The bill Chris Fitzsimon is talking about in the tweet below is House Bill 451, introduced yesterday by Rep. Edgar Starnes, a Republican from Hickory. (Democracy NC calls it the "Screw the Voter Act of 2013" — like!) As brazen as so much of what the Republicans have been doing is, this legislation is quite possibly the worst example of their partisan hackery yet. That is, unlike their Voter ID stuff, they can't even pretend that this bill has any public benefit. Its purpose is to reduce the number of Democratic voters — who've flocked to the early-voting sites and Sunday voting — while making it easier to vote by absentee ballot, a method more Republicans use.

Chris nails it:

Why would we want to shorten the length of time people have to vote or not allow people to cast their ballots on Sunday, unless we prefer fewer people show up at the polls?

When did that become a legitimate policy position, that we want fewer people to decide elections? The same question applies to Starnes’ plan to abolish straight-ticket voting. Some people prefer to support all the candidates of one party. Why should we make it more difficult for them to do that?

Couldn't have said it better — so I suggest you read his full piece:

The Fitzsimon File: The most conspicuous partisan power play - ow.ly/jxMYw #ncga #ncpol #vote #ncgov
— NC Policy Watch (@NCPolicyWatch) March 28, 2013

And from Democracy NC:

This is actually a bill to Promote Voter Fraud! House Bill 451 creates new barriers to Early Voting, which will put more pressure on Election Day and cause longer lines, more hassles, and more mistakes. But it makes it easier to vote using mail-in absentee ballots, which is actually the way most voter fraud is committed! Republicans are ready to manipulate the election process in this sick way because they think they gain an advantage with more mail-in voting and less Early Voting.

This same bill also eliminates the public financing program for judges and makes all judicial elections partisan rather than nonpartisan. It repeals Same Day Registration, slices a week off Early Voting, bans Sunday voting during Early Voting, and eliminates straight-party voting. Sick, very sick.

Perhaps this will cause Duke Energy to reconsider building more nuclear power plants?

MT: Duke Energy to retire idle Florida nuclear plant. Duke customers pay, not Duke shareholders. newsobserver.com/2013/02/05/265… via @newsobserver
— Bob Geary (@rjgeary) February 5, 2013

Seems like there are cheaper, more reliable ways to generate electricity.

** The N.C. Utilities Commission holds a public hearing on this very question Feb. 11 in Raleigh.

Former state Sen. Eric Mansfield is out of the contest for state Democratic Party chair, citing the ill health of his mom. That leaves Pittsboro Mayor Randy Voller unopposed at this point — nine days before the Feb. 2 election meeting of the party's State Executive Committee

To read Mansfield's statement, click on the link in the tweet embedded below. Bob Etheridge is said to be considering a run in Mansfield's place. I gather this is the party establishment, such as it is, squirming unhappily at the prospect that Voller could prevail?

Voller time? “@nationhahn: I am sad that my friend Eric Mansfield must drop out of the race for Chair ericmansfieldforchair.com/announcement_r… #ncdem #ncpol”
— Bob Geary (@rjgeary) January 24, 2013

By the way, it would seem like the door would be open to a woman candidate, except that — someone correct me if I'm wrong about this — both candidates for first vice chair are women ... in part because until Mansfield dropped out, both candidates for chair were men. Is there a party rule that the two posts can't be the same gender?

(Updated to include McCrory press release, below, with bios of Tata and three other appointments, including two with extensive Duke Energy backgrounds — like McCrory himself.)

Tony Tata, ex-Army general turned ex-Wake schools superintendent, will be DOT secretary in the McCrory Administration. Puts me in mind of the "Welcome Back, Kotter" theme song.

Ironic, in that bus transportation snafus led to Tata's ouster by the current Wake school board. Or, at least, they were the stated reason for ...

General Tony Tata, fmr Wake Co superintendent, will serve as Secretary of the Department of Transportation #ncpol twitter.com/PatMcCroryNC/s…
— Pat McCrory (@PatMcCroryNC) January 3, 2013

Now I wish I'd gone to the press conference :(

p.s. I'm tweeting away about it, nonetheless. Tata's basic problem in Wake schools was (IMHO) a 100-lb. choice plan in a 50-lb. budget. In other words, the plan couldn't be executed given the parsimonious Wake County Commissioners and their refusal to appropriate enough money to run a first-rate school system.

