THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 30, 1994 TAG: 9411300447
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
State Senate leader Marc Basnight was described Tuesday as being ``very confident'' that Democrats in will nominate him today to serve another two years as president pro tem.
Senate Democrats are scheduled to meet at noon at Ballentines Cafeteria and Confederate House, a Raleigh restaurant at Cameron Village Shopping Center, to nominate their officers and begin planning for the upcoming session.
``He's in good shape,'' said Basnight's spokesman, Brett Kinsella, in an interview from his office in Raleigh.
But today's Democratic caucus is not likely to be the lovefest that it was in 1992, when family members and longtime friends gathered to watch the senators meet at the Sanderling Inn, an oceanfront resort north of Duck, and nominate Basnight to his first term as president pro tem.
Unlike 1992, when Democrats controlled 39 of 50 seats in the Senate and his party's nomination assured Basnight of election by the entire Senate, the Democrats who will meet today hold a slim two-vote majority in the chamber.
Even with the Democratic nod to continue as president pro tem, the Manteo native won't be sure that he will be able to keep the job until all Senate members vote on their officers Jan. 25, opening day of the legislature.
Just a month ago, Basnight, 47, a Dare County contractor, was considered a shoo-in to be re-elected as a leader of the Senate.
But on Nov. 8, voters elected a record number of Republicans to the Senate, defeated many of the allies who helped Basnight rise to power and decimated the Senate leadership.
The GOP gained over a dozen Senate seats in the election and now holds 24 of 50 seats. Since the election, Republican leaders - including former Gov. James G. Martin and state party Chairman Jack Hawke - have openly worked with GOP senators to woo two Democrats to switch parties and wrest control of the Senate from Basnight.
But to date their efforts have produced only rumors circulating around the halls of the legislature.
In an effort to head off a possible Republican revolt, Basnight is scheduled to meet this morning with Senate Republican leader Betsy L. Cochrane of Davie County to discuss the role of the GOP under Basnight's leadership.
Cochrane, who has served 14 years in the legislature, was named minority whip by Republican senators in Salisbury last month and said at the time of her election that her first step would be to meet with Basnight.
The two are scheduled to discuss issues ranging from seat assignments for GOP members to possible committee chairmanships.
As president pro tem, Basnight appoints committees and their chairmen, oversees the Senate's daily agenda and presides over the Senate in the absence of the lieutenant governor, who serves as Senate president.
Besides Basnight, the Senate's other top Democratic officers, Sen. R.C. Soles Jr. of Columbus County, deputy president pro tem, and Sen. Richard Conder of Richmond County, majority leader, are expected to be nominated to serve another two years.
Democrats also are scheduled to decide whether to fill the office of majority whip, Kinsella said. Sen. Ralph A. Hunt Jr. of Durham County was chosen for the post two years ago but Hunt left the Senate at the end of the 1993 session to accept a state government appointment. by CNB