Tag search result

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mel Watt has endorsed Ken Lewis for U.S. Senate.

"My friendship with Ken Lewis has afforded me a close up and personal opportunity to observe Ken's intellect, his values, his ability to communicate, the way he thinks and his commitment to things that are important to me, and things that I have found to be important to the people I represent," Watt said in a news release announcing the endorsement.

"Ken Lewis will bring new and diverse ideas and perspectives to public discussions, something that's sorely needed in the public discourse and something that's sorely needed in the United States Senate. The fact that Ken Lewis has not served in political office is, in my view, a benefit and not a shortcoming."

Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, was the former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and was campaign manager for Harvey Gantt's 1990 U.S. Senate campaign. The endorsement is the third for Lewis from major black political figures in the state. Lewis had previously received the endorsements of Democratic U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield and former Supreme Court Chief Justice Henry Frye.

"Mel has been at the forefront of the issues most important to both his district and the state of North Carolina," Lewis said in a news release. "From advocating for affordable housing and responsible lending to opposing the Iraq War, Mel has repeatedly demonstrated his remarkable leadership ability."

PRICES ARE INSANE: Gov. Bev Perdue has ordered an appraisal of the state's alcohol beverage control system, a possible step towards selling or leasing the state's liquor business to a private company. While we're at it, wonder what the Global Transpark would fetch?

VOTING RECORDS TO PROVE IT: According to an analysis by the National Journal, Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr is the ninth most conservative member of the U.S. Senate and Democratic U.S. Rep. Mel Watt is tied for first as the most liberal member of the U.S. House.

EARLY RELEASE: Former Democratic state House Speaker Jim Black is scheduled to get out of federal prison a year early, which would have him free in March 2011. So might we be seeing "Jim Black 2012" campaign signs?

IN OTHER NEWS: An N.C. native has been named the White House social secretary. Nicotine patches will be free for those covered by the State Health Plan. Republican U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry wants to put former President Ronald Reagan on the $50 bill.

An annual list of how members of Congress stack up, ideologically speaking, has U.S. Rep. Mel Watt as the most liberal member of the state's House delegation while U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry is the most conservative.

National Journal studied 97 roll-call votes that it used to establish where House members ranked in terms of how liberal or conservative they were.

Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, was among eight House members who were tied for the most liberal in the chamber. Watt was the 423rd most conservative House member.

McHenry, a Cherryville Republican, was the 17th most conservative member of the chamber and the 413th most liberal. Virginia Foxx, a Banner Elk Republican, was the 19th most conservative member and the 411th most liberal. 

No other members of the state's delegation cracked the top 20 as either conservative or liberal.

Greg Dority was a candidate in search of a district.

The 51-year-old businessman lives in in coastal Beaufort County in the 3rd Congressional District. But that's been represented for years by fellow Republican Walter Jones.

Since there's no residency requirement for congressional candidates, Dority ran in the 1st District in 2002 and again in 2004, Jim Morrill of The Charlotte Observer reports. This year, he saw that a Republican he considered stronger already had signed up to run. The district is currently represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield.

So he looked at the 4th District, centered around Raleigh and Durham and represented by Democratic Rep. David Price. Again he saw that a stronger GOP candidate was in.

Finally he turned to the 12th District, which runs from Charlotte to Greensboro. And last week he filed, hoping to run against Democratic Rep. Mel Watt of Charlotte, which is 270 miles, or about 4 and a half hours, from his home in Little Washington.

"The 12th District is really being hurt hard," he says. "That's why I'm in this race, to talk a message of fiscal conservatism and what I think needs to be done to get people back to work."

Dority finished fourth in the GOP primary for lieutenant governor in 2008.

This year, he faces William "Doc" Gillenwater of Greensboro in the GOP primary. But he's already looking beyond that.

"I probably will not overwhelm it before the primary," he says, "but once the weather gets warm and the campaign season starts to crank up .... I’m going to be in that district a lot. And post- Labor Day, once we get into the sprint to the wire, I'll be there full time."

Dority says he hopes to ride the wave of what he sees as a GOP year.

"I believe there is going to be a Republican tsunami that is going to be greater than '94 by a magnitude of, well a magnitude," he says.

Wealthy challengers in two Charlotte-area congressional districts have pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into their races, giving them a financial edge over the incumbents and other rivals.

The incumbents, Democratic U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell in the 8th District and Republican U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry in the 10th, are the only incumbents in North Carolina to trail challengers in the money race, Jim Morrill of The Charlotte Observer reports.

New camaign finance reports show Republican Tim D’Annunzio has dumped $553,000 into his campaign to win the Republican nomination to challenge Kissell.

The Hoke County businessman already has mounted an aggressive advertising campaign in the district that stretches from Charlotte to Fayetteville. D’Annunzio still has $372,500 in the bank, more than Kissell and seven other N.C. incumbents. Kissell, of Biscoe, has $318,000.

