Mayors' races in the bigger cities across North Carolina on Tuesday saw Democrats scurrying to victory. Some Democratic operatives are tagging it as a repudiation of the extreme and unpopular positions the Republicans are taking at the state level. That was certainly the reason that some Democrats in Charlotte cited for choosing Democrat Patrick Cannon over Republican Edwin Peacock. Some said they voted straight-ticket Democratic though they thought a moderate Peacock would be the better choice, and in another time would have split their votes.
It was the "fool-me-once, fool-me-twice" scenario that gave them pause, they said. They supported Pat McCrory for governor under the impression he would be a moderate but that didn't turn out to be the case, they said. Peacock, who also had a moderate background on city council and who claimed he'd be the same as mayor, probably hurt his cause in their eyes when what some call N.C.'s version of Ted Cruz, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, joined Peacock at a Charlotte rally last month.
But in another race for mayor where the Democrat ousted a Republican, Greensboro News and Record columnist Doug Clark wasn't buying the notion that Republican extremism at the state level played a role. He wrote on Tuesday:
"'NC Voters Punish Republicans for Actions of Tillis’ Fringe Legislature' is the tag line on an email from the North Carolina Democratic Party tonight. Greensboro voters probably don't realize they were doing any such thing. And, they weren't."
The rest of the short piece said:
"Voters punished Republicans for the fringe actions of the state legislature tonight, handing Democrats victories in key mayoral races," the Dems said in their news release. "Democrats unseated a Republican incumbent in Greensboro, held a hotly contested open seat in Charlotte, and retained key Democratic mayorships across North Carolina."
Note to state Democratic Party: Greensboro's city elections are nonpartisan.
Furthermore, the mayoral race here had absolutely nothing to do with any of the "fringe actions of the state legislature." Nothing to do with school funding, voting law changes, abortion, you name it. It was all about local issues.
True, Nancy Vaughan is a Democrat and Robbie Perkins is a Republican.
The funny thing is that Perkins carried heavily Democratic east Greensboro with its large black population, while Vaughan won the rest of the city, including its most Republican precincts.
So the N.C. Democratic Party is all wrong in its analysis.
Well, analysis is not the right word. Its propaganda. And it doesn't work."
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Did N.C. legislative actions affect mayors' races?
How N.C. Republicans' controversial actions at the state level played into local races is clearly up for debate. Maybe it will be next year's U.S. Senate races that will tell the story in clearer fashion as to the impact.
- Associate Editor Fannie Flono
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8 comments:
I would agree that most city elections are non-partison, so to say that Dems won these mayor races because they were Dems doesn't work because there was no "D" next to any of those names.
However, for Charlotte, I would say yes, the Raleigh legislators and Govenor did the city Republicans no favors this election. Especially since Charlotte does a partison election, it is real easy for people to align with one party over the other. It should really serve as a warning to the state legislators, because unless they improve their image, those super-majorites they enjoy will disappear after 2014.
I certainly voted straight ticket. I was and am totally opposed to what Pat and his tea bagging cronies are doing to MY state of NC. So, yes, I was influenced. I can't trust a "moderate" republican anymore...
Ahhh... this one is by Fannie.
Of course she would NEVER title this article:
"Did the failure of Obamacare to Launch affect Races Nationwide?"
McAuliffe outspent his opponent 10 to one in Virginia and Peacock held his own in a town where many voters only have enough IQ to pull one lever.
Obamacare is going to be the undoing of Democrats in the next elections and it's already started.
Let's hope Obamacare can be derailed by then so the country doesn't go into the toilet where it is currently heading.
Weak attempt at spin. Flarrogant Flono should seek professional help to deal with her obsession with the NCGA.
Here's the only rule for CLT citywide politics:
Black Democrat = win
This race was closer than most "experts" thought it would be. And had there been a "backlash" turnout would have been much higher than 18%, considering that > 75% of voters are registered non-Republican.
Also voters are smart enough to know that the City Council was going to retain a Democrat super-majority, meaning that a Mayor Peacock would have had zero leverage on substantive policy issues (as opposed to the situation in Raleigh where a bipartisan supermajority is needed to overturn a McCrory veto).
Garth Vader, the Governor's vetos can be override with only 3/5 in each chamber; which Republican legislators have. So there is no bipartisan supermajority needed.
Oh this is a puzzle, who would have thought the large cities would have voted in democrats.
Why if you look at the map of Charlotte you will see that you really have three Charlottes.
One North, One South and then the one which everyone takes care of.
I am one who thinks Peacock was a better candidate but was unwilling to take the risk after watching Turncoat Pat McCrory do things to Charlotte that as its mayor he would have howled in protest about. The NC GOP has gone off the rails. They need to earn back the trust of the people.
Are there wackos in the GOP? Yep, just like in the New Hypocrisy Party.
But what's worse than people getting all ginned up over Ted Cruz and a few others is that while they are scared to death by those few, Obama and New Hypocrisy Democrats are flushing this country down the toilet.
They don't even have to ask you to bend over because you're too busybeing scared of Pat McCrory and enabling the flushing.
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