VETERAN HOMELESSNESS - SEN RICHARD BURR WANTS TO END IN AMERICA

VETERAN HOMELESSNESS - SEN RICHARD BURR (NC) WANTS TO END IN AMERICA:

HOMELESS VETS CAN'T EVEN GET HOUSING ON US MILITARY BASES.

MANY HOMELESS VETS ARE FORGOTTEN.


Sources: Senate.gov, PBS, 60 Minutes, YouTube


***** US Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Reduce Veteran Homelessness


In May 2017, Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced the Homeless Veterans Prevention Act of 2017.

This legislation would build on existing homeless veterans programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by investing in established programs that are proven to be effective and removing any residual barriers to housing for veterans.

“Veteran homelessness is a heartbreaking issue,” said Senator Burr. “We are making progress in combating veterans’ homelessness, and over the last 2 years, we have seen the number of homeless veterans decrease to around 40,000, but that is still far too many, and I will continue to address this problem until the number is zero. In particular, many women have been unable to fully participate in existing programs because their children were not allowed to live in the transitional housing. The Homeless Veterans Prevention Act bill addresses this shortcoming and increases the availability of housing for homeless veterans.”

“As we continue to work toward ending veteran homelessness, we can and must do more to ensure veterans have access to the services they have earned with their service to our country,” Senator Mazie K. Hirono said. “By expanding existing VA partnerships that provide Hawaii veterans with legal assistance, housing, and health care, the Homeless Veterans Prevention Act will not only help prevent veterans from becoming homeless, but also assisting them in moving out of homelessness.”

“It’s our responsibility to ensure that veterans facing homelessness have the resources they need to get back on their feet,” said Tester, Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “This bipartisan bill makes sure that these veterans have access to health care, legal services and a safe and warm place to call home.”

Key Points for the Homeless Veterans Prevention Act of 2017:

Keeps veteran families together by allowing the VA to house the children of homeless veterans in transitional housing programs.
Requires the VA to enter into partnerships with public and private entities to provide legal services for homeless veterans and veterans at risk of becoming homeless.
Provides VA with the authority to provide dental care to homeless veterans.
Extends and increases the amount of money available for supportive services to very low-income veteran families in permanent housing.

Richard Burr Raises $5.3 M To Whip Democrat Challengers, Releases His First TV Ad

Burr Says He Has $5.3 Million In Campaign Account


Sen. Richard Burr reported having $5.3 million in his campaign coffers at the end of first quarter of the year.

The Winston-Salem Republican said he raised $1.5 million during the first three months of year, Rob Christensen reports.

"This strong support from thousands of North Carolina shows growing enthusiasm for Senator Burr's stance against the Democrats' misguided liberal agenda in Washington," Mark Braden, Burr's deputy campaign manager, said in a statement.

Burr's fundraising is slightly behind his last campaign but is ahead of the pace of his former seat mate Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole, who lost her re-election bid in 2008.

Burr had $5.7 million in his campaign kitty at his juncture in his 2004 Senate campaign.

Dole had $3.1 million on hand at the close of the first period of 2008. She had raised $1.7 million during the first three months of 2008.

Candidates in the race have until April 15 to file campaign finance reports for the first quarter of 2010.


View Larger Map


Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, C-Span, Youtube, Google Maps

Rasmussen Poll: Richard Burr's Lead Over Democrats Increases

Rasmussen Poll: Burr Increases Lead Over Democrats



Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr has increased his lead in head-to-head match-ups against two Democratic candidates in a survey from Rasmussen Reports.

The survey, which was released today, was conducted Feb. 23. Rasmussen asked 500 likely N.C. voters to choose between Burr and Elaine Marshall, the Secretary of State and then Burr and Cal Cunningham, a Lexington lawyer.

When paired against Marshall, Burr received 50 percent compared to Marshall's 34 percent. Four percent picked another candidate and 12 percent were unsure.

Against Cunningham, Burr pulled 51 percent of the vote while Cunningham received 29 percent with 6 percent picking another candidate and 14 percent unsure.

In both cases, those results show a slight increase from Rasmussen's survey from a month before. It's not time for Burr to ready his election night speeches just yet.

As Rasmussen notes: "Any incumbent who polls below 50 percent at this point in an election cycle is
considered potentially vulnerable and no incumbent has been reelected to
the seat Burr holds since 1968."

The poll had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.


View Larger Map

Sources: Rasmussen Poll, McClatchy Newspapers, Youtube, Google Maps

Richard Burr & State Prosecutors Probe Constitutionality Of Ben Nelson's Deal

Several State Prosecutors Probing Nelson Health Care Deal



The top Prosecutors in seven states are probing the constitutionality of a political deal that cut a funding break for Nebraska in order to pass a federal health care reform bill, South Carolina's Attorney General said Tuesday.

Attorney General Henry McMaster said he and his counterparts in Alabama, Colorado, Michigan, North Dakota, Texas and Washington state — all Republicans — are jointly taking a look at the deal they've dubbed the "Nebraska compromise."

"The Nebraska Compromise", which permanently exempts Nebraska from paying Medicaid costs that Texas and all other 49 states must pay, may violate the United States Constitution — as well as other provisions of Federal law," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said.

McMaster's move comes at the request of Republican U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint of South Carolina.

We have serious concerns

In a letter to McMaster, Graham singled out the deal to win Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson's vote on the massive health care bill the Senate is expected to adopt Thursday. Nelson held out as fellow Democrats worked to get 60 votes to foreclose a GOP filibuster and the bill was amended to shield Nebraska from the expected $45 million annual cost tied to expanding Medicaid programs.

"We have serious concerns about the constitutionality of this Nebraska compromise as it results in special treatment for only one state in the nation at the expense of the other 49," Graham and DeMint wrote.

Nebraska wasn't alone in getting Medicaid breaks. Vermont, Louisiana and Massachusetts also got help with their programs.

Along with Texas, officials in Washington, Alabama, Colorado and Michigan confirmed they were working with McMaster.

North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said he wasn't sure what could be done while the federal legislation remained under debate. Officials in the other states did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Tennessee's Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey called for his state's attorney general to investigate the deal.

Ramsey, McMaster and Michigan's Mike Cox are running for governor in their states.

"Whether in the court of law or in the court of public opinion, we must bring an end to this culture of Corruption," McMaster said. The negotiations "on their face appear to be a form of vote buying paid for by taxpayers," he said.

We'll assist anyone

McMaster is encouraging a South Carolina citizen to step forward to sue to challenge the measure if it is signed into law. "We'll assist anyone to the extent that we're able," McMaster said.

Also Tuesday, U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., said Republicans need to stop complaining about deals their colleagues made.

"Rather than sitting here and carping about what Nelson got for Nebraska, I would say to my friends on the other side of the aisle: Let's get together and see what we can get for South Carolina," Clyburn said.

For instance, Clyburn expects states will get more help covering Medicaid expansion costs. Critics say the federal government's coverage of 91 percent of those future costs will disappear, leaving states with huge holes in their budgets. Clyburn says the legislation the federal share should be 95 percent, with states picking up no more than 5 percent.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said the federal legislation is "well intended," but called it "fundamentally flawed in the same way the stimulus efforts were in that the states and the taxpayers are left footing the bill."

