Political Notes (From All Over)

1. Buncombe County state Senator Terry Van Duyn, who came in second in the crowded Democratic primary field for lieutenant governor, has announced that she won't request a run-off against state House representative Yvonne Holley of Wake County, who came in first but failed to get the 30% to avoid a run-off. Five strong and diverse candidates ran in that primary and fragmented the vote accordingly.

Getting to know Holley, I crib this profile from PamsPicks.net (minus all the active links):

Holley announced her candidacy on February 27, 2019. She’s a Baby Boomer born in 1952. She grew up in Wake County, was a front-line elementary student in the desegregation of the Raleigh school system, excelled and went to Howard University. She spent her entire working career in state government, retiring as a state procurement and contract agent. She ran for and easily won her seat in the NC House (District 38) in 2012 and has never gotten less than 79.9% of the vote in any of her reelections. 

Holley has not been “a mover and a shaker” in the House. She represents an older style of politician — reverent of institutions, a calming presence, standing respectfully but with a spine made of hardened steel. She’s very much in the moderate tradition of her father, J.D. Lewis, the first African-American TV broadcaster in the Raleigh/Durham market and Director of Minority Affairs for WRAL-TV (which had also been the editorial home until 1972 of one Jesse Helms). J.D. Lewis “is remembered today as having contributed significantly to the positive dialogue between polarized sectors during an epic time in the nation’s history” (Holley’s website). 

Her Campaign: Holley states a platform of affordable housing, economic development, food security, reliable public transportation, and strong support for public education. She offers a too barebones website (which unaccountably doesn’t provide links to her Facebook and Twitter accounts), but she makes a good video impression and should do more.

2.  Last Saturday at the Watauga County Republican Party convention, Karen Lerch resigned as chair of the Watauga GOP one year into her two-year term. The resignation appears to have come as a surprise to the party. She announced her resignation "at the end of the event," and the vice chair, Melissa Searcy, did not take over the chairmanship:

Nathan Miller, N.C. GOP Fifth District representative, said that at the March meeting of the Watauga County Republican Party, people can send their nominees to the party’s executive committee, then they will likely be voted on. Miller said that depending on the “executive committee’s prerogative,” the final vote could be held off until April. (Watauga Democrat)

Judging from the report in the local newspaper, the Watauga GOP will be making a major push for the AppState student vote: "John Moncrieff, president of the ASU chapter of Turning Point USA, said that most college students are apolitical and that the Republicans need to reach out to them. Moncfieff also that he and his group will hit ASU hard with 'Trump flags everywhere' in the next year."

Trump flags everywhere. Yeah. That'll do the trick.

Turning Point USA, incidentally, is a far right org aimed at turning the mushy heads of college students toward the charms of fossil fuels and the National Rifle Association. The Anti-Defamation League refers to it as an "alt-lite" organization. Its leaders mainly operate by stirring up outrage at "liberal excesses" like Black Lives Matter and #metoo.


3. Have you heard? Trump continues to twist the knife in poor Jeff Sessions' back. Trump has endorsed Tommy Tuberville for the US Senate in the upcoming Republican senatorial primary run-off in Alabama. Tuberville finished first in the primary with 33.4% of the vote to Sessions' 31.6%. They're both vying for the nomination to face Democratic Senator Doug Jones.

Poor Sessions! He's been reassuring Alabamians that he's a loyal Trumpist even while Trump continues to disdain him. Just how much groveling are Republicans willing to do in the autocracy they've created?

Has Anyone Seen the Watauga Republican Party?

Curious-er and curious-er.

The Watauga Republican Party held its annual county convention last Saturday -- with Virginia Foxx as featured speaker -- but have you seen one peep about it in any news media? There's nothing on their Facebook page. Their website -- http://www.wataugarepublicans.com -- is just plain disappeared.

After speaking at the convention, Foxx fled Boone for her mountaintop aerie rather than step down the street to the tea-and-cookies reception held in her honor by High Country Forward, which actually had more people in attendance than were at the Republican convention.

Photo Ken Ketchie, High Country Press

Photo Ken Ketchie

But what happened at the Republican convention? Since there's a press blackout, we have to turn to what sources we can find, and what we find is this:

Anne Marie Yates refused to run for another term as chair. Apparently, no one wanted to be chair, so they nominated and elected someone who wasn't even present: Karen Lerch. She ran (unsuccessfully) in 2016 for County Commission against John Welch. Now she's head of the party. We assume someone's told her.

