#MeckGOP, party unity, and a bad case of foot shooting

More than just about anything this election season, the Republican Party is in need of some party unity.

Last night local Republicans in the MeckGOP had a golden opportunity to achieve a little of that.  Instead party leaders chose to engage in a little foot shooting of their very own feet.

The MeckGOP Executive Committee met Wednesday night to pick a replacement for NC-92 Rep Charles Jeter of Huntersville.  The party needed a replacement both for the remainder of Jeter's term through January and for the ballot this November.  The hands down obvious choice for both spots going into the meeting was to pick Jeter's primary opponent, Tom Davis.

Davis had a long list of endorsements from elected officials including the other two elected members to the NCGA from the North Mecklenburg area, Senator Jeff Tarte and Rep John Bradford.  Davis even got the endorsement from his former opponent Charles Jeter.  That says a lot about Jeter (and Davis) after what was a sharp and pointed primary campaign.

A former campaign worker of Jeter's, Stacy Phillips, posted a complete list of Davis's endorsements to Facebook the day before the meeting.

Then came the meeting Wednesday night and a series of surprises.  Yours truly was not at the meeting, nor have I spoken to any of the parties directly involved since last night.  However, a good bit was posted on Facebook by those who were in the room and were involved.

The first surprise was that Davis was not going to seek the spot on the ballot.  Instead, former Huntersville Commissioner Danae Caulfield was going to seek that appointment.  Caulfied had been a supporter of Davis's since he announced he would be seeking the replacement appointments immediately after Jeter announced his resignation in July.  Caulfield however would NOT be seeking the appointment to fill out Jeter's remaining term.  Davis was going to continue seeking that spot.

Here's how Caulfied explained it in response to the below question from Meck County Commissioner Matthew Ridenhour.  Ridenhour had endorsed Davis.

Caulfield was unanimously selected to be on the ballot by the 7 members of the MeckGOP Executive Committee present from NC92 allowed to vote.

The crazy and unity damaging part of the meeting came when it was time to replace Jeter for the remainder of the current term that ends in January - a mere 4+ months away.  Keep in mind, the NCGA is out of session and not much if anything is going on at the moment in Raleigh  It's election time and those running for office are in their home districts campaigning.

Letting Davis fill the remainder of the term made sense.  He had nearly beaten Jeter in the primary.  He had all the endorsements listed previously and doing so would be a GREAT way to show a little party unity.

Out of the blue, Justin Moore who is apparently a long time activist with the MeckGOP threw his name into the hat for the nomination.

Moore gets the nod, 5-1.

Huntersville Mayor John Aneralla voted for Davis.  Huntersville Commissioners Rob Kidwell and Melinda Bales voted along with 3 others to give the seat to Moore.

The news of this outcome swept social media.  Much of the response would best be classified as anger that Davis had been snubbed.

In response, Moore had this to say on Thursday.

Moore who also had a vote in the decision abstained on Wednesday. Though clearly, he had already counted the votes.  His vote wasn't needed.  That's politics.

But seeking a seat for a few months when there is effectively nothing to do at the expense of an opportunity to foster some party unity, that's certainly not good politics.

County Commissioner Jim Puckett said it best at the end of a long post Tuesday night on the whole series of events.

"Tonight five members of the GOP executive committee decided they knew better than all of the above.  It was another eye-opening example of why the public is disgusted with politics in general.  Contrary to what Donald Trump and Bernie Saunders believe political party politics is not rigged, it is just stupid."

#MeckGOP meets Wednesday to decide replacement for NC92

Correction: The original said there were a few dozen Ex Comm members from NC92.  aShortChronicle has since been told it is only 8. 

The DailyHaymaker.com broke the story over the weekend about the MeckGOP finally calling a meeting to replace Charles Jeter as the NC-92 Representative to the NC House and to pick a replacement candidate for the upcoming election.

According to the copy of the email from MeckGOP Chair Clair Mahoney posted in the story,

"As per Article XV.B of the Mecklenburg County Republican Party Plan of Organization, the purpose of the meeting is to recommend to the Governor the name of an individual to fill the vacancy created by Representative Charles Jeter’s resignation from House District 92 seat, which was effective as of July 25, 2016, and to select a person to fill the vacancy in the Republican nomination for House District 92. No other business may be considered at this meeting."

The appointment to fill out the remainder of of the term vacated by Jeter is somewhat of a non-issue since the NCGA won't be back in session prior to election day - unless for some unexpected reason an emergency special session is needed.

Of more importance to voters is the decision on who replaces Jeter as the Republican candidate in the upcoming election.

Jeter's primary opponent, Tom Davis, is pursuing both.  He's clearly the most logical candidate for the job having just barely missed beating Jeter outright in the spring primary.  He has also lined up several endorsements from local electeds in North Mecklenburg. However, he's apparently not alone in wanting the spot.  A few contacts with those familiar with these kind of meetings predict more than just Davis's name could/will be put up.

Depending on who shows up to the meeting and how many candidates names are nominated, this process could be non-eventful or a real barn burner.

