NC House debating repeal of protest petition this afternoon

In the midst of efforts to radically restrict access to abortion that have drawn unfavorable national attention, the Republican-controlled NC General Assembly is considering a legislation to repeal a tool currently held by property to curb unwanted developments that threaten to destabilize neighborhoods and erode values.

The protest petition provides that if a certain percentage of property owners adjacent to a parcel subject to rezoning sign a petition, then approval of the rezoning by a city council requires a super-majority vote of 75 percent. The supermajority requirement allows approval of rezoning requests that are considered critical for economic growth, but prevents changes that have caused significant concerns from being rubber-stamped by council comprised of members that receive substantial campaign contributions from developers. Use of the protest petition often results in concessions from developers to soften the impact of development considered intrusive by neighbors.

Property owners in municipalities across the state have been able to use the protest petition since the early 20th century, but in 1971 Greensboro was mysteriously exempted by the General Assembly. Citizens and responsive members of the Guilford County delegation restored the provision in 2009.

Now, the General Assembly is considering abolishing the protest petition across the state. The measure is tucked into  S 112, an omnibus regulatory reform bill whose primary sponsor is Sen. Brent Jackson (R-Duplin, Johnston, Sampson).

Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford), who led the fight to restore the protest petition in Greensboro, said she plans to run an amendment. She said Rep. Jon Hardister, her Republican colleague from Greensboro, has pledged to speak in favor of the amendment.

Check back at this space frequently for updates.

UPDATE, 4:25 p.m. 

Legislation approving sweeping restrictions on access to abortion has passed its third reading in the House. When the session resumes at 4:30 p.m., Speaker Thom Tillis said the House will debate S 112, which includes the measure to repeal the protest petition. Tillis said he intends "to move the bill out before the end of this week."

UPDATE, 4:41 p.m.

Rep. Tim Moffitt (R-Buncombe), chair of the Regulatory Reform Committee, is discussing the legislation. The long title of the bill is "an act to improve and streamline the regulatory process in order to stimulate job creation, to eliminate unnecessary regulation, and to make various other statutory changes."

UPDATE, 4:45 p.m.

Moffitt passes right over Section 13.3 regarding the repeal of protest petitions, moving on to a measure to allow bed and breakfasts to provide three meals a day.

UPDATE, 4:55 p.m.

Rep. Tom Murry (R-Wake) and Rep. William Brawley (R-Mecklenburg) are reviewing some other sections. Now I understand why Moffitt didn't address the protest petition. Apparently, that one was assigned to another lawmaker.

UPDATE, 5:02 p.m.

Brawley explains the rationale behind repealing the protest petition: "This is a part of zoning that dates to the 1920s. At that time, zoning laws were very slight. And because of the wide latitude within a permission, neighbors were given the opportunity to create a need for a supermajority. That is less necessary now because with the granularity of our current zoning ordinances — CDs and so many other things that — that regulation is probably not needed. It's frequently used as a tool to get lots of concessions and run up costs, but I don't know that it any longer contributes to the health and safety of the people."

Brawley notes that the supermajority requirement sets a higher threshold than is required to override a veto by a governor, and restores zoning decisions to a simple majority vote. He adds that local elected officials can run for reelection on their records.

UPDATE, 5:08 p.m.

Moffitt reads an amendment to clarify that pending protest petitions will be honored if the legislation is approved.

UPDATE, 5:14 p.m.

Keith Brown of High Point: "It will be a sad day for any neighborhood or property owner in North Carolina who is involved in a rezoning case to not have the power of the protest petition and to see that they slipped this repeal of the protest petition without any discussion in a local government committee or any discussion at all is ridiculous."

From Doug Clark at the News & Record: "Is this the kind of regulatory reform legislators promised?"

UPDATE, 5:39 p.m.

Extensive debate taking place right now on employment protections for deputies on the NC Industrial Commission. Lawmakers have also discussed a section to regulate hotel emissions of carbon monoxide, no doubt prompted by a recent tragedy in Boone.

UPDATE, 5:44 p.m.

