Redistricting, DWI Arrest Throw Uncertainty Over House District 63 Race | Eastern North Carolina Now

   Publisher's note: The author of this political post Leslee Kulba, who is a contributor to the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

Democrat Philipps' brush with law may benefit Republican Ross

    BURLINGTON     The race to fill the open seat in state House District 63 is being waged by a pair of veteran municipal officials, one viewed in some quarters as an establishment Republican, the other a Democrat with some conservative notions.

    The electoral contest between Burlington City Councilman Steve Ross, the former GOP mayor, and Mebane Democratic Mayor Pro Tem Patty Philipps is punctuated by a couple of uncertainties.

    One is how voters will cast ballots in a district that had been categorized with a Democratic lean until redistricting changed it to a swing district, according to the N.C. FreeEnterprise Foundation.

    Another unknown is what effect Philipps' recent brush with the law may have at the ballot box. She was charged with driving while impaired on Interstate 40 Oct. 6 at 2:30 a.m. She blew 0.15 in a blood-alcohol level test, nearly double the legal limit of 0.08.

    Philipps did not respond to questions about the arrest, but Charlie Frye, her campaign manager, quoted the official statement the candidate has been using:

    "On October 6, 2012, I was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. I made a serious mistake, I am deeply sorry, and apologize to my family, friends and community."

    But the Burlington Times-News newspaper reported this is not Philipps' first DWI arrest.

    She "was charged with DWI on May 1, 1994 in Wake County and Oct. 23, 1991 in Durham County, according to court records," the newspaper reported. "Philipps, who also serves as mayor pro-tem on Mebane's City Council, was convicted of the Wake County offense Sept. 16, 1994 and the Durham County offense on Feb. 17, 1992."

    While this contest has received little media attention outside of Philipps' arrest, Ross was not eager to capitalize on that news.

    "I would prefer not to comment on the situation. Thanks," he said.

    The District 63 seat opened up after Democrat incumbent Alice Bordsen opted not to run after five terms. Philipps walked into the General Election without anyprimary opposition. So did Ross. Sort of.

    Roger Parker, a favorite of the local Tea Party, dropped out of the election after learning Ross was recruited by the GOP leaders. But by then, it was too late to get his name off the ballot, and the non-candidate ended up with 34.4 percent of the vote, with Ross getting the balance.

    While some more conservative factions of the GOP label Ross part of "the establishment," he articulates arguments in favor of limited government.

    If elected, he said, he intends to pursue at the state level a couple of initiatives he set up in Burlington.

    One would be to sit down and "define ourselves," distilling core services from the ever-growing number of additional tasks that have caused governments to experience financial difficulties.

    Another would be to analyze government activities constantly to improve efficiencies. Ross said the state would start running better if it were to implement some of the abandoned recommendations from a study conducted when Jim Holshouser was governor, from 1973-77. He was North Carolina's first elected Republican governor since 1896.

    Ross, a financial adviser by trade, would like to improve the business climate in the state. He is in favor of simplifying the tax code and, on occasion, has recommended eliminating the corporate income tax altogether.

    State regulations need an overhaul, because they have become a growing pile of Band-Aids, Ross said.

    While positing that nobody likes economic development incentives because they're unfair, Ross conceded that he built a tolerance for them while he was mayor of Burlington.

    "It's hard to say philosophically I'm opposed to incentives while jobs pass us by, and you can't get work," Ross said. He would, however, like the state to limit such grants, using them only for infrastructure development and making loans repayable in no more than five years.

    Ross is tired of the same dialogues recurring every legislative cycle, particularly on education issues. The legislature needs to try something new, and one suggestion would be to require students to perform at grade level before promoting them, he said.

    Philipps said education is the issue that most differentiates her from Republican candidates. She chairs the Alamance Partnership for Children, which administers funding for Smart Start and NC Pre-K, and she finds the legislature's recent cuts inexcusable but reversible.

    Philipps is hesitant to call for cuts in school administration because, she said, the state Department of Public Instruction is about to implement a new curriculum, which would be difficult without teacher trainers. Philipps also thinks more school funds should be applied directly to students, but she isn't asking taxpayers to "throw money" at solutions.

    She would be happy to do away with teacher tenure and social promotion, and she is even happier No Child Left Behind is going away.

    Philipps practices law and real estate, but she has come to focus most of her time on community service. In four years on city council, she lists among her greatest achievements the recruitment of a Tanger Outlets outdoor mall.

    Philipps' list of accomplishments includes various adaptive reuse projects, including the conversion of an abandoned textile mill into the Mebane Public Library.

    At the state level, Philipps would like to de-emphasize partisan politics.

    "Coalition building is not a bad thing, and compromise is necessary," she said.

    The candidate describes herself as socially liberal in the sense that she trusts the general population's ability to exercise discretion; her job would be to protect their rights.