Sanford this spring was the nation's only governor to take a state legislature to Federal and State court to block federal stimulus money.




Schumer Goes Hunting, Bags Nelson



The perils of "Political hunting" trips range from mockery — as with Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) expensive gear — to mortal danger — as in ending up on the wrong end of Dick Cheney’s 28-gauge.

But Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had another story in mind when he traveled recently to Nebraska, a cautionary tale told to him early in his career by an older, urban-oriented New Jersey congressman who had made the mistake of accepting a hunting invitation from a Midwestern colleague.

“He shot the dog,” Schumer recalled, referring to the outcome of the Jersey pol’s inept marksmanship.

Schumer did not shoot the dog. He bagged three pheasants. And six weeks later, he bagged Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), serving as key negotiator as Nelson held the fate of landmark health care legislation in the balance.

While the two Senate Democrats didn’t spend their morning in a field outside Omaha talking business, the hunting trip will go down as a key, if unconventional, detour on the road to the Democrats’ most important modern legislative accomplishment.

The senator from Brooklyn woke up early the morning of Nov. 8, a day after he’d watched Nebraska thump Oklahoma on the gridiron. He put on a blaze orange hunting vest and hat, refusing only the boots (“too big”). He received a crash course on shotgun safety and marveled at the dogs.

“They were just amazing,” he said of the pointers and retrievers. “I always thought hunting dogs were just for companionship.”

Then the senator from New York saw a pheasant, took aim and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

“He didn’t get the safety off, so he couldn't shoot,” his host, Nelson, recalled with a chuckle Tuesday morning. “You have to push the safety off to shoot. He figured that out.”

The next pheasant wasn’t so lucky.

“He thought I shot it,” said Nelson. “I said, ‘No, I know I didn’t shoot ‘cause I didn’t shoot.’ And I said, ‘So you either scared it to death or you hit it.’ He was ready to jump up and down.”

Schumer bagged, his companions told him, three pheasants that early November day in Nebraska, though he was “never 100 percent sure they weren’t helping me.”

Schumer and Nelson's friendship began in 2005, when Schumer was named chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Nelson was considering retiring instead of seeking reelection in a conservative-oriented state in 2006, and Schumer told POLITICO that when he assumed the DSCC chairmanship, Nelson was his first call.

The logic was clear, Schumer said: “He runs, we win; if he doesn’t run, we lose.” So he gave in, he says, to extensive demands from the Nebraskan, and Nelson cruised to what turned out to be an easy reelection.

Schumer’s bond with the Senate moderates he helped elect and reelect in 2006 and 2008 has powered his remarkable ascent within the chamber. Two years ago, Schumer seemed in danger of being overshadowed by his state’s junior senator, Hillary Clinton, or elbowed aside in the Senate leadership by Obama mentor Dick Durbin.

Beyond Majority Leader Harry Reid, the architect of the Democrats' successful health care strategy, Schumer has emerged as the dominant political force and go-to negotiator on Reid's leadership team. And the Senate is on the verge of passing landmark legislation that's deeply controversial in states such as Nelson's, a lesson Schumer said was drummed into him by the people he met that weekend in Omaha.

The apparent political victory has further enhanced Schumer’s stature. The jokes about the most dangerous place in Washington being between him and a camera have gone stale, replaced by a widespread recognition that he has evolved into one of the essential players on the American political landscape and, quite likely, a future majority leader.

The hunting story became legend in the Senate last month after Nelson passed photographs of the orange-clad, gun-toting Harvard grad, dead bird in hand, around an amused caucus lunch. But it also belongs in the broader legend of Schumer, the political animal par excellence.

“Chuck always wants to know where the other guy is coming from,” said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), a former Schumer staffer, who added that he wasn’t surprised that Schumer acquitted himself well.

“He has handled more guns at crime bill press conferences than most hunters,” he said.

Indeed, word of Schumer’s hunting exploits was greeted with astonishment on both sides of the simmering gun control wars, in which Schumer came of age as a central player. His work on the Brady Bill’s handgun restriction turned him into, literally, a National Rifle Association poster child. The NRA’s favorite image pictures Schumer grinning under bright blue earmuffs as he demonstrates the deadliness of a stubby assault weapon.

“He just must have needed Nelson's vote very badly to do that,” said Tom King, the president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, who called Schumer “patently anti-gun.”

Schumer says, however, that he favors only common sense and regionally varied restrictions on guns, and he has long bragged of winning, at summer camp, an NRA sharpshooting prize with a .22 rifle.

“It surprised me he went out with Ben Nelson shooting, but it doesn’t surprise me that he shot a couple of birds,” said Jim Kessler, a former Schumer aide who later founded Americans for Gun Safety, a gun control group that was later folded into the group Third Way. “In 1994, if Chuck thought the way to win the assault weapons ban vote was to go out and hunt with [former Democratic Rep.] Bill Brewster of Oklahoma and shoot three birds, he would have done it.”

Schumer and Nelson differ slightly about the origins of the hunting trip. Schumer recalls Nelson telling him, in the spring, “You have to come out.”

“I’ve always wanted to go hunting,” he said.

“I thought he was kidding at first; I said 'sure,’” Nelson said. “And I finally said, 'If you are serious, I can arrange this.' And he was, and so I did.”

Schumer and Nelson also shot skeet. They also tooled around on ATVs, with Schumer’s wife, former New York City Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall, hanging onto the back of Nelson’s vehicle. (Her city job hadn’t involved much off-roading.) Schumer posed with his dead quarry, though he left it for Nelson to dress, before they retired to the lodge for a lunch of pheasant.

(“He would definitely want to eat it,” Kessler said of his former boss. “He’s got to eat it. He’d eat anything.”)

They did not, both senators said, talk health care.

“There wasn’t any lobbying effort, just two guys having fun and going hunting and watching football,” said Nelson.

But the Nebraska senator’s warm regard for the New Yorker, and their relationship of trust, would prove central to getting the final health care deal done. Last Wednesday night, Nelson gave a list of must-haves to Schumer and Reid. At times on Thursday, Schumer was calling Nelson every 15 minutes, as part of what the Nebraskan called “pre-negotiations.” By nightfall, with progress being made, Reid asked Nelson to join a round of intensive talks Friday morning. Nelson was set up in one wing of Reid's suite of offices. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), one of the Senate’s most liberal members, was in another part. For 12 hours, Schumer and Reid shuttled between them.

Schumer “was extremely important,” Nelson told POLITICO just after the deal was done. “The thing about Chuck Schumer is he is very innovative, he doesn’t get ideological about something. …We may be an odd couple in a lot of respects, but we share some of the same qualities in trying to solve things.”

Schumer said the negotiations left him with deep respect for Nelson and that the hunting trip also taught a lesson.

“You can see where going hunting is a real bonding experience, kind of like golf,” he mused. “I’d like to do it again.”

“I’ve got a lot of invitations,” Schumer said.



View Larger Map

Sources: MSNBC, Politico, Youtube, Google Maps

Richard Burr vs Cal Cunningham, US Senate In 2010...Marshall No Way

Cal Cunningham, once out, now in


Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, of Lexington, officially entered the race for the U.S. Senate this morning.