Only MeckGOP Executive Committee members residing in NC92 will be able to vote.  That would only be 8 people, but then not all of them will possibly show up for the meeting.  That means the candidate could be chosen by only a relative handful of people.

With tensions high around several issues, the I77 HOT Lanes project in particular, dirty politics could certainly enter into the mix.

Regardless of the replacement candidate selected, there is the also the question of actually getting on the ballot.

A call into the Mecklenburg Board of Elections Monday morning didn't provide a lot of clarity.  Kristin Mavromatis with the BOE office told aShortChronicle that "no guidance had been received from the State" yet on whether or not a replacement candidate can get on the ballot at this point.  That's the same answer from the BOE as it was three weeks ago right after Jeter resigned.

While it may ultimately be determined that a candidate replacement is allowed, if ballots have already been printed there would be a cost to fixing that (if it's even possible).

While Wednesday night's decision is important, it won't be the last important one for NC-92 voters before casting their ballots this election.

Bonus Observation:  One interesting and unanswered question is why did the MeckGOP wait this long to schedule this meeting?  The MeckGOP waited three weeks .  On the same day the announcement came on the MeckGOP meeting, another Sr NCGOP figure resigned, Majority Leader Mike Hagar from NC 112.  The meeting for his replacement by trhe Rutherford County GOP was announced the same day Hagar resigned.  That meeting is also scheduled for August 17th.

Would the MeckGOP have even bothered to replace Jeter if they were not put on the spot by this other resignation?

It's that kind of lingering question that should give everone pause that they will do the right thing on Wednesday.

#NCGA: Jeter resigns House seat...former opponent Davis seeks to be his replacement

In a surprising move, NC-92 Rep Charles Jeter announced his resignation from the General Assembly on Monday.

Citing the need to focus more on family, Jeter's sudden departure leaves Republicans without a candidate for the seat this November.  Republican party rules state that the county Executive Committee will pick Jeter's replacement.

Jeter's former 2-time primary opponent, Tom Davis, is wasting no time campaignign to fill out the remainder of Jeter's term and for the opportunity to run for the seat as the party's candidate this November.  To that end Davis appears to already have an impressive list of support - puting out this statement on Monday.

Technically, the local GOP big wigs could select anyone they want, but picking someone other than Davis would likely not be a path to success in November.

As aShortChronicle reported after the primary this spring, Davis actually won the precincts in the Republican heart of NC-92 here in North Mecklenburg.  Jeter squeaked out the victory by running up the margins in the southern, more Democratic, part of the district where there are fewer Republican voters but Davis was less well known.

However, the dynamic will be different in the general election this fall when Democrat Chaz Beasley is also on the ballot.

During the primary, Davis ran on an anti-toll platform that resonated with voters in North Mecklenburg - particularly those who saw Jeter's late conversion to the anti-toll effort as somewhat suspect.   Beasley is also running as an anti-toll candidate.

The overall November election will be driven by the Presidential race as much or more than anything, but a candidate in the NC-92 race that doesn't pull strong anti-toll support will be at a distinct disadvantage.

NC-92 is one of the few truly competitive districts in the whole state, so every vote truly does matter here.

What could prove interesting in picking Jeter's replacement is the makeup of the NCGOP members who may do the picking.  Throughout the anti toll fight, the NCGOP has run cover for pro-toll electeds.  The issue has divided Republican and consevative activists in North Mecklenburg in particular.

For replacing Jeter for the remainder of his current term, Ballotpedia.org outlines the NC procedure this way.

"If there is a vacancy in the North Carolina General Assembly, the governor is responsible for appointing a replacement.^[62][63]

When making an appointment, the governor must make a decision from a list of recommended candidates submitted by the political party committee that last held the vacant seat.^[64] The appointment must be made within seven days of receiving a list of recommended candidates.^[63] The person selected to the seat serves for the remainder of the unfilled term.^[63]"

What's the likelihood of McCrory pushing to get that list quickly?  What's the likelihood the NCGOP would put an anti-toll person on the list?

To replace Jeter on the ballot gets a bit more murky. 

G.S. 163-114 says the "County executive committee of political party in which vacancy occurs" - meaning the MeckGOP Exec Committee - is the body responsible for picking the replacement candidate.  In fact it is just the subset of this committee from NC92.

If this group were to pick a candidate it's unclear if Davis would get the nod.  There are a number of pro-tollers in the bunch who would likely fight it.

However, this section also references a 120 day window for replacing a candidate.  Since it is less than 120 days until the election, it's unclear if Jeter can even be replaced on the ballot at this point - effectively leaving Republicans without a candidate.

If the local GOP establishment decides to continue its pro-toll political cover, it is possible they could pick someone other than Davis to replace Jeter or pick nobody at all to send to the Governor.  If they can't replace Jeter on the ballot for November, or don't fight to be able to do so then that makes winning  an almost insurmountable climb for any Republican.

However, this would all prove only one thing.  They would rather lose a House seat, than cross those higher up the political food chain who they've been covering.

