John Hood's Daily Journal: Turning Judicial Selection Over to Special Interests

By Daren Bakst.

There’s an ongoing debate about the best way to select judges in North Carolina. Some people prefer partisan elections. Others prefer gubernatorial appointments. Still others want to see a system mixing appointments with retention elections. The list of possible scenarios could grow even longer.

But a recent development related to judicial vacancies outside of the election process should concern everyone interested in good government.

The North Carolina Constitution gives the governor exclusive power to fill judicial vacancies that arise between elections. Through a recent executive order, Gov. Beverly Perdue effectively has placed this appointment power in the hands of special-interest groups and partisan insiders.

The governor created an 18-person commission that will nominate three candidates for each judicial vacancy. The governor, regardless of whether she agrees with the slate of nominees, must select one nominee to fill the vacancy. Because Perdue is required to choose one of the commission’s nominees, it is the unelected and unaccountable special-interest groups and insiders who will be picking judges, not the governor.

The commission’s composition is completely political in nature. Eight special-interest groups nominated three attorneys each, one of whom the governor was required to pick for the commission. She chose the 10 remaining members herself. While there’s nothing unusual in a governor being influenced by partisan interests in performing her duties, she shouldn’t formally abdicate power to her political allies.

This is akin to the governor issuing an executive order compelling her to let special-interest groups pick three bills, one of which she must veto, or to let special-interest groups identify three prisoners, one of whom she must pardon.

In these situations, the governor is delegating away her express power to private and unaccountable interests. Citizens would not accept the governor passing the buck on those types of important decisions, and they should be even more outraged at Perdue’s attempt to avoid accountability for the selection of members of our judiciary.

If the commission merely made recommendations that the governor could accept or reject at her pleasure, there wouldn’t be a problem. Instead, Perdue is compelling herself by law to pick one of the commission’s appointees. This shows a lack of confidence in her own abilities and a disrespect for the state Constitution that has given her, and not anyone else, especially private parties, the power to execute the governor’s powers.

The executive order is just one part of an ongoing attack on our judicial system. The N.C. Bar Association has been pushing to amend the state constitution and implement a comparable commission model as a way to eliminate completely the citizens’ right to select appellate judges.

Under the proposed amendment, the governor would be forced to select one of two nominees appointed by a judicial nominating commission. The only person who could challenge the appointee in a subsequent election would be the other individual nominated by the commission. Either way, the commission gets a person it wants. The public would have no say as to who would be eligible to sit on the bench and would have to choose from candidates selected by special interests.

The proposed scheme would be far more political than our current election system because it would encourage — and, in fact, would require — behind-the-scenes lobbying as opposed to transparent elections.


http://www.carolinajournal.com/jhdailyjournal/

Governor Perdue’s Real Focus Is On Her Own Job

This morning, Governor Perdue will hold a press conference at the Department of Commerce on the North Carolina General Assembly’s lack of focus on job creation. Question from the NCGOP Political Office, “Why she is holding a press conference about job creation in a government building and not a private business?”


Later in the day, Governor Perdue will be in Winston-Salem for a town hall meeting at Winston-Salem State today and one has to wonder if she will mention the real reason she is in town.

According to the News and Observer, Governor Perdue “has begun raising money for what is likely to be her re-election campaign and has a major fund raiser planned for early Thursday evening in Winston-Salem. The governor plans to hold a high dollar event at The Graylyn Estate, the former mansion of tobacco heir Bowman Gray...”

North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes made the following statement regarding Governor Perdue’s lack of focus on job creation: “Governor Perdue needs to stop worrying about saving her own job, and start working with Republicans in the General Assembly to create a business environment where the private sector can flourish and start creating jobs. With unemployment over 10 percent, it is no surprise that two-thirds of North Carolinians do not approve of the job she is doing.”

Here are the facts about North Carolina’s “Job Governor:”

• On Gov. Perdue's watch, North Carolina's unemployment rate has remained above 9.4 percent for 26 straight months.
• The state's current unemployment rate, 10.1 percent, is one of the worst in the country.
• 112,699 more North Carolinians are out of work today than when Bev Perdue took office.

In just two months, Republicans in the General Assembly have done more to empower private sector job creation than Perdue has done in two years:

• Spending cuts to right-size state government and take less money out of the private economy (vetoed by Gov. Perdue)
• The Protect Health Care Freedom Act, stopping the biggest job-killer in the United States today, Obamacare (vetoed by Gov. Perdue)
• Regulatory reform, preventing government agencies from adopting new regulations that stifle small businesses
• Medical malpractice reform, attracting top doctors, bringing in new jobs and making health care more affordable and accessible for all North Carolinians.

