The After Life of Kirk deViere

 

March 8th, 2022. Gov. Roy Cooper stirred the turgid waters of political insiderdom by injecting himself publicly in a Democratic primary for a Cumberland County Senate seat. District 19 was held by Democrat Kirk deViere, who'd been elected in the Blue Wave of 2018 and who was suddenly in 2022 facing two primary opponents, one of whom -- Val Applewhite -- Roy Cooper endorsed and praised. (The primary in 2022 was on May 17th.) It was obvious to every Democratic operative everywhere that Cooper wanted shed of deViere.

And he succeeded in shedding him. Kirk deViere lost his primary that May. Val Applewhite went on to win the Nov. 2022 election and was recently reelected. 

What did Cooper have against deViere? Went back in the archives and found what I wrote at the time:

A sitting Democratic governor gets himself publicly involved in a Democratic primary by sticking a stiletto between the ribs of a sitting Democratic state senator. I know this sort of thing goes on all the time behind the scenes, but Cooper decided to go public. Val Applewhite was only too happy to publish the endorsement on her Twitter feed.

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan attempts to unpack the politics behind this surprise development (posted to the News and Observer last night). The implications point to deViere's willingness to agree with Senate Republicans on some budget issues, particularly on expanding Medicaid and school funding, and those are precisely the two issues Cooper highlighted in his endorsement of Applewhite: "I need legislators who will expand Medicaid [and] pay teachers more...." DeViere's appointment to the Republican budget conference committee, which put him in direct negotiation with the governor's office, may have triggered the governor's spite.

December 3, 2024. Kirk deViere was back in my newsfeed for staging a pretty gutsy coup and taking over the Cumberland County Commission and getting to be Chair right off the bat and instantly. DeViere just won his seat on the Commission (top vote-getter) last month. (He had previously served one term on the Fayetteville City Council and had run twice unsuccessfully for Mayor of Fayetteville.) He ran this year in a field of 6. The top three take seats. DeViere is a Democrat, but No. 2 behind him was Pavan Patel and No. 3 was Henry Tyson -- both Republicans -- who were already probably teamed with deViere to recruit one additional vote (eventually from Democrat Veronica Jones) to overturn the dictatorship of an Old Guard of powerful, long-serving Democrats. (Among those pushed to the curb was a former chair -- a Black woman -- and a Latino organizer and activist.) The election seems to have hinged on pro-growth and pro-business policies, The insurgents are all young, bright-eyed enthusiasts for opening all doors and cupboards to commercial investment. They were running against a Commission grown unresponsive and sluggish. Previously serving Republicans complained that their severe minority status on the Board rendered them totally powerless to redirect resources and grants to "economic development" (a slippery term that implies deals of all sorts and deal-making not necessarily in the full light of day). The sole two Republican incumbents on the Board opted out of running again in 2024, so frustrated had they become by Democratic inertia. The old Democratic power seemed slow or uninterested. 

Dec. 3rd, when he became Chair
of the Cumerland County Commission

So former Senator Kirk deViere, a businessman and Florida native with an advertising agency and an eye for real estate development, along with the very successful real estate entrepreneur Pavan Patel and the commercial real estate broker Henry Tyson, built something of a wave to win their seats (though all six candidates finished with less than a thousand votes separating them), radically changing the direction of Cumberland County government. The trio of deViere, Patel, and Tyson on December 3rd recruited the vote of veteran commission member (and Democrat) Veronica Jones to get the 4-3 bipartisan majority to elect deViere Chair, kicking out of power the old Democratic Chair, a Faircloth of Cumberland. It made the papers.

The deViere insurgency was apparently no small surprise to Cumberland County. Cumberland has been a dependable Democratic stronghold, anchored by Fayetteville and Fayetteville State University, with pretty much a Democratic monopoly on local government. DeViere had the sparkle of bright prospects in his pitch to voters -- of government wide open for business. His website is pretty explicit: "I will work to streamline regulations, provide incentives for small businesses, and ensure adequate resources are available, fostering a robust business climate...." I consider that the confession of a deal-maker. 

The North Carolina "Seven": New Black Sheriffs Elected Last Tuesday

Paula Dance, Pitt County

Paula Dance, Pitt County, became the first African-American female sheriff in the state of North Carolina and only the fifth in the entire country. She was already a major in the sheriff's office, running for an open seat. She has 28 years of law enforcement experience, 26 of those in the Pitt County department.

Quentin Miller, Buncombe County, 25-year veteran of the Asheville Police Dept., won with over 61% of the vote against both a Republican and a Libertarian. It too was an open seat, and the Libertarian had been jailed on a stalking charge in September.

Ennis Wright, Cumberland County, was already serving as an appointed sheriff following the retirement of a fellow Democrat. Wright won on Tuesday with more than 63% of the vote.

Bobby Kimbrough Jr., Forsyth County, defeated 5-term Republican incumbent Bill Schatzman with 53% of the vote. Kimbrough is a retired agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration. “People are ready for change,” Kimbrough said. “This race wasn’t about me, and it wasn’t about him [Schatzman]. It’s about building some bridges.”

Gerald Baker, Wake County, "in a stunning upset," defeated 4-term Sheriff Donnie Harrison. The 55-45 winning margin made it doubly stunning. Baker had worked for the Wake County Sheriff's Department for 28 years, 15 of those under Harrison. Harrison had partnered in and defended a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program that meant transferring people to federal custody who have been arrested and were believed to be in the U.S. illegally. Baker was critical of the program.

Danny Rogers, in Guilford County, ended the 24-year reign of Sheriff B J Barnes, a politician so powerful he was considered unbeatable. (That was Monday. Wednesday, people were thinking otherwise.) Rogers took 53% of the vote.

Clarence Birkhead, in Durham County, had virtually won the office back in the primary, taking some 69% of the vote against an unpopular white incumbent, and faced only write-in votes last Tuesday.