Tillis says there are seven additional amendments to work through before voting on the bill. "Sadly."

UPDATE, 6:09 p.m.

Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) introduces an amendment to strike the section repealing the protest petition. Harrison argues that many zoning boards are stacked with developers and "this just evens the playing field."

Rep. William Brawley (R-Mecklenburg) opposes the amendment. "There is ample opportunity for citizens input."

Rep. John Faircloth (R-Guilford) agrees with Brawley, arguing it's not fair to allow 5 percent of property owner who are neighbors to require a 75-percent supermajority vote.

Rep. Jonathan C. Jordan (R-Ashe, Watauga) clarifies that the ordinance gives whoever owns 5 percent of the adjacent property line rather than 5 percent of adjacent property owners the ability to invoke the protest petition. "Five percent! You can now change your vote from not a super-majority, but an ultra-majority.... We've all heard how the ultra-conservatives are taking over. This is an ultra-majority vote."

Rep. Charles Jeter (R-Mecklenburg), a former member of the Huntersville Town Council, said in his experience the protest petition has worked well. "It was not an onerous obstacle," he says, "because typically they were 5-0 anyway unless they were controversial. It was effectively used in Huntersville."

Rep. Alma Adams (D-Guilford) speaks in support of preserving the protest petition. "It gives citizens an opportunity to have a voice," she says. "We have a voice here; they should have a voice back home."

UPDATE, 6:10 p.m.

Harrison's amendment seeking to strike language repealing the protest petition fails by a vote of 35 to 76.

UPDATE, 7:47 p.m.

The House has voted 84-28 to repeal the protest petition across the state of North Carolina, as part of an omnibus regulatory reform bill.

Harrison, via e-mail: "I was disappointed that Hardister did not speak in favor of the amendment as he said he would. (Hardister was getting worked outside the chamber by homebuilder lobbyists.) He said he did vote for the amendment."

Legislative update scheduled on Friday in High Point

The High Point Human Relations Department and the YWCA of High Point host a legislative update with Reps. John Faircloth and Marcus Brandon at the YWCA, located at 112 Gatewood Ave. in High Point on Friday from 6 to 7 p.m. The event is the first in the “Front Porch Conversation Series.” Future topics include student and youth rights, integration, racial justice, voting rights, fair housing, interracial dating and civic pride.

Highlights from last night's High Point GOP event

The High Point Republican Women and the Guilford County Republican Teens hosted a meet-and-greet event for Republican candidates last night at the Deep River Plantation Club House in the north High Point.

There is a lot of passion in the Guilford County Republican Party this year behind the idea of repealing the national healthcare reform legislation signed by President Obama, behind a sense that government has outgrown and needs to return to its constitutional bounds, and behind the perennial GOP drive to cut taxes and spending. Although most of the candidates were running for state office, grievances against the Democratic administration of Gov. Beverly Perdue were much less pronounced than expressions of anger towards the President and the Democratic Congress.

Loyalties to particular candidates, as always, depends in large part on geography and personal history. It’s difficult for me to get a read on which candidates are gaining traction.

First, a roll call of candidates and proxies in attendance, noting the absence of their opponents:

US House District 6: Challenger Cathy Brewer Hinson was present with a giant trailer parked outside bearing her likeness. Incumbent Howard Coble and challengers Jeff Phillips and Dr. James Taylor were represented by campaign staffers and supporters. Challengers Jon Mangin and Billy Yow were absent.

NC Senate District 28: Trudy Wade was present but left before the formal part of the program. Jeffrey Brommer was present. Robert Brafford Jr. was not.

NC House District 57: Jon Hardister, present (opponent Wendell Sawyer not).

NC House District 61: John Faircloth, Georgia Nixon-Roney and Paul Norcross present (Gerald T. Grubb not).

NC House District 62: Incumbent John Blust was present (challenger Michael Garrett not).

Sheriff: Incumbent BJ Barnes present (challenger Scott A. Jones not).

Guilford County Commission District 2: Myrene Stanley present (opponent Bill Bencini not).