That said, Tony let his critics get under his skin more than he should've. But he did work his tail off and, as I said more than once, his intentions were good.

***

From McCrory's press folks:

Raleigh, N.C. — Today, North Carolina Governor-Elect Pat McCrory announced that he will appoint Brigadier General Anthony J. Tata (U.S. Army, Retired) as Secretary of the Department of Transportation, Sharon Decker as Secretary of the Department of Commerce and Bill Daughtridge as Secretary of the Department of Administration. Additionally, the Governor-Elect announced Neal Alexander will serve as Director of the State Office of Personnel.

With these appointments, Governor-Elect McCrory has filled all eight of his cabinet secretary positions with a diverse, bi-partisan group of people representing all portions of the state. Half of Governor-Elect McCrory’s cabinet secretaries are Republican and half are either Democrat or Independent.

“I am incredibly proud of the strong team we’ve assembled,” said Governor-Elect McCrory. “These individuals are pragmatic problem solvers and leaders that will help me run the government in the most effective way possible while seeking long-term solutions for our state.”

Governor-Elect McCrory has outlined broad objectives for his cabinet and leadership team, including: (1) instituting a culture of customer service to state government, (2) identifying and implementing efficiencies in state government, (3) collaborating and sharing resources across departments and agencies and (4) instituting the highest ethical standards while serving in government.

Brigadier General Anthony J. Tata (U.S. Army, Retired) joins Governor-Elect McCrory’s cabinet after most recently serving as Superintendent of the Wake County Public School System, leading the state’s largest school district of 18,000 employees, 150,000 students and a $1.25 billion budget. Prior to serving as Superintendent, General Tata was in Afghanistan where he served as the Deputy Commanding General of U.S. forces from 2006-2007. Throughout his career, General Tata has planned and implemented multiple operations involving complex transportation and infrastructure challenges ranging from multi-mode operations involving ports, airfields, rail, and highways to designing and implementing extensive infrastructure plans in developing countries. Among his many military assignments, General Tata served two tours of duty in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. He also served as a brigade commander in the 101st Airborne Division and as the Deputy Commanding General of the 10th Mountain Division. General Tata graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1981.

Sharon Decker enters the McCrory Administration with extensive private sector experience. She was the CEO of the Tanner Company, a large textile company based in Rutherfordton, North Carolina. In 2004, Decker created the Tapestry Group, a non-profit that helps individuals lead healthy lives in body, mind and spirit. Decker has served on the boards of three Fortune 500 companies. She also has more than 17 years of experience with Duke Power Company, now Duke Energy. She began working with the company in consumer services and moved rapidly through the ranks to become the youngest and first female vice president in Duke Power’s history. Her work at Duke Power led to the creation of its 24-hour customer service center, an organization that still serves as a model for the industry.

Bill Daughtridge is the President of Daughtridge Gas & Oil Company based in Rocky Mount and currently is on the UNC Board of Governors, where he serves on the Budget Committee. From 2002-2008, Daughtridge served in the North Carolina House of Representatives, where he chaired the Commerce Committee and focused his efforts on promoting economic growth and development in North Carolina. Daughtridge is also a former President Area Seven (VA and NC) on the Southern Region Board of Directors for the Boy Scouts of America and is a former member of the North Carolina Travel and Tourism Board, the Nash County Board of Travel & Tourism, Carolinas Gateway Partnership and the Rocky Mount Community Foundation. Daughtridge also held other statewide and local leadership positions including President of the North Carolina Petroleum Marketers Association, Rocky Mount Area United Way and Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to three Cabinet appointments, McCrory also announced that Neal Alexander will serve as the Director of the State Office of Personnel. Alexander joins Governor-Elect McCrory's leadership team with 40 years of experience in various Human Resources roles at Duke Energy. Most recently, he served as Vice President for Human Resources for Duke Energy’s US Franchised Electric and Gas Service, and has won awards for excellence in Human Resources such as the Duke Power William S. Lee Leadership Award and The Employers Association Babcock Award. He also currently serves as chair of the Gardner-Webb University Board of Trustees and The Employers Association, which provides human resources and training services to organizations.

• Photo courtesy of N.C. Governor's Office
• Perdue signing 10 pardons.

Good news on New Year's Eve in the Wilmington Ten case. Gov. Bev Perdue has come through with the hoped-for pardons of innocence.

