Tip: Clicking on tags in this page allows you to drill further with combined tag search. For example, if you are currently viewing the tag search result page for "health care", clicking on "Kay Hagan" will bring you to a list of contents that are tagged with both "health care" and "Kay Hagan."
Rep. Grier Martin, a Raleigh Democrat, was sworn in to office Monday night
Martin returns to the legislate after a five-month absence, taking the seat former Rep. Deborah Ross resigned.
Martin and Ross used to be House colleagues, but Martin decided not to run last year when the two were put in the same district in the new redistricting plan.
The Wake County Democrats announced via a tweet Tuesday night that the Raleigh Democrat had been elected to replace Deborah Ross in District 34.
Ross, a six-term lawmaker, announced earlier this month that she would be leaving the General Assembly to be the general counsel at Triangle Transit. At the time, she endorsed Martin for the spot.
The two were double-bunked into the same district by Republicans and Martin decided not to challenge his friend for the office.
Ross officially nominated Martin at the meeting of the Wake County Democrats' Executive Committee Meeting Tuesday evening.
UPDATED: State Rep. Deborah Ross, one of the most vocal Democrats in the legislature, will step down to take a job with Triangle Transit.
Ross will join the organization as the new general counsel June 17, according to a press release. Ross said that she would resign to take the post and supported former state Rep. Grier Martin to fill her place. Martin and Ross were double-bunked in the latest redistricting effort and Martin decided not to challenge Ross, a good friend. "At this point in my career, I believe I will be more effective serving the public outside of the legislative arena," she said in a statement.
Triangle Transit Chairman Fred Day said Ross brings "wealth of knowledge that will be of great assistance as the chief legal advisor to the board of trustees and the executive staff. She joins us at an important time as we work to expand local and regional bus service and to plan for light rail.”
Another run at taking the politics out of redistricting has emerged this session in the form of a bipartisan bill packed with so many co-sponsors that they constitute a majority in the House.
HB606 would create an independent nonpartisan professional staff that would draw maps that the General Assembly would then approve or reject, with only limited technical amendments permitted.
The main backers of HB606 will try to drum up support at a news conference Wednesday with House Speaker Pro Tem Paul “Skip” Stam, R-Apex; Democratic caucus co-chair Rep. Deborah Ross, D-Raleigh; Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, and Rep. Rick Glazier, D-Fayetteville.
The bill is the same one that passed the House in 2011 on an 88-27 vote. Supporters note that House Speaker Thom Tillis supported redistricting reform when he was in the minority party.
Supporters say that 25 Republicans who didn’t sign on as sponsors of this bill have either voted for the 2011 bill or have said they support redistricting reform.
ON TAP TODAY: Gov. Pat likes his new digs. The new Republican governor starts his term with a cabinet meeting Monday morning at his new home, the Executive Mansion. McCrory had the cabinet to lunch at the mansion Saturday, too. The event is closed-door but McCrory will give a press conference later in the morning before heading to the mountains for his first stop on his statewide introduction tour.
Worth noting: McCrory's "open house" events require advance tickets. Free tickets but nonetheless.
***Welcome to the new DOME MORNING MEMO. This daily feature will serve as a tipsheet for the day in North Carolina politics -- previewing the next day's big story, breaking news that drives the political agenda and reviewing the latest dispatches from the state's political scribes. Consider it a nod to Dome's favorite D.C. morning briefings from the likes of Politico, NBC and TPM. It's an evolving product, so send tips, ideas, thoughts or even a better name to dome@newsobserver.com. And thanks for reading. Much more below.***
Democrats won the White House again and picked up seats in the U.S. Senate, but the party in Raleigh is noticeably less rambunctious.
It remains unclear who will lead Democratic efforts in the Tar Heel State, but the picture may become clearer when the House Democratic Caucus will meet privately in the legislative building at 1 p.m. Wednesday to select a minority leader; Senate Democrats will meet for the same reason in mid-December.
Rep. Larry Hall of Durham has been active in pursuing the role of House minority leader.
Kamala Harris, attorney general of California, joined Democratic supporters at Wilmoore Cafe in downtown Raleigh on Wednesday to reiterate the party's focus on women's issues and to deliver a simple message: "I was sent here to help make it clear that we're not giving up on North Carolina," she said.
A Democratic panel of women in Raleigh blasted Republicans gathered in Florida for "taking our country back in time."
Those words from state Rep. Deborah Ross defined an event Tuesday in which Democratic women said Republicans were pointed in the wrong direction on everything from healthcare to pay equity.
Alabama Congresswoman Terri Sewell, elected in 2010 as the first woman Democrat from her state, urged the women in the crowd to get active this year. "The 2008 election was historic," she said. "But the 2012 election is imperative."
At a news conference in Durham on Wednesday, Democrats criticized the GOP-led legislature's defunding of Planned Parenthood, saying it leaves women with fewer healthcare options.
Reps. Deborah Ross of Raleigh and Jennifer Weiss of Cary were joined by Dr. Sharon Elliot-Bynum at CAARE Inc. in Durham.
"Women and families in the Triangle area rely on a network of care providers that includes clinics such as this one, community health centers, and organizations such as Planned Parenthood, for their preventive care,'' said Elliot-Bynum, executive director and co-founder of CAARE.
Rex Healthcare executives are enlisting the help of employees, physicians and patients as they try to fend off WakeMed's unsolicited offer to buy their hospital for $750 million.
In an email to doctors, Rex CEO David Strong urged them to tell patients who ask that they can support Rex by writing letters to the editor, and posting their views on personal blogs and social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter.
Also, "patients can email, write or call their legislators ... and explain that a takeover of Rex Healthcare would have significant negative consequences for our county and state," Strong wrote. The email includes contact information for the Wake County delegation of the General Assembly.
"We believe any acquisition of Rex Healthcare would require legislation or some similar type of involvement from the state," Strong wrote.
WakeMed announced last week it is offering $750 million to buy Raleigh rival Rex from the UNC Health Care System. Rex and UNC officials have said that Rex isn't for sale, but the UNC Health board is meeting this afternoon to discuss the offer.