John Blust, a conservative who has served in the NC House since 2001, has assumed the role of dean or ideological exemplar of the Guilford County Republican candidates in Guilford County. Sheriff BJ Barnes is also a revered figure in the party, but the uniqueness of his job description makes him less of a role model for candidates who are largely vying for legislative seats.

As he did at the Guilford County Republican Party Convention a week ago, Blust referenced movies in his stump speech. And as he did at the convention, the candidate characterized himself as a lonely fighter, equally committed to the struggle in difficult and favorable times. Two House candidates, Jon Hardister and Paul Norcross, mentioned Blust by name during their speeches and pledged to join forces with him.

First, some movie references:

I guess I take a certain approach to being in office. If you’ve ever seen the movie The American President — anyone seen that? — with Martin Sheen is chief of staff. Michael Douglas is the president. The poll-driven president, whose foundering and towards the end of the movie as he’s foundering watching the polls, his chief of staff, Martin Sheen, tells him: ‘Here’s an issue we ought to take on. We ought to ride on it. And it needs to be taken on.’ And the President says, ‘You don’t win elections by telling 69 percent of the people they’re wrong. You fight the fights that you can win.’

And I take the approach that Martin Sheen, the chief of staff, immediately says after that. He says, ‘You fight the fights that need fighting.’ And that’s what we have to do. That’s what we have to elect to office is people willing to take on a fight for what’s right, not just when the wind’s blowing our way, but when it isn’t popular.

And to use the movie analysis, I’ve been sent to the cooler a lot like Steve McQueen was in The Great Escape. And I’m willing to go to the cooler. I had my secretary fired, I was given an office a little bigger than a broom closet, I was removed from every committee because I got up and said something and wrote articles about what was going on in the House when I got there. It’s a simple as this approach to governing as Republicans ought to be: Do what needs doing.

Blust made the case that the first step towards achieving goals conservatives hold dear is reforming the legislative process itself.

And the first thing that needs doing — if you watched the healthcare debate — we have to fix our very institutions that are being taken from us by powerful politicians, and it’s the same way in Raleigh like Speaker Pelosi. The House didn’t want to pass that bill. The will of the elected representatives was reflected in their people and would have voted down that bill, except Nancy Pelosi has too much power and can get them in the backroom, make promises, cajole, threat and get your representative government to do what you don’t want it to do.

And we have to fix that first of all. We have to disperse that power in Raleigh. That’s where the corruption has come in — right there. And we’re not going to get the Taxpayer Protection Act, which I authored; we’re not going to get zero-based budgeting; we’re not going to get annexation reform; we’re not going to get a whole lot of these things until we break the power that’s in charge. And it’s amazing to me: They tell us we’re obstructionists. I file bills, other members of the House Republicans file bills — good ideas that would pass even a Democratic House if they could come up for a vote. The speaker blocks it. One man sticks it in a committee, tells the committee chairman not to hear it, and then turns around and calls us obstructionists.

And I’ll tell you: We have got to break that power. I have literature here. Read bills before you pass them? 1997. An editorial. What? Read the budget before you pass it? ‘Blust’s ideas for reform in vogue.’ Some of my legislation has been adopted with other legislators’ names on it. Just this morning, an article in the News & Record — Medicaid fraud detection software. The governor’s finally implementing it. I filed a bill in 2003 over a billion wasted dollars, and over seven years ago, and they finally got around to it. And if you keep me in office, we’re going to get around to a whole lot of things that need to be done to clean up this state and save you money.

Tonight was my first opportunity to hear House District 61 candidate Georgia Nixon-Roney. Her speech focused heavily on biography, qualifications and geographical ties.

My parents moved here in 1959 from Greece, and I was born in High Point, North Carolina. I’ve lived in Jamestown ever since they moved there when I was two. Being Greek, my parents owned a restaurant. I’m sure that’s no surprise to anybody. And another no surprise is that they had four kids just so we could run the restaurant for them. I began at age eight, and that’s the truth. I started washing vegetables and prepping work, and I haven’t stopped working since.

