After SPIN! - "Should the Legislature stop meddling in local elections?"
Published March 19, 2015
After SPIN! - "Question to Howard Lee: We’ve talking on NC SPIN about legislation to change the way the City of Greensboro elects members to the City Council. Now the legislature is considering changing the way Wake County elects members of the County Board of Commissioners. Recently Governor McCrory said he thought the legislature should stop meddling in local elections. Legislators say municipalities are creations of the state and they have the authority to make these changes but many say it is being considered because Greensboro and Wake County have governing bodies controlled by Democrats. As a former Mayor of Chapel Hill do you agree with the Governor?"
March 19, 2015 at 8:32 am
Richard L Bunce says:
The State Legislature creates the State Chartered Municipal Corporations and has an responsibility to oversee their creation to assure that it does not exceed the very limited powers it has been given by the State. The State has generally done a poor job of oversight and needs to do far more. Being for limited government does not mean local government can do whatever it wants. Limited government applies to all levels of government and when government creates more government it has an obligation to strictly constrain it's creation. This is not the same as the relationship between the Federal and State government as the States created the Federal government and the powers of the States are secured by the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution.
