News
| Out with old, in with the new lawmakers |
| Remap, retirements will change General Assembly |
| Published Wednesday, October 3, 2012 2:56 pm |
Joel Ford will be part of the new guard among North Carolina lawmakers in 2013.
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| PHOTO/PAUL WILLIAMS III |
| N.C. Senate candidate Joel Ford hugs daughter Trinity upon his victory in the May primary. With a district drawn for favor Democrats, Ford is virtually assured the seat against Republican opponent Richard Rivette. |
Ford, a Democrat, will succeed incumbent state Sen. Charlie Dannelly in a district that all but decided its outcome in the May primary.
Ford, 42, chair of the Charlotte Housing Authority and a former Mecklenburg County Democratic Party chairman, faces Richard Rivette next month.
Of the 170 lawmakers in the 2011-12 General Assembly, 49 won’t be back next year. The majority – 26 – are Republicans. Three incumbents won’t return because they lost to another incumbent in the primaries. Combined with 46 freshmen from the 2011 session, more than half of the 2013 General Assembly will be made up of first- and second-term lawmakers.
“With this much turnover, a combined 481 years of institutional memory and policy expertise will be lost,” said Ran Coble, executive director of the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. “On the other hand, there will be room for lots of new ideas.”
The record for legislative turnover was set in the mid-1970s as the Republican Party emerged as a political force followed by backlash to the Watergate scandal. In 1975, 70 newcomers were sworn in, breaking the standard set two years earlier.
Change affected the Mecklenburg County delegation when Dannelly, 87, stepped aside after 20 years to care for his ailing wife and Rep. Ric Killian quit to run a losing campaign for Congress.
In addition to legislators who quit to run for higher office or new jobs as lobbyists and state government, redistricting forced major changes. The maps drawn by the GOP-dominated General Assembly created 10 Senate races and 28 House campaigns between incumbents.
For all the inexperience heading to Raleigh, there’ll be little competition in gerrymandered districts.
Among the 170 legislative districts, 34 incumbents are running unopposed in the primary as well as general election and another 31 faced campaigns in their party’s primary. As a result, 19 Senate seats are already determined with 12 Republicans and seven Democrats guaranteed spots.
More than a third of the House is settled with 26 Republicans and 23 Democrats clinching seats in May.
Comments
| The challenge is issued by Richard Rivette for NC State Senate 38. I am prepared to meet the community in an open setting to discuss anything of interest. - Sincerely, Richard Rivette - www.voterivette.com - You can email me directly with your response at info@voterivette.com |
| Posted on October 16, 2012 |
| It is disgusting that a man who calls himself a reporter would actually state that my opponent in this election "will be a part of the new guard" in Raleigh. Does Mr. White think we should bother having an election at all? I did not spend a year of my life preparing to publicly explain solid policies to benefit all our citizens, with my 30-years experience in industry and community service, to be dismissed by a man who has not spoken to me once. I publicly CHALLENGE Mr. Ford to a two-hour debate on ALL of the pressing issues so we can speak for more than just a single minute to our audience - the economy, jobs, schools, veterans, housing, investment, healthcare, revitalizing Charlotte, our future for this community and state. I would like the Charlotte Post to moderate the debate and hold it at any large church on the west side of Charlotte. |
| Posted on October 16, 2012 |
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