Currently, I’m mayor pro tem in Jamestown. It’s my second term on the Jamestown Town Council. I’ve always been interested in politics; as an attorney, I think that comes with the ground. But my children were at Millis Road [Elementary], which is where I went to school, and when it came time for them to approach middle school, I found that I could not put them in that particular school or any school that we were in the district for. So my kids now attend Wesleyan Christian Academy, which is a great school. But I don’t think it’s fair that my kids get to attend a great school, and many others may not be able to afford to do that.

I did run for the Jamestown Town Council, and won my first time. And as I said, I’m mayor pro tem. I graduated from law school in 1990, and I went to the district attorney’s office, where I worked there for three years, and then I started my law practice in High Point. A property owner. I’m a business owner, a mother, and I generally want to improve the quality of life for people in District 61, the area that’s so dear to me. My business is in High Point. I live in Jamestown. I have property in Sedgefield. My sister lives in Adams Farm. This is the area that I’m concentrating on.

And I’m keenly aware of all the issues that we face. And we all have the same values here. We all want the same improvements. But as an attorney, I understand the legal jargon. I understand how to close loopholes, how to introduce laws and bills that affect us. And we can do it more succinctly. I think that that gives me a little advantage. I think I can get up there and jump in with both feet, whereas it might takes someone else a little bit of time to get used to. I think I can do it efficiently.

It was also my first opportunity to hear Cathy Brewer Hinson, who is challenging Howard Coble for the US House District 6 seat:

There are three main points of my platform.

One is to stop the money flow to the executive branch.

The second point is the FairTax. I am strongly in favor of getting rid of every tax that the federal government gives us, which will bring businesses back to the United States. And the foreign companies will come once the businesses start coming back in because they’ll have no income taxes, no consumption, no compliance costs.

The other thing is that I would like to limit terms. I don’t think anyone should have a longer term than the president serves.

I would like to see bills written that so that you can understand them. They should post it online so that [inaudible] no junkets, no earmarks. I do not believe that the president should be able to have the right to have his executive orders stated without the approval of Congress. He’s written more of his executive orders than any other president, to date.

I would like to see that the people who are elected are not under orders of either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, but they are answerable to we the people.

I would like to see everyone who is elected subject to recall votes every two years, so if you’re not doing a good job, the people can recall you and have you replaced. North Carolina right now does not have a recall vote. Some of our Democratic elected officials do not do the job they have promised. And we’re kind of stuck with them until they are reelected or their time is up.

I think that the people are stepping forward now, and wanting more of a voice. We’ve had our constitutional rights — First Amendment, Second Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment and the Tenth Amendment — are being compromised. We need to have less big government and more state government.

Sheriff BJ Barnes is probably looking past the primary to the general election. His Republican opponent, Scott Jones, faces pending misdemeanor charges related to an altercation with a deputy, but has mounted enough of a campaign to have signs dotted around Greensboro. Among the four Democrats on the ballot, retired US Marshal Harlon Costner might be the most viable thanks to his federal law enforcement experience and the fact that he has been campaigning since last fall. But in a year in which Republican turnout is expected to be high, it will be tough to beat Barnes, who already enjoys the advantage of name recognition and general popularity among the electorate.

As your sheriff — I’ve been your sheriff for about 16 years — I have responsibility for about 652 square miles, about 465,000 citizens. And we operate two jails and one prison farm. We have about 900 prisoners in jail we’re responsible for on a daily basis.

And we are the premier sheriff’s office in this state. Not only do I say that, but the North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission said that twice. The National Association for County Organizations has said it numerous times. We have a sheriff’s office that you can be proud of. The men and women do a fantastic job. We have about 135,000 papers each year…. We’re responsible for making sure that you and your families are safe, and the people who need to go to jail have a place to go.

With that in mind, we try to make sure that we keep them there once they get there. We’ve had no escapes, which was unlike it was when I first came into office….

