By David Rogers. September 22, 2011. BLOWING ROCK -- Initially, the Watauga County Republican Party-hosted "Raleigh Update" event at Meadowbrook Inn had all the trappings of a highly partisan Republican rally, but it took a refreshingly contentious turn once the Q&A started.

NC State Senator Dan Soucek and NC State House Representative Jonathan Jordan were both prepared and articulate in Wednesday morning's town hall style of forum.  They outlined the accomplishments and challenges of their first months in office, as well as shared a couple of disappointments in things that were priorities for them, but were unable to get passed.

Opening Remarks

In his opening remarks, Jordan reminded audience members, "We campaigned on not increasing taxes on you, the citizens, while fixing this budget," and stressed that the Republican-led budget process represented what he called "an historic change this year. Without that (fundamental change), the talk would have been which tax to increase and how to increase it.  It was our feeling...that you have been taxed enough....We passed a balanced budget that did not increase taxes of any sort.

"It has been 140 years since the Republicans have been in charge of both the House and the Senate in North Carolina...across the state, we have new people involved in (government), including many people who had not been involved in politics before. These were historic changes...and even the mundane, day-to-day operations saw some historic changes. We were sworn in on January 26th, and we got to work the very next day, debating a major piece of legislation...Previous legislatures had worried about things like where their offices were going to be and moving in. We had all that in place on the day of swearing in.  We didn't drag our feet.  We went over to the department of corrections and hired prisoners at $15 a day and we got it done.  You put people in office with common sense who got to work, doing the people's business.

"Jumping ahead," Jordan stated, "we adjourned in June, and it was the first time (the legislature) had adjourned that early since 1973. We had a balanced budget, even though the governor had vetoed the budget.  We overrided the historic veto because five common sense Democrats crossed the aisle and helped us to a super majority.  The number of reforms in this session includeed tort reform, medical malpractice reform, tax reform, workers comp reform, and annexation reform.  And in spite of what you might have heard, there was a lot of cooperation with these reforms. We worked hard at having the  stakeholders involved in each issue at the table, whether it be someone from the chambers of commerce, trial lawyers, or doctors.

"This has probably been the most effective General Assembly session, certainly within recent memory," Jordan told the forum audience. "I am proud to have been part of that and, with your support, being able to go down there and represent you....I want to hear from you...Even if you think your representative is not going to vote the right way, my advice -- always -- is to contact them. Make your views known."

Senator Soucek's remarks echoed Jordan's enthusiasm for the job of representing the High Country, first noting how important it is to be able to establish good relationships with competent legislators in both the House and the Senate. "It is really important to understand that all of the committee chairs were new in their positions, in both the House and the Senate. To come into a General Assembly with a huge budget deficit and all of the other controversies, and to be able to effectively run (both houses of the legislature) was a tremendous achievement by the leadership.  Every Republican was a 'freshman' when it came to leadership, so I can't speak highly enough about the party's leadership in what we were able to plan and accomplish during the session.

"One issuesthat we addressed that is important to this area relates to gun rights. We ruled on and passed a law that appropriately reflects the U.S. Constitution.  And we also took a (hard look at) regulation reform..We looked at obstacles that government puts in the way of business. We put a moratorium on new regulations. We looked at what regulations cost businesses if implemented, and if they do not relate to (public or worker) safety, then we need to hold back and (evaluate) carefully whether we need that regulation or not.

"We had a redistricting session and we had a constitutional amendment session," Soucek reported. "The budget we passed was historic...We spent a lot of time considering jobs...But the last time there was a redistricting...it dragged out until about December.  We got it done by June.... Redistricting is important because as population shifts, each district has to have roughly the same number of people in it...otherwise people are not represented equally. The redistricting is done and submitted to federal court and there is supposed to be about 60 days for approval, which puts it at about November 1st for them to approve it or ask for new information...This (process) has (created) the most legal, law abiding, carefully (planned) districts that have ever been drawn in the history of North Carolina. I am pretty confident that these are going to stand.

"We had more (Governor) vetoes this session than all of the previous governors combined," Soucek offered. "We also had more veto overrides this session than all previous sessions combined."

We had more governor vetoes -- and veto overrides -- than all previous sessions combined.

Anyone attending the continental breakfast event had to expect a certain amount of partisan rhetoric slanted toward the now-in-power Republicans, especially since the "Update" was organized and staged by the Watauga County Republican Party.  Had the town hall style of meeting been void of dissenting opinion, it would have hardly been newsworthy because we can commonly read about this now majority class of Republican legislators' accomplishments elsewhere, or can at least read about them on the Internet, for example.

But leave it to passionately opposing views to stir things up. The many Republicans filling the room seemed a bit taken aback by suddenly adversarial questions about education, teachers, and same sex marriage, among other topics, but Soucek and Jordan seemed prepared and up to the task.

