Tony Rand

Hackney and Rand: Hands down

bkrueger — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:50:49 -0400

State legislative leaders Joe Hackney and Tony Rand got a good laugh tonight at Barack Obama's "town hall" meeting in Raleigh.

At one point during the event, Obama asked anyone in the crowd who makes more than $2.5 million a year to raise their hands, reports Lynn Bonner

Hackney, an Orange County Democrat who is speaker of the state House, and Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat who is Senate majority leader, were sitting together in the crowd and shared a chuckle at Obama's question.

But neither one of them raised their hand.

Rand's family tree

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:30:57 -0400

Rand's family tree

"I said, 'Great God, that's got to be us.'"

— Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, after watching a documentary on a black family that he realized was a distant relation. Quoted on July 29, 2008.

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Tony Rand shakes the family tree

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:25:53 -0400

Tony Rand would not expect to find his kinfolk in a TV documentary called "Black in America."

But there he was Saturday night, half-watching the tail end of the CNN show while reading a book when he heard a familiar last name.

At first, the Senate majority leader was intrigued by the story of the "mighty Rands" — a sprawling African-American extended family that holds a giant reunion in Atlanta each year. After all, he says, it's an unusual name.

Then matriarch RubyStein McGhee appeared onscreen, noting that her great-great-grandfather, William Harrison Rand, was a white man who was reportedly run out of North Carolina for living with a black woman.

Rand recognized the name. William Harrison Rand was the first cousin of one of his ancestors.

"I said, 'Great God, that's got to be us,'" he said.

Rand intends to connect with the black branch of his family, and he and his son, Ripley, already are making plans to go to the next reunion.

"You start shaking your family tree, and it's always really interesting," he said. "I can't wait to meet some of these relatives and find out more about all the people involved."

Correction: An earlier version of this post misspelled McGhee's name.

Claims Dept: NRSC on Hagan's budgets

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:38:56 -0400

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, a GOP group that runs independent ads in Senate races, has put out a Web video attacking state Sen. Kay Hagan's record on bipartisanship and the state budget.

What it says: Hagan is shown in a grainy video from a recent debate: "I know how to work across party lines. I've chaired the state budget for the last five years. … I've gotten those results here in North Carolina by working across party lines, by ending the partisan bickering."

As ominous music plays, the screen shows a quote from a Greensboro News & Record column: "Hagan's pitch for bipartisanship in Washington also fell flat. Her timing was bad because state Senate Democrats had just denied Republicans the chance to debate their budget on the floor."

Hagan is quoted again: "I've chaired the state budget for the last five years. … We've got to elect people who are willing to work across party lines to end the partisan bickering to get things done in this country."

The screen then shows a line from a recent News & Observer article: "Year after year, leaders in the Democrat-controlled state Senate use the rules to close off debate and limit budget amendments." Then Hagan: "You only need to look at the kind of state senator I’ve been for the last 10 years to see what kind of U.S. senator I'll be." The screen: "You can say that again."

The background: Hagan co-chaired the state Senate Appropriations committee from 2003 to 2007 and served in an advisory role for the 2008 budget. Throughout that time, Democrats controlled the Senate.

In recent years, the Senate has spent far less time debating the budget and considered far fewer amendments than the House. Senate Republicans complain that Democratic leaders often cut off debate before they have had time to speak or put forward all their proposed changes.

Democrats defend the process, saying it protects them from amendments meant to force a controversial vote that can be used against them in election season.

This year, the Senate debated the budget for less than an hour, considering only one GOP-sponsored amendment. Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand then moved to end debate before Republicans could speak.

The measure passed along party lines, with Hagan voting to end debate.

"Republicans had virtually no chance to amend the bill or speak to its merits on the floor, with the exception of a measure that would study the effectiveness of state-funded pre-kindergarten programs," wrote the Greensboro News & Record.

Hagan's campaign said that Republicans had the opportunity to amend the budget in committee meetings. They also noted that she has frequently cosponsored bills with Republicans and said she has stood up to Democratic leaders on some issues.

Is the ad accurate? Yes.

How the Senate cut off debate in '08

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:21:38 -0400

Senate Republicans did not have a chance to speak about the budget on the floor this year.

With a Web ad attacking Democratic Senate nominee Kay Hagan's record, Dome is taking a closer look at her record of bipartisanship as budget co-chair.