Clarification: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said the MeckGOP executive committee was responsible for these selections.  Per discussion with Mecklenburg BOE Director, Michael Dickerson, only MeckBOE members in NC-92 will pick.  They would only be responsible for the canddiate replacement if it's allowed.  He has a question out to the State BOE regarding the 120 day window.

#NCGA: Jeter ahead in squeaker for NC-92 House seat

In preliminary totals, NC House Rep Charles Jeter leads challenger Tom Davis by a mere 28 votes after election day.   That's 3719 votes for Jeter to 3691 for Davis, or 50.19% to 49.81%

Per Tom Davis Wednesday morning, they are still waiting on provisional and final absentee totals, so things could possibly change one way or the other with a recount.

Taking a look at the precinct level maps from election day shows a good picture of how this race unfolded.

2016 Primary Election
Jeter shown in Red.  Davis shown in Tan.

Davis rolled up big victories in Huntersville precincts in the north end of the district - winning those precincts by double digit percentages.  However, Jeter overcame that by winning the southern end of the district.

Davis was running as an anti-toll candidate which clearly resonated in the northern precincts that will be impacted by the I77 HOT lanes project.  His margin of victory there becomes even more stark when one considers this was Jeter's home turf as a former Huntersville Commissioner.

Interestingly, this is almost the exact opposite of the precinct level results from the first Jeter vs Davis contest back in the 2012 primary. In that race Jeter ran up huge totals in Huntersville and Davis won the southern end of the district.   See below.

2012 Primary Election
Jeter shown in light green.  Davis shown in dark green.

In 2016, Jeter actually saw his raw vote total fall in 3 of 5 Huntersville precincts when compared to 2012.  This happened even while overall turnout across the district was up significantly.  That does not bode well for Jeter's general election hopes if he is ultimately declared the winner of this year's close primary.

The below map shows the precinct outcomes from the 2012 general election.  That's a good comparison because it was also a presidential election year.

2012 General Election
Jeter shown in Red, Bradford shown in blue.

The precincts Jeter won on Tuesday almost match exactly the ones he lost during the 2012 general election.  Combine that with what would appear to be lower popularity in his home precincts, and that's not a good recipe for success in one of the few partisanly competitive districts in the state.

Bonus Observation:  As close as this contest was on Tuesday, it was not the closest legislative primary for the NC House.  That honor went to the Democratic Primary for NC House 103 between Rochelle Rivas and Noah Lieberman.  In that race Rivas leads by just 10 votes, 3235 to 3225.

#NCGA: About those $15,000 boomerang checks...

The Charlotte Observer reported last week about the campaign coffers of Mecklenburg pols running for the NCGA.

In the report, the Observer reported, Rep Charles Jeter was "boosted by $16,000 from the House Republican caucus."

That of course would be a totally improper use of party funds since Jeter faces a Republican Primary opponent in Tom Davis and the party is not supposed to meddle in primaries.  It is also totally not true.

Yes, Jeter's campaign report shows a $15,000 contribution from the Republican Party House caucus on August 20th, 2015.  However, what the Charlotte Observer failed to report was that this money was returned to the caucus on December 1st, 2015.

So, what was that money shuffling really all about?  The answer to that is the real story.

Regular readers of this site will remember some stories from last year about shenanigans in the closing days of the NCGA long session - shenanigans  involving legislation for something called Affiliated Party Committees.  These committees if used would allow NCGA leadership to cut the state parties out of the campaign fund management loop. This was an effort by legislators to do an end run around the NCGOP after the top spots in the party apparatus were taken over by grassroots activists.

This money shuffling in/out of Jeter's account was part of a larger effort by the legislators to protect their money.  Or maybe another way to put it, it helped protect the money of the special interests that fill their campaign coffers.

As reported at DailyHaymaker.com, Jeter was not the only person to receive one of these $15,000 checks.  At least eight legislators received them.

Charles Jeter
Rob Bryan
Susan Martin
Nelson Dollar
Bill Brawley
David Lewis
Stephen Ross
John Szoka

As was mentioned in the linked Haymaker story, this was initially explained as an effort to bolster campaign funds for legislators in risky districts.  The Haymaker clearly debunked that explanation.  It might have applied to Jeter in NC-92 because that is one of the few partisanly competitive districts, but certainly it did not apply to several of the others.

No, this was an effort to secure the House Caucus money, from any possible use at NCGOP HQ.

A peak at all the latest campaign reports for the above mentioned legislators shows that they all received $15,000 checks in late August.  Most were returned in late October/early November.  Rep David Lewis was particularly generous adding an extra 10 grand for a total of $25,000 sent to the caucus.

During just the last reporting period, Lewis raked in $58,800 from special interest PACs. That's not counting contributions from individuals who may also be rated to those same industries.  When you see that kind of money flowing back up to the caucus and you look at the sources going to the legislators sending the money to the caucus, it's safe to say some of it is special interest money that the caucus was "protecting" when it did all this shuffling.

Jeter's $15,000 check was returned on December 1st - the first day of the filing period for this election cycle.  Jeter's check was one of the last 2 returned.

So, circling back to the beginning, no caucus money will be helping Jeter in his primary against Tom Davis.

