THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 25, 1995 TAG: 9501250440
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Long : 159 lines
Thirty years ago, Beaufort County teenager Jane Alligood was a volunteer for Republican Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign.
Goldwater lost but Alligood has remained active in the local Republican Party - serving the last few years as party chairman for Beaufort County.
Through decades of defeat, she never gave up her dream of a two-party system in North Carolina.
When the General Assembly convenes today here in Raleigh and the Republicans take control of the House of Representatives, a part of Alligood's dream will come true.
``For the first time, we're going to have a chance to make a difference,'' she said in an interview in Chocowinity at a meeting of the Beaufort County Republican Women. ``It's exciting.''
The last time Republicans elected a House speaker was in 1870, according to a legislative historian, when the state was reeling from the Civil War and in the grip of Reconstruction:
The Jesse James gang would not rob its first passenger train for two years.
The typewriter would not be invented for four years.
Alexander Graham Bell would not tell Mr. Watson he wanted him for six years.
It would be seven years before Thomas A. Edison and a group of investors founded the Edison Light Co. and brought us incandescent light bulbs.
When the General Assembly convenes at noon, Republican Harold J. Brubaker, a Randolph County real estate appraiser and cattle rancher, is expected to take office as speaker of the House and end more than a century of Democratic domination of that chamber.
With one House seat yet to be decided, Republicans will control 67 of 119 seats.
Meanwhile, in the Senate, across a tile and marble courtyard from the House, Dare County Democrat Marc Basnight is expected to be re-elected as president pro tempore, that chamber's second-highest post.
But the chamber he is expected to lead will bear little resemblance to the one he headed the previous session.
The Republican Party will control 23 of 49 Senate seats, with one seat open - more than twice the number they held last year when Democrats controlled the chamber 39 to 11 and support from Democratic senators was all it took to assure victory for any issue.
The new Republican leaders say the change in leadership will not only be a historic shift but also will be significant for the state's citizens.
``If you look at the philosophy of the vast majority of North Carolinians, they are of a conservative mind-set . . . that favors limited government and less intrusion by government on their lives,'' said Sen. Betsy Cochrane, a Davie County Republican who is expected to be the new Senate minority leader. ``They now have a General Assembly that is more compatible with them.''
And although they have little experience at running the legislative branch of the government, the new Republican leaders say they are confident they can deliver on their eight-point, pre-election contract with voters.
``I don't really anticipate any major bumps in the road,'' said Brubaker, a week before the legislature's opening day. ``We have an abundance of talent. .
``It doesn't take a rocket scientist to run this place,'' he said.
The General Assembly also will have a large number of freshmen legislators taking office today. In the House, 33 freshmen will take the oath of office, while in the Senate, 12 newcomers will join the ranks.
The number of black and women legislators will decline slightly this year.
Everything from seating arrangements for the political parties in the House to that chamber's schedule during the session will change this year as the result of new leadership. And issues that were thought dead on arrival at the General Assembly before Nov. 8 have been given new life while others that were at the top of lawmakers' priority lists have now been dropped.
THE PLAYERS
Perhaps the state politician most affected by the changes in the legislature will be Gov. James B. Hunt Jr.
For the first time in 10 years as the state's chief executive, Hunt, a Democrat from Wilson, will have the unfamiliar job of working closely with Republicans to pass his legislative agenda.
In the months since the Nov. 8 election, he has met with a variety of conservative groups to tout his proposals, which now include the largest tax cut in state history along with sweeping budget cuts that emphasize staff reductions throughout his administration.
Basnight, Dare County's favorite son, will be called upon by Hunt and other Democrats to carry the burden of his party. But he has already begun to flex his muscles, declaring his independence from longtime friend Hunt and continuing his assault on the trappings of power held by the House speaker and the lieutenant governor, the Senate's top officer.
Republican leaders say they'll want to have more of a voice in the Senate this year, reflecting their increase in numbers.
Some political observers also expect Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker to play a more visible role in the General Assembly this year. He may be called upon to break tie votes in the chamber - particularly over the budget and some education issues.
ISSUES
For their part, the new Republican leaders in the General Assembly say they'll stick with the ``reform agenda'' that calls for spending, criminal justice, education and welfare reforms as well as a referendum on the gubernatorial veto and citizen ballot initiatives during the 1995 session.
``Our top priority is going to be the Republican contract,'' said Rep. Carolyn B. Russell, a Wayne County Republican and incoming House speaker pro tempore. ``We're obligated to do those things first.''
Hunt, the Republicans in the House and Senate, and Senate Democrats agree that some type of tax cut will be the most pressing item on the state's legislative agenda. The only differences between Hunt and the two legislative chambers appear to be whose taxes to cut and by how much.
Hunt has proposed a $483 million package of tax cuts over the next two years, while House and Senate Republicans have promised to begin with a $200 million income tax cut. Senate Democrats have not offered a specific plan of their own but say they plan to emphasize repealing the state's intangibles tax and a homestead tax exemption, both mentioned in Hunt's plan.
The statewide issue that's the most probable loser under the new Republican and conservative Democratic majority is health-care reform.
The state Health Planning Commission, a group composed of Hunt, Wicker and other top state leaders, in December approved a sweeping set of recommendations that would broaden the Medicaid rolls, change how malpractice lawsuits are handled and establish regional boards to coordinate public and private health care.
The commission recommended that Medicaid coverage be extended to more infants, pregnant women and children, and the elderly.
Less than the universal coverage advocated by many, Hunt said at the time that the complexity of the health-care issue doesn't prevent the state from taking a few, basic steps forward. But these proposals still face tough opposition from some legislators.
Most government-cutting Republicans see the proposal as just another mandate.
``I hope I'm going to be able to kill it,'' said Rep. Zeno Edwards, a Beaufort County Republican.
THE COAST
Coastal environmental advocates can expect their region to also take a big hit this year from the General Assembly.
Sitting at home on Nov. 8, Sierra Club lobbyist Bill Holman said he felt as if he were watching the Exxon Valdez run aground in his living room as the club's preferred candidates in North Carolina lost race after race.
Last fall, many of the successful candidates campaigned on a platform of decreased governmental spending and regulation, tools that environmentalists have long used to protect natural areas and reduce pollution.
Since the elections, Hunt and his administration have reportedly worked to tone down requests for his coastal initiatives. Some administration sources say Hunt's coastal agenda now amounts to little more than a few requests for new state funds.
Meanwhile, the director of the state Division of Coastal Management and the chairman of the state Marine Fisheries Commission say their efforts to protect the coast and the state's marine fisheries populations will be in jeopardy if state budgets for coastal and fisheries programs are trimmed.
Other items of concern to coastal North Carolina, such as the coastal fishing license for sports anglers and a study of fees for marinas, quickly moved to the back burner after the elections.
Despite, or perhaps because of these and other changes expected when the legislature convenes today, Republican activist Alligood and recent GOP converts say they're optimistic about the changes the GOP will bring to state government.
``You have to get back to the basics,'' said Aurora Republican Darnell Smith, a lifelong Democrat who recently switched parties. ``If the Republican party does what it says it's going to do, it will not ever, ever lose their power.
``They have to keep their promises to the people,'' she said. ``That's a must.'' by CNB