Please share this with members of your county and precinct organizations.

Thank you and please do not hesitate to contact the NCGOP Political Office if you have any more questions.
URL: http://www.ncgop.org/governor-perdue-real-focus-is-on-her-job/

North Carolina--Follow the Money:

Thu, February 10, 2011


Follow the Money: Issue 84

Incentives on the Chopping Block


Legislature’s Proposal: Slash Incentive Funds to Balance Budget Shortfall Equals a Step in the Right Direction

In only their second week back in session, the N.C. General Assembly took up the issue of reigning in the state’s economic incentive handouts in order to close a gaping budget gap. Last week, the state Senate approved transferring $142 million to the General Fund from over 20 funds including those that award economic development incentives to handpicked businesses. Yesterday, the House approved the same measure and a final vote on the bill is expected today.

Under the General Assembly’s plan, roughly $75.7 million would come from funds the state uses to award incentives to businesses looking for handouts. Here’s the breakdown: the bill would transfer $67.5 million from the Golden LEAF Foundation, $5.2 million from the One North Carolina Fund, and $3 million from the Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG). It would also transfer $2.5 million from the Utility Fund.

A well-kept secret is that the state has roughly $50 million in its One North Carolina Fund balance to use for economic-development projects.

Senators Pete Brunstetter (R-Forsyth), and Richard Stevens (R-Wake) are two of the bill’s co-sponsors. They say everything is on the table this session when it comes to making cuts and transferring funds to help close the budget gap. "Sacred cows are now on the endangered species list. We have a large gap to close, and we intend to do everything we can to protect teachers and classrooms," said Rep. Darrell McCormick, who represents Iredell, Surry, and Yadkin counties.

Governor Perdue will likely veto the bill as soon as it gets to her desk. It will be interesting to see how her office spins the state’s use of economic incentives when she delivers the State of the State address on Monday night. She will also release her budget next week.

State Treasurer Says North Carolina Can’t Afford to Take on More Debt

According to a study recently released by State Treasurer Janet Cowell’s office, the state has exhausted its capacity to take on additional general fund debt until FY 2013.

The Triangle Business Journal first highlighted the study by the eight-person North Carolina Debt Affordability Advisory Committee, a group that is in charge of advising the General Assembly on whether the state can afford to float additional bond issues. Total North Carolina bond debt was at $6.89 billion back in November.

In a press release issued by the debt committee the group says that in addition to the general fund debt capacity being exhausted, the combined transportation debt of the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund “has been more than utilized” through FY 2014.

The release goes on to say: “North Carolina’s debt is considered manageable at current levels…However, the report acknowledges that the state’s current revenue picture is less than robust as it faces the expiration of temporary taxes and surcharges and the absence of the federal support that was available in the recent past.”

More evidence that its time to start replenishing the General Fund.

Even with the Incentives, Businesses Point to Lack of Direct Flights out of RDU as Reason not to Pick N.C.

Incentives proponents would have you believe that if the state no longer has the ability to dangle large incentive checks in front of businesses looking to move or expand here, we’ll fail to compete with the rest of the country. Last month, when NC was busy convincing homegrown open source software firm Red Hat to stay in the Triangle Gov. Perdue said, “North Carolina would be severely penalized if we didn’t have the ability to offer incentives.”

Back when Red Hat was considering relocating out of the state, this was what the media reported:

“Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst added, ‘Without those incentives, we would not have been able to stay here.’ He said Boston, Austin and Atlanta were in the running as expansion locations and each of those places were offering up their own incentives deals…Perdue and Whitehurst sounded like they were making the case for continuing incentives spending as they were praising the deal that was the subject of today’s news…don’t be surprised if she points to Red Hat as one that could have gotten away.”

But now that Red Hat has accepted over $20 million in state and local incentives for agreeing to stay in the Triangle, the firm admits that the lack of direct flights from RDU to San Francisco has always been a point of concern:

“The lack of a San Francisco flight was a sore point for Red Hat, the Triangle software maker, and one reason that CEO Jim Whitehurst considered moving the home office last year to another city, possibly Atlanta, where he previously worked for Delta. ‘We have a lot of strategic partners on the West Coast and a lot of high-profile customers there,’ Red Hat spokeswoman Leigh Day said. ‘I would think at the top of everyone's list in Raleigh would be a direct flight to San Francisco.’”

So will Red Hat threaten to leave North Carolina (again) if a direct flight to the West Coast isn’t added ASAP?

