Bond opponent calls mailers misleading
Published March 1, 2016
by Matt Caulder, NC Capitol Connection, February 29, 2016.
The North Carolina woman who leads the organized opposition against the $2 billion bond referendum said the pro-Connect NC camp’s latest mailers are misinforming voters by only mentioning the portion of the bond earmarked for the National Guard.
Brad Crone, a consultant who is working with the Connect NC bond campaign, responded that the mailer is not misleading at all, but rather highlighting one aspect of the bond.
The bond was originally billed as a transportation bond, but the final product does not include any transportation projects.
Nicole Revels, who formed NC Against the Bond, in an interview with NC Capitol Connection noted that the mailers highlight funding for the Guard and say: “Connect NC bonds invest in our state’s public safety, helping out local communities without raising taxes. It will provide critical investments today and for tomorrow.”
But Revels said that if the projects are so important for public safety, why were they not funded conventionally, as $78 million is a fairly small portion of the state’s overall $52 billion General Fund budget? And, she added, why is this “critical” project tied to all of the education and parks funding?
“If it is truly a matter of public safety and the Guard needs that money, I am offended that it is being held hostage by funding for parks and universities,” she said. “I feel like they are trying to imply that this is all about the National Guard.”
“It’s not misleading at all,” Crone said of the mailer. “The National Guard is an extremely important component to public safety, and public safety is not only about the National Guard but also the emergency services training the community colleges do.”
Crone said that Revels is nitpicking when it comes to the bond and judging the campaign based on one mailer.
Forty-nine percent of the bond funds will go to the University of North Carolina system, while 17 percent will go to the state’s community college system.
The other largest chunk of the bond, at 16 percent, is directed to grants for local parks and water/sewer bonds.
The smallest portion of the bond, 4 percent or $78.5 million, goes to the National Guard.
Revels says she will travel anywhere in the state to meet with people
Revels said that she has been traveling all over North Carolina, speaking to different groups wherever she can, rather than focusing on trying to drum up contributions to challenge the pro-bond campaign.
“I have basically decided between here and March 15 I will go anywhere somebody wants me,” she said. “
“I haven’t been pushing contributions because I know Connect NC has raised millions and I can’t compete. It’s really about boots on the ground for me,” Revels said. “I don’t know if I’ve even broken $2,000.”
Revels thinks that she has had the success she has had only because her message resonates with the people she does speak with.
“I’ve known all along that this was a David and Goliath fight – that I am the underdog,” she said. “If we are able to get our message out, I think (the bond) will fail.”
Revels said that across the state she is finding that when she talks to people, they tend to see her side and agree that the bond is not in the best interest of North Carolina.
“When I talk to people, they are overwhelmingly in support of my point of view,” she said. “The general public, when they hear some basic facts about the bond, have been with me.”
Crone said that Connect NC Committee has reached all 100 counties and spent more than $1 million spreading the word about all aspects in the bond across the state.
“We feel comfortable about where we are at,” he said. “We are communicating all the aspects of the bond in all 100 counties in the state.”
The Connect NC website states: “The Connect NC bond will allow us to pay for 50-year assets with 20-year financing. No tax increases are necessary to finance the bond, given our strong revenue growth and ample debt service capacity. We will continue to balance the budget and uphold our position as one of only 10 states to have earned the coveted Triple A bond rating from all three major ratings agencies.”
http://nccapitolconnection.com/2016/02/29/bond-opponent-calls-mailers-called-misleading/
March 1, 2016 at 11:15 am
bruce stanley says:
Mr. Crone, It is quite transparent to anybody with half a brain that the NC Guard money has been thrown in the bond in order to attract conservative voters for an otherwise debt increasing unnecessary bond, so please don't insult my intelligence by saying that Ms. Revels is nitpicking.
March 1, 2016 at 1:57 pm
Norm Kelly says:
'The bond was originally billed as a transportation bond, but the final product does not include any transportation projects.'
Which is EXACTLY the problem with passing this bond. For more than a decade, we've been told that if the state doesn't start taking care of road & bridge maintenance & repair, within 50 years the cost of doing so will be so prohibitive that this one line item could bankrupt the state. Along comes Gov McCrory with the idea of passing a fairly large bond to START taking care of needed maintenance and repair.
Somewhere along the line, someone, in their infinite wisdom, decided that the ball has been kicked down the road thus far, so why not simply kick it down the road again. It's more important that 'higher education' be taken care of. There's not already enough money being spent on higher education from the annual budget, now we need to ignore priorities and lavish some more money on higher education.
Some will object to my use of the word 'lavish'. Get over it. And start getting real. Is the major concern the word 'lavish' or the fact that you are being lied to about the bond money. We were told it would be for something that is needed. For decades, demons ruled Raleigh. For decades demons have taken money OUT of the roads budget, paid for by gas tax money, to be spent on 'special interest' items instead. So, roads & bridges have been ignored by demons for decades. Then Republicans were voted into the majority in Raleigh, we were told by the Gov that it was critical to pass the road & bridge bond. But that idea went away, the money part of it didn't.
It really does NOT matter whether the Nat'l Guard is getting 4% of the bond money or 74% of the bond money. The problem with the bond is that NO ROADS OR BRIDGES ARE GETTING ANY OF THE MONEY! And this fact isn't being shouted loud enough from enough rooftops.
It does not matter who starts yapping about the bond, thinkers need to start asking why we are being LIED TO! Stop someone who is a proponent of the bond in the middle of their yammering and force them to answer why the purpose of the bond was changed and why that isn't being pointed out. Force proponents to answer the hard questions. Stop letting people steal money from your back pocket for their own special interest spending. Start asking those same people why they ignore priorities, lie to us, and believe they can spend OUR money on THEIR PET PROJECTS!
Road & bridge bond? Probably YES. Wasteful bond spending? Definitely NO! Can't say it loud enough, often enough, to enough people: Vote Against The Bond! When we are lied to, we need to respond and force liars to change! No one should roll over for a liar. OR for wasteful spending. Be honest, and I might listen to you. (i say 'might' because the occupier tries to be honest with his socialist schemes, but he's still not worth listening to!)
