't mean I've written that off," she says.

Art Pope resigns more positions

When Art Pope was named Gov. Pat McCrory's budget director in December, he announced his resignation from the board of Americans for Prosperity and the Civitas Institute, a group he helped found. He's given up more positions than that.

Disclosure reports filed Monday with the State Ethics Commission show Pope no longer sits on the board of other groups he did in 2012:

-- The John Locke Foundation

-- The Golden L.E.A.F. Foundation

-- The N.C. Free Enterprise Foundation

-- The N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law
-- The N.C. Institute for Political Leadership
-- Real Jobs N.C.

Reports also show that Yolanda Stith, wife of McCrory's chief of staff Thomas Stith, lobbies for several clients including the N.C. Association of Community Development Corporations.

Kevin Spacey and the Giant Peach

South Carolina's 5th Congressional District has a new congressman. At least on TV.

In the new Netflix production "House of Cards" actor Kevin Spacey stars as Francis Underwood, a Democrat from the Palmetto State's 5th District, just over the N.C. line from Charlotte.

Spacey plays House Majority Whip Francis Underwood. According to the Hollywood Reporter, he "controls the levers of power like the strings of marionettes, turning the world's most powerful deliberative body into his own personal puppet show."

Gaffney's famous "Peachoid" reportedly makes a cameo in the third episode.

The 5th District's current congressman is Republican Mick Mulvaney. According to a spokeswoman, Mulvaney hasn't  seen the show yet but plans to.