HOWEVER, this does show that on Jeter's watch as Republican Conference chair there was some "three card monte" shuffling going on with caucus $$$ due to a lack of trust between GOPe legislators and Grassroots activists who had stormed the barricades at NCGOP HQ.

What happened between August when the Caucus money was drained from the accounts and when it was returned a few months later?  Establishment operative Dallas Woodhouse took over as NCGOP Executive Director.

You may remember the Woodhouse name from these posts regarding HOT lanes connections.  See here and here.  He was the staffer at the Tom Tillis supporting PAC that funnelled $4.7 million in dark money to Tillis's NCSEN campaign.

Putting a hard core establishment guy in charge of NCGOP HQ made sure there were friendly eyballs watching, making it safe to return the money.

Always, alwaaaaaays, follow the money!!!  It will tell you a lot!

#NCGA - Big Solar looooves Charles Jeter!

That's just one of the takeaways from NC92 Rep Charles Jeter's latest campaign finance report that finally appeared on the NC BOE website on Monday.

Out of $30,000 in contributions from individuals, at least $18,950 came from individuals clearly associated with green energy.  That included 2 maximum contributions of $5,100 from Charlotte billionaire Jay Faison and his wife. Another $2500 came in from the NC Clean Energy Businees Alliance PAC.

That makes for a whopping total of at least $21,450 from people associated with a single business.  (It's at least that much considering there could be more squirreled away in other donations.)

Jeter's stunning total of solar cash for the second half of the year bested what Sen Jeff Tarte brought in from Big Solar in the first half of 2015.  His was a relatively modest $17,000.

What's the reason that's a big deal (other than the obvious implications of so much money coming from one type of business)?

The issue of solar subsidies has been a huge source of controversy this past year within the Republican House Caucus.

The issue even spilled over locally within the MeckGOP when former (emphasis on former) MeckGOP Chairman Curtis Watkins resigned suddenly after being accused of trying to recruit a primary challenger to House Majority Leader, Mike Hager.  Watkins works in the green energy busines, and Hager has been one of the leading voices in the NCGA opposing subsidizing that business.

Working in concordance with the NCGOP platform, conservatives like Hagar in the NCGA have been successfull in scaling back some of the mandates and subsidies imposed by Raleigh forcing higher usage of energy from sources such as solar.  To do that, they've often had to fight members of their own party.

Jeter currently serves as the Conference Chair for the House Republicans which means he is in charge of raising and managing the Caucus's campaign funds.

Fr conservative voters, it is easy to see how having someone in that position who is raising so much money for his personal campaign account from a lobby the party platform opposes, would/should be considered a problem.

Bonus Observation: In what has to be a rare thing for a state legislator, Jeter sported more than one billionaire donor.  Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson gave him $500.

#NCGA House-92: It is ALL about the HOT lanes.

At least that is what you would think from looking at Democrat challenger Chaz Beasley's website. The only issue mentioned on his campaign site home page is his opposition to I-77 HOT lanes project.

Beasley says he intends to file this Thursday at 12:15 p.m. according to his Facebook page.  He will be the first challenger for incumbent Republican Rep Charles Jeter of Huntersville who currently holds the seat.

Beasley repeatedly says "we" have opposed the HOT lanes project since the beginning. However, it is a bit unclear exactly what Beasley means by "we".

A search of the Exit 28 Ridiculousness Facebook page does not show a single comment by Beasley nor does one find anything else where he is on the record as opposing the project or has worked at all with the groups of activists trying to stop it.  That would include on the sites for the Mecklenburg Young Democrats where Beasley served as the immediate past president - a position that would have allowed him a platform to espouse his supposed opposition.

Regardless, his emphasis on the project shows the importance of it as a campaign issue.

NC-92 is one of the few competitive districts between the parties in the entire state, so any number of issues could swing the election to one party or another.  If voters believe that Jeter is not doing absolutely everything possible to stop the project, then it could cause enough voters to swing to Beasley simply because he says he opposes it.

Proof of Beasley's actual opposition may not be required.

I77 continues to stir the pot for local politicos

In the ongoing fallout of this month's election, Local politicos have continued to spin, react, position, and use the I77 HOT lanes issue to varying degrees of effectiveness.

In a press release last Monday where his pending toll road education trip to Texas along with Davidson Mayor John Woods was revealed, Cornelius Mayor Chuck Travis chose to take the "whistling past the graveyard" approach.  Considering what happened to his fellow pro-toller, Mayor Jill Swain in Huntersville, it seemed a bit tone deaf for Travis to say...

"First and foremost, I want to thank the residents of Cornelius for the vote of confidence to serve as the Mayor of our wonderful Town. On election day, even though I was unopposed, I received the highest number of votes of any candidate running for office in our Town. I appreciate the trust that you have placed in me to lead our Town for the next two years. I take the role of Mayor seriously and respect the responsibility to hold this office."

While the bubble was burst regarding the vote totals in the unopposed Davidson and Cornelius Mayoral races in this piece last week.  Cornelius Commissioner Dave Gilroy's said it more directly in his most recent newsletter in Sunday.