Well, RDU hired aviation consultant Barry Clark, to study demand from passengers who travel to certain cities and gauge the average fares they pay, in order to show the airlines whether they would lose money by allocating additional flights to RDU.

Clark said he still isn’t sure when RDU will see regular direct flights to the West Coast offered year round. “In a chilly economy airlines need to be convinced that they can pack enough travelers onto a plane and charge them a high enough fare to make money on a long-haul flight to the West Coast.”

Film Incentives: North Carolina Should Follow Missouri’s Lead

Missouri’s Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, has the courage to do what we wish our governor would do when it comes to the state’s film tax credit system.

Two years ago, when heartthrob George Clooney filmed the movie “Up in the Air” in St. Louis, there was talk of raising the state’s $4.5 million film tax credits to $10 million a year. But now it looks like that won’t happen.

Last month Gov. Nixon held up the tax credit and only approved $1 million of the $4.5 million producer Michael Beugg sought to film a new movie in St. Louis.

Nixon appointed a panel that recommended that Missouri abolish its film tax credits altogether. In his January State of the State address, Nixon urged lawmakers to consider the tax credit cuts.

The governor has vowed to balance the budget without raising taxes and has targeted tax credits as a way to cut spending. More proof that he’s serious – his proposed $23 billion FY 2012 budget doesn’t include the $250,000 annual funding for the Missouri Film Office, which would effectively shut it down.


Quote of the Week

"Sacred cows are now on the endangered species list. We have a large gap to close, and we intend to do everything we can to protect teachers and classrooms."   -Rep. Darrell McCormick, who represents Iredell, Surry, and Yadkin counties, on a proposed bill that would take money from the state’s economic incentives funds


NCICL Supports Sensible Economic Development Under the Constitution
The Center for Economic Development Reform (CEDR) is a center of the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law.

Please visit the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law website at www.ncicl.org for more information.
http://www.ncicl.org/

Copyright (C) 2009 North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law All rights reserved.

NC Alert…Letter in News Observer, example of our “great” governor’s stupidity!!

Why was former Democratic U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge given a job that should have been accomplished by people currently employed by the state? This job is paying him $98,500 a year (Feb. 2 Under the Dome item), and yet Gov. Beverly Perdue is talking about large state employee layoffs. What’s in her head? All the time Etheridge was in office in Washington, he couldn’t create jobs for the masses. Sure, he brought a lot of federal money back to North Carolina, but pork barrel has gotten the nation in trouble, too.


Why are we paying Etheridge $98,500 a year plus his federal pension? Doesn’t he get enough from the feds to live on? At 69, Bobby should retire and do volunteer work.

This is political patronage in its most “slap your face” mode that certainly resembles Illinois politics and is costing all of us across the United States. That’s our money and our children’s money you’re wasting, governor! The party is over; we can’t afford your favor for your buddies anymore. Use the people you have on your large staff. If you want to hire others, then hire them out of your own salary.

Maybe we should be asking Perdue, “Who are you?”

Jim Wiegand
Fuquay-Varina
Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/02/04/966742/an-expensive-job.html#ixzz1D0j2TLOy

John Hood's Daily Journal

The Education Lottery is used to fund many things through the Governor’s generous use of the revenue. There is one thing the education lottery doesn’t appear to fund: Education.


By Amanda Vuke


October 15, 2010

This week’s “Daily Journal” guest columnist is Amanda Vuke, Editorial Intern for the John Locke Foundation.

RALEIGH — The Education Lottery is used to fund many things through the Governor’s generous use of the revenue. There is one thing the education lottery doesn’t appear to fund: Education.

Before you pull out rocks to stone me, hear me out.

That statement isn’t overexaggeration. It’s a reflection of what county commissioners from across the state are thinking.

On Aug. 27, a group of county commissioners, and some citizens, gathered in Greenville to discuss a possible quarter-cent sales tax that will appear on many ballots this November.

How does a possible sales-tax increase relate to the lottery? Let me explain.

In many counties, a need for education funds is driving the sales-tax referendum. The panel at the Greenville meeting noted that when the sales-tax referendum is tied to education, it often puzzles voters.

Voters think the lottery is paying for education, and they don’t understand that “just because the state says you’re going to get a certain portion of the lottery money doesn’t mean that’s so,” Lee County Commissioner Amy Dalrymple said. “We learned that hard this year.”

Scott Elliot, Pitt County manager, commented that the lottery focuses primarily on K-12 construction. Community colleges aren’t included.

