NC SPIN Online

Getting down to work
After the pomp and circumstance of last week, things are considerably quieter in the state capital. New appointees are settling in to new offices and are getting indoctrinated in their new duties. The legislature is quiet, waiting to get a feel for how Governor Perdue operates.

People are praising the new Governor’s first few days. Her cabinet appointments were generally well received. Her inaugural address was mercifully brief, didn’t make any outrageous claims and set a positive tone. Some felt she didn’t do enough to acknowledge our current crises (catch this week’s NC SPIN TV or Radio program for more comments on her speech) but there were some notable quotes and it played well. Her first few days in office demonstrated Perdue is action-oriented and signaled her willingness to challenge the legislature.

Bev is going to face opposition to her proposal to change the role of the DOT board. Lawmakers like their current ability to influence road decisions through board members and don’t want to give up that influence. Perdue’s insistence on forming a new budget reform commission, where recommendations have to either be voted up or down without amendments, is also going to face tough sledding in the legislature. Here will be two early and important tests for Governor Perdue. She has drawn a line in the sand with her former colleagues in the legislature. Is Bev Perdue willing to use the bully pulpit and/or the veto of the Governor’s office to get what she wants? Jim Hunt threatened the veto several times but lawmakers were unwilling to test him and gave in to him. Mike Easley was a different story, the first Governor to actually use the veto. She says she’s tough. How Perdue handles these two issues will be a good test.

She is already publishing her daily schedule, a departure from her predecessor and a good sign that there will be more openness in this administration.

And she scored BIG points with our congressional delegation on her closed door meeting with lawmakers and incoming Obama officials on Wednesday. We are told she was direct and persuasive in making the case for help from our representatives and senators. She told them that she had already identified $1 billion in cuts to our state budget but that only got us halfway home. Perdue said the other $1 billion in the current budget deficit would require federal help. We hear this was a tough sell, even among members of her own party who are unsure of spending federal dollars, which would put the federal government deeper in debt, to bail our state budgets. Democrats and Republicans feel a bailout for budget deficits won’t give states incentives to cut budgets and scale back the size of their governments.

But while her trip may not have achieved all she desired, Bev got high scores for going to Washington and advocating for our state.

Even as Governor Perdue settles in to her new role, the economic news is worse. Nortel’s chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is another sour note in recent news. Cable networks are saying Bank of America is running out of cash and needs TARP money now. Unemployment continues to rise and revenues to the state continue to drop. More and more say this recession is deeper and will last longer than any we’ve seen in decades, coming to the conclusion that our state needs some kind of economic stimulus, perhaps even more than might come from the federal government. Eyebrows were raised when the outgoing Council of State approved spending $700 million for projects approved by last year’s legislature in better economic times. Many are wondering if we might have been better served if these officials had held off for awhile so as to determine if there were better ways to have spent these dollars. For more discussion on this be sure to catch this week’s NC SPIN.

Budget cuts
While no one has final knowledge of which line items Governor Perdue will cut, there is talk about some of the things being considered. Here is what we are hearing:

More at Four and Smart Start will be merged together, saving us $50 million a year. Medicaid program adjustments will save $100 million. ABC teacher bonus reforms and reductions could save as much as $400 million per year. This totals $550 million, leaving another $450 million in cuts to reach Perdue’s promise of $1 billion budget savings.

Basnight’s balance
Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight has been encountering problems with his equilibrium. We’re told he has fallen twice in recent weeks, once at Crabtree Valley Mall. Basnight says doctors have told him to just go on with his life and that the condition may persist, saying it also affects his speech.

Senate Leadership
Initially Senators Charlie Albertson (D-Duplin) and Charlie Dannelly (D-Mecklenburg) were tapped to co-chair Senate Appropriations when Walter Dalton and Kay Hagan were elected to higher office, but some wonder if new co-chairs might be named when the new session convenes Wednesday, January 28th.

By the way, the legislature has a newly redesigned web site that is very attractive and easy to read. Check it out at www.ncleg.net.

Eastern U.S. Attorney
Buzz on the street is that Ripley Rand, son of Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, will be named the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District. Speculation increased when it was learned that Tony Rand contributed $10,000 to the Obama cause from his campaign coffers.

There is already push-back on the possible nomination as some worry that the senior Rand might unduly influence the prosecution of political enemies. They worry that Rand’s tentacles are already long enough and don’t need extending.

Were Easley’s closing actions legal?
That’s the question posed by former Supreme Court Justice and candidate for Governor Bob Orr. Our
Constitution says the Governor’s term "shall commence on the first day of January next after their election and continue until their successors are elected and qualified." Orr contends that everything Governor Mike Easley did from midnight December 31 until Beverly Perdue was sworn in was unconstitutional and should be undone.

Others don’t agree, focusing on the portion of the codicil saying successors must be “qualified,” they contend this means they must be sworn in to office and that the incumbent remains in power until the successor is indeed “qualified.”

Interesting question to raise.

Real spin
Former House Speaker and NC SPIN panelist Joe Mavretic sent this.

A professional genealogy researcher in southern California was doing some
personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that Harry Reid's
great-great uncle, Remus Reid, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana
in 1889. The researcher and Harry Reid share this common ancestor.

The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows in Montana
territory.

On the back of the picture obtained during research is this inscription: 'Remus
Reid, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed
the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and
hanged in 1889.'

The researcher e-mailed Congressman Harry Reid for information about their
great-great uncle. Believe it or not, Harry Reid's staff sent back the
following biographical sketch for her genealogy research:
'Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire
grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings
with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his
life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the
railroad.

In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned
Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function
held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.'

NOW THAT is how it's done, Folks!
That's real POLITICAL SPIN.