Republicans lose NC General Assembly supermajority

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PAGE 3 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018

Republicans lose NC General Assembly supermajority

Staff Report

Last night, the Republican Party lost the supermajority in both branches of the North Carolina General Assembly, now giving North Carolina Democrats a power they have not seen in 10 years.

Before Tuesday, Republicans held threefifths of seats in both chambers of the General Assembly. The party lost that power after several close elections across the state.

Republicans not having the supermajority in the NC Senate and House of Representatives means that they no longer have the power to override a veto from the North Carolina Governor. However, the party still has more people sitting in the General Assembly than the Democratic Party.

Since Gov. Roy Cooper took office in January 2017, he has vetoed 25 bills. Twenty of those bills have been overridden with a three-fifths majority in both the House and Senate. For example, the General Assembly was able to override Cooper’s veto on the 2018-19 $23.9 billion budget passed in June.

This loss will determine how the parties will work to pass party legislation, and Cooper’s vetoes are more likely to be retained because Republicans do not have the supermajority. It also gives Cooper the opportunity to push his agenda for reform in public education, healthcare policy and blocking tax breaks for the wealthy, according to The News & Observer.

According to WRAL, the party lost some key seats in Mecklenburg County and Wake County. Republican representatives in Wake County Nelson Dollar, Chris Malone and John Adcock all lost their seats to Democratic candidates, a trend that was seen in suburban locations in North Carolina.

WRAL also reported that voter turnout was its highest since 1990, with over 52 percent of registered voters participating in the midterm election.

ERIN CODY/TECHNICIAN Wayne Goodwin, current chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, speaks to news reporters at the Democratic midterm election watch party on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at the Goodwin House for NC Democrats. The Democratic election watch party was a gathering to watch the results of the polls.

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PAGE 4 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018

Four amendments, all Wake County bonds passed

Staff Report

Four out of six of the North Carolina Constitutional amendments passed in the 2018 midterm elections along with all three of the Wake County bond referenda.

With 100 percent of precincts reported, the four amendments passed with over 50 percent of votes each:

Protect the Right to Hunt and Fish: 57.18 percent for

This amendment will establish public hunting and fishing as “preferred means of managing and controlling wildlife.” This amendment will not impact laws regarding trespassing, property rights or eminent domain.

Strengthening Victim’s Rights: 62.13 percent for

This amendment will strengthen protections for victims of certain crimes, increase the number of rights and ensure those rights.

Maximum Income Tax Rate of 7 percent: 57.39 percent for

This amendment will lower the maximum personal and corporate income tax rate in North Carolina from the current 10 percent to 7 percent.

Require Photo ID to Vote: 55.55 percent for

This amendment will require North Carolina voters to show a valid photo ID to vote. The requirements for what qualifies as a valid ID will be decided by state legislature.

The Nonpartisan Judicial Merit Commission and Bipartisan Board of Elections and Ethics amendments were not passed, with 66.86 percent and 61.61 percent of votes against, respectively.

The bond referenda all passed with 100 percent of Wake County precincts reported. They each received over 60 percent of votes.

The Wake County School Bonds, which will give $548 million in General Obligation Bonds to fund the capital budget for school improvements, passed with 66.65 percent of votes.

The Wake County Community College Bonds will give $349 million in bonds to fund new buildings for Wake Technical Community College over the next four years. It passed with 65.02 percent of votes.

The Wake County Parks, Greenways,

EMMA SCHULER/TECHNICIAN

Recreation and Open Space Bonds will give $120 million, six-year bond for open space preservation, greenway development, new park and nature preserve construction, and existing park renovations. It passed with 67.96 percent of votes.

Wake County Sheriff loses election for fifth term

Alicia Thomas

Assistant News Editor

Republican Donnie Harrison lost re-election as Wake County Sheriff Tuesday night to Democrat and former deputy Gerald Baker.

Baker won with 54.63 percent of the votes over Harrison, who was first elected as sheriff in 2002. Baker retired from service last spring and has served with the Wake County Sheriff’s Office for 28 years.

Before results were announced, Harrison discussed how he did not expect to trail behind in election results.