Cunningham faces two already-announced candidates for the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican. Both Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Durham lawyer Kenneth Lewis have been campaigning for weeks.

Today's announcement follows awkward juggling by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which tried to recruit bigger names into the race and took so long doing so that Cunningham, who had been exploring a bid, opted out last month.

Cunningham dispatched a mass email at 9:45 a.m. with the subject line, "We're in," writing:

I'm eager to work hard and to lead -- creating jobs, protecting our state's military communities, strengthening our schools, and lowering health care costs. I'll take the fight to the irresponsible Wall Street firms, the corporate interests, and the culture of recklessness that triggered our economic crisis -- and squandered billions while millions of Americans lost jobs and were pushed out of their homes.

Voters can expect to hear A LOT about Cunningham's time as a military lawyer in Iraq, which was the eighth word in the press release from his consultants and in the third paragraph of his own message, woven throughout both.

He hired veteran strategists Morgan Jackson and Scott Falmlen of Nexus Strategies, the team behind Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and Attorney General Roy Cooper's campaigns.





Cal Cunningham names his team


Cal Cunningham, who announced his candidacy Monday, has lined up a consulting team that he hopes will help him get to the U.S. Senate next year.

He has agreed to hire Murphy Putnam Media of Washington to handle his media, Rob Christensen reports. The firm has handled advertising for such Senate campaigns as Mark Begich of Alaska, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Tom Udall of New Mexico as well as such local candidates as Attorney General Roy Cooper and Congressman Bob Etheridge. Murphy Putnam also produced the half hour bio ad for the presidential campaign of Barack Obama last year.

Cunningham's pollster will be Anzalone-Liszt Research of Montgomery Alabama which has extensive experience in North Carolina. The firm worked for Kay Hagan's Senate campaign in 2008, for Cooper, for state Treasurer Janet Cowell and for Congressmen Health Shuler and Larry Kissell.

Handling direct mail will be Pete Giangreco for the Strategy Group in Chicago. He has worked a number of presidential campaigns including Obama, John Kerry, John Edwards and Bill Clinton.

These firms are in addition to the general consultants at Nexus Strategies.





Elaine Marshall: Cunningham is DC, not NC


The Senate campaign of Elaine Marshall quickly portrayed her new opponent, Cal Cunningham, as the candidate of "Washington power brokers."

"He's kind of the hokey pokey candidate -- he's in one minute and out the next," said Thomas Mills, consultant for Marshall, the secretary of state. "He's in the race because Washington wants to choose who North Carolina's nominee is going to be. Elaine Marshall is running because she believes that is the job of North Carolina voters. If he was really committed to North Carolina voters he would have gotten in without waiting for a nod from Washington."

Cunningham has been exploring the race since last spring but last month announced he would not run, Rob Christensen reports. But after Congressman Bob Etheridge announced he would not be a candidate, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee courted Cunningham urging him to get back into the race.

"Secretary Marshall is in the race to win," Mills said. "She has given no thought or indication that she is getting out. We got into the race in September. She is not scared of a primary. Cal Cunningham apparently is scared of a primary or he would have gotten in earlier. The only we he got in was with the suppport of the Washington power brokers."



View Larger Map


Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Under The Dome, MSNBC, NC Chamber of Commerce, Wikipedia, Youtube, Google Maps

Elaine Marshall Not Strong Enough To Whip Richard Burr?...Dems Don't Think So

U.S. Senator Richard Burr delivers the GOP Weekly Address June 10, 2009







Does DNC panel not think Elaine Marshall can beat Richard Burr?


Secretary of State Elaine Marshall is not getting a lot of support from her fellow Democrats these days.

Marshall, one of the Democratic Party's proven vote-getters, was among the first candidates to announce her intentions to challenge Republican Sen. Richard Burr in 2010.

But the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which has become the banker of Senate campaigns, has virtually ignored her. It recruited Attorney General Roy Cooper and Congressman Bob Etheridge, both of whom said no. Now it is courting former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, a former Iraq veteran from Lexington.

The senatorial committee is important because is seems unlikely that any Democrat can mount a serious challenge to Burr without its help. The best guess is that Burr, as an incumbent with strong support in the business community, will have $15 million to $20 million to spend on his campaign.

Only the senatorial committee can raise the kind of money to make the Democratic Senate candidate financially competitive. Without the $11 million it spent on behalf of Democrat Kay Hagan in 2008, Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole would likely have been re-elected.

They seem to have several doubts about Marshall. She is not a proven political fundraiser. Although she has been elected secretary of state four times, she finished a weak third in her 2002 Senate Democratic primary Senate race behind Erskine Bowles and Dan Blue.

Popular among Democratic Party activists, she has never been regarded as a particularly dynamic candidate.

There is also the age factor.

Marshall, whose husband died of cancer Saturday after a year-long battle with cancer, would be 65 if elected to the Senate. That is four years younger than Terry Sanford when he was elected in 1986, and one year younger than Dole when she was elected in 2002. Both Sanford and Dole entered the Senate as national figures that had previously run for president.

The recruitment of the 36-year old Cunningham must be particularly galling to Marshall, who was winning her first election as secretary of state during Cunningham's senior year at the UNC-Chapel Hill.

But Marshall demographics may be a powerful factor in next May's Democratic primary.

Her campaign estimates that 59 percent of the likely primary voters will be women and of those voters, 75 percent will be 50 years old or older. This is a group that Marshall has been courting for 15 years on the chicken circuit. "She is going to be formidable," said her campaign manager, Thomas Mills.

The 2008 Democratic primary suggests that women have an advantage with Bev Perdue, Janet Cowell, Beth Wood and Mary Fant Donnan all winning over male opponents by wide margins.

But the senatorial committee doesn't care who can win the Democratic primary. They care who can beat Burr. And if they don't think the Democratic nominee has a chance, they will go elsewhere.



READERS' COMMENTS:



DanaD wrote on 11/29/2009 02:28:10 PM:

Kay Hagan is a liberal and will vote for everything that the radical left Congressional Democrats tell her to-regardless of what her constituents want.


bobcat99 wrote on 11/29/2009 07:34:12 AM:

You lost me on the first comment.


toomuchgovernment wrote on 11/29/2009 06:41:54 AM:

ALL we need is yet another woman representing NC and this is coming from another woman! All these women do is lie to get into office:

Case & Point:
Governor Purdue lie: Said she would NOT raise taxes and look what she has done. NC taxes are over 8%-highest in Southeast!

Senator Hagan: Said she 'would listen to her constituants on healthcare and welcomed & would respond personally to her constituants.' She has voted for this socialization package of OBama and is NEVER available. Her voice mail is always full and all one gets is a 'form letter' as an answer.

We need someone who has been in the business world who can help keep and get additional businesses to NC. Otherwise, this state will be broke like NY, CA, et all & MORE people will leave.

These idiots who are running NC now, don't have a clue as to whats going on and what is necessary. ALL just rode in on Obama's coattails & I can not wait until they 'ride out' with him! This RIDE OUT can't happen soon enough!



View Larger Map

Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, RNC, DSCC, Youtube, Google Maps

NC Republicans Gearing Up For Huge Victories In 2010, 2012 Elections...Eliminating NC Dems' Public Corruption

The effects of Public Corruption









Russell Peck hired to lead NC GOP To Victory


The N.C. Republican Party on Tuesday hired Russell Peck to be its new executive director.