Education

After prepared remarks, first by Jordan and then by Soucek, about the accomplishments and challenges of their first months in office, an initial question from the floor was somewhat bewildering to audience members.  The questioner appeared to challenge Senator Soucek for sending his three children to Blowing Rock School, a traditional public school in the Watauga County Schools system, instead of sending them to a public charter school. Mr. Soucek co-sponsored SB 8, which eliminated a "cap" on the number of charter schools in the state.  SB8 was introduced to the Senate on January 27, 2011, passed the Senate on February 24 by a vote of 33-17, referred to the Committee on Education in the House on March 1, referred to the House Committe on Finance on March 16, and was passed by the House, 68-51-1, on April 11, 2011. It was signed into law by the Governor on June 17, 2011.

The questioner asked, "Why aren't your children attending the local charter (school)...that if he was going to endorse these bills (the charter school bill, presumably), you should have at least one of your children partake in them since you don't think the (garbled) public schools are worth it."

Mr. Soucek replied that all three of his children attend Blowing Rock Elementary. "We've had a great experience with all three of our kids at Blowing Rock Elementary. I think my kids are thriving there, and that it is a great educational opportunity for them, so that is the school we chose for them...We want people to have choices. We want families to be able to decide what is the best situation for them: a home school, a charter school, or a traditional public school....We have an interesting situation in this district because we have some really great schools in the (Watauga County) district.  We don't have very many charter schools because there is not much of a desire (for charter schools)."

The senator pointed out that charter schools were created in North Carolina because many public schools in the state are simply failing.  They were created to give parents a choice.  "There are places in the state where the schools are absolutely failing their students, where there are as many as 10,000 to 20,000 students on a waiting list trying to get into a charter school, because that is what the parents desire, for their kids to have a chance at a good education....What the charter school bill did was remove any limits on the number of charter schools within the state."

Soucek defended his family's decision to send their children to Blowing Rock, a traditional public school in Watauga County, by going through the "process."  He said that the More at Four pre-K program aimed at at-risk children typically had extra slots at Blowing Rock School, and his daughter was accepted into the program on merit, by going through the process, just the same as other parents' children did. "Truthfully, based on what we get paid (in public service), my family would qualify for federal and state assistance. We don't take advantage of it, but we would qualify for many aid programs (based on income considerations)."

In response to the same questioner's interest in the state budget cuts, particularly for education, Soucek replied, "The reality is that we (spent) money in North Carolina that we didn't have for far too long.  The most responsible thing we can do for our state today, and for our education (system) both today and in the future is to act fiscally responsible.  If we spend money today that we don't have, we are hurting our state and we are hurting our education (system) in the long run. We're going to live within our means rather than continue to push the ball down the road and let that mountain (of deficits) get bigger and bigger. It was a difficult decision, but we did what we thought was right."

Rep. Jordan added that as co-chair of the Committee on Education, Senator Soucek was right in the thick of things, looking at each of the budget items.  Jordan also asserted that no one wanted to destroy the public schools, that they would always be where the vast majority of students would be taught, suggesting that home schools, charter schools and private schools were options available to parents "...because they meet different family situations."

Jordan revealed that his children also attended a traditional public school in Ashe County. "We have excellent public schools in this area," he said, suggesting that there is little need for him, Soucek, and of anybody else to send their children to a charter school primarily designed for at-risk students.

"There is a constitutional mandate," Jordan noted, "to provide education. We spend over $11 billion (per year) on education, between K-12, community colleges and universities."

Seeming to underline Soucek's decision to send his children to Blowing Rock School, Lowell Younce, former member of the Watauga County Board of Education, rose to remind the audience that the performance of Watauga County's traditional public schools is exceptional. "Blowing Rock, last year, was #2 in the whole state of North Carolina with the end of the year testing. No. 2!  Well, guess what happened this past year?  They were #1!"  Implying that there is no need for Mr. Soucek to send his children to a charter school, Yount said, "Our public school system in Watauga County is well and alive and working fine...Senator Soucek, I don't blame you for wanting your children to (attend) Blowing Rock School."

Social Media

One audience member asked about the legislators' efforts to use social media to communicate their respective messages to the voters of their districts. Soucek replied that one of the biggest challenges he faces is to more effectively manage the ways in which people can communicate with him.  "Home phone, office phone, cell phone, email, Twitter, Facebook...I have 10 ways that people reach me and one of the things I work hard at is trying to get back to people that reach out to me, whether they agree with me or not."

Jobs

In response to a question by Blowing Rock Town Commissioner Jim Steele about what the legislature should be looking at in order to promote employment, Jordan replied, "In a nutshell, the best thing a state government can do to help employment is to allow private businesses (an environment of) the least regulation, more voice in tax reform, and to let the entrepreneurs and business people create jobs (not government)."

Defining Marriage

One questioner challenged the legislators on their need to define marriage and write into legislation laws that "...are bound to limit the rights of gays and lesbians in this state, to pass laws that are at best redundant, and at worst discriminating."