"Note to Davidson’s Mayor John Woods and Cornelius’s Mayor Chuck Travis who are both lovely gentlemen, but have been hand-in-hand for years with Swaine in supporting I-77 Tolls (which the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce recently stated would cause “irreparable damage to our region”). With no doubt whatsoever, both Woods and Travis would have similarly gone down in flames had they faced any viable opposition."

Then there is State Rep Charles Jeter.  Though, in Jeter's case, rather than his own statements, he was on the receiving end of multiple ads on the subject of the HOT lanes - ads that came from two completely different directions.

The first ad appearing in local papers said Jeter is the one with the power to stop the tolls...

The second appeared on a billboard along 77 saying Jeter is the one to blame for putting them in place...

In the aftermath of Monday's "summit" where the State once again kicked the can back to CRTPO and with candidate filing for the NCGA set to open December-1, we can likely expect the hard hitting comments on tolls to keep coming.

The topic was an effective one in our recent municipal elections and will likely be in the forefront for many elections to come.

I77 Summit details released...results pre-ordained???

Below are the details released for the coming "summit" on I77.

It does not look like the goal is cancellation of the Cintra contract.  That is disappointing.

One can see the meeting going something like this...

Toll opponents make a valid point.  NCDOT/Cintra says "no that is not true."

Repeat ad nauseam.

To be clear, I hope that is not the case, but the info below does not give that impression.

Hopefully, when the final agenda comes out it has some concrete actionable items on it.

From Rep Charles Jeter to all invitees...

The CRTPO/Municipal Summit will be held at Cornelius Town Hall on Monday November 23^rd at 9:00am. 

Please advise asap if you are planning on attending or know if you cannot attend.  We need to make sure we are properly set-up based on the number of invitees planning to attend. 

An official agenda will be forthcoming, but here are some answers to the FAQ’s I’ve received…

• Will the meeting be public?  Yes
• How long will the meeting last?  We hope to have a productive and organized meeting, however, we do not want to cut off any questions or discussion.  The meeting length will be up to the participants other than my promise of having a hard stop at noon.
• What do we hope to accomplish?  The purpose of this meeting will not be a complaint-fest of arguing back and forth.  This is designed to separate fact from fiction regarding the project and to determine what options exist and the ramifications of any alternate solutions that will may be presented.  This summit will not be limited to the current project, but will include a discussion of managed lanes region-wide.  As a result, we believe it is imperative for all CRTPO represented government entities to attend. 
• Who will facilitate the meeting?  I will lead the meeting and will be very strict in keeping decorum.  Regardless of anyone’s predisposition to this issue, we are all trying solve the transportation issues of our region and any attempts to turn this into a circus will be immediately stopped. 
• Will there be any presentations?  Yes, both the NCDOT and the Lake Norman Chamber will make presentations, though I have asked each to be brief. 

Bradford, Jeter not to blame for marriage bill override

The “veto” used to be a powerful weapon in the Governor’s arsenal, but recently it has not been an effective one for North Carolina’s chief executives.  With veto-proof super majorities in both houses of the legislature, the General Assembly now regularly overrides gubernatorial vetoes – sometimes with ease and sometimes only after “gaming the system”.

Last week’s veto override of Senate Bill 2 in the House – a bill which allows magistrates and registrars to “opt out” of performing any marriages if they object to performing same-sex marriages due to a religious objection - definitely falls into the latter category.

Before getting into the details of how the House override occurred, here is a little history on the recent demise of the veto’s power.

Over the last ten sessions of the NCGA there have been 34 gubernatorial vetoes issued.  Sixteen of those vetoes have been overridden.  Fifteen of the sixteen overrides have occurred since the Republicans took over both houses of the legislature after the 2010 elections.  Eleven of the fifteen Republican-led overrides were against Democrat Beverly Perdue.  However, maybe more surprising is that four out of five vetoes from Republican Governor Pat McCrory have also been overridden by the heavily Republican legislature.

This recent history shows where the real power lies in Raleigh.  It’s in the General Assembly, not the Governor’s mansion.  But even with all that power, sometimes the leadership in the legislature has to work at it to achieve the 3/5ths vote, or 60% super majority, in each chamber to snub the Governor.

So, what does all this have to do with local politics?

Well, it just so happens that all three local legislators, Senator Jeff Tarte, and Representatives Charles Jeter and John Bradford all supported the Governor’s opposition to this bill.  All three voted against its initial passage, and Senator Tarte was one of only three Republican Senators to vote against the override in the Senate..

The Senate override however was the easy part.  That vote was 32-16 in favor  – easily surpassing the 60% mark of the members present.  Two of the total 50 senators were absent for that vote.

One would think absent voters would not matter, but in the subsequent NC House vote they would be necessary to ensure a successful override attempt.

In the House override vote last Thursday, 10 members were not present – four Democrats and six Republicans.  That dropped the total number of “yes” votes required to 66.  Those favoring overriding the governor had 69 votes in their pocket, so a vote was called and the bill was overridden.