Peck was heavily involved in the victory of Republican Chris Christie in New Jersey's governor's race earlier this month, Rob Christensen reports. Christie defeated Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine. Peck had worked last year as North Carolina victory director.

"I am pleased to announce that Russell has accepted our offer and will begin work on December 1," state party chairman Tom Fetzer said in an e-mail sent to members of the state GOP Executive Committee this morning. "He will joining us less than a month after helping to engineer a thrilling victory for Republicans in New Jersey's gubernatorial race this year."

"Many of you will remember Russell from his work last year as North Carolina's Victory Director, during which he built a statewide organization that did a fantastic job in a less than ideal political environment," Fetzer wrote.

The hiring was made in a conference call meeting of the GOP Central Committee Tuesday night.

Expressing some reservations was former state GOP Chairman Frank Rouse, who said the $75,000 salary and the fact that Peck was not from North Carolina gave him some pause. Fetzer, as a full-time party chair, is being paid $125,000.

The party also named former Raleigh City Councilman Kieran Shanahan to be its finance director and political consultant Mark Stephens, Fetzer's former political consulting partner, to handle direct mail for the party.




Public Corruption in North Carolina


North Carolina voters don't have much trust in their politicians, regardless of party.

45% think that the Democrats in state government are corrupt to 27% who think they are not. The Republicans aren't a whole lot better with 37% thinking they're corrupt to just 28% who believe they are not. There are a lot more undecideds about the Republicans probably due to their out of power status.

It's predictable that Democratic voters think Republicans are corrupt and vice versa, but there's actually a decent number of folks who think their own parties are as well. 26% of Democrats think their own party is corrupt and 25% of Republicans say the same of theirs.

These numbers are a good indication of why corruption hasn't been a particularly effective electoral issue for Republicans in 2006 and 2008 despite the number of Democratic scandals. The voters don't really trust them any more than they do the Democrats.

North Carolinians also think that corruption in the state is on the rise. 55% believe there is more of it going on in state government than there was 25 years ago with only 8% feeling it's on the decline. Even compared to just five years ago 43% think it's becoming more common to 9% who believe it's become less so.

We've talked frequently about how North Carolina gives its politicians some of the lowest approval ratings of any state in the country- these findings may at least be a start to explaining some of that- elected officials just haven't earned a whole lot of trust from their constituents.




Fire Harry Jones, Tomorrow


Over the years I’ve defended County Manager Harry Jones in public and private as a competent manager who seems to have the right goals and standards in place for Mecklenburg County. But his handling of the DSS mess is a firing offense, specifically his move to quiet a critic of DSS by calling the man’s employer to silence him.

Jones has not said why he contacted Bank of America after a local BAC employee complained that he felt “duped” by giving money to DSS’ charitable efforts for kids. That is no doubt because the tone of the email exchange is unmistakable — and chilling.

“There seems to be a need for a wholesale cleanup of many county agencies, and I think that starts from the top down,” BofA employee Harry Lomax wrote to county officials. A week later, Jones sent the email on to a BofA VP with an ominous “Do you know Harry Lomax” addition.

The response was immediate from BofA government liaison Betty Turner. Lomax’s email was deemed “embarassing” and Jones was assured that BofA execs were on to Lomax: “I am tracking it down. I don’t know him – I have alerted charles. Will be back to you.” Question: Who the hell is “charles?” The Uptown paper of record account leaves this out.

Anyone with even a glancing understanding of Charlotte’s history is probably flashing back to the time when uppity mill hands who questioned local leaders were met with, “What’s your name again? I know your pastor.” The threat was clear — shut up and know your place.

Harry Jones clearly has no problem pulling the same power levers as boss men of years past. And no doubt Jones has done this sort of thing before to be so comfortable as to put such a smoking gun in email form, and on such a high profile matter as DSS’s continued money and management woes. For that reason, the “isolated incident” defense we are sure to get this week does not wash.

Harry Jones has proven he does not have the temperament required of highly compensated public employees, particularly at a time when revenues are tight and citizens are concerned about spending. Criticism from engaged citizens — Harry Lomax was concerned that a county Christmas charity was misusing funds — must be welcomed and encouraged, not kick off corporate retaliation efforts among the lock-step Uptown crowd.

A unanimous vote by the Mecklenburg County commission to remove Jones from his position is the only thing which can restore confidence in the notion that local government works for local citizens rather than actively conspires against them.

Update: Betty Turner is a registered lobbyist for BAC in both North Carolina and Virginia.




The Charlotte-Mecklenburg DSS Fraud mystery: Where did money go?


Internal e-mails reveal new allegations of misspending at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services, raising more unanswered questions about what happened to money intended to help needy children.

Some of the more than 1,000 e-mails the Charlotte Observer obtained through a Public Records Request provide the most detailed account to date about the agency's accounting fiasco.

E-mails show:

Officials suspected an employee wrote $80,000 in checks to herself from donations.

An administrator questioned why other donations were used to buy $340 diamond earrings, leather coats and a $300 DVD player.

A top executive complained that a senior fiscal administrator frustrated co-workers with her "inability to explain the simplest concepts of revenue and expenses."

After nearly a year, officials have never said who was at fault for $162,000 that disappeared or whether anyone was disciplined.

No one has been charged in an ongoing police investigation and a county report says officials cannot be certain where the money went.

Meanwhile, donors are left to wonder whether their generosity ever helped buy Christmas gifts for those in need.

In one e-mail, a woman describes calling the county in 2007 to give $900 for single mothers at Christmas. The person who answered the phone told her to make a check payable to the worker's sister.

The donor said she grew suspicious and made the check out to the county, but the idea that it may still have been misused is "like a kick in the stomach."

In another e-mail, a founder of Second String Santa said he was concerned whether kids received the more than 50,000 toys his group had donated since 1989.

Will Miller said he believes some of the toys reached children, but he's not sure about the rest.

"Will we ever know? Probably not," he said.

Two Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Commissioners said they have asked County Administrators for a full accounting of what went wrong at DSS but have yet to receive answers. County officials have never explained who was responsible, they said.

"To fix it, you have to admit all the stuff that is messed up," Commissioner Bill James said. "They don't want to do too much digging."

County administrators declined interview requests. Instead, a county spokesman released a prepared statement saying appropriate fiscal controls have been installed in response to an outside audit and an internal investigation.

"Our review of the e-mails we provided and your follow up questions did not reveal any new information that would suggest any change in the audit findings or in management's response to those findings," the statement said.

Some commissioners said they have been told that the employees involved have either left county government or been placed in new positions.

Unusual spending patterns

DSS spends $176 million annually and employs 1,200 workers to assist Mecklenburg's poor and neglected. The agency administers everything from food stamps to foster care and child protection services.

Last spring, DSS Director Mary Wilson ordered financial audits following reports of suspicious spending.

Auditors looked at multiple spending programs and financial practices in the agency. They found a $10,000 check made out to an employee, missing and altered receipts and money for kids spent on office supplies.

County leaders responded by suspending the programs, putting DSS finance under direct county control, training workers on accounting procedures and ordering a review of financial procedures in each county agency.

