Democratic US Senate candidate Cal Cunningham made a campaign stop at Fincastles diner in downtown Greensboro this morning, where he talked to voters such as Casey Mann. In the waning days of the campaign before Tuesday's primary, he is visiting 10 cities across the state highlighting the issue of jobs. 
Pre-primary politicking
Democratic US Senate candidate Cal Cunningham made a campaign stop at Fincastles diner in downtown Greensboro this morning, where he talked to voters such as Casey Mann. In the waning days of the campaign before Tuesday's primary, he is visiting 10 cities across the state highlighting the issue of jobs. 
Zack Matheny is a father
Congratulations to Greensboro City Councilman Zack Matheny. Zack's wife, Lauran, gave birth to a son, William Zachery Matheny, today. Zack is already the doting stepfather of Cameron, but William is his first biological son.
Democrats train to get out the vote
The NC Democratic Party announces a "blue crew" training tomorrow morning at the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant Fellowship Hall led by Jeff Mallare, regional director of the state party and formerly a staffer on the Obama campaign. The focus of the training is described as "grassroots organiz[ing] and effective tips on real, meaningful impact in your communities."
Conservative activist Joe Guarino has expressed objections [1, 2] about the church providing space for the party for past events.
Guarino's criticisms don't seem to have gotten much traction. On another level, Democrats across the state appear to understand that they have an uphill battle to turn out their base to counteract the conservative backlash at the polls against President Obama.
Meanwhile, Democratic incumbent Brad Miller's quest for reelection in North Carolina's 13th Congressional District is sure to be aided by the fact that he's been chosen as Greensboro College's commencement speaker on May 9, five days after the primary.
A press release from the college, whose spokesman is Presbyterian Lex Alexander, reports that Miller's speech will be entitled "Making a killing, or making a living."
Conservative activist Joe Guarino has expressed objections [1, 2] about the church providing space for the party for past events.
Guarino's criticisms don't seem to have gotten much traction. On another level, Democrats across the state appear to understand that they have an uphill battle to turn out their base to counteract the conservative backlash at the polls against President Obama.
Meanwhile, Democratic incumbent Brad Miller's quest for reelection in North Carolina's 13th Congressional District is sure to be aided by the fact that he's been chosen as Greensboro College's commencement speaker on May 9, five days after the primary.
A press release from the college, whose spokesman is Presbyterian Lex Alexander, reports that Miller's speech will be entitled "Making a killing, or making a living."
Fire for fire in Adams-Johnson race
I learned about an exchange of negative campaign fliers between NC House District 58 candidates Ralph Johnson and Alma Adams today.
The Carolina Peacemaker has an editorial today urging voters to put the "hit pieces" in the trash, and for the most part declines to detail the charges, concluding that "they each contain misleading, inaccurate statements about each candidate."
A knowledgeable source told me the flier attacking Ralph Johnson alludes to a cocaine conviction first reported in the News & Record, while the Peacemaker reports that the campaign literature states, in part: “Ralph has no family values, no wife, no children, no PTA membership & etc.”
I spoke with Adams at a joint meeting between members of the Guilford County legislative delegation and the Greensboro City Council. She said she had no knowledge of the flier attacking her opponent until she received a call from the Peacemaker about it, adding, "That's not my style." When she received the call, she told me, Adams thought they were calling about the flier produced by the Johnson campaign called "5 Reasons to vote for Ralph Johnson." She said the flier spuriously states that she allowed federal stimulus funding to go to illegal aliens.
The Peacemaker editorial board denounces the fliers as "negative campaigning [that] does everyone a disservice."
I would have to concur: The effect of this exchange is likely to discourage voters from going to the polls and make them cynical about the process.
Type rest of the post here
The Carolina Peacemaker has an editorial today urging voters to put the "hit pieces" in the trash, and for the most part declines to detail the charges, concluding that "they each contain misleading, inaccurate statements about each candidate."
A knowledgeable source told me the flier attacking Ralph Johnson alludes to a cocaine conviction first reported in the News & Record, while the Peacemaker reports that the campaign literature states, in part: “Ralph has no family values, no wife, no children, no PTA membership & etc.”
I spoke with Adams at a joint meeting between members of the Guilford County legislative delegation and the Greensboro City Council. She said she had no knowledge of the flier attacking her opponent until she received a call from the Peacemaker about it, adding, "That's not my style." When she received the call, she told me, Adams thought they were calling about the flier produced by the Johnson campaign called "5 Reasons to vote for Ralph Johnson." She said the flier spuriously states that she allowed federal stimulus funding to go to illegal aliens.
The Peacemaker editorial board denounces the fliers as "negative campaigning [that] does everyone a disservice."
I would have to concur: The effect of this exchange is likely to discourage voters from going to the polls and make them cynical about the process.
Type rest of the post here
New York vs. Boston — infringement or coincidence?