“Anytime it takes the polls this long to hear back, you begin to worry,” Harrison said at the Republican watch party Tuesday evening. “You see that polls from early voting are against you — you begin to wonder, is everyone against you? You thought you were doing a pretty good job, and next thing you know, you’re trailing the polls.”

Harrison received both support and backlash for his work with ICE and detaining undocumented immigrants. Harrison and his office worked with a program called 287(g), which allowed local Raleigh law enforcement to partner with ICE agents.

According to The News & Observer, Baker’s victory over Harrison had the closest totals since Harrison was first elected in 2002.

According to Harrison, everything that they campaigned on in 2002 and talked about were initiatives that he views as successes during his term such as reduced response times, more deputies in the field, citizens wellcheck programs and Project Lifesaver.

ERIN CODY/TECHNICIAN Donnie Harrison, longtime Republican Wake County Sheriff, speaks to supporters on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Raleigh. The Republican midterm election watch party occurred at the hotel.

News PAGE 5 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 TECHNICIAN

Malasia McClendon named Leader of the Pack

Alex Berenfeld

Corresponndent

Malasia McClendon, a first-generation student in the University Honors Program, was named Leader of the Pack on Saturday during NC State’s Homecoming game.

Technician sat down with McClendon, a third-year studying political science with a concentration in law and justice, to discuss her involvement at NC State and what she hopes to accomplish as Leader of the Pack to improve NC State’s community.

Technician: The Leader of the Pack program recognizes students who make outstanding contributions to NC State. What contributions have you made to the university?

Malasia McClendon: When I came to NC State, I started with my involvement in the Leadership and Civic Engagement Office, and it started with the Leaders for Change Program. With that program, I was responsible, along with two other people, for coordinating programs that were related to the social justice issues that we were passionate about, such as education and race poverty. I was able to serve the NC State community by putting on a bunch of programs targeted towards these issues, and the average turnouts for these programs were about 20 to 30 people, just engaging in conversations that would not otherwise be had if there was not a safe space for those to happen. In addition to that, I also reactivated the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) on campus, which was inactive for four years prior to me coming and getting it started. For me, that is a really big contribution, because it has taken a lot of hard work, and it has definitely helped to knit this community together and bridge the gap between different organizations that serve multicultural organizations at NC State.

T: How have you been a leader at NC State?

MM: One of the major ways I’ve shown leadership that is consistent throughout all of my involvements is through being intentional in the things I choose to participate in. Right now, I am currently still serving as president of the NAACP, I work at member services for Wellness and Recreation, I am an Alternative Service Break team leader, I am doing research for the political science department and I am still a Chancellor’s Aide. I have had multiple positions with new student programs where I have been able to work one-on-one with incoming freshmen, transfer students and international students through the Summer Start Program, and just being able to mentor them and share those experiences that I have had already was awesome. The Alternative Service Break program has allowed me to give back by connecting with students that I wouldn’t otherwise come into contact with on campus and challenge them to open their minds and figure out what they are passionate about and how they can impact the community as well.

T: What do you hope to accomplish now that you are Leader of the Pack?

MM: One of my biggest goals as Leader of the Pack is to inspire others to take risks for the sake of their futures and the futures of others, and to teach others around me that anything is possible. It is very important to me that the things I have done don’t just end with me, but that they are passed on so that others can reap the benefits. I really want to focus on creating a legacy that can continue to live at NC State after my undergraduate career is over.

T: What are you going to do as Leader of the Pack to engage with students and foster a stronger community at NC State?

MM: I want to inspire students, through what I am doing and how I am leading, to continue to do things that are out of the ordinary for them, to challenge themselves, to become leaders and to find the leader in them because I believe that everyone does have that leadership potential in them. I really hope to lead by example and to mentor as many people as I possibly can before my time here at NC State is up, so that one day the people that I’ve come in contact with can say that I have had an impact on them and they have been able to learn from me the things that I have learned from faculty, students and staff here.

DAVID TRACEY/TECHNICIAN Malasia McClendon, a third-year studying political science, wins Leader of the Pack on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Carter-Finley Stadium. A firstgeneration college student, McClendon is the president of the NC State chapter of NAACP and participates in many other campus groups and services.

“I want to inspire students through what I am doing and how I am leading to continue to do things that are out of the ordinary for them”