The Observer reviewed e-mails dating from December 2008 to July 2009 for seven current and former county administrators, including Wilson, County Manager Harry Jones, County Finance Director Dena Diorio and Internal Auditor Cornita Spears.

E-mails show county officials noticed unusual spending patterns as early as last December but did not disclose problems to the public until March.

On New Year's Eve, Wilson told staff she had suspended a voucher program the agency used to purchase clothes and other items for clients at local stores. She wrote that officials were worried about a lack of oversight and a spike in spending.

One monthly retail bill leapt from between $5,000 and $6,000 to more than $20,000 in October 2008, the e-mail says. Employees turned in receipts only 30 to 35 percent of the time, she wrote.

At one time or another, workers possessed or had access to numerous credit cards and gift cards, including some to Bath & Body Works, Bass Pro Shops, Macy's, the Cheesecake Factory and Outback Steakhouse.

Outside auditors verified for county administrators that DSS workers possessed county-issued credit cards, including 10 credit cards for Sam's Club, three for Harris Teeter and an online charge account with Amazon.com

In February, county officials asked internal auditors to look into questionable spending, including purchases of diamond earrings, leather coats and a DVD player.

An e-mail to one of the auditors from a human resources consultant said the purchases raise "many questions and concerns."

According to the county's statement, most gifts were typical children's items such as toys, clothes and books. More expensive items such as diamond earrings and leather coats were approved purchases for foster children who reached special milestones like high school graduation, the statement says.

"Receiving a gift of some significant value was viewed as an incentive for other children who were in foster care to set goals and accomplish them," the statement said.

Commissioner Harold Cogdell said he spent part of his early childhood in foster care and believes the gifts are a good idea.

"It makes sense to me to show the kids some love," Cogdell said.

A new Accountant

DSS has endured multiple management shakeups in recent years. The latest came when Wilson reorganized the agency after she was hired in July 2008.

She laid out the reasons to hire a new finance director in a February e-mail.

Wilson wrote that the senior fiscal administrator who managed DSS finances failed to provide reports about oversight, alienated staff and lacked the ability to conduct productive discussions with senior county executives. The e-mail does not name the senior fiscal administrator.

DSS later hired accountant Angela Hurlburt to oversee its finances.

James, the commissioner, said he has asked for the names and background information on Hurlburt's predecessors. He wants them to answer questions from the Board of Commissioners' Audit Review Committee, which investigated accounting lapses at DSS.

He said administrators have failed to respond to his requests and complained that officials "keep us in the dark."

Other Charlotte-Mecklenburg Commissioners disagreed.

Chairman Jennifer Roberts and Commissioner Dumont Clarke said county leaders have already put in place reforms that will protect taxpayer and donor money.

"The highest priority" is implementing new financial controls, Clarke said.

Shifting the Finances

Auditors from Cherry, Bekaert & Holland reviewed DSS and found that Mecklenburg officials responded appropriately. The county's Audit Review Committee came to the same conclusion.

But DSS Director Wilson bristled at one of the major reforms.

Leaders put DSS finance under the direct control of the county's main finance department after allegations of misspending surfaced.

In April, Wilson sent an e-mail to County General Manager Michelle Lancaster to complain. Calling the decision "premature" and "shortsighted," Wilson said there are emergencies when DSS workers must write checks immediately, including occasions when the agency takes children in custody who need clothes, toiletries and school supplies.

"I understand the urgency at the time, but there was a reason DSS had check writing capability and I think we threw the baby out with the bathwater instead of fixing the underlying issue, which is documentation and accountability," Wilson wrote.

Donors left with questions

Past supporters of the DSS Christmas charity include Young Lawyers, employees of Wachovia and Bank of America, and Project Joy, the holiday fund drive initiated by Observer columnist Tommy Tomlinson. The Christmas charity, known as the Giving Tree, is now run by the Salvation Army.

The donor who gave $900 e-mailed the county in July after learning about accounting failures from news accounts. She attached a picture of the check copy she made around Christmas in 2007.

She wrote that she did not remember the name of the woman she spoke with on the phone.

The donor said she and her family all pitched in to raise the money so she could assist women like her who had struggled as single mothers.

When she heard there were allegations of misspending in a DSS charity program, "It's like your stomach just drops."




$33,000 repaid to Charlotte-Mecklenburg DSS but overlooked


Mecklenburg County's investigation into alleged misspending at a Christmas charity for children took a surprising twist Tuesday: Officials said a county employee returned more than $33,000 months ago, but auditors didn't account for it.

The finding raised new questions about the months-long probe, including why it took so long for administrators to learn about the money and why so much had been advanced to a county employee. Auditors said the worker had spent some of it on personal items.

County Manager Harry Jones said he was "damned embarrassed" by the latest information.

Commissioners, stunned by the revelations, said scrutiny of the Department of Social Services has eroded public confidence. They ordered a study of how to improve ethics throughout county government.

"I can't help but be baffled," Commissioner Dan Murrey said. "What we have done is confuse the public more."

The county's internal auditor told commissioners it was not until the past week that officials realized the returned money helped explain some of the $162,000 spent on the Giving Tree program that had not been fully accounted for.

But the auditor stood by her earlier report that said officials can't be certain where the bulk of the money went.

"I'm disappointed that we did not catch this earlier," Jones told county commissioners.

The county frequently advanced money to employees to help buy gifts for needy children, with receipts expected to document how the money was spent.

It wasn't immediately clear how much the employee who returned money had been given in the past, but it included at least two $10,000 checks made out in December and January, according to an internal memo released to commissioners Tuesday.

The money returned by the employee in February and March helped cover those checks, the memo stated, as well as other unspent money or funds meant to account for "personal purchases that were inadvertently included amongst receipts."

The employee also returned earrings and a DVD player whose costs drew concerns from management, and reimbursed the cost for the items.

The county did not identify who returned the money, only saying it was a former employee who had worked with the Giving Tree program for about 10 years.

A police investigation into the Giving Tree program is ongoing.

Murrey said an accounting error has unnecessarily harmed public perceptions about county government.

Commissioner Karen Bentley and other commissioners said they had received numerous complaints from citizens about DSS in recent months. Bentley reassured residents that she would look into concerns and seek answers to questions about accountability.

Commissioners Bill James said Tuesday's news only raises more questions.

James suggested that the employee only returned the money to escape punishment. He alluded to widespread problems with missing and altered receipts and said the county should investigate whether wrongdoing occurred in previous years.

Worker raised questions

The Giving Tree probe started earlier this year after a DSS employee raised questions about "large dollar" checks that had been written to a worker who managed the program, the county has said.

Two workers connected to the Giving Tree effort were suspended with pay. One was reinstated this summer, while the other had been put on medical leave.

Cindy Brady, a former DSS supervisor who collected donations for the Giving Tree program retired in August. But county officials have never said whether she was one of the two suspended employees.

Reached Tuesday, Brady said she had been advised by an attorney not to comment about the DSS issue.

In June, county auditors said they'd collected about $138,978 in receipts related to the Giving Tree.

But the county said they couldn't provide complete assurance that the money was spent properly because more than 99 percent of the receipts had problems, including information that had been altered or whited out.

That left about $23,310 that officials said they could not account for.