Soucek acknowledged the contentiousness of the same-sex marriage issue. He noted that the issue had been bounced around in various committees in the North Carolina halls of government for more than a decade.  He indicated that the constituents in this district have overwhelmingly asked for a constitutional amendment, and that it was such an important issue that it is being put on the ballot in November.  Soucek defended his own belief that "marriage as traditionally defined is a building block of society...I think the people have a right to vote on this issue."

While there was general applause for the senator's position, not everyone agreed. One man attending the forum with his mother pointed out that his brother was gay, suggesting that the legislators were treading on a personal freedom by trying to limit the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman. "If someone wants to get married (whether heterosexual, gay or lesbian), they should have that right. I don't know where I stand on the issue, but it really is none of my business (what his brother chooses)."

The man also suggested that if this constitutional amendment is passed, there will be somewhat of a "brain drain" as gays and lesbians leave the state because they cannot pursue their chosen lifestyle. Without providing statistics, he asserted that a large number of people left the U.S. military because of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, offering it as proof of the prospective migration of gays and lesbians because of this constitutional amendment.

Soucek countered that none of the research he had done on the prospective impact of the proposed amendment suggested a negative economic impact on the state.  He stated that nine of the "top 10" states rated for economic health have (similar) marriage laws and that most if not all of the bottom 10 have laws that infringe on the traditional definition of marriage. He pointed out that North Carolina already has marriage laws, but as has been the case in many states, a single judge can overturn that definition. "I don't believe that a single judge should be able to overturn the will of the people...We are not changing what people can do in their private lives, but (confirming) what the government recognizes as a time-proven institution."

Soucek observed that the preamble to the Constitution of North Carolina reads, "We the people...".   Soucek went on to say, "We are going to let the people of North Carolina decide this issue (through a ballot referendum)."

The young man took exception to the Republican-led legislature effectively dodging the issue by putting it on the ballot, to what Soucek called, "the will of the people."  Said the man, "If in the 1960s Civil Rights had been left up to the will of voters in the South, we would still have racial segregation, but that does not make it right."

Jordan pointed out that the Constitution is a minority rights document. "It takes a super-majority to effect a constitutional amendment."

Another young man asked the representative and the senator, "As legislators, how do you determine how to strike a balance between matters of public morality and individual freedom. When do you make a decision to possibly abridge freedom or when to grant rights, using gay marriages as an example?"

Soucek answered that something critical in the marriage issue is whether something is a right or a privilege.  Citing a conversation with a U.S. Supreme Court justice about these kinds of issues, the senator said, "Considering things like race and gender, those are things that cannot be discriminated against, but sexual orientation has been ruled by the Supreme Court as not something that is an inherent right...you cannot choose what gender you are, and you cannot choose what race you are, but you can choose your public behavior.  I am not making a judgment about what someone's propensity is, but that behavior is someone's choice and it (should not be) enshrined as a right."

Jordan added that "...Government was established to do things that we cannot do for ourselves as individuals, but it was also designed to promote society and the furtherance of society. This (proposed) constitutional amendment, we're talking about marriage as a social institution...is an amendment put in place to promote the social institution of marriage and the procreation of children.  If folks want to (engage in) other behavior in the privacy of their own homes, I don't have anything against that. This amendment has nothing to do with that.  It is not discriminatory because any man and any woman could become married if they choose too."

Social Entitlement Programs

One man pointed out to the legislators that not everyone that receives public assistance abuses the programs. "The programs help people get back on their feet and move on. However, there are people who abuse the programs.  What can the State of North Carolina do in the way of drug testing for illegal drugs to (identify) people who receive special funds that enable them to pursue a lifestyle that is very costly to taxpayers."

Jordan replied that there is great interest in the General Assembly in dealing with fraud in the entitlement programs, but that there are other programs (for drug testing)."

Soucek said that entitlement programs are intended to help desperate people "...get over a hump.  I look at it as an issue (or question) of  'Is this policy empowering someone to get back to being a self-sufficient member of society, or is it enabling them to stay dependent?' I want policies that empower people, not (policies that) enable them (to stay dependent)."

Other issues were also discussed, ranging from Term Limits, "Puppy Mills" and Photo IDs for voting privileges, among others.  All in all, there was healthy dialogue between people with often radically differing viewpoints.  Except for one outburst, the proceedings were all very civil, but still reflected the passions of human values and human conviction.

One of the most striking moments of Wednesday morning's session came after it had formally ended.  Without hesitation, Senator Soucek stepped from behind the podium and sought out a woman who obviously disagreed with him on the proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage. To the outside observer, it appeared that he felt she had not been given an adequate amount of time to communicate her position.  Instead of backing away and making the easy escape from the controversial issue, Soucek faced it, head on, one-on-one.  Whether one agrees with his politics or not, Soucek's "style" must be appreciated and his conviction respected.

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