What we learned from the Speaker's race

by Patrick Gannon, The insider, December 1, 2014.

As the race for state House speaker heated up in recent weeks, Republican candidates for the post campaigned by sending letters to their colleagues about how they would lead the 120-member chamber for the next two years. The documents, obtained by reporters, provided a glimpse into the minds of Republicans who control the House by a wide margin over Democrats. Here's what we learned:

Education is a sore spot for the GOP, and they know it. 

Rep. Bryan Holloway, a speaker candidate from King and a former teacher, deemed education the "albatross around our neck." He wrote in a letter to House Republicans that they need to focus on strategies they can do well, like "small salary increases" for school employees and "innovative technology" in schools. "By doing this and letting some of our past decisions simmer, we can be winners on this issue and silence the Democrats," Holloway wrote.

House Republicans believe they are misunderstood and their accomplishments unnoticed. 

Many speaker hopefuls mentioned the need for better communication with the public. Rep. Tim Moore of Kings Mountain appears set to take over as House speaker for the 2015-16 legislative session after receiving enough votes among Republican House members during a recent caucus meeting. Moore still must be elected by the full House in January. He told colleagues that he would create a "caucus communication team" to provide constituents with information about House and General Assembly activities.

Rep. Justin Burr, a candidate from Albemarle, said, if elected, his communications director would provide useful tools to members to get their messages to voters ahead of the 2016 election cycle.

Holloway recommended hiring a professional public relations person on the speaker's staff to "get the messaging right."

Rep. Leo Daughtry, a candidate from Smithfield, wrote in a letter that the GOP's record should have been "wildly popular." "Instead, we found ourselves on the defensive throughout the election," he wrote. "The reason is straight forward; a year ago, when the Moral Monday crowd began attacking us, we didn’t stand up and speak out. If I am elected Speaker, that will change."

At least some members believed outgoing speaker and U.S. Sen.-elect Thom Tillis, who led the House the past four years, held too much power and didn't allow rank-and-file members to thrive. 

"Any top-down approach in the House must end," Burr wrote. He noted that Republicans must "spread out the power where practical" to "ensure that you keep the voice and vote your constituents elected you to have in the legislative process."

"Even a tethered dog thinks he has 'freedom' until he reaches the end of his chain, and I want to remove the five-foot chain that has been put on our committee chairs and our caucus," Burr wrote.

Holloway said the House doesn't need a speaker who "calls all the shots." "I will never show up to tell members this is how we are going to vote," he wrote in an email. "Instead, we will make decisions together."

Some House members want a better relationship with the Republican-controlled Senate. 

The relationship between the two chambers has been testy at times since Republicans took control of the Legislature four years ago. Daughtry wrote that the House and Senate should be allies. "It is especially important that we meet with the Senate early during Session, find common ground, and, where possible, agree to an agenda," he wrote.