NC GOP Caucus Turns Nasty, Preys on Ignorance

 

Ricky Hurtado is the only Hispanic member of the NCHouse, representing HD63. Against considerable odds in 2020, Hurtado flipped this seat from red to blue, the only House seat to flip to Democrats in 2020. The Republican incumbent he beat, Steve Ross, was a country-club establishment, former Wells Fargo executive who has nevertheless gone full Trumpist in his attempt to retake his seat from Hurtado this year.

A photoshopped photo of Hurtado was mailed to voters in HD63 with his T-shirt altered to "Defund the Police," a nasty smear of a good man. I was first alerted to this by Sen. Jeff Jackson.

Not sure whose name is on the "Paid for by" disclaimer (assuming there is one), but Carolina Forward says it's the NC House Republican caucus cooking up this lying shit with dough from a dark-money PAC, @joinclc.

 They did one on Rep. Terence Everitt in HD35 (and no telling who else).

It's their identity as a political party. It's in their DNA.

Yates-Lockamy in House District 46

The North Carolina Free Enterprise Foundation (Jonathan Kappler, really) currently lists 14 NC House seats as "competitive." Five of those seats are already held by Democrats. The other nine are currently held by Republicans, though two of them are now technically "open seats" because the Republican incumbent had planned to go fishing next year.

I've already written about several of the Democrats running for those Republican-held seats:

Ron Wesson (two days ago), District 1

Joe Sam Queen (scroll down), District 119

Terence Everitt (scroll down -- with a primary opponent), District 35

Sydney Batch, District 37

Erica McAdoo (scroll down), District 63

Julie von Haefen, District 36


Three others of the 14 districts will have Democratic primaries (including District 35, where Terence Everitt is running), and I've a hill to climb yet researching those races, as some candidates don't have a web presence. The same deficiency goes for a couple of other Democrats without primaries who haven't yet made it onto Watauga Watch (District 46 and 51). Until today.

Barbara Yates-Lockamy

Democrat Barbara Yates-Lockamy, running against a Republican incumbent named Jones in District 46.

District 46 now carves out a crescent on the eastern side of Robeson County and dips south toward the coast along the South Carolina border to take in the western side of Columbus County. It cuts out Pembroke (and its university) and clearly jerks east to keep away from Lumberton. (Looks like the map-drawer had a sudden sneezing fit.) Columbus County has over a dozen little towns and hamlets, the largest of which is Whiteville. But otherwise -- with Lumberton eliminated -- district 46 is a district without a large metropolitan magnet.

Barbara Yates-Lockamy is since 2010 a member of the Columbus County Board of Education (currently serving as chair, and she's an honorary member of the All-State School Board) and is prominent throughout the region. She serves on the Board of Directors of the NC Caucus of Black School Board Members, and in 2013 she was elected to the Board of Directors of the North Carolina School Board Association. On the Columbus Board of Education she co-exists with an otherwise all-male, all-white board. 

She lives in the county seat of Whiteville. When she was vice chair of the Columbus County Board in 2017, she supported the consolidation of Columbus County Schools with the Whiteville City Schools: "approximately 75-percent of Columbus County and Whiteville City schools facilities are over 50 years old and a gradual decline in enrollment has emphasized the need to consolidate."

The Board of Education of Whiteville City Schools fought the consolidation hard. "Whiteville City Schools Superintendent Charles Garland says the merger would not save money and would reduce state funding. Last week, Garland told [a reporter for WWAY-TV] it would be a significant loss of state dollars coming in to a poor economic county."

The opponents of consolidation went to their Republican General Assembly members, who told them that consolidation was ultimately in the hands of the seven-member county Board of Commissioners, only one of which represents Whiteville in their seven-district plan. Whiteville is feeling put upon and under-represented, and Yates-Lockamy putatively represents Whiteville on the Columbus County School Board. The school consolidation vote probably hurts her -- maybe -- with some of her base. It's curious -- in all the local press coverage of consolidation, Yates-Lockamy is never quoted. She's either very silent or simply ignored.

So far, Yates-Lockamy has no campaign infrastructure -- no Facebook, no website, no other social media at all. Someone needs to help her out.

