Who would Arthur Williams represent? | Eastern North Carolina Now

   Remarkably, we have a wealth of articles regarding the candidacy of Candidate Arthur Williams for the NC House District 6 seat. Click here to peruse them.

    Hint- Williams voted FOR Pryor Gibson's bill to help raise gasoline prices by reducing competition. That no doubt pleased the Petroleum Marketers Association who pushed the bill, but it should offend everyone who buys gasoline, whether for business or personal use.

    Would you vote for a Representative who was flagrantly opposed to fair competition when it comes to setting gas prices? Would you vote for a Representative who voted to make you pay more, significantly more, to buy gas, to enhance the profits of service station owners or gasoline distributors?

    You would think the voters back home would know Arthur Williams by now, but you might be wrong. After all, the Capital Press Corpse (spelling intentional) has for years done a great job of burying the misdeeds of politicos they choose to favor.

    Some people may wonder why I write so frequently about former Representative Pryor Gibson. It is because he has been one of the most favored when it comes to hiding actions from the voters that most voters would find amazingly offensive.

    But while running cover for Gibson, the Raleigh reporters who did not report have also helped out a number of other Representatives who did not represent the people who elected them and Arthur Williams is one of those legislators.

    You don't have to take my word that the Gibson bill Williams supported was anti-consumer. The North Carolina Retail Merchants Association opposed it as anti-consumer, as did the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC said "We believe there is a significant risk that the bill could harm consumers. Gasoline is a significant consumer expenditure; assuming no change in demand, even a 1 cent increase in the retail price of gasoline would cost North Carolina consumers approximately $42.5 million annually."

    Gibson's bill (H1203, 2003) passed the House but it was sidetracked in the Senate by an unusual coalition. The public got lucky that time, but you shouldn't have to count on luck to save you from being thrown under the bus by your own Representative.

    Would someone who claims Williams is Conservative please explain what they mean by the term? He's even donated to Bev Perdue. He's about as Conservative as Pryor Gibson. (You know Gibson, the guy who wanted to throw money at the Garden Parkway when even DOT said it wasn't needed.)

   Fern Shubert is a former NC House Representative and a former NC Senator, representing mostly Union County, who also maintains a blog here.