Sen. Marc Basnight's Era
During the days when legislators could legally enjoy Raleigh's nightlife on lobbyists' credit cards, Sen. Marc Basnight would rarely participate. More likely, Basnight and his entourage would eat at an out-of-the-way restaurant, usually rotating the tab among themselves.
Basnight told the Journal several years ago that he preferred to eat dinner less stressfully with his friends, most of them senators or folks from home. These were his buddies.
The Dare County Democrat and Senate president pro tem is losing those dinner buddies quickly these days. Sens. David Weinstein and Tony Rand are taking state jobs, thus leaving the Senate. Sen. David Hoyle won't run for re-election. Sen. R.C. Soles is in legal trouble at home and may not run. Several of his other political allies also won't be returning.
This would be a good time for Basnight to say goodbye, too.
He's done much good, even pushing forward in the last few years after learning he has a rare degenerative nerve disease.
But Basnight has spent 25 years in the Senate, 17 of them running the chamber. That is enough time for any one person to control the legislature, especially in light of the pre-1980s North Carolina tradition of limiting the length and scope of any one legislator's control over a chamber.
That tradition started because political leaders wanted the power of the top offices spread around the map. Typically, a speaker, lieutenant governor or governor from the east would be followed by one from the west or the Piedmont.
With Basnight controlling the Senate for so long, the coastal counties have had disproportionate political influence. Much pork has flowed to his district, and some necessary reforms stalled because of coastal opposition. For example, it took years to reform Beach Plan insurance simply because Basnight could stop it. After the plan was rewritten this year, some lobbyists calculated that Basnight took the best change he could get knowing his time in Raleigh was limited.
It is time for another part of the state to enjoy the benefits that derive from having a president pro tem. Should an urban senator get the job, for example, it might be easier to shift road-construction funding formulas to give cities and suburbs a more share proportional to their populations. (Give Basnight credit for one thing: He's made it easier to drive to the beach.)
It is also time for another senator, with other ideas and priorities, to wield the pro tem's powers. There's plenty of talent in the chamber.
In this state's legislative power structure, the Senate president pro tem has enjoyed enormous influence since 1989 when the Senate shifted to the office duties previously assigned to the lieutenant governor.
Many political observers felt that Basnight, elected in one district with almost no opposition for the past two decades, had more political sway than former Gov. Mike Easley, who was four times elected statewide. (Two of Easley's four statewide wins came as attorney general.) Certainly, Gov. Bev Perdue, an old Basnight ally and friend, must pay close attention to his wishes before making any legislative moves. Only former Gov. Jim Hunt, from 1993 to 2001, surpassed Basnight's influence.
That's not right. Although the legislature must be a co-equal branch of government, one legislator should not accrue as much power as Basnight has during his prolonged tenure.
When Basnight is finally replaced, the Senate should develop a new tradition. Its presidents pro tem should serve for no more than two consecutive terms.
Basnight has been a good Senate leader. He has steered the state on a generally progressive path while maintaining the state's strong business climate. The University of North Carolina system has probably never had a stronger and more powerful advocate in the General Assembly.
Basnight has also had his failings, however. Paramount among these is his penchant for secrecy in the budget process. During the Basnight years, too much substantive legislation simply got stuffed into the budget at the last moment. There, it did not get either full and fair debate or the up-or-down vote it deserved.
In his nine terms at the Senate helm, he has lost a number of political allies who have either run for other offices, retired or died. But never in his prolonged ascendancy has he suffered so many losses all at once. And never has he looked so vulnerable to his political challengers, both inside the Democratic caucus and out.
It's time for Basnight to take his curtain call and return home. He deserves the gratitude of the people of North Carolina for his good works. But it's time for new leadership in the Senate.
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Sources: Winston-Salem Journal Now, NC General Assembly, John Locke Foundation, Youtube, Google Maps
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