My First Ex-Com as Chair - April 26, 2011

I must confess that I was really nervous as we began our first Excom meeting together.  So, the first thing I have to say is thank you to my fellow Democrats.  You all made it easy.  You corrected my mistakes (like where I live) and were willing to work with a different format for our first meeting together.

My friends, we have great challenges ahead and need to be united if we are to prevail.  I cannot overstate my belief that there is no more important goal for us than to get some of our colleagues on the County Commission.  That means that we will have to work together, as a team, to put aside differences of opinions - not ignore them - just put them aside.  We need to do so to find candidates who will represent us well, and know, absolutely, that we have their back.  The Democratic tent is a big one.  We may use our meetings for debate, discussion, respectful disagreements, etc.  But when we walk out the door, we must always remember that we are a team.

This week we actually made decisions and planned next steps on a number of items.  LaDonna (our third vice-chair) is pushing ahead with taking first steps to start a Young Democrats program.  Our BOE  nominations have been made and we have agreed to vote at the next meeting, after accepting any nominations from the floor.  After doing so, we will vote and prioritize the 'winning' candidates by which of them received the most votes.

We have also decided to take our EXCOM show on the road.  We have planned that once quarterly we will visit another part of the County.  Moreover, I have asked that every effort be made to grow our base by asking each precinct chair to invite a guest or two to every meeting.  I'd like that person to be among our 1500, under thirty-five year olds.  However, anyone you invite would best be a person who might otherwise never attend. Assure them that their input during the meeting is welcome and wanted.

Some suggestions were made by a fourth break-out group, led by Bob Cubbler, as to a nominating and /or vetting committee for candidates for local office.

Lots more was discussed, but for now, I must get back to my homework!

Your Neighbor ... Your Democrat

Norm Bossert, Chair

A Good Friend and Republican . . .

I must tell you that I count several Republicans as good friends.  Today I spoke at great length to one gentlemen and colleague.  We are both educators and I was, respectfully, commenting that I didn't understand why Republicans in the State House and Senate, don't seem to be wanting to share the love with our public schools and the children they serve.  He agreed that they seem to have an agenda that is not supportive of public education.  Sadly, I believe that it was House Majority Leader Stam who was quoted to have said something to the effect that his vision was that all schools become Charter Schools. 

What a great notion!  We could all have staffs and administrators who have some unlicensed! staff on board.  We could all lack adequate financial or curricular oversight!  What a great idea!  We could all be supervised by a new agency, created by the very people who claim to want to cut budgets.  (Personally, I think that since they derive their funding through their local school boards, they should be accountable to them!) 

Well, truthfully, I know of some fine Charter Schools.  But I haven't seen one yet that can compete with our innovative public schools.  At the end of the day, many people would agree that parents should be able to choose to whatever extent possible.  My colleague and I love our public schools and the good people who work hard to grow our children, the children of North Carolina.  Neither of us understand the attitude of the majority party regarding the public schools of North Carolina.  You see, the schools must have done something right.  The majority of our elected officials attended public schools.

Now, adding insult to injury, the majority party has proposed a budget which reduces public school funding by 1 and 1/4 billion dollars.  Ironically, if they would agree to extend the 1% sales tax for another year, the funds raised could completely close that gap, keep classroom sizes reasonable, and keep thousands of people in the education business employed.  These employed people would make purchases, pay taxes (not take unemployment insurance and medical benefits, food stamps, and suffer costly foreclosed mortgages)  I don't know, it just makes common sense to me.

I wonder what you think!

Governor Perdue to the Rescue ... For Now Anyway

The Governor has vetoed a Senate Bill to change the benefits promised teachers when they signed their contracts.  In that Bill, our Republican led Senate wanted to charge teachers for their Health Insurance.  They also wanted to charge retirees for their health insurance.  In case you didn't know that would have further eroded teacher pay in a State where teacher pay has been frozen for the past two years, and will also likely be frozen for one more year.

The bottom line here is that the Republican led efforts purpose was basically to tax teachers to help provide revenue for the State of North Carolina.  This Bill also called  for larger deductibles over the course of several years.

Readers, the contempt that our Republican legislators seem to have for our State's public school teachers may  once again be the subtext for yet another bit of legislation.  Shame on those Republicans, most of whom were taught in public schools. 

I don't know if the Governor's veto will hold up in the Assembly, where every Democratic representative's vote is absolutely critical.  If you are able, contact your representatives (Democratic and Republican) and tell them that you want Governor Perdue's veto to stand.

Your Neighbor ... Your Democrat

April 14, 2011

Tonight  I had the opportunity to attend the Transylvania County Democratic Men's Club meeting.  It was a short one, punctuated by an opportunity to hear a brief overview of the legislation proposed by the majority party that would impact the election process in North Carolina.  One such proposal would cost, it would appear, some $600,000.  

The irony didn't escape any of those present.  In fact Republicans would say that they made promises to cut taxes, save jobs, etc.  Well, I believe that they have some other agenda.  I'm not certain that I truly understand their agenda.  For example Senate Bill 8 (Charter School Bill), would, on the face of things lift the cap on the numbers of Charter Schools in North Carolina.  But, desperate as Republicans are to cut spending, this Bill would create an entire new bureaucracy to supervise those charter schools.  

Yesterday they published their proposed budget for public, k-12, education.  It calls for nearly a 9% cut in funding.  When one considers that there are older cuts that get wrapped up into the budget cuts. . .they are basically cutting support to public education by some 13%. This will cost thousands of jobs. 

How, I wonder, will that solve North Carolina's budget woes?

This is my first posting on a blog.  I've thrown a few ideas out on the table and invite anyone who reads this to comment. . .respectfully please.  

For my fellow TCDP neighbors, this is my first attempt at 21st century communication.  I hope you will read, comment, and add your thoughts to much needed discourse.