VOLUME 4 ISSUE 30
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2019
Sports App State heads to Chapel Hill for in-state battle
ROBERT CLARK | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Rep. Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) and Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett) speak during a Senate committee hearing on redistricting and elections on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019.
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
Tillis highlights Trump in first re-election bid ad Washington, D.C. U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis’ first ad for his re-election campaign emphasizes an endorsement from President Donald Trump and immigration-related legislation that he has filed. The Republican incumbent’s campaign unveiled on Tuesday the television commercial airing statewide that includes footage from a Trump rally in which he calls Tillis “a warrior.” Trump also mentions legislation that Tillis introduced that in part would allow crime victims to sue localities whose law enforcement agency won’t accept federal immigration detainers. The Tillis campaign announced last week it has already scheduled over $2 million in advertising through the March 3 primary. Retired investment company firm executive Garland Tucker is challenging Tillis for the GOP nomination.
Duke Energy plans to invest more in renewable power Charlotte Duke Energy says it plans to invest heavily in renewable energy and natural gas powered plants to further reduce its carbon emissions by 2030. The utility said Tuesday it plans to double its portfolio of solar, wind and other renewable power sources by 2025 and speed up its move away from coal power as part of the plan. The utility says it now expects to cut its 2005 levels of carbon emissions in half by 2030.
Bishop, Murphy sworn into US House Washington, D.C. Two Republicans who triumphed in special elections were sworn into the U.S. House on Tuesday. Dan Bishop and Greg Murphy will bring the House to full strength, if only for a few days. A lawmaker from Wisconsin has said he will relinquish his office next week. For now, the new additions will leave Democrats controlling the chamber by 235-199, plus one independent. If that margin doesn’t change, that means the GOP will need to gain 19 seats in the 2020 elections to recapture House control, a surge that will be difficult.
NORTH
General Assembly stays on track to adopt new legislative maps
JOURNaL
Court-ordered process called transparent by both sides
STATE ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
GOP veto override leaves questions about Democrat strategy Democrats protested but might have missed parliamentary opportunity to stop the vote to override Gov. Cooper’s budget veto By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — Following Democratic Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of the state’s budget, House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) made it clear that if a veto override opportunity presented itself, he would take it. And on Sept. 11, Moore did just that. The House overrode the governor’s veto over objections from Rep. Deb Butler (D-New Hanover), who claimed it was announced the day prior that the morning session would have “no votes.” That assertion would be repeated later by Rep. Darren Jackson (D-Wake) and reported by media outlets. However, Jackson confirmed at a press conference that his “staff sent out a notice to my caucus telling them that were having some planning meetings this morning; we were having a meeting at 8 o’clock to prepare for House Finance at 9, we were having a House Democrat redistricting meeting at 9 to prepare for redistricting at 10.” When asked in an interview on Sept. 16, Rep. Butler stood by her claim that no votes were to be taken at the morning ses-
sion and she rejected the idea that there had been some kind of miscommunication. “No, we were lied to and told there would be no votes in the morning session,” Butler told North State Journal. “The chairman of the Rules Committee told our leader that very clearly and also texted it to Laura Leslie.” WRAL published text messages between Rules Committee Chair Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett) and WRAL reporter Laura Leslie which appear to show Lewis responding to Leslie’s question of whether the house would have a voting session at 8:30 on Wednesday with “No votes at 830.” Just over half of the House was in attendance on Sept. 11 — 55 Republicans and 15 Democrats, including Butler. Thirty-nine Democrats were marked as not voting. Democratic members who were in attendance included nine-term Rep. Becky Carney (D-Meck.) and fourterm Rep. Yvonne Lewis Holley (D-Wake) and nine freshman Democrats. Another part of the veto override that gained attention were claims made by Butler regarding map drawing. “We are downstairs right now trying to redraw partisan heavy voting maps,” said Rep. Butler during her protest of the vote on the House Floor. When asked to clarify those See BUDGET, page A3
By Gary D. Robertson The Associated Press RALEIGH — Facing a deadline this week, the North Carolina legislature stayed on track to enact replacement districts for dozens of its seats on time. Showing bipartisan support, the full Senate voted 38-9 on Monday evening for new chamber districts in 20 of the state’s 100 counties, most in the state’s urban centers. The House already approved a new map late last week that reworked boundaries in 28 counties.
Both sets of maps must be approved by both chambers by Wednesday to comply with a state court ruling that declared 2017 boundaries violated the state constitution. A three-judge panel ruled Sept. 3 that Republicans improperly used partisanship to draw state legislative districts. Earlier Monday, many of the more than 50 speakers at a joint House-Senate public hearing about the proposed district lines said the process has improved over the past but remained split on whether the replacement maps are any better than the old gerrymandered ones. “You are participating in the most transparent redistricting proSee REDISTRICTING page A2
Cherokee elect Sneed as chief Previously installed as chief in 2017 after predecessor’s removal By David Larson North State Journal CHEROKEE — Richard Sneed was elected to a four-year term as the principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on Sept. 5, a position he has held for the past two years after the previous chief, Patrick Lambert, was removed on corruption charges. Sneed defeated Teresa McCoy, an ally of the ousted Lambert, receiving 55% of the total vote. “I came into office the worst possible way — following an impeachment,” Sneed told North State Journal in an interview. “Nobody wants to come into office this way; I can assure you.” Sneed said he wanted to move on from what he called “a really dark time” for the tribe. “It was the most divisive event that I know of that has ever happened in our tribe over the last 50-75 years. But that’s one of the things I worked on when I came into office was to try to bring unity and stability.” Sneed was born to a father who was a tribal member and a mother who was not. They divorced when he was young, and his mother raised See CHEROKEE, page A2