Recent editorials from North Carolina newspapers:
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May 13
The News & Observer of Raleigh on Sen. Richard Burr leading the investigation of meddling in the 2016 U.S. election:
The Watergate comparisons were dismissed at first - the attempts to draw similarities between the coverup scandal over a break-in that drove Richard Nixon from the presidency in 1974 and the probe of Donald Trump’s campaign and possible connections to Russians.
But now, with Trump’s abrupt dismissal of James Comey as director of the FBI, coming as Comey was seeking additional funding and personnel for the Russia probe, the president is hearing comparisons to Nixon’s “Saturday Night Massacre,” the dismissal of Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox, which led to the resignations of the two top officials in the Justice Department. And there’s another comparison to be made: Like Nixon, Trump seems to be his own worst enemy.
But for North Carolinians, the most interesting Watergate comparison may be that of the late beloved “Senator Sam” Ervin to current senior Sen. Richard Burr.
Ervin, of course, became famous as the colorful and brilliant chair of the Senate Watergate Committee, and his folksy wisdom and unblinking integrity drove the Nixon White House to distraction and helped, certainly, to drive Nixon from the White House.
Burr is not colorful, and his 23 years in Washington (10 in the House, 12-plus in the Senate) have been uneventful. He’s been a reliable opponent of environmental regulation and has the standard boiler-plate list of right-wing gripes against social programs.
Notably, after becoming chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Burr tried to protect the secrecy of reports on CIA torture of prisoners. Not his finest hour - by a long shot.
But now Burr stands virtually alone as the person to lead the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. The House investigation fell apart after a key committee chairman was shown to have shared information with the White House. Comey was fired. And Trump remains a literal wild card, liable to tweet something outrageous at any second.
This is Burr’s moment, his defining moment, and his handling of the investigation is going to be his legacy at the end of his third Senate term and nearly 30 years in Washington almost six years hence.
Burr’s already criticized the firing of Comey, and he was right. But will he stand by his tough talk about forcing Trump’s people to hand over documents to his committee? And will he buck his majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who doesn’t want a special prosecutor?
Burr has a chance for leadership that rarely comes to individual senators. He will be measured and tested literally around the world.
He must: allow investigators to go where their sources and information takes them; demand cooperation from the highest-level White House aides; get down to the details of what exactly the Russians may have done to help Trump with the election; find out the types of favors Russian officials might have had in mind, if they indeed did meddle; give the members of his committee a free hand to publicly - publicly - examine witnesses.
Yes, some sensitive material may demand closed-door meetings, but Burr must understand that the more secrecy he allows, the less credibility his committee will have with the public. Trump likewise will suffer from secrecy - unless he has something to hide.
Burr, 61, may hold Donald Trump’s future in his hands. He most certainly holds his own.
Online: https://www.newsobserver.com/
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May 9
The Charlotte Observer on state Sen. Ralph Hise helping push fundamental changes to the election board while it investigated him:
We’ve lost count of the reasons Americans generally don’t trust politicians. On Tuesday, another log was added to the fire in North Carolina.
Sen. Ralph Hise, a Republican from Spruce Pine in Mitchell County, helped shepherd through fundamental changes to the state Board of Elections even as the board was investigating serious complaints against him. He should have recused himself from this obvious conflict of interests, and he should do so going forward.
The Board of Elections in March began investigating complaints that Hise violated election law. One of the complaints, from Wake County voter and government watchdog Greg Flynn, alleged that Hise illegally paid himself more than $10,000 from his campaign account, failed to disclose a number of contributions from PACs and provided incomplete information on his donors and expenses.
The elections board notified Hise that it had begun an investigation. Soon after that, Hise was named one of three Senate conferees to craft legislation that overhauls the Board of Elections. Hise is the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Elections.
The bill, Senate Bill 68, takes power away from the governor and the elections board. Under Pat McCrory and previous governors, the state board of elections had five members, with three from the governor’s party. SB 68 creates an eight-member board with four from each major party, with a Republican chairman in presidential years and a Democratic chairman in off years. It’s now being challenged in court.
Whatever one thinks about the legislature’s effort to hinder an executive branch agency and the governor’s control of it, it’s clear that Hise should have stayed far away from the matter knowing the board was investigating him at that very time.
