Some recent Senate bills of note:

S.B. 386: Make Best Use of Corporate Tax Revenue, Sen. Dan Clodfelter

S.B. 397: Increase Cap on Charter Schools, Sen. Debbie Clary

S.B. 400: No Increase in UNC In-State Tuition or Fees, Sen. Tom Apodaca

S.B. 403: Victims Compensation Amendment, Sen. Doug Berger

S.B. 410: Increase Cig. Tax/Proceeds to MHTF, Sen. Martin Nesbitt

S.B. 417: National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Sen. Clodfelter

S.B. 426: Legislative Compensation, Sen. Ellie Kinnaird

"Which Republicans voted for the Democratic leadership in the legislature?" — Caller

Members of the state House of Representatives and Senate select their own leaders on the first day of session.

The majority, which is Democratic in both chambers this year, typically votes for one of its own, while the Republican minority puts forward its own candidate.

Still, legislators can cross over to vote for the other side.

This year, Republican Sens. Fletcher Hartsell of Concord and Richard Stevens of Cary both voted for Democratic Sen. Marc Basnight as president pro tem on the first roll call.

Before the votes were totaled, however, Republican Minority Leader Phil Berger, who was also running, moved to elect Basnight by acclamation — essentially a unanimous voice vote.

This next part is a little tricky. In order to prevent anyone from calling another vote in the future and toppling Basnight, his chief lieutenant, Sen. Tony Rand, asked for yet another vote, known as a "clincher."

Twelve of the 20 Senate Republicans voted for Basnight on that vote: Sens. Austin Allran, Stan Bingham, Harris Blake, Debbie Clary, Don East, James Forrester, Hartsell, Neal Hunt, David Rouzer, Bob Rucho, Stevens, and Jerry Tillman.

In the House no Republicans voted for Speaker Joe Hackney, a Democrat. House Republicans voted for the minority leader, Rep. Paul Stam.

The state Senate will have six women next session.

Three of the women are from major urban areas: Sens. Julia Boseman of Wilmington, Katie Dorsett of Greensboro and Linda Garrou of Winston-Salem.

A fourth, Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, is from Carrboro, a liberal enclave near UNC-Chapel Hill.

Only two come from small towns: Sen. Jean Preston of Emerald Isle (population 3,855) and incoming Sen. Debbie Clary of Cherryville (population 5,680), about an hour drive from Charlotte. They are the only Republicans.

Coincidentally or not, both Preston and Clary served seven terms in the state House before being elected senator. None of the other female senators served in the House.

Two former female senators from urban areas have since won statewide races. Former Sen. Janet Cowell of Raleigh was elected state treasurer in November, while former Sen. Kay Hagan of Greensboro was elected U.S. senator.

As noted previously, rural areas have been slow to elect women.

The women make up 12 percent of the 50-member Senate.

Women lost a little ground in the legislature.

After the November elections, the number of female state legislators will go down next year by one, from 45 to 44, according to the principal House and Senate clerks.

Six women will serve in the 50-member Senate; 38, in the 120-member House.

That leaves 25.9 percent of the legislature female, the same as in 2007.

The 2008 session will remain the high water mark, with 26.5 percent women, according to statistics compiled by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. The national average was 23.7 percent.

The center's rankings for 2009 are not yet available, but North Carolina was the 19th most gender-balanced state legislature in 2008. Vermont was first; South Carolina, last.

Since the group began tracking legislative women in 1975, the low for North Carolina was 11.8 percent in 1985 and 1986. The number has been steadily climbing since and has been above 20 percent — or one-fifth — since 2003.

There is a silver lining, however. Two of the women who left the legislature — Sens. Kay Hagan and Janet Cowell — went on to higher office, while Rep. Debbie Clary moved to the Senate.

The Senate class of 2008 has some big shoes to fill.

For the most part, the freshman senators are taking the seats of lawmakers who went on to higher offices — or at least ran for higher office.

The five (or six, depending on your definition) may face higher expectations as a result.

Here's a quick look at the new senators-elect:

Don Vaughan (D): A politically active Greensboro attorney who served seven terms on the City Council will be taking the seat of U.S. Sen.-elect Kay Hagan.

David Rouzer (R): A former aide to U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms from McGee's Crossroads will take over the Johnston County seat of unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Fred Smith.

Debbie Clary (R): The state representative from Cherryville, the sole Republican win from its November wishlist, will take the seat of Lt. Gov.-elect Walter Dalton.

Josh Stein (D): A well-connected Raleigh lawyer who worked for John Edwards' in D.C. and served as deputy attorney general will be taking the Raleigh seat of Treasurer-elect Janet Cowell.

Don Davis (D): An Air Force veteran, college professor and the popular (and youngest ever) mayor of Snow Hill will be taking the seat of retiring Sen. John Kerr III.

Bob Rucho (R): A former four-term state senator, appointed to unsuccessful lieutenant governor candidate Robert Pittenger's seat in June, is already running for a leadership role.

Correction: An earlier version misstated the length of Vaughan's tenure.