Her office sent us the photo.

Gov. Perdue's statement follows:

“I have spent a great deal of time over the past seven months reviewing the pardon of innocence requests of the persons collectively known as the Wilmington Ten. This topic evokes strong opinions from many North Carolinians as it hearkens back to a very difficult time in our state’s past, a period of racial tensions and violence that represents a dark chapter in North Carolina’s history. These cases generate a great deal of emotion from people who lived through these traumatic events.

In evaluating these petitions for clemency, it is important to separate fact from rumor and innuendo. I have decided to grant these pardons because the more facts I have learned about the Wilmington Ten, the more appalled I have become about the manner in which their convictions were obtained.

In 1980, a federal appeals court overturned the convictions in a written decision that highlighted the gross improprieties that occurred during the trial. The federal court determined as a matter of law that numerous instances of prosecutorial misconduct and other constitutional violations took place. Among other things, the court ruled that with regard to the testimony of the prosecution’s key witness — upon whose credibility the case depended entirely — “the conclusion is inescapable that [he] perjured himself” and that “this fact was bound to be known to the prosecutor . . .” The court also declared that it was undisputed that key documents had repeatedly been withheld from defense lawyers. It also found numerous errors by the trial judge that had the effect of unconstitutionally prejudicing the defendants’ ability to receive a fair trial.

Since the trial ended, the prosecution’s key witness and two supporting witnesses all independently recanted their testimony incriminating the defendants. Furthermore, last month, new evidence was made available to me in the form of handwritten notes from the prosecutor who picked the jury at trial. These notes show with disturbing clarity the dominant role that racism played in jury selection. The notes reveal that certain white jurors believed to be Ku Klux Klan members were described by the prosecutor as “good” and that at least one African American juror was noted to be an “Uncle Tom type.”

This conduct is disgraceful. It is utterly incompatible with basic notions of fairness and with every ideal that North Carolina holds dear. The legitimacy of our criminal justice system hinges on it operating in a fair and equitable manner with justice being dispensed based on innocence or guilt — not based on race or other forms of prejudice. That did not happen here. Instead, these convictions were tainted by naked racism and represent an ugly stain on North Carolina’s criminal justice system that cannot be allowed to stand any longer.

Justice demands that this stain finally be removed. The process in which this case was tried was fundamentally flawed. Therefore, as Governor, I am issuing these pardons of innocence to right this longstanding wrong.”

• photo by Bob Geary
• The setup in Roanoke Rapids

Another tough break for the palace in Roanoke Rapids formerly known as the Randy Parton Theater.

Let's see if the Republicans in Raleigh change directions now and let them stay open — w/ campaign contributions cheerfully accepted.

Supreme Court upholds state ban on video sweepstakes machines - ow.ly/g6GBs #ncga #ncpol
— NC Policy Watch (@NCPolicyWatch) December 14, 2012

A unanimous Supreme Court opinion, with a sharp rebuke to the plaintiffs written by Justice Robin Hudson.

In a word, Ouch!

Plaintiffs have attempted to “skillfully disguise[ ]” conduct with a façade of speech to gain First Amendment protection for their conduct. Lipkin, 169 N.C. at 329, 169 N.C. at 271, 84 S.E. at 343. We have “strip[ped] the transaction of all its thin and false apparel and consider[ed] it in its very nakedness,” id., and have found plaintiffs‟ arguments unavailing. We conclude that N.C.G.S. § 14-306.4 regulates conduct, with only incidental burdens on associated speech, and is therefore constitutional.

That's right. David Parker wasn't going to run again for state Democratic Party chair the last time he got himself re-elected Democratic Party chair. But that was then, and this time, he really, really means it:

Friends, North Carolinians, and Fellow Democrats,

I will not seek re-election as Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party at our February 2, 2013 meeting in Durham.

I have enjoyed my two years of service to our State and to the Democratic Party. There is much work to be done on the vital issues of good government, public education and job creation in North Carolina and I look forward to continuing to work to better our State in the years to come.

Lots of chatter on the media vines about Eric Mansfield, the Fayetteville Democrat who ran for Lieutenant Governor and lost in the primary —despite a strong endorsement from us at the Indy, as I recall. He won't be a state senator much longer. He's got a terrific resume and is great on his feet, I can attest to that much.