Candidate William Gillenwater (left) and friend Doug Matthews
William Gillenwater passed through a gauntlet of local politicians making his way into the Woodleaf Community Center in Rowan County on Saturday, where the local volunteer fire department was selling plates (option pulled pork or grilled chicken) for $7 to raise money for its program. Dressed in a plain black T-shirt and blue jeans, the 59-year-old retired geologist was the only candidate not wearing a campaign shirt or sticker.
Jim Greene, a Republican candidate for county commission, reached for one of Gillenwater’s glossy brochures. “You’re running against Mel Watt?" Greene asked. “I’ll vote for you, no matter what you have to say.”
“It’s been awesome,” Gillenwater said of the Republican primary. “I don’t know Mel Watt personally. I guess he’s an alright guy. Just like the man coming in the door: ‘Give me your card. If you’re running against Mel Watt, I’m voting for you.’ It's been like that everywhere I've been."
Gillenwater, who goes by the nickname “Doc,” helped organize the Tea Party rally in Greensboro last year, along with a Tea Party event in Washington. Ever since, he said, he’s essentially been campaigning. He said the Tea Party movement “made me realize that people are going to have to stand up to these politicians. It showed me there were a lot of dissatisfied people out there.”
A win for Gillenwater would be a long shot by any stretch. Stretching from east Greensboro through parts of Winston-Salem and High Point, and then along Interstate 85 through Rowan County to Charlotte, US House District 12 was drawn to favor a black candidate and a Democrat. Mel Watt of Charlotte has held the seat since it was created in 1992, and Republican challengers in the last two election cycles have fared poorly in the polls. Ty Cobb Jr. won 28.4 percent of the vote in 2008, and Dr. Ada Fisher won 33.0 percent in 2006.
Gillenwater, who lives in Greensboro, is the only Republican candidate who actually lives in the district. North Carolina law allows any qualified candidate who lives in the state to run in any congressional district. Candidate Scott Cumbie of Winston-Salem lives in District 5, while Greg Dority of Washington lives in District 3.
Voters should have no trouble distinguishing between Gillenwater and Watt, and the first point of contention he raised was the incumbent’s support of the Federal Reserve from his perch on the House Financial Services Committee.
“He protects the Fed,” Gillenwater said. “The Fed needs to be investigated and disbanded. He voted for the healthcare bill, which I think is going to bring this country down.”
Of healthcare reform, Gillenwater said, “It’s a socialist measure. It’s going to bankrupt the country. There’s no way you can add 40 million people without raising taxes or reducing services.”
The candidate handed me an e-mail printout that cites Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution, which reads, “The president, vice president and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Gillenwater told me that President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Leader Nancy Pelosi “have all twisted arms and bribed” legislators to get a final healthcare bill. I mentioned that Obama wouldn’t be the first president to promise lawmakers goodies for their districts in return for support of critical legislation.
“That doesn’t make it right,” Gillenwater replied. “The only big difference I see is that it’s never been used on this scale before.”
Before Gillenwater arrived, I talked to one of his supporters. Doug Matthews, an AirCare pilot for Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, went to high school in Jacksonville with Gillenwater. He wore a “Reagan for president” T-shirt.
“It’s just that he has so much common sense,” Matthews said. “He thinks like us taxpayers. He’s concerned that the government’s spending money it doesn’t have, and spending money on a select few instead of for the good of everyone. The corruption — he’s against that. He’s in favor of term limits, so that you won’t be focused on getting contributions from PACs and lobbyists to get reelected.”
Matthews told me that it’s not just Gillenwater’s position on the issues that makes him an appealing candidate; it’s also the way he comports himself in the campaign.
“Someone like Doc, who’s not going to Bank of America for contributions, he’s coming up to you and me, saying, ‘Hey Doug, can you give me $25 to buy a placard?’ When he gets elected, he’s not going to owe anyone. If you come to him with something, he’ll tell you: ‘Yeah, I agree with you.’ Or, ‘No, that might benefit you and your neighbor, but it’s not for the good of all.’”
As Gillenwater and I conversed at one of the long tables in the community center, his granddaughter went outside to hand out fliers. She came back with Matthews.
“You are cute as a speckled puppy, you hear me?” Matthews said to the girl after greeting Gillenwater.
In spite of the odds, Gillenwater indicated this could be a breakthrough year for a conservative candidate in the district.
“I think this year is up because of the Tea Party,” he said. “Republicans and Democrats are really fed up. As you know, money usually determines the winner. This is one year that I believe that won’t hold true.”
I asked Gillenwater how he would relate to constituents as representative of District 12, considering that its electorate is so diverse and geographically spread out.
“To me, everyone in my district is American,” he said. “I hate that our country has started dividing into African American, Native American and Latino American. If you’re born here and naturalized, you’re American. We shouldn’t have special anything for any one group.”
Gillenwater had been fretting about his granddaughter going outside where he couldn’t keep an eye on her. I sense that he is disquieted by a number of changes that have taken place in society over the years.
“I was lucky enough to be raised by a generation that’s dying out,” he said. “They taught you honesty and integrity: ‘Tell the truth, and you don’t have to worry about what’s coming to bite you later.’ Used to be a man’s word was his bond. I don’t trust anybody anymore.”
I asked Gillenwater how his trust has been violated.
“We’ve turned into a ‘we’ve got to have it now’ society,” he said. “That’s been brought on by a lot of things, not just entitlement programs. TV, fast food and cell phones — it’s all contributed. It used to be that when you left the house you were unavailable until you got back home.”
Gillenwater recently attended a public forum in Charlotte. One thread of the discourse in particular bothered him.
“All I heard was, ‘We’re entitled. We’re entitled to healthcare.’ We’re not entitled to healthcare. ‘We’re entitled to a home. We’re entitled to this….’ All men are created equal, but that doesn’t guarantee that the outcome’s going to be the same. There’s always going to be a certain percentage of people who are parasites.”
Gillenwater holds conservative views in the traditional sense on foreign policy.
“George Washington had the best foreign policy,” he said. “That is, no foreign policy. All you should have is, perhaps, commerce. As far as meddling, you only end up getting involved in drawn-out conflict.”
Yet, drilling down to specifics, he allowed that he holds no major to objections to either of the wars launched under President Bush.
“We killed Saddam even though there were no weapons of destruction,” he said. “I don’t have any problem with that. I don’t have any problem with jumping on Iran before they get the bomb and start an arms race.”
The candidate’s belief in limited government goes beyond philosophy; he proposes several concrete measures.
“I believe in eliminating things,” he said. “We need to keep the federal government out of education. That’s a state’s thing. We need to end the Federal Reserve. Get rid of Homeland Security. The FBI and the CIA have been doing just fine with that for years. We’ve got an idiot running Homeland Security anyway.
“We should get rid of NAFTA, which is the worse thing that’s come along in years,” Gillenwater continued. “All NAFTA did is peel back tariffs with Mexico and Canada. All that does is allow companies to ship goods down to Mexico, assemble products there with cheap labor, and ship them back here to sell.
“We need to get rid of Social Security tax and income tax. We need to get rid of the IRS. We’ll replace that with a flat tax.”
Triad Elections '10
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