Are these designs too similar?
The Boston Phoenix is understandably a bit upset at New York Mag having a very similar design and tagline — and I agree the source photos appear to be identical. The headlines are different, and the treatment is different on the page. The New York design is more striking, with the disembodied and over-saturated head, and FedEx logo parody.
But, the timing makes it questionable. The New York cover came out 6 months after the Phoenix cover.
At the same time, this is a huge story that has been covered my many media sources. So, is it infringement?
Visually speaking, it's a bit of a wash. It appears to be similar enough to earn some ire, without enough to have a leg to stand on in court.
One thing is sure — it won't do any good to quell the Boston/New York rivalry anytime soon.
The Boston Phoenix's story called Sarah Palin, Inc. is HERE
The New York story, titled The Revolution Will Be Commercialized is HERE
Correction to voter tearsheet: YES! Weekly endorses Bill Schatzman for Forsyth County Sheriff
Sometimes journalists have a change of heart. That’s why the YES! Weekly primary endorsement tearsheet published in the April 28 edition needs to be corrected for one race — Forsyth County Sheriff. YES! Weekly proudly endorses the candidacy of incumbent Bill Schatzman, not his Republican challenger, Dave Griffith. The YES! Weekly editorial board originally endorsed Griffith, but after I attended a candidate forum on Monday, it became clear that Schatzman is the best man for the job.
Despite the fact the forum was sponsored by the Forsyth County Republican Party, Schatzman faced a hostile crowd. Griffith served as Schatzman’s chief deputy from 2002 to 2006, but had very few kind words for his former boss. Griffith’s criticisms appeared to inflame the passions of the partisan crowd, many of whom were adorned in black and gold “Griffith for Sheriff” T-shirts. The audience members directed pointed questions at Schatzman regarding his views on immigration issues, crime rates and departmental policy regarding promotions.
Schatzman maintained his poise, and stood his ground. Griffith, on the other hand, appeared to pander to the audience. Both Schatzman and Griffith made claims about crime rates in Forsyth contradicted by the State Bureau of Investigation website, but when Schatzman asked Griffith to elaborate on what he would do differently if elected, Griffith failed to muster a meaningful response.
In addition, Schatzman touted the fact that his department is in the final stages of an accreditation process, which will have a direct impact on federal funding of the sheriff’s office. Suprisingly, Griffith said he did not approve of the sheriff’s office gaining national accreditiation.
For all these reasons and more, YES! Weekly proudly endorses the candidacy of Bill Schatzman for Forsyth County Sheriff.
Despite the fact the forum was sponsored by the Forsyth County Republican Party, Schatzman faced a hostile crowd. Griffith served as Schatzman’s chief deputy from 2002 to 2006, but had very few kind words for his former boss. Griffith’s criticisms appeared to inflame the passions of the partisan crowd, many of whom were adorned in black and gold “Griffith for Sheriff” T-shirts. The audience members directed pointed questions at Schatzman regarding his views on immigration issues, crime rates and departmental policy regarding promotions.
Schatzman maintained his poise, and stood his ground. Griffith, on the other hand, appeared to pander to the audience. Both Schatzman and Griffith made claims about crime rates in Forsyth contradicted by the State Bureau of Investigation website, but when Schatzman asked Griffith to elaborate on what he would do differently if elected, Griffith failed to muster a meaningful response.
In addition, Schatzman touted the fact that his department is in the final stages of an accreditation process, which will have a direct impact on federal funding of the sheriff’s office. Suprisingly, Griffith said he did not approve of the sheriff’s office gaining national accreditiation.
For all these reasons and more, YES! Weekly proudly endorses the candidacy of Bill Schatzman for Forsyth County Sheriff.
University president: Out-of-state students reconsider plans to attend Arizona
My sister, who is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson, forwards a letter sent out to the campus community this morning from university President Robert N. Shelton in reference to the new immigration law signed by Gov. Jan Brewer.
Shelton says that university police will receive extensive training on the new law, noting that it includes a provision prohibiting authorities from stopping individuals solely on the basis of race, color or national origin.
Shelton's letter concludes by saying that the Arizona Board of Regents will be discussing the implications of the new law at its meeting in Phoenix later this week.
Meanwhile, the Arizona law has prompted heated discussion in the offices of YES! Weekly, and members of our staff have strong feelings for and against it. I wrote an editorial denouncing the bill, but considering that it did not reflect our consensus, my piece was published as a staff column.
We have already begun to feel an impact from SB 1070. The families of a number of out-of-state students (to date all of them honors students) have told us that they are changing their plans and will be sending their children to universities in other states. This should sadden anyone who cares about attracting the best and brightest students to Arizona.
