State GOP Chairman Robin Hayes is an unlikely person to be saying nice things about Smart Start, the early child hood program that was the signature program of former Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt.
Hayes was a leading opponent of Smart Start when it passed the legislature in the mid 1990s. He was Hunt's 1996 opponent for governor. And of course, he now leads the Republican Party, whose lawmakers are taking a long hard look at whether the program should be continued during the budget crisis.
But this week Hayes appeared at a legislative breakfast and gave what he described as “a limited testimonial” on behalf of Smart Start.
“If the legislature wants to keep some sort of early childhood program, there are some things Smart Start has done that are very constructive,” Hayes recalled saying.
Hayes said his views of Smart Start became more favorable, after then House Speaker Dan Blue appointed him to serve on a state board overseeing Smart Start in the 1990s. He said he liked the idea of local control, and public-private partnerships and strong involvement by churches.
He said Hunt, who is leading a lobbying an effort to convince the GOP-controlled legislature not to abolish Smart Start, contacted him numerous times, asking him to put in a good word for Smart Start.
Hayes noted that the other leading House opponent of Smart Start, former state Rep. Connie Wilson of Charlotte, has been hired to lobby to help save Smart Start. Hayes, a former congressman, said it was a tricky position for him to be in, because there some members of his party who think government should have no role in early childhood education. He said he agreed to speak up for Smart Start on the that preserving it could be done without raising taxes.