On Tuesday, Internal Audit Director Cornita Spears told commissioners that she received "clarifications" about how much money the employee had returned to the county.

Spears said the county had previously recorded some money the unnamed employee had returned to reimburse money used for personal items.

However, Spears said she learned last week that more money had been returned, but determined it had not been properly recorded in the earlier Giving Tree review.

Spears said the new information didn't change the overall findings of the June report.

Jones said that while he believed the county had made an "unacceptable error," he said county management had called for the various DSS audits, recommended changes and had not hidden information about the probes.



View Larger Map


Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Under The Dome, Public Policy Polling, The Meck Deck Blog, John Locke Foundation, NC Republican Party, Charmeck.org, Amazon.com, Youtube, Google Maps

NC GOP Rejects Resolution To Turn Away Independent Voters...Wise Decision

N.C. GOP denies push for closed primaries



Republican primaries in North Carolina will continue to be open to unaffiliated voters.

GOP spokesman Jordan Shaw said the party's Executive Committee, comprising nearly 600 lawmakers and local political leaders, overwhelmingly rejected a resolution to allow only Republicans to choose the party's nominees.

Voters unaffiliated with a party have been helping pick who runs on the GOP ticket since 1988.

Republicans pushing for the change argued that party members should be the ones picking their nominees, because independents are more inclined to back moderates.

The resolution was adopted at the party convention in June, when a simple majority of committee members present usually is required for passage.

Many state leaders worried closed primaries would damage Republican chances to win elections in 2010. North Carolina's 1.4 million unaffiliated voters make up 23 percent of the electorate.

State party Chairman Tom Fetzer said Republican candidates benefited in the 1994 elections because the GOP welcomed unaffiliated voters at a time when the Democratic primary was still closed.

Unaffiliated voters have been allowed in Democratic primaries since 1996.

State law allows an unaffiliated voter to participate in one party primary but not both. A party has until Dec. 1 to tell the State Board of Elections it wants to prevent registered voters without a party from participating in next year's primary.






"Purity" may cost NC GOP



The N.C. Republican Party has been channeling its inner Jesse Helms lately, and not just because a portrait of the late conservative icon was unveiled last week.

At a GOP banquet Saturday night in North Raleigh, one of the main speakers was to have been Doug Hoffman, the New York conservative congressional candidate who was the favorite of Glenn Beck & Co. But he canceled because of an illness.

The state GOP is also considering a rule change that would bar unaffiliated voters from voting in state Republican primaries, in theory screening out some moderate voters.

In this age of polarization, it is politically incorrect to be a moderate.

The Republican Party likes to bill itself as the conservative voice of North Carolina and that is true enough, although the Libertarian Party might take exception.

But the NC State Republican Party has historically been far broader than the Helmsian party, with strong ties to the more moderate GOP brand of the mountains, the foothills, the board rooms and the suburbs.

Sometimes the Republican Party forgets that.

Twice in the last century, Republicans have won the governorship. In both cases they elected moderate conservatives, Jim Holshouser (1973-77) and Jim Martin (1985-1993).

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, another moderate conservative, probably would have been elected governor last November if Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama had not made a huge effort here.

It has only been in U.S. Senate races that the Republican Party traditionally has spoken with a pure conservative voice. That's largely because Helms and his longtime political organization, the National Congressional Club, helped elevate to office a series of Helms-like conservatives.

But that was a club, not a political party.

Those calling for ideological purity have a short memory. Helms was repeatedly angry and frustrated at President Ronald Reagan, who would provide only lip service to such issues as abortion and school prayer. And it was Reagan who signed a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.

This is actually an old debate. During the 1970s and 1980s, the state Republican Party was often torn by factional warfare between Helms-style conservatives and more traditional Republicans.

I was present in 1988 at a GOP convention in Franklin County in which a riot broke out, with multiple fistfights.

The Republican Party grew rapidly in the '60s, '70s and '80s in North Carolina by courting conservative Democrats.

But North Carolina has maintained the strongest Democratic Party in the South during the past decade by siphoning off moderate Starbucks Republicans.

As conservative British Prime Minister HaroldMcMillan (1957-63) once noted: "A successful party of the right must continue to recruit from the center and even from the left center. Once it begins to shrink into itself like a snail, it will be doomed."





North Carolina GOP May Block Independents From Primaries


North Carolina Republican Party leaders are meeting this weekend to decide if they want to continue allowing unaffiliated voters to cast ballots in GOP primaries.

The state party's executive committee is expected to debate a resolution asking the party to limit voters to registered Republicans only, starting in May's primary. Unaffiliated voters have been allowed to participate in GOP primaries since 1988.

Onslow County GOP Chairman Patrick Lamb says a closed primary would ensure more true conservative candidates are nominated.

Party chairman Tom Fetzer says a closed primary would not bode well for Republicans who want to get a majority in the Legislature and re-elect U.S. Sen. Richard Burr. Fetzer says winning is about building coalitions.

Democrats have invited unaffiliated voters to participate in their primary since 1996.



View Larger Map

Sources: WRAL, McClatchy Newspapers, News & Observer, WITN, Wikipedia, Google Maps

North Carolina GOP Turning Away Independent Voters...Stupid, Stupid, Stupid

"Purity" may cost NC GOP



The N.C. Republican Party has been channeling its inner Jesse Helms lately, and not just because a portrait of the late conservative icon was unveiled last week.

At a GOP banquet Saturday night in North Raleigh, one of the main speakers was to have been Doug Hoffman, the New York conservative congressional candidate who was the favorite of Glenn Beck & Co. But he canceled because of an illness.

The state GOP is also considering a rule change that would bar unaffiliated voters from voting in state Republican primaries, in theory screening out some moderate voters.

In this age of polarization, it is politically incorrect to be a moderate.

The Republican Party likes to bill itself as the conservative voice of North Carolina and that is true enough, although the Libertarian Party might take exception.

But the NC State Republican Party has historically been far broader than the Helmsian party, with strong ties to the more moderate GOP brand of the mountains, the foothills, the board rooms and the suburbs.

Sometimes the Republican Party forgets that.

Twice in the last century, Republicans have won the governorship. In both cases they elected moderate conservatives, Jim Holshouser (1973-77) and Jim Martin (1985-1993).

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, another moderate conservative, probably would have been elected governor last November if Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama had not made a huge effort here.

It has only been in U.S. Senate races that the Republican Party traditionally has spoken with a pure conservative voice. That's largely because Helms and his longtime political organization, the National Congressional Club, helped elevate to office a series of Helms-like conservatives.

But that was a club, not a political party.

Those calling for ideological purity have a short memory. Helms was repeatedly angry and frustrated at President Ronald Reagan, who would provide only lip service to such issues as abortion and school prayer. And it was Reagan who signed a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.

This is actually an old debate. During the 1970s and 1980s, the state Republican Party was often torn by factional warfare between Helms-style conservatives and more traditional Republicans.

I was present in 1988 at a GOP convention in Franklin County in which a riot broke out, with multiple fistfights.

The Republican Party grew rapidly in the '60s, '70s and '80s in North Carolina by courting conservative Democrats.

But North Carolina has maintained the strongest Democratic Party in the South during the past decade by siphoning off moderate Starbucks Republicans.