Additionally, large numbers of UA students, faculty, staff and appointed professionals have expressed concerns that they or members of their families or their friends may now be subject to unwarranted detainment by police. Many of these individuals are from families that have been residents of Arizona for generations. While I am completely confident that no one need fear the way that UAPD will approach the application of this law, I nevertheless appreciate the anxiety that friends and colleagues are feeling. It is a concern and fear that no one should have to harbor.
Shelton says that university police will receive extensive training on the new law, noting that it includes a provision prohibiting authorities from stopping individuals solely on the basis of race, color or national origin.
Shelton's letter concludes by saying that the Arizona Board of Regents will be discussing the implications of the new law at its meeting in Phoenix later this week.
Meanwhile, the Arizona law has prompted heated discussion in the offices of YES! Weekly, and members of our staff have strong feelings for and against it. I wrote an editorial denouncing the bill, but considering that it did not reflect our consensus, my piece was published as a staff column.
A great idea or a terrible mistake?
There's this giant oil spill creeping across the Gulf of Mexico towards Plaquemines Parish, and they've decided to set it on fire.
The first thing that came to my mind was this:
Great to have an excuse to watch this again.
The first thing that came to my mind was this:
Great to have an excuse to watch this again.
This week in YES! Weekly
Best of the Triad 2010The results are in — see who you voted best of the best this year
YES! Weekly primary endorsements, in full.
Be There: MerleFest, Lisapalooza, A Prophet and more.
Check out where to go this week for the best in Triad arts and entertainment.
Ten Best: reasons financial reform will have an easier path in Congress than healthcare reform.
BUSTED!
The best and worst of Triad police blotters
Secret of Kells is animated magic, while Date Night is deadly unfunny
Mark Burger reviews two new film releases, with mixed results.
Triad primary campaign trail
The final stops and events before Tuesday's primary election
Orlando Silva, Arc of Greensboro to unveil work at Studio B
Worlds old and new collide with the newest release by Jews and Catholics
Served: food events and restaurant happenings this week
...and more at YESWEEKLY.COM
Candidate profile: Alma Adams
A veteran legislator in the NC House, Alma Adams makes it a point to talk about her experience. And she argues that members of the Guilford County delegation have effectively represented local constituents’ interests.
“We work together,” the state lawmaker said. “We’ve got two people in 612, myself and Maggie Jeffus.”
Room 612 is where the House Appropriations Committee meets. Adams and Jeffus, who represents District 59, are both chairs of the committee.
“Everybody’s not in 612,” Adams said. “I worked my way up there.”
Then serving on the Greensboro City Council, Adams was appointed to her seat in the NC House in 1994, and has won eight elections since then. This year, she faces a primary challenge for her District 58 seat from Ralph Johnson, a community leader in east Greensboro.
Adams and I talked for about an hour this afternoon in her office at Bennett College, where she works as an art professor. We talked about the difficult budget decision facing the state this year with what Adams estimated to be gap of $700 million to $800 million, the process of shepherding controversial bills such as the Healthy Youth Act through the legislature and bringing dollars back to the district.
Sometimes it takes persistence and position, and that was the case with an allocation for NC A&T University.
“I recall $2 million we fought over that A&T needed for its engineering program,” Adams said. “It’s not really a lot of money. We put it in the House budget. The Senate took it out. We put it back in. The Senate kept taking it back out. But they needed our support on some other things. I ended up getting what we needed.”
Another time, when Adams co-chaired the House Appropriations on General Government Subcommittee, she teamed up with another Guilford County legislator in the Senate to appropriate $8.2 million for the Charlotte Hawkins Brown historic site in Sedalia. Her counterpart was Sen. Katie Dorsett, who is retiring this year from her seat representing Senate District 28.
Adams’ opponent has been asking the classic political question to voters in District 58 of whether they are better off now than before, and he is highlighting east Greensboro’s lagging economic development. Adams told me that job creation and economic development are largely driven by local officials on the Greensboro City Council and Guilford County Commission.
But she points to several initiatives that are addressing those challenges, including $53 million allocated to the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering slated to open near Greensboro’s eastern gateway on Lee Street, and the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in downtown Greensboro.
“The nanoscience campus is going to bring a lot of jobs in here,” Adams said. “I had a lot to do with sitting in on the negotiations for that.”
Over time the state has allocated $3.5 million to the civil rights museum.
“We had to bring people to breakfast a couple times so we could educate them about how important the civil rights center is to the state,” she said. "Yes, it lives here in Guilford County, but it's important to the whole state."
Adams has supported the use of economic incentives to create jobs such as the FedEx facility coming online at Piedmont Triad International Airport, but she said state government is unlikely to make any grants this year considering the state’s severe budget shortfall. Adams said she expects the budget to be closed through cuts to spending. The appropriations subcommittees are meeting with department heads to identify expenditure lines in their budgets that can be cut, and they will send their recommendations to the appropriations committee.
Adams said she does not anticipate that the state will raises taxes this year.