As soon as the vote occurred Thursday morning, attention turned to those who were absent which allowed for the smaller number of votes required.  That attention – particularly on the political left - quickly focused on the three Republicans who voted against the original bill but who were not on hand last Thursday to vote against the override.  Two of those three Republicans were local Reps Charles Jeter and John Bradford.

The questions being asked in cyberspace implied the Republican no-shows deliberately sandbagged the vote by not showing up and thus allowed the override to succeed.  The implication was that they had not stood by their original votes.  After all, last Thursday was the first excused absence this legislative session for each of them.  It seemed suspicious.

Unfortunately for those critics, the math doesn't support their position.

Everything else being equal, even if Jeter, Bradford and fellow Republican Rep Jon Hardister who all voted against the original bill had been on hand last Thursday, the override would have still been successful.  Or put another way, their absence did not cause it to pass.

Rep Jeter was out with a stomach bug.  He says he would have been there, but knew his vote would not have altered the outcome.  Rep Bradford knew new was going to be out that day and let the Governor know in advance that his opposition to the bill had not changed.

But what about the other absent members?

There were also four Democrats and three other Republicans not present last Thursday.  After analyzing their previous votes, it appears this override likely would have occurred even if the full House membership had been present.  If all of the other absent members had been present and voted the same way they did when the bill passed originally, the vote would have been 72 – 48 – or exactly 60%.

That however might have been too close for comfort for those wanting the override to succeed, so they waited until the odds were in their favor.  In doing so, they gave a lesson in power-politics and dealt another blow to the power of the veto.

Towns Ask Feds at FCC to 'Preempt' NC State Law

In a case with potentially national repercussions, the Towns of Mooresville and Davidson have waded into the fray over municipal broadband network ownership.

On August 28th, both towns submitted comments supporting petitions to the Federal Communications Commission by Wilson, NC and Chattanooga, TN asking the FCC to 'preempt' North Carolina law governing municipal owned communications networks.  This State legislation passed in 2011 as H129 with strong bi-partisan support and commonly goes by the name - the 'Level Playing Field' law.  This law outlines the requirements municipalities must meet to operate their own retail communications networks.  It does not strictly prohibit them from doing so, but it does ensure that public coffers are not a limitless backstop for any funding shortfall.  Maybe most importantly for taxpayers it requires that any debt incurred for this type of operation be voter approved.  (In a bit of irony, Mi-Connection is actually exempted from most provisions of this law because it was created before the law passed.)

In their comments, the towns that own the money losing Mi-Connection cable operation "strongly support and encourage" the Federal Government to invalidate this State legislation and force North Carolina to allow municipalities unfettered access to make the same mistake they have made by entering the competitive telecommunications marketplace.  (See here and here for the Davidson and Mooresville submissions.)

Mi-Connection was formed without voter approval of the massive debt which now weighs down the operation.  For residents of these two towns there can be little doubt that the decision to form Mi-Connection is the most damaging financial decision in their towns' histories.  This is particularly true for tiny Davidson where at one point its annual subsidies to the cable company equaled nearly a quarter of the town's annual budget. 

This damage was caused by a lack of due diligence prior to getting into the business, a poor initial management team that needed to be replaced, and operational decisions that took years to reverse - all examples of exactly why local government should not be involved in a private sector business.  These are all examples of exactly why a law like H129 is needed.  Mi-Connection is the poster child for the Level Playing Field.  These things combined with a brutally competitive industry landscape have resulted in millions of dollars in annual subsidies from the towns.   However, in the towns' submissions one gets the impression a large part of the failure of Mi-Connection is actually due to the Level Playing Field law - a law that would not pass until four years after Mi-Connection was formed in 2007 and began wracking up deficits.

Here's what the towns told the FCC:

"Numerous plans that were in the works by various local North Carolina communities to build fiber networks for retail business and residential use ground to a halt with the passage of Section 160A-340 (known as “H129”).  The uncertainty caused by the proposed legislation was a major reason a collaborative effort by the towns of Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Mooresville and Troutman and Mecklenburg County ended with 3 of the entities dropping out." 

Really???  An unpassed law was the reason for these town's dropping out and that's why Mooresville and Davidson were left holding the bag when a risky decision went south?  That seems a bit unlikely, so we checked with a couple of elected officials from towns that dropped out who were involved with this decision back in 2007.

When asked if the threat of Level Playing Field legislation impacted the decision-making process to join Mi-Connection here's what State Legislator Charles Jeter had to say. 

"I was a member of the Huntersville Town Board at that time.  I was also one of the two Huntersville Commissioners to be assigned to the working group committee of the parties that met often on behalf of the Town of Huntersville.
As to your question regarding the level playing field law… I don’t remember it being discussed.  In fairness it was some eight years ago and there were a great number of moving parts that were discussed."

Cornelius Commissioner David Gilroy was more direct.

"Absolutely no role whatsoever.  We pulled out because it was stupid in countless ways frankly."

So, there you have it.  The failure of Mi-Connection lies at the feet of the politicians who supported it and not with some blocking state legislation.

There are also other issues with these submissions...
 