We’ve got a new jail that we’re building. What started out a $115 million jail, we’ve got it down to a $100 million jail at this particular time. And it is going to be a state-of-the-art situation. It’s the biggest project that Guilford County’s ever done. I want to make sure that it’s done right. Already, as I say, we’ve saved about $15 million off the cost of that jail. We’re going to hopefully save even more. But we’re going to have a great jail there that’s going to keep these folks off the streets who would normally be in your house because they are criminals and that’s what they do. I want to make sure that that doesn’t happen.

Now, what can I do as your sheriff? Basically, I can set the standards. And we have very, very high standards as a sheriff’s office. Those standards that we’ve set there, those men and women that are working for you have had not even a hint of impropriety. While other departments around may have issues or problems that come up we don’t do that; we haven’t done that. And it’s only because we know who we work for. And who we work for is you.

I’m going to quote the other candidates more sparingly or not at all in the interest of time and space, and avoiding redundancy from previous reporting.

Jeffrey Brommer, NC Senate District 28 candidate:

I needed some help a few years back from the state government and the federal government, and there was no one there to step up and help me. I want to be your guy in government if you need anything…. So that’s something you can count on.

“Secondly, I’m a big proponent of the Tea Party movement that’s happening. It hearkens back to the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the times back when personal liberties were top priority, lower taxes were the issue of the day, low spending and a balanced budget. Unfortunately, we’ve gotten away from those ideals. I’m in favor of getting back to those ideals. I think that’s something we should do.

Lastly, our state’s in bad condition. That’s probably the top reason why I’m running. Taxes, as you know, are way up. Our unemployment is up. We pay some of the worst taxes in the Southeast, which effects small business. Eighty percent of all jobs are created by small business. That needs to change. The Democrats have had their way in government in Raleigh, and by God it’s time to change something about that.

Jon Hardister, NC House District 57 candidate:

I decided to run for public office because we’re clearly on the wrong track. We have too much government. Taxes are too high. We’re spending too much money. Property rights are not being protected. And I’m against forced annexation as well. We’ve got a lot of work to do.

But I’ll tell you specifically about what I would like to see done in Raleigh. We need to lower taxes and lower spending. And we particularly need a Taxpayer Protection Act that will peg spending with changes in population and inflation. We need to put something like that into effect. And John Blust over here has actually introduced that before. That’s something we need to make happen.

Paul Norcross, NC House District 61 candidate:

Somebody has to bring jobs back into this area. Government does not create jobs; private sector people create jobs. And how you support the businesses that are already here and bring new businesses in is by decreasing the burden on taxpayers…. We’ve got businesses that are going into the tank because of a number of situations, but a lot of it has to do with our tax base. We have tax refunds that our citizens can’t receive because we’re broke. That’s the government using our money, and they can’t give it back to us because they spent it. We’ve got a billion-dollar deficit right now, and John [Blust]’s up there fighting the fight right now. We need more people to help him.

John Faircloth, NC House District 61 candidate:

In 1972, I left the Greensboro Police Department and went to the state of North Carolina and worked for the Department of Justice, and put together the first employment and training standards North Carolina had ever had for criminal justice personnel — that’s law enforcement officers or correctional officers. As the sheriff said, he’s got one of the finest if not the finest sheriff’s departments in many states. I saw them back in 1972. Sheriff, you wouldn’t believe some of the things I saw back then. We’ve come a long way.

I had a chance, in doing that, to take a statute that was adopted in 1971 and put together all of the amendments to that statute and all of the regulations flowing from that statute and worked it through the General Assembly and worked it through the administrative process in Raleigh. I have experience in that building down there, and I have experience in the process.

Triad Elections ’10

Candidate profile: John Faircloth

Candidate John Faircloth (right) chats with Don Webb at the Guilford County Republican Party Convention in Jamestown on March 18.

“I think there’s a career trajectory in politics,” said John Faircloth during an interview last week in a meeting room at Coldwell Bakers Triad Realtors in north High Point. “Of course, the highest form of public service is volunteering with organizations such at the United Way. From there, you might be appointed to local government commissions or boards. After that, you might feel that you have something to give in terms of making decisions in elected office.”

