Is contested GOP primary a sign of party's strength? | Eastern North Carolina Now

   Publisher's note: This well presented article from the County Compass 360 represents a window into the Republican primary for NC House, District 3, south of the Pamlico River.

Three vie for Republican nomination to state House

    District 3     For the first time in decades, a trio of Republicans are seeking their party's nomination to this district's General Assembly seat in the state House.

    Many see the contested primary as a flexing of local GOP muscle. However, it's safe to say that the candidates themselves - Wayne Langston of Chocowinity, Michael Speciale of New Bern, and Clayton Tripp of Vanceboro -- take little solace from such an observation.

    For these gentlemen, the May 8th primary represents the culmination of an expensive, tough campaign - with the winner emerging to take on a well-rested, well-known Beaufort County Democrat, Robert Cayton, who can waltz into the November elections because he has no primary opposition.

    Langston, Speciale, and Tripp recently submitted their responses to four identical questions, posed by The County Compass. Although the candidates' ideologies are similar, astute voters will likely discern subtle differences.

    Q: What is the biggest challenge facing North Carolina?

    Langston: Slowdown in job creation severely hampers our ability to susstain economic growth. State government must revolutionize change, in our economic environment or get completely out of the way of private enterprise.

    Speciale: How to improve the economy and continue to compete in a very competitive global market. We improve our economy and add to our competitive edge by reducing the overwhelming taxes and regulations on our North Carolina business community. We hone our competitive edge by restructuring our core curriculum on our schools, community colleges, and universities. We need to ensure that the next generation of students has the reading, writing, and mathematics skills to enter the ever technical workforce.

    Tripp: The biggest challenge to me is the lack of support from Raleigh for working class citizens. The working class in this state is constantly being hit by measures be it new taxes, regulations, or budget cuts. The ferry toll issue is a perfect example. We have a lot of people in this state struggling to get by day to day, and when you constantly add financial burdens to them it makes it that much harder. We have elected officials in Raleigh that will take funding away from our education budget, but keep the funding that allows private helicopter tours of the state by different company CEOs. This state and its officials should be more concerned about the everyday needs and struggles of our citizens, and that is what I hope to do if elected.
NC House, District 3, Candidate Clayton Tripp at the Beaufort County Candidates Forum, 040212: Above.     photo by Stan Deatherage     Q: Should the federal government become more involved, less involved, or not involved at all in the education of North Carolina's young people? Please explain.

    Langston: For the vast majority of North Carolina's history, the Federal government played no role in local education. The tax and spend programs of the Johnson Administration in 1960s began to change the trend. Unfortunately these well intentioned efforts, over past four decades, have only served to bring our students down to the national average, instead of permitting them to achieve more accelerated learning. I strongly favor returning local decision making, back to state and local levels.

    Speciale: The Federal government has NO CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY to insert itself or its educational policies on the sovereign states. The States (NC included) have allowed this to happen by taking federal dollars, which always comes with strings and mandates attached. We, as a State, need to move our educational system to the point where we, as North Carolinians, are able to pay for the expenses of educating our children, thereby removing the Federal government and its mandates from our classrooms.
NC House, District 3, Candidate Michael Speciale at the Beaufort County Candidates Forum, 040212: Above.     photo by Stan Deatherage     Tripp: The federal government involvement in our education system should be very limited. Traditionally, education is primarily a State and local responsibility in the United States. It is States and communities, as well as public and private organizations of all kinds, that establish schools and colleges, develop curriculum, and set requirements for enrollment and graduation.

    No Child Left Behind (NCLB), a federal program, has many flaws. The U.S. Dept. of Education states on its website:

    "NCLB created an artificial goal of proficiency that encouraged states to set low standards to make it easier for students to meet the goal. The act's emphasis on test scores as the primary measure of school performance has narrowed the curriculum, and the one-size-fits-all accountability system has mislabeled schools as failures even if their students are demonstrating real academic growth. The law is overly prescriptive and doesn't allow districts to create improvement plans based on their unique needs. It also has not supported states as they create teacher evaluation systems that use multiple measures to identify highly effective teachers and support the instructional improvement of all teachers."

    Since the enactment of No Child Left Behind our national education rankings have plummeted while our cost per student is one of the highest in the world. Obviously, our system is seriously flawed, and the first step to correcting it is to give the states and our communities back the say in how our children are being educated.

    Q: To improve efficiency within the state's Community College System, do you favor the consolidation of smaller campuses?

    Langston: While the concept of increasing efficiency is admirable, in these difficult economic times it may be unwise to shut down these smaller community colleges that provide direct economic impact and benefit to smaller communities.
NC House, District 3, Candidate Wayne Langston at the Beaufort County Candidates Forum, 040212: Above.     photo by Stan Deatherage     Speciale: I do, if we are talking about smaller campuses within same counties. I don't, if we are referring to consolidating several counties. Every county should have access to their own Community College system. It's a matter of pride!

    Tripp: As of now each college is set up as a quasi-independent entity. Which is why a person can take a course at Craven, and that course may or may not transfer to Pitt, for instance. This causes a lot of frustration with students who have to retake courses, and strains them financially. If all colleges, not just the smaller ones, were consolidated under a statewide plan, there would be more continuity in a student's learning when transferring to another community college. Also consolidating into a statewide plan also allows the colleges to purchase supplies at a lower cost because they now have bargaining power. This comes from not being seen as a single institution to suppliers, but as a whole system of 58 institutions so the college will get a better price.

    This is a huge benefit to the smaller campuses, such as Pamlico Community College, that due to its lower full-time enrollment rate continues to have high operating costs. However, as we all know our community colleges are not just educational institutions. In many rural areas, they are a financial lifeline due to the jobs they produce. So if consolidation can be done properly and accomplished without closing any of the campuses, or causing job-loss, then it could be a win-win for both the students and the colleges. If not, then I do not feel we are in a state economically to place more burdens on our rural communities.

    Q: Assuming you could wave a magic wand, what one thing would do the most to make North Carolina a more business-friendly state?

    Langston: If I had such a magic wand, I would be inclined to eliminate the corporate income tax, as well as eliminating useless regulations, which I believe would bring hundreds of jobs to our state. While some regulation is necessary, creating and adding additional regulations, just to create government jobs that hinder new and existing businesses from being successful and limiting expansion, is not.

    Speciale: A cliché used over and over again, but accurate nevertheless... I would remove the corporate taxes and cut the bureaucracy and red tape that our businesses have to maneuver through to conduct business in North Carolina. Cut unnecessary and redundant regulations on businesses.

    Tripp: Overall, NC is considered one of the best business-friendly states, placing 3rd last year in overall ranking for best state to do business. We achieved this despite having the highest corporate tax rates of the surrounding states. We could have big gains in bringing companies by making our rate, 6.9 percent, comparable to our neighboring states. Virginia, which was ranked 1st, is at 6 percent, while South Carolina is at 5 percent. What I would do is offer lower corporate tax rates with stipulations on job creation. If the company did not maintain that level of employment, they would forfeit that discounted tax rate.