“This is not the time for that,” she said. “We have to be sensitive to people. My grandmother used to say, ‘You can’t squeeze blood out of an onion.’ We do need to restructure our taxes. I don’t think we’ve taken any genuine steps for that.”
Adams is rated an A+ legislator by the NC Association of Educators. She said she disapproves of talk about reducing the number of teacher assistants in public schools, but spending on education will have to be reined in this year. Gov. Beverly Perdue has proposed raising teacher salaries, but Adams said she doubts that the House will support the request.
“We’re saying, ‘The way the economy is going, do you give anybody a raise?’”
Other bills sponsored by Adams have not required allocations of state funds.
In 2006, then-Gov. Mike Easley signed a bill to raise the state’s minimum wage by $1 — from $5.15 to $6.15. The increase was the culmination of about a decade of effort on Adams’ part. Subsequently, Congress raised the federal minimum wage to $7.25. Since then, Adams has filed bills to annually index the minimum wage to cost of living increases, but those initiatives have stalled in committee.
During the last election, Adams said that many of her colleagues wanted to take credit for the state minimum wage increase, modest as it was.
“A lot of what I have done has been like that,” she said.
As an example, she mentioned a university equity bill passed in the late 1990s. That lead to a study tucked into a budget that ended up identifying more than 700 buildings in the state university system that needed to be replaced or repaired.
To pay for the campus upgrades, voters across the state approved a $3.1 billion bond referendum.
“That’s why you see all the growth at UNCG and A&T,” Adams said. “We’re still seeing that today. It produced not just buildings, but jobs.”
Adams introduced six bills last year that were signed into law. Among the most controversial and difficult to pass was the Healthy Youth Act, which provides sex education to students in grades 7-9 while allowing parents to opt their children out. Previously, public schools across the state had taught an abstinence-only curriculum.
“Sometimes people are lead and guided by things that are misguided,” Adams said. “We had to get people to understand that teen pregnancy is very high. We’re not encouraging promiscuity. A lot of people want to make it about sex. It’s really not; it’s about health.”
Triad Elections ’10
Simkins PAC punts on NC Senate 28 race
Political consultant Bill Burckley, who has just seen a copy the Simkins PAC's sample ballot, says the committee has made the following primary endorsements:
• Ken Lewis for US Senate;
• No preference for NC Senate 28;
• Alma Adams for NC House 58;
• Earl Jones for NC House 60;
• Phil Wadsworth for Sheriff in the Democratic primary;
• Linda Shaw for Guilford County Commission District 3 in the Republican primary;
• Jane Gray for NC Court of Appeals (Calabria seat);
• Rick Elmore for NC Court of Appeals (Elmore seat); and
• Nancy Routh for Guilford County School Board at large.
In NC Senate District 28, sitting representative Katie Dorsett's sudden withdrawal and anointing of Gladys Robinson has divided the black political establishment. Burckley told me that when he learned of the substitution at the end of filing in February, he immediately called Earl Jones, one of his clients, and advised him to call Bruce Davis, a High Point member of the Guilford County Commission, to tell him that neither he nor the PAC had anything to do with the scheme.
Davis ran unsuccessfully for the NC Senate District 28 seat two years ago, and has expressed anger at Dorsett's about-face. He is collecting signatures to get on the ballot in November as an independent candidate. Burckley said he was worried that Davis would blame Jones for what happened and endorse Jones' opponent, Marcus Brandon.
Two of the PAC's endorsements are no surprise: Adams and Jones are both members of the PAC, and are receiving its backing.
UPDATE: I've been wondering whether the rival Guilford County Community PAC, whose membership includes several black community leaders including pastor and local NAACP president the Rev. Cardes Brown, would make endorsements in this primary. I've received an answer: Millicent Lee, the PAC's treasurer, says they will not.
• Ken Lewis for US Senate;
• No preference for NC Senate 28;
• Alma Adams for NC House 58;
• Earl Jones for NC House 60;
• Phil Wadsworth for Sheriff in the Democratic primary;
• Linda Shaw for Guilford County Commission District 3 in the Republican primary;
• Jane Gray for NC Court of Appeals (Calabria seat);
• Rick Elmore for NC Court of Appeals (Elmore seat); and
• Nancy Routh for Guilford County School Board at large.
In NC Senate District 28, sitting representative Katie Dorsett's sudden withdrawal and anointing of Gladys Robinson has divided the black political establishment. Burckley told me that when he learned of the substitution at the end of filing in February, he immediately called Earl Jones, one of his clients, and advised him to call Bruce Davis, a High Point member of the Guilford County Commission, to tell him that neither he nor the PAC had anything to do with the scheme.
Davis ran unsuccessfully for the NC Senate District 28 seat two years ago, and has expressed anger at Dorsett's about-face. He is collecting signatures to get on the ballot in November as an independent candidate. Burckley said he was worried that Davis would blame Jones for what happened and endorse Jones' opponent, Marcus Brandon.
