Lessons in Chapel Hill?

Interesting breakdown of the highly charged struggle going on in Chapel Hill over development. The election tomorrow may see a wholesale turnover in mayor and city council, putative "progressives" who have allowed denser and taller building at the cost of evaporating support from the voters.

Supporters of the insurgent candidates in Chapel Hill "say the town is trading its longtime values for any development it can get, no matter the cost to residents from increased traffic, stormwater or added government services."

What's the biggest difference between Chapel Hill and Boone? There's no constant threat of a "local bill" in the General Assembly hanging over Chapel Hill.

Gov. McCrory Attacks Liberal Arts Education

Gov. McCrory

We're only weeks into the McCrory administration and already we have one of those quotes that's going to haunt him until Judgment Day. On Bill Bennett's radio show, McCrory attacked liberal arts courses, particularly at UNC-Chapel Hill and especially "gender studies."

"If you want to take gender studies that's fine. Go to a private school and take it. But I don't want to subsidize that if that's not going to get someone a job," McCrory said. He said that he had instructed his staff on Monday to draft legislation that would change how much state money universities and community colleges receive -- "not based on how many butts in seats but how many of those butts can get jobs."

Almost immediately -- well, in fact, immediately -- #buttsinseats began trending on Twitter. Don't know how many of the butts in gender studies can get jobs, but we know one huge butt that became governor of North Carolina.

Attacking college professors is one of the easiest jobs a bully can pick for himself. A college professor is like a 19th-century "tenderfoot" blundering into a Wild West saloon for people like McCrory. "Let's make 'im dance a little," says old Pat McCrory, drawing his six-shooter.

Don't know what Pat McCrory majored in, and don't really care. But he appears to have kept the blinders on: "If it don't get me a job, it ain't worth my time." That's the McCrory doctrine. Which is a serious misunderstanding of what higher education can achieve, as well as a butt-headed "huh huh huh" about anyone not similarly short-sighted. It was also a declaration of war on UNC-Chapel Hill, which is certainly what we're looking for in a thoroughly modern governor of North Carolina.

Don't know what Pat McCrory's college major was in, but we know Bill Bennett's ... political philosophy.

Great is the God Irony!

FOOTNOTE
Hattip: LO.

Jason deBruyn, writing in the Triangle Business Journal this morning, demolishes The Guv's argument with simple statistics:

In North Carolina, the overall unemployment rate still hovers above 9 percent, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, those with a bachelor’s degree or higher have an unemployment rate below 4 percent. 

Conversely, for those with less than a high school diploma, the unemployment rate is 11.7 percent, three times higher than the rate with a bachelor’s degree.

ADDENDUM
McCrory was a political science and education major.

Almost immediately after McCrory finished his interview with Bennett, his flacks were trying to mend the damage: "This was not meant to be a personal attack on UNC,” spokeswoman Crystal Feldman said. “Gov. McCrory did not mean to tarnish UNC’s reputation.”

Yeah, right.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/01/29/3820186/mccrory-wants-to-revamp-higher.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/01/29/3820186/mccrory-wants-to-revamp-higher.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy

North Carolina Round-Up

Where was the celebrated Republican/conservative resurgence in North Carolina yesterday? Nowhere much.

Charlotte
...elected its first Democratic mayor in 22 years, Anthony Foxx (no relation), pictured left, and increased the Democratic majority on the city council to eight out of 11 seats.

Asheville
Progressives swept the election. Mayor Terry Bellamy was reelected for a second term, and liberal Democrats Esther Manheimer, Gordon Smith, and Cecil Bothwell won council seats, beating two-term incumbent Republican Carl Mumpower, who ran such a weird campaign against Heath Shuler in the NC-11 last year. Both Smith and Bothwell are well known local bloggers.

Chapel Hill
The N&O summarized this race succinctly: "The liberal establishment held off a band of businessmen trying to change the town's course." So Chapel Hill has a new mayor, Mark Kleinschmidt, and the developers took only one of four available seats on the town council. Shades of Boone's Templetons: The pro-business candidates "were being influenced heavily by a specific group of developers, and I think in the end that backfired on them," said the top vote-getter, Penny Rich (love that name!).

Winston-Salem
Big reelection win for Dan Besse after "a sometimes-heated campaign" against Republican challenger Ted Shipley. Wish I'd been following this one! Dan is a personal hero of ours. Looks like a Democratic sweep otherwise in Tobacco City.

Durham
Democratic incumbents trounced their challengers, though the top vote-getter among the losers, a Libertarian, crowed that his 27% of the vote was a personal best for him and a sign of great things coming in the future.

Greensboro
The major bright spot statewide for the GOP. The mayor and city council turned over to Republican control. Mark Binker discusses it here.