Hugh Blackwell

House bills of note

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:26:32 -0500

Recent House bills of note:

H.B. 338: Stimulus Funds/Contractors Must Use E-Verify, Rep. Pat McElraft

H.B. 339: Taxpayer Transparency Act, Reps. McElraft, Pat Hurley, Curtis Blackwood and Hugh Blackwell

H.B. 344: Employers Must Use E-Verify Program, Reps. Wil Neumann and George Cleveland

H.B. 351: Party Change During Early Voting, Rep. Cary Allred

H.B. 361: Defense of Marriage, Reps. David Lewis, James Crawford, Pearl Burris-Floyd and Dewey Hill

H.B. 362: Access to Higher Education, Rep. Pricey Harrison, Paul Luebke, Rick Glazier and Verla Insko

The House Class of 2008

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:46:27 -0500

The watchword for the House class of 2008 is scandal.

At least four representatives-elect won seats formerly held by legislators who were either retired or defeated because of scandals involving speeding tickets, drunk driving, sexual harassment or campaign donations.

Depending on your definition, the House has 15 or 20 new members. Some of the five who were appointed prior to the election also took the seats of troubled legislators, including disgraced former Speaker Jim Black and Rep. Thomas Wright, the first member expelled since 1880.

Here's a quick look at the representatives-elect:

Hugh Blackwell (R): The Valdese lawyer defeated longtime Rep. Walt Church Sr. after the legislator got a speeding ticket dismissed by the district attorney.

Elmer Floyd (D): The longtime city of Fayetteville human relations director won the former seat of Rep. Mary McAllister, who got in trouble over campaign finance reports.

Nick Mackey (D): A controversial figure in Charlotte, Mackey resigned from the police department while under investigation, then ran for sheriff, but had his election thrown out.

Shirley Randleman (R): The retired longtime Wilkes County clerk of court won the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Tracy Walker.

Sarah Stevens (R): The Mount Airy lawyer defeated three-term Democrat Rep. Jim Harrell III after a campaign that ridiculed his support of a teapot museum.

James Boles (R): The Southern Pines resident won the seat of retiring Republican Rep. Joe Boylan, who admitted to an alcohol problem after a drunk driving arrest.

Pearl Burris Floyd (R): The Gaston County commissioner will be the first elected black Republican woman in the legislature.

Darrell McCormick (R): The Yadkinville owner of a real estate company fended off a Democratic challenger for the seat of Rep. George Holmes.

Johnathan Rhyne (R): The Lincolnton lawyer had no Democratic opposition in his race for the seat of retiring Republican Rep. Joe Kiser.

Randy Stewart (D): The Rocky Mount resident won a much-contested race for the seat of Republican Rep. Bill Daughtridge, who ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer.

Justin Burr (R): Albemarle defeated Rep. Ken Furr in the primary, who had been appointed to the seat after Rep. David Almond resigned over a personnel complaint.

W. David Guice (R): The Transylvania County commissioner was outspent by a Democratic opponent in the race for the seat of retiring Rep. Trudi Walend.

Grey Mills (R): The Iredell County business owner handily beat a Libertarian opponent for the seat after narrowly edging Republican Rep. Karen Ray in the primary.

Efton Sager (R): The Wayne County commissioner and retired Air Force member won the seat of retiring Republican Rep. Louis Pate.

Jane Whilden (D): The former director of Gov. Mike Easley's Western office, an Asheville resident, won with the help of the state Democratic Party.

In addition, previously appointed Reps. Kelly Alexander Jr. of Charlotte, Angela Bryant of Rocky Mount, Annie Mobley of Ahoskie, Tricia Cotham of Charlotte and Sandra Spaulding Hughes of Wilmington were also elected for the first time in November.

Related: The Senate Class of 2008

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated details of Mills' win.

The GOP's House Top Five

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:27:52 -0500

Republicans have five seats in their sights so far.

Based on filings with the State Board of Elections, Michael Luthy of the N.C. Republican House Majority Fund singled out five districts where he thinks the GOP has a good chance:

3rd: Norman Sanderson of Arapahoe and Craven County Commissioner Renee Sisk face off in the Republican primary to run against Democratic Rep. Alice Graham Underhill.

41st: Apex Councilman Bryan Gossage, owner of Peak Media Group, squares off against first-term Democratic Rep. Ty Harrell.

86th: Valdese attorney Hugh Blackwell faces Democratic Rep. Walt Church Sr. in a rematch of the 2006 race.

88th: Former state Rep. Mark Hollo of Taylorsville faces Democratic Rep. Ray Warren in a rematch of the 2006 race.

90th: Mount Airy attorney Sarah Stevens squares off against Rep. Jim Harrell III.

Luthy said that he was excited about several other races, but did not want to talk about them until the candidates have filed.