Two of the PAC's endorsements are no surprise: Adams and Jones are both members of the PAC, and are receiving its backing.
UPDATE: I've been wondering whether the rival Guilford County Community PAC, whose membership includes several black community leaders including pastor and local NAACP president the Rev. Cardes Brown, would make endorsements in this primary. I've received an answer: Millicent Lee, the PAC's treasurer, says they will not.
YES! Weekly primary endorsements
Endorsements for candidates for US Senate, US Congress, NC General Assembly, county commission and sheriff in Forsyth and Guilford counties appear in our print edition this week. The following are our endorsements in races that didn't fit our limited newsprint hole:
• NC Court of Appeals (Calabria seat): Ann Marie Calabria (i), Jane Gray and Mark Klass
We endorse: Klass
The law is in Davidson County native Mark Klass’ blood. When Klass was elected to the Superior Court in 1998, he and his father, Jack, were one of only two father-son teams to hold judgeships in the state at the same time, according to the candidate’s website. The Court of Appeals seat is normally a difficult call. The advantage normally goes to the judge who does the best job getting across their message to voters. Based on this criteria, Klass has surpassed incumbent Ann Marie Calabria and challenger Jane Gray.
• NC Court of Appeals (Elmore seat): Rick Elmore (i), Al Bain, Leto Copeley and Steven Walker
We endorse: Copeley
Leto Copeley, a lawyer in private practice in Hillsborough, has been barnstorming the state to make her case directly to the voters. That kind of accessibility and energy gives us confidence that she would make decisions on the state’s appellate court with sensitivity to how the law affects ordinary people. She won points from an audience at Bennett College for saying that she knows from firsthand experience that racial profiling is real because it happened to her law partner.
• Forsyth County Clerk of Courts: Nick Gordon (D, i) and Susan Speaks Frye (D)
We endorse: Gordon
When it comes to any Clerk of Court race, experience counts. In the Forsyth County, the clear choice is Nick Gordon. He was appointed to the position last year, but his community and civic experience make him the best candidate. Gordon served 13 years as the chair of the Forsyth County Soil and Water Conservation District Board and eight years as the executive vice president and Special Operations Response Team. He is a graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Law and a former president of the Forsyth County Bar Association. Susan Speaks Frye’s résumé reflects that she serves as an arbitration manager for Forsyth County Chief District Court Judge William B. Reingold, but that is the limit of her legal experience.
• Forsyth County School Board at large: Donnie C. Lambeth (i), Elizabeth Motsinger (i), Robert Barr, Lori Goins Clark, Stan Hill, Joyce McAdams, Jeannie A. Metcalf, William H. Roberts, Nancy P. Sherrill and Shai Woodbury
We endorse: Motsinger, Sherrill and Woodbury
• Forsyth County School Board 1: Geneva B. Brown (i), Vic Johnson (i), Regina J. Barnes, Jimmie Lee Bonham, Chenita Barber Johnson and Diana Williams-Cotton
We endorse: Brown and Bonham
• Forsyth County School Board 2: Jane D. Goins (i), Marilyn Parker (i), Jill A. Tackaberry (i), Buddy Collins, Donald Dunn, Carla B. Farmer, Tom Hackelman, Norman Hill, Stacey Walker McElveen and Jim Toole
We endorse: Farmer, Hackelman, McElveen and Toole
The Winston-Salem chapter of Communities Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment, or CHANGE, distributed a questionnaire to all candidates running for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board of Education. CHANGE, a community-organizing group composed of 54 local church congregations, asked whether candidates would commit to having the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools start an effective and comprehensive program for family engagement by August 2011; agree to end the general practice of out-of-school suspension (except in cases meeting strict safety criteria) and require that every child receive quality classroom instruction by August 2011; and would be willing to commit to a formal public exploration of alternative student assignment plans that will increase diversity and improve student achievement in partnership with interested community groups by 2011.
The editorial board of YES! Weekly supports the initiatives proposed by CHANGE. Therefore, candidates’ responses were weighted heavily in the endorsement process. In the at-large race, Nancy Sherrill and Shai Woodbury agreed to support all three initiatives. Elisabeth Motsinger responded “no” to the out-of-school suspension question, but cited several programs already in place that provide teachers with additional training in classroom management as evidence that the school system is responsive its discipline issues. In the District 1 race, Jimmie Lee Bonham and Geneva Brown responded affirmatively to all three CHANGE initiatives. In the District 2 race, Carla B. Farmer, Tom Hackelman, Stacey McElveen and Jim Toole all responded affirmatively to CHANGE’s initiatives. Toole’s response to the out-of-school suspension was interpreted as unclear but YES! Weekly knows Toole to be a social progressive.
