Liston Ramsey

House, Senate honor lobbyist Bone

bniolet — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:02:08 -0500

Both chambers of the legislature are considering resolutions honor the late lobbyist and former House member Roger Bone.

Bone was considered one of the most influential lobbyists in the legislature.

— "Roger made it to the top...by being a very personal, common man," said Sen. Martin Nesbitt, an Asheville Democrat.

— "Roger was never more than the boy from Sandy Cross," said Sen. A.B. Swindell, a Nashville Democrat.

— "We're grateful to him for just making this a place where we can enjoy each other's company ... as we talk about the ways to make North Carolina better," said Sen. Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat and senate majority leader.

Bone served in the 1979 session of the House, later worked as a legislative liaison to Speaker Liston Ramsey, and founded his own lobbying firm in 1987.

The House will consider its resolution when it goes into session at 1 p.m.

Update: The House took up the Senate version of the resolution.

— "He is what some would call a permanent fixture of the legislative building as he has been around as long as anyone can remember," said Rep. William Wainwright, a Havelock Democrat. "North Carolina is a better place because Roger Bone passed our way."

— "He possessed a unique passion for sound public policy," said Rep. Randy Stewart, a Rocky Mount Democrat.

"I can recally many conversations with Roger down in the snackbar of this buildign as he explaiend to me ...the dynamics that really move this assembly," said Rep. David Lewis, a Dunn Republican.

Claims dept: McCrory's 'Henry' radio ad

markjohnson — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:41:17 -0400

Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory's new radio ad criticizes Democrat Beverly Perdue for her negative ads. before hitting her in his own.

What the ad says:

Henry: Hey ... aren't you Pat McCrory?

Pat: Yeah.

Henry: I'm Henry.

Pat: Hi Henry.

Henry: Pat ... been hearing some negative stuff about you from Bev Perdue...

Pat: Yeah, I heard three of her negative ads about me just today and heck I wouldn't even vote for me after hearing them

Henry: Then why don’t you go after her?

Pat: Bev, She believes she can get elected by tearing me down. I believe in telling you what I'm going to do as a leader ... and not untruthfully attacking my opponent?

Henry: So what about that Yankee garbage?

Pat: It's pure Garbage, Henry. It's so ridiculous. No one including me wants to dump garbage in our beautiful state.

Henry: What about our roads?

Pat: Well, our roads are a mess. Bev Perdue has proposed taking road money for things like a teapot museum. This is the culture of corruption that I want to change. I'll fix our roads and build a good system interconnecting the whole state.

Henry: I heard Speaker Joe Maveretic say you couldn't believe a word Bev Perdue says ... guess he's right...

Pat: Yeah and he was a respected Democrat leader. I'd appreciate your vote for positive change.

Henry: You got it, Pat.

Pat: I'm Pat McCrory, candidate for governor and I approved and paid for this ad.

The background: McCrory proudly proclaims that he hasn't run negative ads and essentially repeats that in this ad ... moments before he attacks Perdue.

McCrory and the N.C. League of Municipalities opposed legislation restricting landfills that could import trash from other states, but their opposition was based on a tax it imposed on cities and towns not because anyone wanted to ship in garbage.

As lieutenant governor, Perdue does not help write the state budget, including in 2005, when the budget included a $400,000 appropriation for a then-proposed teapot museum in Sparta. That money was arranged by then-House Speaker Jim Black, who also received campaign contributions from museum supporters.

Former House Speaker Joe Mavretic, a Democrat, has repeatedly questioned Perdue's trustworthiness. Perdue pledged to join a bipartisan coup in 1989 to oust then-House Speaker Liston Ramsey with Mavretic. The morning of the coup, Perdue backed out. Mavretic still won the vote.

Is the ad accurate: Yes and no. There is no evidence Perdue played any role in the teapot museum money. She doesn't even vote on the budget unless there's a tie, which there wasn't. The claims about Mavretic's views and McCrory's defense of his thoughts on roads and landfills is accurate, however.

— Mark Johnson

Who would replace Vance, Aycock?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 15:23:22 -0400

If Democrats rename Vance Aycock, who would they name it for?

State Treasurer Richard Moore, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor, suggested renaming the party's annual dinner after former Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt, former speaker pro tem Marie Colton of Asheville or the late N.C. Speaker Liston Ramsey.

But in a post on This Old State, Charlotte Observer editor Jack Betts argues that Ramsey is a bad choice because of his "ironclad control" of the House in the 1980s.

They ran a rigid pork-barrel system that so disturbed both Democrats and Republicans that a coalition threw him out of office in 1989 and installed Democrat Josephus Mavretic in his place.

Betts says other options, including the late U.S. Sen. Sam Ervin, have their own problems. He suggests naming it for the late state Sens. Herbert Hyde or Jim Richardson.

Um, how about just calling it the Grove Park Inn Dinner?

Moore: Change name of Democratic dinner

bkrueger — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:34:19 -0400

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore today called for changing the name of the state Democratic Party's annual Vance-Aycock fundraising dinner because of former Gov. Charles Brantley Aycock's involvement in white supremacy campaigns in 1898 and 1900.

"When you read Gov. Aycock’s speeches and understand the full, unvarnished history, the only conclusion is that he fought against the principles that the Democratic Party stands for,” said Moore, the state treasurer.

Moore's comments come a week before the annual Vance-Aycock Dinner, which is held at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, reports Rob Christensen.

Aycock, a Goldsboro attorney who was elected in 1900, is one of North Carolina’s best known governors because of his advocacy for education. But he was also the voice of the white supremacy campaigns of 1898 and 1900 that led to the disfranchisement of black voters.

“I can no longer defend naming a Democratic Party dinner after Gov. Aycock,” Moore said. “The tactics Aycock embraced — fear, hatred, and voter intimidation at the hands of a band of ‘red shirts” — must be acknowledged and repudiated. We have so many heroes, like Harvey Gantt, Liston Ramsey and Marie Colton, and they would serve as more appropriate honorees.”

Gantt is a former Charlotte mayor who was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1990 and 1996, Ramsey is a former state House Speaker, and Colton was the first woman to serve as state House speaker pro tem.

Update: State Democratic Party chairman Jerry Meek could not be reached for comment. But party spokeswoman, Kerra Bolton, said the issue would be brought up at the next state Democratic Executive meeting in January.

"We respect the views of all North Carolina Democrats on this issue,” Bolton said in a statement. “This is a statewide dinner and is therefore worthy of a statewide discussion from all Democrats.”