Documents obtained by aShortChronicle show that the towns' comments were hardly more than canned copy provided to Mi-Connection by the local government telecom lobbying group SEATOA with instructions to customize the letter as needed.  (If you look at the two links above, you will notice that the two documents are identical except for the names of the towns.)  It appears the towns did hardly any customization of this lobbyist content and where they did update this copy it was more of an attempt to rewrite the history of Mi-Connection as described above than to provide any real justification for why the Level Playing Field law should be preempted.

Making matters worse, it appears the decision to submit these comments to the FCC was not fully discussed by the town Boards before these supporting comments were submitted by staff on the towns behalf.  This created a somewhat uncomfortable moment in Davidson when Commissioner Beth Cashion brought the issue up at the town's September 9th monthly meeting expecting to engage in further discussion on the subject only to be told by Town Manager Leamon Brice that the comments had already been submitted - a decision that was clearly made by staff on its own.

So, here you have our towns asking for the Federal Government to overturn a state law - a law that has bi-partisan support.  They are using canned lobbyist content modified in a way that is factually incorrect.  And the effort appears to driven more by staff than our elected officials.

Wonderful!

Action Opportunity:  If you want to submit your own comment to the FCC telling them how bad an idea it is to overturn this type of state law, they are taking comments until September 29th.  Here's the link.  It's for proceeding 14-115.

Correction: Commissioner Cashion brought up this issue at the September monthly meeting for further discussion - not August as was incorrectly reported earlier.

The Electoral Politics of Widening I-77

Politics is a numbers game - always has been, always will be.

But the numbers behind the politics of widening I-77 are not just the ones you read about in the papers.  They aren't just about spending over $500,000,000 dollars to add lanes to less than 30 miles of road.  It's not just the 20, 30, or 40 years the pro-toll side tells citizens they will have to wait if this project does not go forward as currently planned using tolls.  It's not just the zero other options they say exist.

In many ways those numbers are just sound and fury signifying nothing.  If you've attended more than one of the numerous debates, discussions, and presentations that have been held around the area or read any of the countless articles published by all types of media, you'll realize these numbers are always changing.  They are moving targets and nobody really knows the true answer to many of the questions asked.

There are numbers though that are very real and may ultimately drive the final decision, or at least influence how some of our local leaders behave on the road to getting there.  Those numbers are 1023, 242, and 8.6.

Here's the hard reality of our coming election cycles.  Our North Mecklenburg members of the General Assembly, all of them Republicans, should all have some reasonable concern that if they end up on the wrong side of this issue it could cut short their tenures in Raleigh or shoot down their attempts at higher office.  With House Speaker and North Mecklenburg representative, Thom Tillis, finally announcing his entry into the 2014 US Senate race this week, it's time to take a look at what the HOT Lanes decision could mean when it comes to our elections.

So what about those numbers?

1023. That's the margin of victory for Charles Jeter in his close race for the newly created NC-92 legislative district.  It is one of only a handful of truly swing districts in the state.  If he supports HOT lanes, he will lose votes in North Mecklenburg, his base.  Will he lose enough to cost him reelection if he faces a half-decent Democrat as a challenger?  Who knows?  Does he want to risk it?  His recent actions are inconclusive.

This legislative session, Rep Jeter submitted bill H157, one of his first, that would limit the use of transportation funds to transportation projects.  The bill met the crossover deadline, and he has heavily promoted his support of the bill making sure everyone is aware of his desire to spend our road money wisely.  He spoke about the bill at the February LKN Chamber "Focus Friday" gathering.  His comments at the Chamber also indicated that he might be open to considering other options on I-77, or that at least he had not made up his mind on the project.  He seemed to be really trying to reassure people he's not a full-blown supporter of the current plan for tolls on I-77.

Here's the thing.  It won't work...not unless he comes down firmly in the camp opposing the project. Saying you are not a strong supporter of a project is not the same as saying you oppose a project.    Unless, he actively opposes the I-77 HOT Lanes project, he loses votes.  Period.  Unfortunately, Rep Jeter missed his best opportunity recently to actually oppose the project when he voted against the amendment to H267 which would have required the legislature to vote on toll projects before implementation.  See H267: Redux - NC House really, really, really doesn't want to vote on tolling you for the details on that vote.

Actions speak louder than words, and in this case Rep Jeter chose not to take an action that matches his words.

The next number is 242, as in Cornelius Precinct 242.  This precinct in State Senator Jeff Tarte's home town voted overwhelmingly for him in the July 2012 runoff which ended the bitter primary campaign last election cycle for NC Senate 41.  In fact, Senator Tarte's margin of victory for the entire race was covered by just this one precinct.  He defeated his opponent, John Aneralla, by a total of 193 votes, and he won Precinct 242 by 203 votes.  Precinct 242 lies in the heart of the proposed I-77 HOT Lane plan.  Any fall off in support here and in neighboring precincts would hurt in the event of another primary challenge.