• Guilford County School Board at large: Nancy Routh (i), Lisa Ingle Clapp and Charo Tomlin
We endorse: Routh
Any of the three candidates would likely serve the citizens of Guilford County well. In incumbent Nancy Routh, they have a servant who is dedicated, even keeled and compassionate. At 77, she is unflappable and intellectually sharp as ever.
• Guilford County School Board 2: Garth Hebert (i), Richard Becker and Ed Price
We endorse: Hebert
Quite simply, neither of the two challengers has made the case for why Hebert needs to be replaced. Hebert is an educational conservative in his advocacy for neighborhood schools and his accountant’s eye on dollars and cents. Even the liberal Guilford County Association of Educators supports him, and who are we to disagree?
UPDATE: Our endorsements for US Senate, US Congress, NC General Assembly, sheriff and county commission can be found here.
• NC Court of Appeals (Calabria seat): Ann Marie Calabria (i), Jane Gray and Mark Klass
We endorse: Klass
The law is in Davidson County native Mark Klass’ blood. When Klass was elected to the Superior Court in 1998, he and his father, Jack, were one of only two father-son teams to hold judgeships in the state at the same time, according to the candidate’s website. The Court of Appeals seat is normally a difficult call. The advantage normally goes to the judge who does the best job getting across their message to voters. Based on this criteria, Klass has surpassed incumbent Ann Marie Calabria and challenger Jane Gray.
• NC Court of Appeals (Elmore seat): Rick Elmore (i), Al Bain, Leto Copeley and Steven Walker
We endorse: Copeley
Leto Copeley, a lawyer in private practice in Hillsborough, has been barnstorming the state to make her case directly to the voters. That kind of accessibility and energy gives us confidence that she would make decisions on the state’s appellate court with sensitivity to how the law affects ordinary people. She won points from an audience at Bennett College for saying that she knows from firsthand experience that racial profiling is real because it happened to her law partner.
• Forsyth County Clerk of Courts: Nick Gordon (D, i) and Susan Speaks Frye (D)
We endorse: Gordon
When it comes to any Clerk of Court race, experience counts. In the Forsyth County, the clear choice is Nick Gordon. He was appointed to the position last year, but his community and civic experience make him the best candidate. Gordon served 13 years as the chair of the Forsyth County Soil and Water Conservation District Board and eight years as the executive vice president and Special Operations Response Team. He is a graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Law and a former president of the Forsyth County Bar Association. Susan Speaks Frye’s résumé reflects that she serves as an arbitration manager for Forsyth County Chief District Court Judge William B. Reingold, but that is the limit of her legal experience.
• Forsyth County School Board at large: Donnie C. Lambeth (i), Elizabeth Motsinger (i), Robert Barr, Lori Goins Clark, Stan Hill, Joyce McAdams, Jeannie A. Metcalf, William H. Roberts, Nancy P. Sherrill and Shai Woodbury
We endorse: Motsinger, Sherrill and Woodbury
• Forsyth County School Board 1: Geneva B. Brown (i), Vic Johnson (i), Regina J. Barnes, Jimmie Lee Bonham, Chenita Barber Johnson and Diana Williams-Cotton
We endorse: Brown and Bonham
• Forsyth County School Board 2: Jane D. Goins (i), Marilyn Parker (i), Jill A. Tackaberry (i), Buddy Collins, Donald Dunn, Carla B. Farmer, Tom Hackelman, Norman Hill, Stacey Walker McElveen and Jim Toole
We endorse: Farmer, Hackelman, McElveen and Toole
The Winston-Salem chapter of Communities Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment, or CHANGE, distributed a questionnaire to all candidates running for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board of Education. CHANGE, a community-organizing group composed of 54 local church congregations, asked whether candidates would commit to having the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools start an effective and comprehensive program for family engagement by August 2011; agree to end the general practice of out-of-school suspension (except in cases meeting strict safety criteria) and require that every child receive quality classroom instruction by August 2011; and would be willing to commit to a formal public exploration of alternative student assignment plans that will increase diversity and improve student achievement in partnership with interested community groups by 2011.
The editorial board of YES! Weekly supports the initiatives proposed by CHANGE. Therefore, candidates’ responses were weighted heavily in the endorsement process. In the at-large race, Nancy Sherrill and Shai Woodbury agreed to support all three initiatives. Elisabeth Motsinger responded “no” to the out-of-school suspension question, but cited several programs already in place that provide teachers with additional training in classroom management as evidence that the school system is responsive its discipline issues. In the District 1 race, Jimmie Lee Bonham and Geneva Brown responded affirmatively to all three CHANGE initiatives. In the District 2 race, Carla B. Farmer, Tom Hackelman, Stacey McElveen and Jim Toole all responded affirmatively to CHANGE’s initiatives. Toole’s response to the out-of-school suspension was interpreted as unclear but YES! Weekly knows Toole to be a social progressive.