The ad highlights this year's state budget process, when Hagan served an advisory role. For the previous five years, Hagan was a co-chair of the Senate Appropriations committee.

Here's what happened this year: The House sent a budget bill to the Senate on June 5. It was amended in Appropriations and passed two other committees before heading to the Senate floor on June 18.

On the floor, eight amendments were offered by Hagan and three other Democrats and by Republican Sens. Jerry Tillman, Phil Berger, Harry Brown and Bob Rucho. Tillman and Brown's amendments were tabled, Berger's ruled out of order and Rucho's came to a vote, where it passed.

After 38 minutes, Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand then made a motion to end debate. It passed 30-18 along party lines, with Hagan voting for it.

For comparison's sake, debate on the budget took 4 hours and 36 minutes over two days in the House.

More after the jump.

Half of Dem senators gave to Perdue

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:28:06 -0400

More than half of Democratic senators gave to Beverly Perdue.

According to campaign finance reports, 18 of the 31 state senators from the gubernatorial nominee's party have made donations to her since her re-election in 2004. They range from $250 to several thousand dollars.

In all, she received $33,210 from Democratic senators.

The donations are significant because as lieutenant governor, Perdue runs the state Senate. Among North Carolina Democrats, state senators have seen her in action the most.

Most gave from their campaign committees.

The biggest donor was Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, who gave a total of $8,000. Sen. Dan Clodfelter gave $4,500, Sen. Clark Jenkins gave $4,000, Sens. Julia Boseman and Linda Garrou gave $3,000, and Sen. William Purcell gave $2,000.

More after the jump.

So there

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:24:15 -0400

So there

"Because we're going to adjourn in a few minutes, and that’s what it says."

— Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand rebuffing a question from Republican Sen. Richard Stevens on the state budget, on the floor of the Senate, on July 18, 2008.

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Last-minute corrections to budget bill

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:04:29 -0400

Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand was in no mood to argue the merits of a budget "technical corrections" bill that raced through the legislature today as the session comes to a close.

State Sen. Richard Stevens, a Cary Republican, raised questions about a provision that hands another $1 million to Gov. Mike Easley's Learn and Earn initiative. It provides a means for high school students to obtain a four-year college degree tuition free, Dan Kane reports.

Easley had sought the money as part of negotiations that eventually persuaded him to sign the $21.4 billion state budget on Thursday.

The legislation allows the Office of State Budget and Management to take the money from any agency. Stevens said the money should come from the Department of Public Instruction, which oversees Learn and Earn.

"This could come out of prisons; it could come out of universities," Stevens said. "Why don't we take it out of DPI?"

"Because we're going to adjourn in a few minutes, and that's what it says," Rand responded.

Lawmakers will not bail out health plan

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:26:28 -0400

State lawmakers will not try to bail out the health plan that serves roughly 650,000 state workers, teachers, retirees and their families before the 2008 session ends today.

House and Senate leaders could not reach an agreement on how to fix the plan, which they say is paying out more than it is taking in. The House voted Thursday to set aside $100 million from the rainy day fund to cover deficits, but the Senate won't take up the legislation, Dan Kane reports.

Senate leaders wanted to raise co-pays for brand-name prescription drugs and on doctor visits, but House leaders said it was unfair to place that burden on plan members at a time when gas, food and other costs are rising rapidly.

Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand and House Minority Leader Hugh Holliman said if the plan heads deeply into the red, a special legislative session could be called to work out a fix.

"We'll just deal with it on a week-to-week, month-to-month basis," said Holliman, a Lexington Democrat. "If we get into real trouble we'll just have a special session."

The plan currently has about $140 million in it, Holliman said, but he added that the plan spends roughly $50 million a week. The plan's interim administrator, Jack Walker, said it should have more than $200 million in it by early next year to stabilize it.

The plan's troubles only surfaced recently, and led to the abrupt firing of executive administrator George C. Stokes. He said he has steered the plan from serious deficits, and expects it to perform well in the current fiscal year that ends June 30, 2009.

Lawmakers are planning to adjourn this afternoon.

No tears from Rand

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:15:53 -0400

Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand has no regrets.

The Fayetteville Democrat said he does not think it was a problem that the legislature didn't consider a number of Republican-sponsored measures, such as constitutional amendments on eminent domain and gay marriage, during the short session.

"The Republican Party has existed for 148 years," he said. "I suspect it can wait until January for anything we didn't do."

Abraham Lincoln was unavailable for comment.