Will David Blust et al. Run as "Nathan Miller Republicans"?

Reading about County Commission Chair Nathan Miller's vindictiveness toward Watauga County Schools and seeing that Commissioners David Blust and Perry Yates were nothing but bobble-heads in agreement with the Miller agenda raise a question about the November elections in Watauga County.

Does the local GOP intend to run on the Miller record and uphold the Miller philosophy?

Where does Karen Lerch stand on Nathan Millerism? She has been overheard to say that she hasn't even studied the "issues" yet, but a moment of truth approaches for her.

What about Jimmy Hodges?

Commissioner David Blust has departed from Millerism at times, especially (and most recently) on the quickie deal engineered by County Attorney Four Eggers that would have given the town of Beech Mountain access to Watauga River water. And on that other scheme to build a commercial business park on Hwy 194. Political considerations (that is, reality) overruled Blust's usual party-line kowtowing to Miller on those votes. Otherwise, Blust is generally in complete and serene agreement with his chair.

As it's been Nathan Millerism that has dominated actions and attitudes for the last two years on the Watauga County Commission, this upcoming County Commission election is likely to be a referendum on a man who is in the process of being involuntarily sidelined from political office because of his personality, his political philosophy, and his character.

Remarkable Numbers

Bald Mountain precinct still outstanding, but it's clear that at least 1,000 more Republican ballots were voted today than Democratic in Watauga, yet the three progressive School Board candidates finished first, second, and fourth among the six who are surviving the primary.

Those numbers have got to put some people back on their heels ... like me!

In other similarly amazing news, Supreme Court Associate Justice Robin Hudson appears to be leading state-wide in that outside-money-bashing judicial race.

Karen Lerch is leading Matt Klutz by a very slim margin in that Republican County Commission primary, which says something about the weakness in the mainstream Republican Party in Watauga.

On the other hand, Miller is leading Springer in Watauga in the district attorney race, but Springer appears to be way ahead in the whole district.

Republican Primary Contests in Watauga County

Don't you just love it when Congresswoman Virginia Foxx brags! At a Republican banquet last Saturdaynight in Statesville, Foxx said, "There is no division in the Republican Party. I consider myself a member of the TEA party, and we are all members of the TEA party, Taxed Enough Already."

I believe that she also considers herself a member of the other Tea Party, the one that doesn't capitalize all the letters in "tea," but if she really believes there's no division in the Republican Party -- which she demonstrably does not, the old liar … oh never mind! It was an absurd statement on its face.

In Watauga, it looks very much like Tea v. Money, or in one case, maybe Tea v. Tea, but it certainly ain't kumbaya time around the old campfire. Even Virginia Foxx herself has a primary.

County Commissioner Race, Dist. 5

         Allen Trivette (R)

         Jimmy Hodges (R)

Former County Commissioner Allen Trivette is the very embodiment of Tea Party, while his primary opponent, former County Commissioner Jimmy Hodges, is the very embodiment of Chamber of Commerce money. The fact that Hodges was registered as a Democrat while he was on the County Commission years ago may play a role in this contest. The fact that Allen Trivette once actually suggested that the women parents of elementary school children could clean school buildings to save the county money may also play a role in this contest.

County Commissioner Race, Dist. 3

         Karen Lerch (R)

         Matt Klutz (R)

Karen Lerch is running with the apparent blessing of the local GOP. Matt Klutz, perhaps not so much. Judging from her Facebook posts, Karen Lerch is something of a "birther," believing that President Obama is a socialist from Kenya and needs to go back to Africa. Matt Klutz's father Tommy was a very conservative Blowing Rock Town Commissioner until the last election, but that doesn't necessarily define the son.

Watauga County Board of Education

Yes, there's a primary, and two of eight candidates will be eliminated. Five of the eight are either registered Republicans or have taken conservative stances on education, particularly on the subject of banning certain books from the classroom:

            Tiffany Christian

         Ron Henries

         Adam L. Trivette

         Jason Cornett

         Josh Kanoy

The best explanation for this piling on of conservative personnel is that the local GOP didn't do candidate recruitment, so someone is going to get thrown under the primary bus on May 6. Incumbert School Board member Ron Henries is the stand-out "moderate" in this group, comparatively so because of his recent vote not to ban Allende's House of the Spirits from sophomore Honors English classes. He may be in trouble if this primary attracts a plurality of far-right voters.