Related: The House Class of 2008 

There have been a lot of firsts this election — first African-American president, first woman governor.

But one first has been overlooked.

Pearl Burris Floyd was elected the first black Republican woman to North Carolina's state legislature.

Floyd, a Gaston County commissioner, won the state House seat previously held by Rep. Debbie Clary, who was elected to the Senate, Rob Christensen reports.

Floyd is the anatomic pathology section chief at Rowan Regional Medical Center in Salisbury. She campaigned as "a thoughtful conservative" and her website includes a picture of her with President Bush — a rarity in this political season.

She was also the flrst black Gaston County commissioner.

Despite predictions of major rightward movement in the state Senate, legislative contests yielded few upsets.

Incumbent Democrats in districts considered Republican-leaning were reelected, although a few got a scare, Lynn Bonner reports.

Veteran Democrat David Hoyle of Gaston County defeated Republican Kathy Harrington by about three percentage points, according to unofficial returns.

Democrat Julia Boseman of New Hanover, who is the legislature's first openly gay member, won by about 3.3 percentage points. A custody battle with her former partner led to disclosures that Boseman defaulted on a $1.3 million loan on her former home.

Senate Republicans in February targeted nine seats. They lost eight of those yesterday.

Former House member Debbie Clary, a Republican from Cherryville, seems to be the sole pick up. Clary won the race for the seat Walter Dalton left open when he ran for lieutenant governor.

In the House, Republicans beat two incumbent Democrats, lost two seats, and are close in two races.

State Sen. Julia Boseman is no longer living at the home of lobbyist Theresa Kostrzewa.

Boseman, a Wilmington Democrat, moved out last week "out of respect for Mrs. Kostrzewa and her family," said Boseman's campaign manager, Tom Keating.

Kostrzewa and Boseman said that Boseman paid $50 a night to stay in a basement apartment in Kostrzewa's Raleigh home, Dan Kane reports. Boseman also paid Kostrzewa's teen-aged daughter to babysit Boseman's child.

Boseman had checked with Walker Reagan, a legislative staff attorney who helped write the lobbying and ethics laws. The new laws prevent lobbyists from offering things of value to lawmakers. Reagan told Boseman the arrangement would be legal so long as she paid a market rate.

A child custody battle has caused Boseman to disclose that she had smoked marijuana in the year before her election to the state legislature in 2004 and that she has defaulted on a $1.3 million loan on her former home. She is the Senate's first openly gay member.

Boseman is not the only lawmaker to pay for housing from a lobbyist. Rep. Debbie Clary, a Cleveland County Republican, is paying rent to live at the condo of lobbyist Connie Wilson.

Wilson, who left the legislature in 2004, said that Clary moved in the following year and is paying $450 a month, which amounts to half of the mortgage payment. Clary said she cleared the arrangement with the State Ethics Commission.

"We were very close friends in the legislature," Clary said of Wilson, who served six terms in the House. "She's never even lobbied me."

Clary is running for the state senate seat that Walter Dalton, a Rutherfordton Democrat, is leaving to run for lieutenant governor.

Republicans have high hopes in nine state Senate races.

Jim Blaine, director of the N.C. Senate Republican Committee, gave Dome a breakdown of the races he thinks the GOP will do well in, based on the filings so far.

Fifth: Rep. Louis Pate Jr., a Republican, faces the winner of a five-way Democratic primary for the open seat of retiring Democratic Sen. John Kerr.

Eighth: Former Wilmington Star-News reporter Bettie Fennell, a Republican, faces Democratic Sen. R.C. Soles Jr. in a district that is changing demographically.

Ninth: Wilmington attorney Michael Lee, a Republican, has filed to run against Democratic Sen. Julia Boseman, who has not yet filed for re-election.

24th: Commercial real estate broker Rick Gunn Jr., a Republican, squares off against Democratic Sen. Tony Foriest.

43rd: Realtor Kathy Harrington, wife of former Rep. Michael Harrington, faces Democratic Sen. David Hoyle in a district that leans Republican.

45th: Boone dentist Jerry Butler has signed up to face Democratic Sen. Steve Goss. Other Republicans may file in this race as well.

46th: State Rep. Debbie Clary, a Republican, faces either Phil Clark or Keith Melton for the seat of Democratic Sen. Walter Dalton, who is running for lieutenant governor.

47th: Former state Sen. Keith Presnell, a Republican, faces Democratic Sen. Joe Sam Queen in a seemingly never-ending grudge match.

50th: Republican Susan C. Pons, who works at a Christian training center, faces Democratic Sen. John Snow.

One of the oddest votes of the session took place in the House on Monday night, Dan Kane reports.

It had to do with a long kicked around entity in state government, the State Boxing Commission.

The commission was mothballed a few years ago amid claims that it was a waste of public money, and efforts to bring it back have not gotten far.

But legislation to create an advisory boxing commission with no salaried members tentatively passed the House when Speaker Joe Hackney, an Orange County Democrat, cast a rare vote to break a tie.

More after the jump.

   Comments (0)