As conservative British Prime Minister HaroldMcMillan (1957-63) once noted: "A successful party of the right must continue to recruit from the center and even from the left center. Once it begins to shrink into itself like a snail, it will be doomed."





North Carolina GOP May Block Independents From Primaries


North Carolina Republican Party leaders are meeting this weekend to decide if they want to continue allowing unaffiliated voters to cast ballots in GOP primaries.

The state party's executive committee is expected to debate a resolution asking the party to limit voters to registered Republicans only, starting in May's primary. Unaffiliated voters have been allowed to participate in GOP primaries since 1988.

Onslow County GOP Chairman Patrick Lamb says a closed primary would ensure more true conservative candidates are nominated.

Party chairman Tom Fetzer says a closed primary would not bode well for Republicans who want to get a majority in the Legislature and re-elect U.S. Sen. Richard Burr. Fetzer says winning is about building coalitions.

Democrats have invited unaffiliated voters to participate in their primary since 1996.



View Larger Map


Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, News & Observer, WITN, NCGOP, Wikipedia, Google Maps

Bob Etheridge Decides Not To Run Against Burr...Its Burr Again In 2010!

Congressman Bob Etheridge Passes


Congressman Bob Etheridge said Friday that he would not challenge Republican Sen. Richard Burr next year, despite a concerted effort by the national Democratic Party to coax him into the race.

The decision is another setback for the Democrats, who earlier this year failed to entice Attorney General Roy Cooper into the race, Rob Christensen reports. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has turned its attention to former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, an Iraq War veteran from Lexington, who had spent several months exploring a Senate bid, before announcing Monday that he would not be a candidate.

Etheridge, a veteran Congressman, former superintendent of public instruction, former legislator and former Harnett County commissioner, is one of the Tar Heel Democratic Party's proven commodities. Etheridge said he looked at the Senate race strongly this time but in the end, "I just decided not to do it."

UPDATE:

National Republican Senatorial Campaign spokesman Colin Reed said Etheridge's decision leaves a big hole in the Democrats' recruiting class and shows that Democrats "on the ground in North Carolina have a much different view of this race than party officials in Washington."

"I think it is a winnable seat," Etheridge said. "I really do believe that. I think Richard burr has not voted (the right way on) some of the issues on job creation and health care and you go right on down the list."

But Etheridge noted that he was the first North Carolinian to serve on the influential House Ways and Means Committee in more than 50 years and felt as though he had "unfinished business in the House."

He said he would not endorse anyone in the Democratic Senate primary which will be held next May. The announced candidates are Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Chapel Hill attorney Kenneth Lewis. Also looking at the race are Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy and former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker.



View Larger Map

Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Under The Dome, National Republican Senatorial Campaign, Wikipedia, Google Maps

Richard Burr's 2010 Win Appears To Be A Done Deal...Democrats Are In Trouble!

GOP gloats over Cal Cunningham decision


The National Republican Senatorial Committee is doing a little victory dance over former state Sen. Cal Cunningham's decision not to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr next year.

By the GOP's count (which looks an awful lot like a list compiled by Dome), Cunningham is the 10th Democrat who has looked at the Senate race and decided to take a pass, Rob Christensen reports. Here is the Republican's list: Attorney General Roy Cooper, Rep. Heath Shuler, Rep. Mike McIntyre, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker, state Rep. Grier Martin, state Rep. Tricia Cotham, former state Treasurer Richard Moore, and state Sen. Malcolm Graham.

"Once again," said Republican spokesman Colin Reed, "the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and national Democrats have suffered a serious setback in their efforts to land a top-tier candidate in North Carolina."

Likely disagreeing with that sentiment are the two announced Democrats, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Durham lawyer Kenneth Lewis. U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge and Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy are looking at the race.

Update: Also disagreeing with Reed was DSCC communications director Eric Schultz.

"Aside from Senator John Ensign, Senator Burr has the lowest approval rating of any Republican in the United States Senate. That’s because he’s beholden to the special interests in Washington. He will face a formidable opponent next November."







Cal Cunningham no longer quacks


Cal Cunningham's poll numbers didn't move much during the period where he was exploring a bid for U.S. Senate.

Cunningham, a Lexington lawyer, was the non-candidate candidate, who appeared at events and quietly looked at a run against Republican Sen. Richard Burr, giving Dome plenty of chances to use duck similes. Now, Dome must put away the quacks because Cunningham is out.

It's likely that his decision had something to do with whatever it is U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge will decide about the race.

It's also helpful to note that Cunningham had the same level of support against Burr in October than he did in February. Public Policy Polling noted in February that Burr was leading Cunningham 46 to 27. In October, the pollster pulled the same percentages. Pollster.com, which averages and analyzes polling data, showed that Cunningham's support over time was only slightly better than a flat line.

And for the record, Pollster.com shows declared candidate Kenneth Lewis with an average of 29.1 percent to Burr's 44.5. It's notable that Lewis and Cunningham, two unknowns, were getting similar numbers suggesting that polling results in their cases are more about Burr's level of support.

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, also a declared candidate, has 31.2 percent to Burr's 43.9 percent, according to Pollster.com's analysis. And Etheridge has 34.7 percent to 43.3 percent for Burr.



View Larger Map


Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Under The Dome, Senate.gov, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Youtube, Google Maps

Charlotte Leaders Give Harry Jones A Bonus, Cut Mental Health Care...Vote No Next Elections!

Charlotte Politicians especially the Democrats, think just because Anthony Foxx recently slid into Mayor McCrory's seat, everything will be smooth sailing from here on out.

Their arrogant behavior demonstrated by giving Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Harry Jones a $38,000 Bonus he does NOT deserve, proves Charlotte's Leaders actually think they rule the roost and that Voters are Stupid!

Notice how they didn't approve of Jones' bonus until AFTER Foxx won the Mayor's race. Sneaky bunch aren't they?

If Charlotte Politicians were bold and arrogant enough to pull this stunt, voters can be assured that when they get some more Stimulus Funds into their hands its going to be wasted on experiments and junk just like in the past.

Nothing valuable or helpful to Constituents. No, instead that money will be wasted fulfilling personal Political Favors and other junk, along with more Property Tax Increases for voters (low income and middle class citizens only) of course.

Well guess what people??

In case you've missed the latest news reports Democrats recently lost important races in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City!

NY-23 was just a mercy win, not anything to really brag about.

Perhaps Charlotte's Leaders aren't aware of this fact but Virginia is a key state for Political victory.

Voters who were fed up with status quo drama and broken campaign promises showed their displeasure at the polls on Super Tuesday 2009.

If Anthony Foxx does a poor job (I hope he doesn't) and if Pres. Obama doesn't get this country's High Unemployment Rate (10% and rising) situation under control, Democrats will NOT survive another sweeping victory like 2008 for a long time!

This includes North Carolina because Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) is looking pretty good to voters right about now. Including Democrat voters.

Only a few dumb diehards are still voting Straight Tickets or along strict Partisan party lines.

There are now more Dems voting for Republicans, more Republicans voting for Dems, more Black voters casting ballots for White Candidates and Independent Voters doing their own thing.

