Does Cooper really want to compromise on HB2?

by Bill Wadford, op ed in Fayetteville Observer, March 22, 2017.

Will the real Roy Cooper please stand up on the HB2 compromise? Are you the governor of all the people of North Carolina or are you a highly partisan politician only interested in your party?

Now I can hear some of you screaming that Senate leader Phil Berger and others in the General Assembly are the ones who perpetrated HB2 on us. It may surprise many of you that I would not completely disagree with that statement. The problem with this line of thought is that it is only 50 percent correct.

The blame for our HB2 dispute does not solely lie with either Republicans or Democrats. Charlotte narrowly passed a highly partisan, politically inflammatory ordinance that exceeded its constitutional authority, based on a completely hypothetical premise. That being said, the General Assembly, in a knee-jerk response, passed a poorly thought-out law, HB2.

Big money on both sides of the debate poured into North Carolina. Some entertainers and the NCAA, NBA and the ACC made political decisions to use their considerable financial clout to punish and bully the people of the Old North State into submitting to a completely partisan solution and to push an accommodating politician over the top in the governor’s race.

There is considerable question as to whether the NCAA and ACC exceeded their charters as sports leagues with their actions. Several lawsuits are in the works on this very issue. That the NBA made such a statement is so hypocritical it should be a skit on SNL (back when it was funny). They routinely play in countries where the human rights abuses are real, not theoretical.

Roy Cooper is unquestioningly a very astute politician who rode this tide of manufactured outrage into the governorship. Gov. Pat McCrory was slow to respond to a well orchestrated campaign and far too loyal to members of his party who had made the legislative overreaction. By the time he began to respond, the damage to his campaign was done. Roy Cooper was elected by a thin margin, certainly no grand mandate.

That was then and this is now. We have a problem and the question is, what do we do about it? Neither side has been stellar in finding compromise. The Republicans proposed a “repeal yours and we’ll repeal ours” solution. Distrust on both sides in taking the first step, plus active behind-the-scenes manipulation of the Charlotte City Council by Cooper and a few influential Democrats, finished off that attempt. Relations between Charlotte and the legislature are so soured any advances on that front are extremely unlikely.

That puts the ball squarely in the General Assembly’s court.

Enter Rep. Chuck McGrady and House Bill 186. The News & Observer of Raleigh said, “Legislative leaders say the House bill repeal compromise proposed by Republican Rep. Chuck McGrady is the best shot at resolving the controversy that has cost North Carolina sporting events, corporate expansion and concerts.” The President and CEO of the N.C. Restaurant & Lodging Association, the N.C Chamber, N.C. Realtors and other industry leaders are encouraged by the HB 186 compromise efforts.

Gov. Cooper and some Democrats are opposing the compromise, saying they oppose the provision that would enable the people of a locality to hold referendums on local nondiscrimination ordinances. On first blush I would sarcastically say, oh the horror of citizens deciding city policy for themselves. On second thought, it actually isn’t a bad objection. Holding a referendum on every such action by a city council would be prohibitively expensive and paralyzing. It also would subject a political minority to the tyranny of the majority. Having a legislative filter in place is the basis of our constitutional democratic republic. The sticking point becomes this: Neither side is willing to budge and compromise is stalled.

I think there are mutually acceptable alternatives out there. Here is my take on a couple of ideas originally by Patrick Oglesby in TheHill.com. One was to require all laws of this nature to automatically “sunset” upon the installation of a new local government. This allows the voters to voice their opinion every year or two. Voting in a member opposed to the measure would be a vote to let the measure die a natural death. Another really good idea is to require such measures to be passed by a super majority of council members. Requiring local councils to use a two-thirds majority to pass such legislation would avoid the narrow 5-4 simple majority used by the Charlotte City Council to pass its ordinance.

HB 186 is certainly a good start to resolving this predicament. People of goodwill and truly interested in the future of North Carolina can build on it, put the past behind us and move on to a bright future.

Sadly, Gov. Cooper appears up to his old tricks. While smiling broadly for the cameras and paying lip service to the need for compromise he is apparently, once again, working behind the scenes to scuttle any viable compromise.

WRAL reported that Rep. Rodney Moore, a Democrat co-sponsor, withdrew his sponsorship after a conversation with the governor. Is Cooper playing partisan hack, hoping to milk more political mileage from HB2 for the 2018 elections? Or will he truly be a governor for all North Carolinians, putting the office of the governor behind legitimate compromise?

Time will certainly tell how broad his political shoulders are.

I have sent an email to my state representative, Marvin Lucas, asking him to rise above partisan politics and support the HB 186 compromise. So far no response.

Bill Wadford is a member of the Observer’s Community Advisory Board, which meets regularly with the editorial board to discuss local issues and contributes op-ed columns. He lives in Fayetteville.

http://www.fayobserver.com/opinion/20170322/bill-wadford-does-cooper-really-want-compromise-on-hb2