More New Hopes on the Horizon

Marcia Morgan, running in the 19th NC House District

Marcia Morgan

District includes Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, Wrightsville Beach and parts of Wilmington, all within New Hanover County

Incumbent Republican: Ted Davis Jr., an attorney, originally appointed to the seat in 2012 and reelected to the office since then without Democratic opposition. The most that can be said about him is that he's a seat-warmer who votes as he's told by the bosses.

Democrat Marcia Morgan was an educator, became a career Army officer who retired as a colonel. She taught ROTC and did two tours at the Pentagon including a staff position with the Army Chief of Staff. She says, "I have thoroughly enjoyed retirement and the freedom to do as I please, but the current political environment has challenged me to step forward once again. I do not have a background in politics, but I DO have a strong sense of service to this community and a demonstrated ability to accomplish difficult tasks. I believe we have a commitment to improve our economy, provide equal opportunities for all and protect our environment – and one of the fundamental ways to accomplish those things is through quality education."

If you would like to contribute to Marcia Morgan's campaign: https://www.electmarciamorgan.com/contact

Terence Everitt, running in the 35th NC House District

Terence Everitt

District includes the town of Wake Forest and some northeastern suburbs of Wake County

Incumbent Republican: Chris Malone has served on the Wake Forest town board, the Wake County Board of Education, and was elected to his current seat in the GA in 2012. He was criticized for inventing a tax increase lie (rated by PolitiFact as "Pants on Fire") about his Democratic opponent in the 2016 election, Terence Everitt, who came very close to defeating Malone. Malone famously voted for HB2 and then famously sent out a mailer saying he didn't support it, and he even more famously had a notorious romantic affair with fellow Wake School Board member Debra Goldman which didn't end well. 

Democrat Terence Everitt is challenging Malone for the second time. He lost to Malone in 2016 by just under 3,000 votes. Everitt is a Wake Forest attorney. In 2016, Everitt's top campaign issue was school funding: "We need to fully fund our public schools and pay our teachers a salary that is at a minimum at the national average. Mr. Malone has voted time and again to underfund our schools. Many of our teachers are working two jobs to make ends meet or even leaving the state to find work for better pay. North Carolina has fallen to among the lowest in the nation in per-pupil spending and teacher pay. And yet, year after year, Mr. Malone has voted for budgets that do not adequately fund our local schools -- all while cutting taxes for large out-of- state corporations and millionaires."

Note: Everitt will have at least one Democratic opponent in next May's primary -- Adam Wright, a business entrepreneur (and may the best candidate come out on top!).

If you want to contribute to Terence Everitt's campaign, here's the link (https://act.myngp.com/Forms/8665933539777187328).

Ayoub Ouederni, running in the 105th NC House District

Ayoub Ouederni

District includes neighborhoods in south Charlotte and the towns of Pineville and Weddington

Incumbent Republican: Scott Stone, who was an unsuccessful Charlotte mayoral candidate and who got appointed to the NC House seat in May of 2016 and won his first election in November of 2016. In other words, Stone doesn't have much of a record in the House but appears to be a dutiful foot-soldier for the bosses.

Democrat Ayoub Ouederni is a Charlotte native and is a recent graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill where he was the president of the UNC Muslim Students Association. He would be one of the youngest members of the General Assembly. He became a very outspoken opponent of Trump's Muslim ban last year. Ayoub says, "Our great State has always been home. It has given me my happiest memories, provided me with unparalleled opportunity, and I am forever indebted to my fellow North Carolinians for striving to make this the best state in the Nation. However, we have slowly lost our status as the beacon of the South. Seeing the deterioration of our state institutions has been disheartening. From lowballing our public school teachers and refusing Medicaid expansion, to politicizing our judiciary and disenfranchising minority communities, the state legislature in Raleigh -- the General Assembly -- has refused to set aside partisanship to pursue policies that improve the lives of North Carolinians. I am running for the General Assembly because we need thoughtful leadership and an injection of fresh, new ideas into our politics. Our elected officials must embody our core values of dignity, equality, and respect, and carry the burden that is entrusted onto them with honor and a sense of duty. We need a General Assembly that works proactively to improve the lives of our citizens and strengthen our State."

If you would like to contribute to Ayoub Ouederni, here's your link: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ouederni