The magazine of the North Carolina Center for Voter Education • Saturday May 19, 2012

With a win, N.C. GOP has a chance to live up to its pledges

By Damon Circosta
Published: Nov. 29, 2010

RALEIGH - When the N.C. General Assembly convenes on Jan. 26, Democrats will be without the reins of power for the first time in over a century. The shift in control comes after Republicans convinced the electorate that it was time for a change.

From taxes, to health care, to the environment, during this year’s campaign season the GOP made a point of highlighting what they would do differently. But the biggest fix Republicans could make next year wouldn’t be what they do, but how they do it.

For years, Republicans complained about how business was conducted in the halls of the legislature. Backroom deals and strong-arm parliamentary tactics often excluded the Republicans from the real decision-making. The budget would be written by a few cherry-picked legislators in the middle of the night, and earnest proposals would make it out of committees only if the leadership approved.

The oft-quoted line about the similarities between lawmaking and sausage-making rang true in Raleigh. The process wasn’t pretty. Democrats used such measures to pass legislation and keep control, but in the long run it made observers question whether what was happening was in accord with our vision of democracy.

When political power is confined to an insular group, it is like water accruing behind a dam. With power down at the state legislature in the hands of so few for so long, we were headed for a spectacular flood.  In 2010, the dam burst in a wave election.

Republicans could read their victory as a mandate for certain policies. To some extent, all elections are about ratification of policy proposals. But what happened in November was much more than just a prescription for legislation.

Voters want to see real change in how things are done in Raleigh. The Republicans promised big on this front and there are several things they could do to live up to that promise.

First, take the redistricting process out of the hands of the legislature. This historic election occurred just before lawmakers must redraw political boundaries after the census. Having lawmakers draw their own districts is a recipe for shady dealing.

For years the Republicans have called for an independent commission to draw these lines. Now that they are in power they can make it happen. Doing so would show everyone that all of the campaign talk about doing things differently wasn’t just rhetoric.

Second, make change, but don’t make wholesale changes to the legislative staff. With Democrats being in charge for so long, every staffer in the building got there under a Democratic regime, but the vast majority of legislative staff serves in a nonpartisan capacity.

There is a lot of institutional memory that could be lost with changeover in staff. Even if their goal is to rethink how the legislature works, Republicans need some people around who have the experience to make that happen. With so many newly elected officials it might be smart to have a seasoned staff on hand.

Third, and most importantly, Republicans need to remember what it is like to be in the minority. The wild electoral swings from 2008 to 2010 are evidence that the days of 100-year control by any political party are over. The way they treat the minority party today could spark a change that could prove useful sometime down the road.

Voters tend to reward those who live up to their campaign promises. While we might never again see any one party in charge for a century, by living up to their pledge to fix the process, the Republicans might be around for quite some time.