Admittedly, a primary challenge is not very likely, and Senator Tarte has insulated himself considerably in this region of the district with his efforts to fix the county's broken revaluation process.  For example, see When the politicians get it right... on some of the positive publicity he deserves on that issue.  However, Cornelius is also the home base for opposition to the HOT Lanes plan.  Many Cornelians who were convinced that Jeff Tarte was the best choice last time might think otherwise if given a choice in another primary and he is perceived to have done nothing to stop the toll plan. 

Earlier in the HOT Lanes debate they were seeing things like this tweet from their State Senator.  It's a picture of a traffic jam on a 20 lane road and implies this is what proponents of general purpose lanes are trying to foist on the public.

When asked about this tweet, here was the response...

That was back in February.  Now, in a current and ongoing conversation on Senator Tarte's Facebook page, he's openly discussing the issue.  Readers should definitely check it out.  In its own way, the below comment from Senator Tarte is rather refreshing.

"When folks send you messages they will hold you accountable at the polls - that is kind of petty and senseless - because it is not really a threat, it is how our political process works. If one does not want their actions judged, you should not run for elected public office. Being held accountable on every Election Day is one of the things that makes our system the greatest method of governing that man has known to date. Please hold me accountable on every issue as well as my entire body of work."

Senator Tarte is in a "safe" seat for Republicans, but his support for the HOT Lanes option on I-77 will definitely make it less so for him personally in the event someone challenges him and makes this a central issue in a primary campaign.

And finally, that last number of 8.6.  According to the most recent numbers on the State and Mecklenburg County Board of Elections sites, 8.6% of all North Carolina Republicans live in Mecklenburg County - 170k out of a total 1.98m to be more exact.

If there is any unrest among that group of Republicans it will have an impact on the next major statewide political race here in North Carolina - the 2014 race for Kay Hagan's US Senate seat.

Last week NC Speaker of the House and North Mecklenburg Representative, Thom Tillis, announced his candidacy for that seat.

However, to get a shot at that seat, he must first come out on top in a primary.  Being a main driver of a very unpopular project in his home county which contains a sizable chunk of the state's Republicans, does not help that cause.  It does not help it at all, and he can only lose votes because of it.  Dr Greg Brannon, the only other candidate officially in the race, mentioned the HOT Lanes issue as part of his "welcome letter" to Speaker Tillis for the 2014 Senate contest - ensuring that this is an issue which will be part of the primary campaign.

To win a first primary outright, a candidate needs 40% of the statewide vote.  Losing any sizable chunk of voters who should be in his camp will make that much more difficult for Thom Tillis.  If a race like this goes to a runoff, then it's anyone's guess who comes out the winner.  Ted Cruz's runoff victory in Texas being the obvious comparison.

And if Speaker Tillis makes it out of the primary?  In the general election that 8.6% will be even more critical.  The general election race for US Senate will likely be very close with no margin for error.

A cautionary example would be the 2008 race between Pat McCrory and Beverly Purdue.  The moderate Mayor Pat lost that race by a razor thin margin. One has to wonder how much of that margin was due to Mecklenburg County conservatives who didn't vote for him after his championing the Uptown arena and light rail.

As the clock ticks away on the HOT Lanes issue, more and more voters will be lost.  The only question is just how high that number goes.

NC-9 Republicans Meet in Cornelius...Unity a Common Theme

Republicans in North Carolina's Ninth Congressional District met in Cornelius on Saturday for a convention to elect a new slate of leaders for the congressional level of organization within the party.  The event brought numerous politicians to Cornelius Town Hall including Congressman Robert Pittenger, NC Speaker of the House Thom Tillis as well as Representative Charles Jeter of Huntersville and Senator Jeff Tarte of Cornelius among others.  About 100 of the party faithful were in attendance.

There was some speculation that there would be fireworks surrounding the ongoing intra-party tensions around the I-77 HOT lanes supported by most Republican elected officials.  When it came time for nominations for officers, Convention Chairman, Billy Miller, paused extra long to see if there were any additional nominations beyond the existing slate - even making a joke that he thought there might be.  However, in the end the elections for offices was not contested and John Steward of Union County and Davidson's Linda Angele maintained their positions as Chairman and Vice-Chair respectively.   It was a good show of unity within the party.

That unity was a culmination of a theme hit on by most of the speakers throughout the morning.

Speaker Tillis first hit on the topic, highlighting "The Eleventh Commandment" made popular by Ronald Reagan..."thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican".  He also paraphrased another quote commonly attributed to Reagan.."the person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally."

Claude Pope, campaigning for NCGOP Chairman, said "for party unity we have to teach the losers how to support the winners, rather than taking their ball and going home."

Finally, John Steward, in his brief acceptance speech as NC 9 Chairman said that Republicans can't win without the Tea Party, the Tea Party can't win without the establishment Republicans, and that the Libertarians can't win on their own.  A statement that highlights the need for all the facets of the conservative cause to work together for a common purpose to be successful.

To a degree, they are obviously all correct.

However, for that unity to occur all sides must feel that they are being dealt with fairly, and far too often things occur during campaigns and during contentious issues to undermine that sense of fairness.  Whether it be perceived meddling in primaries, or how contentious issues are handled, to put all of Saturday's words into real action will require much more than saying "can't we all just get along?"