“One thing about the lottery,” said meeting moderator Todd McGee, communications director of the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, “is that every year they tinker with it. Every year.”

Though the lottery often befuddles voters as to the need for a sales-tax increase, Dalrymple said the lottery was actually part of what pushed Lee County to increase their sales tax, because the county needed control of education revenue so they could pay their bills.

The Irony

To this end, counties pass resolutions stating the board’s decision for fund allocations from the revenue raised from the sales-tax increase.

The problem with this solution to directing funds toward a specific purpose is that these resolutions are nonbinding. McGee admitted this in the meeting, noting it was impossible to bind a future board to use funds in a specific way.

The board is in no way obligated actually to use the funds for the purpose stated in the resolution. The act of passing a resolution may indicate a desire, but it is not legally binding.

The same is the case with the education lottery. The revenue can’t be tracked easily, but can be pulled and used for other purposes as the governor sees fit. This is what has prompted some counties to increase their sales tax. While the law creating the lottery designated that the money go to specific education needs, in the end the money can be used for other purposes. There is nothing that legally binds funds raised through the lottery to be used for education.

And herein lies the irony. County commissioners are using a legally meaningless resolution to fix what they see as revenue problems for education in their counties, partly caused by the lottery. The lottery causes these problems because the law designating its proceeds to be used for education is also essentially meaningless.

Might the counties do a better job of keeping their promises? Sure, they might. But that doesn’t change the fact that their promises are legally meaningless and legally fraught with the same issues that plague the lottery.

The confusion surrounding this issue highlights a key problem of promising to use new taxes “for education.” As long as the counties and state government can shift proceeds from these taxes — sales taxes or lottery funds — to other purposes, taxpayers have no good reason to believe the promises are real.

http://www.carolinajournal.com/jhdailyjournal/index.html

Voter Fraud and Craven County, NC

CCTA Member Hal James sent the following letter to all the Craven County Board of Commissioners:

August 9, 2010

Dear Sirs and Madam:


I write to you because I have deep concern about the integrity of our vote in Craven County.

The News & Observer carried articles on August 5th and August 7th written by Benjamin Niolet and Michael Biesecker about cozy and questionable dealings among State Board of Elections Chairman Larry Leake, Director Gary Bartlett, Governor Beverly Perdue, Election Systems & Software (the company that sells and maintains all the voting machines in North Carolina), Printelect (the company that prints ballots for all but four of North Carolina's counties), and its owner, Owen Andrews. The stories mentioned large ($50,000 from Andrews and his wife) contributions to Governor Perdue's campaign (half) and to the Democratic Party, lavish parties, boat rides, and fishing trips for Elections officials, Printelect's ballots costing as much as double (30 cents to 33 cents per ballot vs. 13 cents to 19 cents per ballot) what the four counties who use other printers pay are all in the mix of this unfolding drama.

Printelect’s Owen Andrews says they charge so much for ballots because Elections Systems & Software (ES&S) requires them to buy paper stock from ES&S on which to print the ballots and requires them to pay ES&S a royalty on all the ballots printed. How did ES&S get that much power?

After reading the articles in The News & Observer and another that came out in the Sun Journal yesterday and thinking about what I had read, I concluded that it’s probable that only the tip of the iceberg has been exposed so far.

Election Systems & Software handles all our voting machines. Do they count the votes, too? What if an election is close and a recount is done, does ES&S handle the recount? Are there computer literate representatives of both parties present and cognizant of the process? Or does the possibility of our vote's being tampered with exist? My guess is it does. In fact, if I were a betting man, I’d bet that close elections have been routinely “tipped” to the party in power since ES&S came on the scene.

What I am sure of is that we are being charged too much for our ballots in Craven County. Having specifications for paper and printing that make them compatible with our voting machines is one thing. Forcing a printer to buy paper from and pay a royalty to ES&S is unacceptable.

I respectfully request that you do two things.

First, that you request the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to discover how deep the improprieties go and whether we have been victims of voter fraud.

Second, that you request generic specifications from ES&S and put our ballot printing up for competitive bids.

Thank you for your attention to my requests.