Of the four Republican candidates vying to replace retiring Rep. Laura Wiley as representative of the District 61 seat in the NC House, Faircloth holds the most government experience. He has served on High Point City Council since 2003, including two years as mayor pro tem. Opponent Georgia Nixon-Roney was first elected to Jamestown Town Council in 2007. Two other candidates, Paul Norcross and Gerald T. Grubb are seeking elective office for the first time. The winner of the May 4 Republican primary will be the district’s next representative barring the unlikely event of a successful write-in campaign.

Should the 71-year-old Faircloth prevail, he would be following a trail blazed by Wiley, a Republican who formerly served on the nonpartisan High Point council. Wiley’s three terms in the House have been marked by a style of muted ideology and a record of working across party lines in the General Assembly with Democrats in the Guilford County delegation such as Don Vaughan to advance High Point’s interests. As a politician, Faircloth eschews flash, and he shares a pragmatic streak with Wiley.

“She’s forewarned me of some of the dilemmas,” Faircloth said of Wiley. “I think she would say, ‘Listen carefully, make sure you have all the facts, and be somewhat suspicious.’ Everybody has a motive. You have to take everything with a grain of salt. But if you make decisions that are in the best interests of the citizens, you’d probably be right.”

Faircloth’s cautious, even boring, style of politics draws both from his 16 years as a realtor, and an equal amount of time before that as chief of the High Point Police Department.

“The purpose of government, if you really look at it, is to get the right services for the citizens at the right cost,” he said. “Simple to speak of; difficult to do.”

Faircloth said he does not purport to be an expert on the state budget, which has been rent by a gaping hole thanks to the ongoing economic downturn, but if he wins the primary, he said he will spend the next six months studying it.

“The balanced budget is one of the jewels we have in our crown,” he said. “What it places on the policymaker is a responsibility to have a clear understanding of the necessary services that make life livable for the citizens. In any government — local, state or federal — there are a lot of services and benefits that are nice to have, but not essential. [Some] services might have to be diminished or done away with.”

As a businessperson, Faircloth said it is apparent that North Carolina’s tax structure puts the state at a disadvantage in the national and international economy. As an example he pointed to the personal income tax, which impacts entrepreneurs who organize businesses as limited liability companies. The structure protects owners from liability, but requires them to pay a comparatively higher amount on business income than companies organized as corporations.

As someone with more than three decades in law enforcement, Faircloth is very interested in public safety issues.

“North Carolina is in good shape in terms of having good law enforcement,” he said. “I think our court system is very dependable. One of the weaknesses I see is taking away sentencing discretion from judges…. There are no two cases that are exactly alike. There are no two people that come to the table with the same upbringing, problems and demands. [The current system] doesn’t do a service to the person [charged], and it doesn’t do a service to society.”

The candidate said he would like to participate in an evaluation of post-sentencing practices to reduce the expense of incarceration by increasing the use of house arrest through electronic monitoring.

In some facets, Faircloth tends to the moderate end of his party — a rarity in a year of conservative Tea Party fervor.

“I’m a strong supporter of the public school system,” he said. “I do, however, support a citizen’s right to choose alternative education, if they feel the public schools are failing them…. I do feel they should raise the cap on charter schools or remove it altogether.”

Faircloth prefers good transportation infrastructure and lower tax rates as a broad-based incentive to attract investment and employment, but believes there remains a role for targeted incentives and would not be in favor of doing away with the One North Carolina Fund.

“We’re in a competitive environment, in terms of building a business base,” he said. “As long as that’s part of the game, I think we’ve got to play the game.”

Faircloth presented himself as a friend to local governments in Guilford County, and said he would guard against the state government devolving responsibilities such as road maintenance without reducing taxes commensurately to allow counties to raise revenues without increasing local citizens’ overall tax rates.

“One of my true responsibilities would be to represent the concerns and needs of the governments of High Point, Jamestown and Greensboro, and the county government too. So often the state government passes a mandate, but doesn’t provide funding.”

Triad Elections '10