Though the legislature has completed its work on this bill, Hise should recuse himself going forward because related issues could emerge at the General Assembly. Legislators could seek to limit the board’s subpoena power or its ability to levy fines, for instance.
Hise did not respond to a phone call and two emails from the Observer editorial board seeking comment on Tuesday.
Flynn’s complaint details $50,694.37 that Hise reported loaning his campaign, but the senator paid himself back $61,020.98, or $10,326.61 more. Flynn also found nine PACs that gave Hise a total of $9,250 that Hise didn’t report. Bob Hall of watchdog group Democracy NC said his group found Hise’s campaign disclosure reports are the worst of the 170 legislators.
Hise’s failure to recuse himself on the elections legislation means he either lacks the ethics to do so or lacks the minimal awareness needed to recognize such a blatant conflict. He should vow to stay away from elections board matters in the future - or Senate leaders should force him off of them.
In the meantime, he should help the Board of Elections get to the bottom of his mess of a report.
Online: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/
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May 9
The Greensboro News & Record on state Sen. Erica Smith-Ingram and lawmakers working to improve struggling rural areas:
Erica Smith-Ingram grew up on a farm in eastern North Carolina, attended the N.C. School of Science and Math in Durham and earned an engineering degree at N.C. A&T. She went on to work for Boeing and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Then, in 2003, she returned to teach science and math in high school. Today, she lives in Northampton County and represents it and seven other small counties in the state Senate.
Every one of those counties lost population from 2010 through 2015. The trends are expected to continue, with one of them, Bertie, projected to lose another 26 percent of its population by 2035, according to North Carolina’s Office of State Budget and Management. All eight counties have unemployment rates higher than the state average.
In much of rural North Carolina, young people leave to find better opportunities, especially if they have the chance to go off to college. Smith-Ingram was no exception, until she decided in mid-career to return home.
But not everyone can go home to a good job. There aren’t enough companies to hire available workers or, after young people leave, there aren’t enough well-educated workers to attract new companies.
The state has tried to interrupt that cycle. Some bad ideas have included redistributing tax revenues from wealthier counties to poorer ones. The N.C. Senate recently advanced another effort in the form of a bill that would reserve more economic incentive money for struggling counties. Smith-Ingram, a Democrat, joined five Republicans as a co-sponsor of the legislation, which passed the Senate and awaits consideration in the House.
The measure sprang from a study of state economic incentive grants that found most of the funds go to Wake and Mecklenburg counties. In 2015, the Job Development Investment Grant program awarded $74 million to companies to help finance job creation, but none of that money went to a project in what the state calls a Tier One county, or most economically distressed.
“I was appalled by the study committee’s findings but not surprised,” Smith-Ingram said Tuesday.
There are three economic tiers, with 40 counties in each of the first two and 20 in the third, or highest. Guilford County slipped from Tier 3 in 2016 to Tier 2 this year. Tier 3 counties are considered the wealthiest, and they end up with most of the incentives awards. The state pays for the rich to get richer.
Two examples were seen this week. The state announced Tuesday that Credit Suisse will add 1,200 jobs in Wake County and can receive up to $40 million in JDIG grants. The next day, the financial firm AXA said it will add 550 jobs in Mecklenburg County. It will be eligible for nearly $12 million in JDIG funds.
Smith-Ingram said it’s no wonder “the same counties have persistently high poverty.” So, among other provisions, her bill would limit JDIG awards in Tier 3 counties to 50 percent of the statewide total.
“This will benefit a Guilford County, giving it access to 50 percent of the money,” she said.
Guilford County needs more jobs, but it isn’t losing population or distressed. For counties in those circumstances, incentives alone aren’t a magic formula.
“This is a start, but not enough,” Smith-Ingram said. Her counties need help to build a skilled workforce and infrastructure, including broadband internet service and better water systems. The state should invest in these communities and aggressively offer incentives for suitable companies to locate in rural counties and small towns.
Smith-Ingram’s district is fortunate to have her “back home,” but opportunities for other rural residents will be hard to come by without more state help.
Online: https://www.greensboro.com/
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