In the 10th District, which runs west from Lincoln and Iredell counties to the foothills, Republican dentist Scott Keadle has loaned his campaign $250,000.

He has nearly $261,000 on hand compared to $149,000 for McHenry of Cherryville.

The reports, filed with the Federal Election Commission, came out a week before campaign filing starts in North Carolina, and three months before the May 4 primaries. They reflect money raised and spent through Dec. 31.

U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, is among the ten members of the Congressional Black Caucus criticizing the Obama administration for not doing more for African-Americans in the recession.

The group withheld their votes on a financial services bill earlier this week and later said they were pressuring the White House to do more, The Hill reports. Unemployment for blacks is approaching 16 percent, compared to the national rate of 10.2 percent.

The caucus members spelled out several policy steps they want the administration to take, such as foreclosure reduction efforts and more aid to community banks that lend to African-Americans.

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx is the richest member of the state's U.S. House delegation.

Foxx, a Banner Elk Republican, has a minimum net worth of $2.4 million, according to an analysis of disclosure forms by the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call.

U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, a Waynesville Democrat is the second richest with $2.3 million in assets. U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell, a Biscoe Democrat, has a negative net worth of $2,000. Numbers reflect a minimum because members of Congress report a range of net worth.

Foxx: $2.4 million

Shuler: $2.3 million

Howard Coble, a Greensboro Republican: $945,000

David Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat: $896,000

G.K. Butterfield, a Wilson Democrat: $786,000

Bob Etheridge, a Lillington Democrat: $418,000

Mel Watt, a Charlotte Democrat: $330,000

Patrick McHenry, a Cherryville Republican: $217,000

Sue Myrick, a Charlotte Republican: $167,000

Walter Jones, a Farmville Republican: $125,000

Brad Miller, a Raleigh Democrat: $65,000

Mike McIntyre, a Lumberton Democrat: $18,000

Kissell: -$2,000

Hat tip: RTB

Update: Post now clarifies that the Roll Call analysis looked at members of the U.S. House and did not include the Senate. 

U.S. Rep. Mel Watt has gotten a lot of attention — not all of it positive — for a measure that would have given the Federal Reserve a little independence.

Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, offered an amendment to a bill that would provide for auditing of the Fed, Mark Binker of the Greensboro News & Record reports.

Watt favored a version of the bill that would allow for audits of the Fed’s balance sheet and lending, but not of its policy-making decisions.

An amendment he offered to do just that was rejected by the committee, but not before commentators online took aim at Watt, accusing him of carrying the banking industry’s water in exchange for political donations.

Watt did not return a call Monday seeking comment.

But a Reuters report quoted Watt as saying that the legislation passed by the committee could hamstring the Fed.

"Everybody would like to beat up on the Fed and call them the bad guy," Reuters quoted Watt as saying. "(But) are we going to so substantially castrate the Fed so it cannot do what it was set up to do?"

U.S. Rep. Mel Watt has $140,282 in his campaign account, according to federal campaign finance records.

Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, received $8,987 from individual contributions and $74,500 from political action committees for a total of $83,500 raised through September.

Contributors include Valerie White of Bethesda, Md. ($1,000); the NFL's Gridiron PAC ($5,000); the Citigroup PAC ($5,000) and a PAC of Echostar and Dish Network $2,500.

Republican Paul Johnson has loaned himself $133 and Libertarian Lon Vernon Cecil has not reported raising any money.

Here's a summary of what members of Congress had in their campaign accounts through September 2009. The remaining members of the state's delegation will be added to the list.

G.K. Butterfield: $231,000.

Howard Coble: $525,000.

Bob Etheridge: $1 million.

Virginia Foxx: $1.1 million.

Walter Jones: $127,766.

Larry Kissell: $244,000. Businessman Lou Huddleston has raised $57,641 from individuals and loaned himself $45,125. Tim D'Annunzio, who owns a skydiving business, has loaned himself $303,000 and raised $8,400. Hamlet resident Darrell Day has raised $30 and loaned himself $3,000. Republican Thomas Sweeney has not reported raising any money.

Patrick McHenry: $158,000. Iredell County Commissioner Scott Keadle has loaned himself $250,000 to challenge McHenry for the Republican nomination.

Mike McIntyre: $824,917. Republican Will Breazeale has received $3,800 in individual contributions and has $400 in his campaign account.

Brad Miller: $148,000. Challenger William Randall II has not reported raising any money.

Sue Myrick: $236,305.

David Price: $218,000. Republican challenger Frank Roche has raised $10,879, mostly through individual contributions. Republican George Hutchins has loaned himself $5,000.

Heath Shuler: $1.1 million.

Mel Watt: $140,000.