• Guilford County School Board at large: Nancy Routh (i), Lisa Ingle Clapp and Charo Tomlin
We endorse: Routh
Any of the three candidates would likely serve the citizens of Guilford County well. In incumbent Nancy Routh, they have a servant who is dedicated, even keeled and compassionate. At 77, she is unflappable and intellectually sharp as ever.
• Guilford County School Board 2: Garth Hebert (i), Richard Becker and Ed Price
We endorse: Hebert
Quite simply, neither of the two challengers has made the case for why Hebert needs to be replaced. Hebert is an educational conservative in his advocacy for neighborhood schools and his accountant’s eye on dollars and cents. Even the liberal Guilford County Association of Educators supports him, and who are we to disagree?
UPDATE: Our endorsements for US Senate, US Congress, NC General Assembly, sheriff and county commission can be found here.
Candidate profile: Frank Hurley
Frank Hurley (standing) speaks at a candidate forum at NC A&T University earlier this month.Frank Hurley, a 69-year-old retired Army Research Office manager from Chapel Hill, stood before the Guilford County Republicans in Jamestown in mid-March, and told them immigration was the key to unseating Democrat Brad Miller in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District.
“We’re going to have to find at least one issue, which is a real grabber, which will rouse the Jessecrats to rise up and for once to vote for a Republican and retire this guy from public life and get a real for the first time in his life,” Hurley said. “I think that issue is the amnesty that the Democrats are getting ready to grant for about 12 million illegal immigrants. That would be an enormous mistake with a tremendous cost in jobs, a tremendous cost in medical services, a tremendous cost in law enforcement resources and a tremendous cost for our national culture.”
Hurley is one of four conservative candidates contending hoping to emerge at the top of the Republican heap on May 4, and move on to challenge Miller in the November general election.
When Hurley gave his speech, the healthcare reform bill signed into law by President Obama was less than a week old, and most Republican candidates were focusing their attention on repeal. Immigration appeared to be on the backburner, and a possible loser considering that Republicans unsuccessfully tried to use it to take control of the NC General Assembly in 2006. Since that night in Jamestown, the governor of Arizona has signed a landmark bill giving local law enforcement the authority to demand identification from any person suspected of being an illegal immigrant. Immigration has come roaring back to the forefront of the national discourse.
“So this is the issue I think we ought to really pound home against Brad Miller,” Hurley said in Jamestown. “I’m willing to do that. I’m going to take punishment for that. It’s going to be controversial. I’ve got to be controversial if I get the nomination. I’m the Republican conservative with the attitude in this primary.”
Hurley said in an interview today that there are two basic reasons that he favors blocking any attempt to put undocumented residents on a pathway to citizenship, tightening up security on the border and deporting those who are here illegally.
First is jobs and the economy.
“Many, many jobs that Americans could hold are being given to illegal immigrants, which is extremely foolish, in my opinion,” Hurley said. “Tax burdens at the state and county level are higher because of illegal immigration. I would call out such things as law enforcement and schools. We’ve spent a lot of money on bricks and mortar to put up schools fast enough to accommodate the children of illegal immigrants. That prevents us from spending money on teachers. It’s costing us a lot in medical expenses…. We see in emergency rooms, they hardly ever pay anyone. The hospitals will cheerfully pass along those costs to those who are paying customers.”
The second reason has to do with what Hurley calls “the national character.”
“In my opinion, the United States has the perfect right to remain the United States,” Hurley said. “The world has a surplus of Latin American countries, and it doesn’t need another one. It should reflect the national population profile.”
Hurley said he favors a return to the policy of national quotas on immigration that was in place before 1965.
“What occasioned it is alarm at the second big wave of immigrants from China,” he said. “The government looked at that and said, ‘There’s a lot of Chinese over there and not so many of us Americans, and we’re going to have to limit them.’ A few years later they made it systematic by saying how many people from each country we would accept.”
As the descendent of German and Irish immigrants, Hurley said he believes previous generations of immigrants made more of an effort to assimilate and demonstrate patriotism towards their adopted country.
“Today, the illegal Mexican immigrants are showing very limited enthusiasm for assimilating, and learning English,” he said. “If you go to a soccer game between a Mexican team and an American team you’ll see a lot of illegals, and they’ll root for Mexico.”
Hurley’s view of the immigration debate envisions political stakes for both major parties.
If undocumented residents were to be automatically accorded citizenship, the candidate said, “you can bet your bottom dollar that they’ll be offered a voter registration card with Democrat pre-checked when they become a brand new shiny citizen. There may be some hyperbole there but not much.”
The strategy undertaken by President George W. Bush and his advisor, Karl Rove, to try to woo Hispanics over to the GOP was a mistake, in Hurley’s view.