Do Charlotte's Leaders really think that Dirty Politics, the Charlotte Observer, Law degrees, Fraternity brothers or Sorority sisters will be able to save them during the next two elections if they continue this Tax and Spend, Public Corruption, Cronyism crap?

Do they also really think Partisan Politics is the answer to longevity in Public Office?

If Charlotte Politicians especially Dems, really believe those false ideologies I have some swamp land in Florida I want to sell them. Ha Ha!

So....

If Charlotte's Leaders especially Dems, keep up their same status quo stupidity, during the next two elections (2011 & 2012) NOT even Black Voters are going to support them.

You think that Voters, especially Black Voters are stupid??

Just ask former Greensboro Mayor Yvonne Johnson or Creigh Deeds.

While your at it also check out the Atlanta Mayor's Runoff election scheduled to take place this December between Caucasian candidate Mary Norwood and African-American candidate Kasim Reed.

People are tired of Status Quo Politics!

Charlotte Leaders you better wake up and stop being Arrogant or your days in Public Office will be short lived.

Here's a word to the wise: "He who laughs first, laughs last".




Atlanta's Mary Norwood will face Kasim Reed in a Runoff election December '09. If elected she will become Atlanta's first White Mayor since the 1970's.










Jones gets bonus but total pay is same


Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones will receive a $38,400 performance bonus, but his total compensation remains the same as last year, under a deal unanimously approved Wednesday by county commissioners.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Commissioners praised Jones for, among other things, leading the county during a difficult economic time.

The "pay-at-risk" money - which commissioners have in previous years called a performance bonus - is part of an overall $302,854 compensation package. It also includes $215,655 in base salary.

The pay plan keeps Jones' compensation the same as in 2008-09, though a board committee determined he actually would have been due more money this year, said commissioner Dumont Clarke.

Jones, however, asked that his pay be kept level. "That was his request," said commissioners' Chairman Jennifer Roberts. He "wants to be treated like all the other county employees." The county didn't award any merit raises this year.

Jones' evaluation has been in the works for weeks, with talks largely being kept private initially as allowed by state law.

But some commissioners acknowledged last month that paying the money could raise questions in light of steep budget cuts across the county. Two other local public officials - Charlotte City Manager Curt Walton and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Peter Gorman - declined merit raises or bonuses for themselves and staff to help save money.

Jones is eligible for a higher bonus than Gorman or Walton, up to 30 percent of his base salary.

Commissioners Chair Jennifer Roberts said the board had a "difficult conversation" about the pay plan because of the economic conditions.

Still, commissioners also have said they wanted to reward Jones for meeting goals previously outlined by the board.

Clarke said Jones told commissioners earlier Tuesday evening that 2008-09 was both his most challenging and best year as manager.

Roberts said Jones "has done a very, very good job, an excellent job as manager in a very difficult year." She cited Jones' work addressing budget cuts because of falling tax revenues and his work on the Critical Needs Task Force to help address social services needs in the community.

But the county also faced questions about inadequate accounting at the Department of Social Services, including an investigation into possible misused money in a charity program for Foster Children. The county announced steps to help shore up practices within DSS, including putting its finances under control of the main county finance department.

Mecklenburg has offered bonuses to the manager for years, but decided five years ago to restructure the pay system to reflect a CEO-style package of a base salary with another piece of pay tied to performance.

Under the plan, Jones is eligible for a bonus of up to 30 percent of his annual salary based on a series of criteria, including how well the county performs on annual goals and a management plan approved by commissioners. Based on his current salary, he could have received a bonus up to about $65,000 this year.

Jones has not received the full bonus since commissioners approved the new pay structure in 2004.

Clarke said Jones' performance in the past year earned him more money. He said he's being paid about 10 percent less than what his performance score called for.

Cuts in mental health

Also on Tuesday, commissioners approved about $2.76million worth of service cuts to the county's Area Mental Health department because of reduced money from the state. The state cuts were actually larger, but county staff has promised $3.7 million to help make up the gap.

Jones said he hasn't yet identified where the money would come from.




Bill Knight wins Greensboro Mayoral race


The City Council just got a lot more conservative — starting with the guy at the top.

First-time mayoral candidate Bill Knight ousted incumbent Yvonne Johnson in Tuesday’s City Council election.

The victory is the first by a challenger over an incumbent mayor since voters began electing the mayor at-large in 1973.

Knight ran on a platform of Fiscal Conservatism and cleaning up the city’s police department. He will lead a council that, in the course of one election, now has a supermajority of registered Republicans.

“The voters spoke to change,” Knight said.

About 18 percent of the city’s registered voters turned out for the election, which included the nine Greensboro City Council seats and one bond referendum.

Candidates, their campaign staffers and supporters were tense Tuesday night as the results from the city’s 106 voting precincts rolled in.

The race between the mayoral candidates was close. Johnson, who has served one term as mayor, congratulated Knight when it became clear he would win.

His margin was 935 votes out of the 34,347 cast in complete but unofficial results.

Johnson has caught criticism over the chaos that has been a mainstay of City Council the last two years. But she was still pitting her 16 years of experience on the City Council against Knight, 70, who has never held political office.

Knight was surrounded by giddy supporters and family Tuesday.

“I am struck by the significance of this,” he said after the hubbub died down. “Four months ago, no one knew me.”

Knight, a retired certified public accountant, has promised to cut tens of millions of dollars from the city budget — an appealing prospect for voters who are disappointed that Greensboro has the highest tax rate among large North Carolina cities.

“I want an efficient city government. Let’s remake what a municipal government is all about,” Knight said.

Knight also has been a supporter of former police chief David Wray, who resigned in 2006 after accusations that his department was improperly investigating its black officers.

Some in the crowd were celebrating a conservative victory for the city, although the City Council is a nonpartisan board.

Bill Burckley, a political consultant who worked for Knight’s campaign, attributed Knight’s win to a low turnout in the city’s predominantly black precincts in east Greensboro.

Karen Bragg, a District 1 voter and Johnson poll worker, said the mayor’s campaign had worked hard, but there may have been a feeling of complacency among supporters.

“If people don’t come out, this is what happens,” Bragg said. “No slight against Bill Knight. It’s just not what I expected.”

McArthur Davis, who worked on Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small’s campaign, said Johnson’s loss was backlash from some white voters who felt alienated by the city’s black leaders.

“With a low turnout in east Greensboro, that was enough,” Davis said. “Greensboro just took a huge step back to reject a person with 16 years’ experience.”

Councilman Robbie Perkins, a Republican who often voted with Johnson, said her loss was likely part of a national reaction to liberal victories.

Last year, Guilford County voters decisively elected Democrat Barack Obama over Republican John McCain, 142,101 to 97,718.

“There’s a political pendulum in this country,” Perkins said. “In the fall, it swung one way, so we’re seeing it swing back now. That first swing was a strong swing, and now that it’s swinging in the other direction, we’re going to see that reflected in our communities as well.”

Johnson said she is not certain what she will do now.

“I’m just happy I’ve had the opportunity to serve the city for two years,” she said.

The new City Council will be sworn in Dec. 1. Their terms will last two years.



View Larger Map


Sources: MSNBC, Richmond Times Dispatch, McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, Under The Dome, News Record, My Fox8, My Fox Atlanta, Youtube, Google Maps