Very truly yours,


Hal James
CC: Randy Foster, Managing Editor, Sun Journal
Michael Biesecker and Benjamin Niolet, Staff Writers, The News & Observer

Notes from the July 16th [2010] Governor Beverly Perdue’s Advisory Council on Hispanic / Latino Affairs

Concerned Citizens and Immigration Reformers,


Below is a brief of the first meeting of NC Governor Bev Perdue's Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs, which appears to be setup in actuality to provide benefits to illegal immigrants and pander for votes. I think you will be disturbed with some of the details:

BACKGROUND INFO: The Hispanic/Latino population is estimated to be approximately 700,000 in North Carolina with one half or 350,000 of this group being illegal immigrants. The estimated total population of North Carolina is approximately 9.5 million. Therefore legal resident Hispanic/Latinos in North Carolina comprise less than 4% of the total population. So why do we need a special Governor’s Advisory Council for Hispanics/Latinos? We don’t have a Governor’s Advisory Council for unemployed citizens, which comprise 10% of the workforce. Is North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue going to setup other race-based Advisory Councils?



Notes from the July 16th [2010] Governor Beverly Perdue’s Advisory Council on Hispanic / Latino Affairs

Ms. Gabriela Zabala is Director of the recently formed Governor’s Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs. She mostly spoke during their first meeting in Raleigh on July 16th, which I attended along with Randy Dye, James, Maureen, and Frank.


This Advisory Council is to give advice to Governor Beverly Perdue on issues concerning the Hispanic/Latino community along with governmental policy recommendations.

Gabriela Zabala, Director of the Hispanic/Latino Advisory Council pointed out she was a senior member on Governor Beverly Perdue’s staff and appeared to brag about her access to Governor Perdue.

There are fifteen members on Governor Beverly Perdue’s Hispanic/Latino Advisory Council, one of whom is Wayne Cooper. Although Mr. Cooper is a citizen, he is an honorary consul of Mexico for North Carolina. It appears to be his only qualification for being on the Council. This member gives Mexico a “seat at the table” of an Advisory Council to provide policy recommendations to the Governor of North Carolina.

In addition to the fifteen members of the Governor’s Hispanic/Latino Advisory Council, there are ex officio members who mostly consist of the leadership of North Carolina’s major governmental departments such as Labor, Employment Security Commission, Department of Health and Human Services, Education, etc. So these state departmental staff personnel will be attending and presenting information to the Hispanic/Latino Advisory Council when they have meetings. Obviously this will give the Council “special access” to leadership within our North Carolina governmental departments. Also this Advisory Council will have the opportunity to lobby for privileges and benefits for illegal immigrants, but I expect only for Hispanic/Latino illegal immigrants, since this is an ethnic and race-based Advisory Council.

It was also stated that support staff for the Hispanic/Latino Advisory Council will be provided by the Governor’s Office.

It was mentioned that all Council members should abide by and obey all laws. Of course this is interesting, given several of the Advisory Council members have openly advocated for rights for illegal immigrants. So I can only suppose that obeying the law is open for interpretation.

Ms. Yvonne Pagan, another Advisory Council member, was quoted in the media as saying “in North Carolina we aren’t facing the same (immigration) problems as Arizona”. FACT: illegal immigration is costing the State of North Carolina over $1 billion per year [net cost] to incarcerate, educate, and medicate illegal immigrants and their dependents. I would suggest spending $1 billion per year of citizens’ money due to illegal immigration is a problem.

It was suggested that Credit Unions [specifics weren’t given] would be urged to provide funds to help Hispanics/Latinos open small businesses in categories such as landscaping, construction, and cleaning services.

With a smile on her face, Ms. Gabriela Zabala said she expected more money was coming to North Carolina from the Obama Administration for government services. She also said she would press for more Title 6 [Civil Rights Act] funds to provide interpreters.

ONE DOES NOT NEED CLAIRVOYANT POWERS TO DISCERN THE REAL PURPOSE OF GOVERNOR BEVERLY PERDUE’S ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HISPANIC/LATINO AFFAIRS. CITIZENS AND LEGAL RESIDENTS WOULD NOT NEED A SPECIAL ADVISORY COUNCIL TO ACQUIRE GOVERNMENTAL SERVICES, AND IF THEY DID IT SHOULD NOT BE BASED ON ETHNICITY AND RACE. THIS ADVISORY COUNCIL IS AN EFFORT TO CURRY FAVOR WITH AN ETHNIC GROUP WITH THE INTENTION TO PROVIDE SPECIAL BENEFITS AND PRIVILEGES (TO MORE THAN LIKELY INCLUDE BENEFITS TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS) IN ORDER TO GAIN POLITICAL ADVANTAGE AND FUTURE VOTES.

Go to this link for a short video clip from Randy Dye:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU48rBIpPlg&feature=player_embedded



Regards,



Ron Woodard



Director



NC LISTEN



OFc: (919) 460-8156



www.nclisten.com