“I think it was a roaring failure,” he said. “Claims were made that we got a higher percentage of the Hispanic vote in 2004. I don’t think there was much of that. When we were counting hanging chads in Florida in the 2000 vote, I distinctly remember how happy the Bush administration was that most of the precincts being looked at did not have a lot of immigrants from Latin America.”
A political gunfight between Gov. Jan Brewer and the Republicans on one side and the federal government and the Democrats on the other side in Arizona favors the former side, Hurley said.
“Besides the matter of what’s best for the country’s economy and culture, there’s gold in them thar hills politically,” the candidate said. “The pro-amnesty position is very risky and will be very costly for the Democrats. To the extent that Republicans emulate Tom Tancredo and put aside the silliness of W. and John McCain, the better off the Republican Party will be.”
Hurley said he also favors legislation that “challenges citizenship at birth” to remove the incentive for pregnant women to enter the United States to bear a child on American soil, which the candidate said, “is going to right into the courts and right up to the Supreme Court.”
That would seem a safe prediction, considering that the first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, passed immediately after the Civil War, reads, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States… are citizens of the United States.”
Hurley said he’s “probably pounded the daylights out of” the issue of illegal immigration.
“Anybody can argue that we ought to do this or that for the economy,” he said. “When you argue that America’s identity is good and shouldn’t be changed, now you become somewhat politically incorrect. I say America is better than Latin America. I say America is better than the Third World. I say America is better than the Islamic world.”
Hurley touts himself as the candidate with the strongest national security credentials, as a career civil servant who managed weapons development research for the Army, and served two years in National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a political appointee during the Reagan administration. He was at NASA when unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as predator drones, were being developed.
“I was a very early cheerleader for NASA and the Air Force doing work n that area,” he said. “That certainly has borne fruit. One of the things we’ve seen frequently in the newspaper are stories about al-Qaida and Taliban kingpins [being assassinated] from missile launches off of predator war craft.”
Hurley said he supports President Bush’s preemptive strike policy, but faults the former president for being too timid in the prosecution of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“One thing I would say is perhaps we should have fewer troops on the ground and more troops in the air, by which I mean more reliance on air power,” Hurley said. “We should have used our air power much more efficiently and not worried about collateral casualties, and similarly we should have been more ruthless in the use of our ground forces. The contrast that I always make on that is, let’s compare the American experience in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Russian experience in Chechnya: By and large, Russia has won its war in Chechnya while we’re fooling around in Iraq and Afghanistan. The way the Russians did it was being relentless, ruthless and remorseless, and leveling areas that are hotbeds for insurgents. Much of Grozny is rubble.”
The candidate discussed the prospect of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons with a sense of calm.
“If and when they obtain nuclear weapons it shouldn’t ruin our day,” he said. “That just means that Plan B goes into effect. Plan B is probably going to involve a lot of smoke and dust and fire.” The candidate added that one option is waiting to see if internal tensions cause the current leadership in Iran to get pushed aside.
Hurley said he would apply his experience in military contracting to argue for making General Electric a second supplier of engines for the F-35 jetfighter under development by Lockheed Martin. The main engine is currently being supplied by Pratt & Whitney. Hurley said adding General Electric to the mix would allow the Defense Department to set up competitive bidding, and also potentially help North Carolina workers.
“If I were in Congress, I would be a solid advocate for General Electric as a second source,” Hurley said. “It’s also a constituency issue for us. Off of Miami Boulevard [in Durham], there’s a General Electric plant. The company would be more prosperous if it got to be the second source.”
On one jobs and economy issue, Hurley parts ways with some of his more anti-taxation and regulation cohorts in the conservative movement. Singling out IBM and Hanesbrands, the candidate said companies should be penalized for shipping North Carolina jobs overseas.
“I believe that companies should not get off penalty free if they transfer a product assembly line to Malaysia in search of coolie labor rates,” Hurley said. “I believe companies should have to pay a higher tax rate. That product was conceived and developed in the United States, and the assembly line was set up and prototyped in the United States. While this was being done, the company had the protection of US law enforcement authorities. The company also had the advantage of research and development tax breaks courtesy of the taxpayers of the United States. I believe there is a shared stake between the company’s interests and those of the people of the United States.
“I would say that if you want to move your company out of the United States, we won’t forbid you from doing it, but we’re going to tax you for it,” he continued. “Maybe you’ll pay not just one half of Social Security and Medicare, but both halves so that we can compensate the workers who lost their jobs.”
With exactly a week to go until the primary, Hurley said he assumes all four candidates start out with 25 percent of the vote, but he has no idea which one will prevail or whether one will clear 40 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.
“I think we’ve got some very different styles in campaigning,” he said. “I don’t know how successful at harvesting Republican votes the considerable amount of paid advertising in Bernie Reeves’ campaign versus Bill Randall’s being on the campaign trail for a year versus Frank Hurley’s crusade against illegal immigration. I just don’t know what the relative effectiveness of these will be.”
Triad Elections ’10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)