The Last Week Down East

It's my last week down here in New Bern at the Governor's Eastern Office.  It hasn't been boring, either.  On Wednesday, the Governor called a last-minute press conference to be held at the Port of Morehead City.  Director Tate Johnson and I went down there for the 5 o'clock meeting.  She announced that PCS Phosphate had voluntarily withdrawn its plans to build a new sulfur smelting facility at the port.  In the last week, many environmentalists in Carteret County had gotten stirred up claiming that no public notice was given of the plans.  And while the Governor assured them that notice had been given, the protesters were happy to hear the news.  I was hoping for some excitement from the protesters, but got none.

On Thursday, my director and I went down to Havelock for the first of the Governor's Military Summits.  This amounted to the big project that I got to help on this summer.  The event was an opportunity for leaders from government, business, military, and education to get together and learn how to better address the concerns of North Carolina's military communities.  Besides the Governor, several Marine officers were present from MCAS Cherry Point as well as NC Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.  Speaking of Secretary Marshall, I recognized her face as she approached registration.  I had met her at a Smith-Grimsley football game in the fall.  But when she reached my desk, I blanked on who she was.  When I asked for her last name and she said "Marshall", the embarrassment was pretty bad.  Meanwhile, Tate Johnson found it downright hilarious and will likely never let me live that down.  Anyhow, a pretty cool day was capped off with me getting a picture with the Governor.

So that's it for this chapter.  I've been blessed with an amazing opportunity.  I can't thank Tate Johnson enough for selecting me and my uncle Alan for opening up his home to me for these 10 weeks.  After a round of golf at MCAS Cherry Point tomorrow, it's back to the Piedmont Paradise which is Greensboro.  Can't wait to get home.  Next up: London.

A Mansion and a Port

It's been a pretty cool last two days travelling for my internship.  On Tuesday, Governor Perdue hosted a reception at the Executive Mansion for the 64 state government interns.  Let's just say it was not a great day to be walking across downtown Raleigh in a suit.  I had to stop in the History Museum just to cool off.  The Mansion is really nice, as you might imagine.  I couldn't help but feel bad looking at portraits of the "first spouses", as Bob Eaves (Bev's husband) was the only man up there.  It was also cool to see a basketball goal in the back yard.  Anyhow, got to talk to several people, most notably Moses Carey, Secretary of the Department of Administration and Carolina alum.  The Governor gave a brief speech at the end of the reception.

On Wednesday, I traveled down to the State Port at Morehead City to represent the Governor's Office at a luncheon held by the Port Authority.  The event was held to celebrate the opening of a new woodchip facility at the port.  The facility will allow trees grown in eastern North Carolina to be turned into woodchips and exported overseas, creating jobs and hopefully helping to rejuvenate the region's economy.  After the luncheon, we got a tour of the port facilities.  Driving through a massive warehouse with rubber, we were told that Morehead City is the second largest recipient of rubber on the east coast behind only New Orleans.  On the far side of the port, we came to the M/V Stellar Grace, the vessel that will take the first shipment of woodchips.    We got to go on-board for a tour by the captain himself.  Leaving with its cargo from Morehead City, NC, the ship is bound for Istanbul, stopping only at Gibraltar.  I couldn't help but feel that North Carolina pride when thinking that our state's exports were bound for Turkey.  That's pretty cool.  For a state that once produced 96% of the nation's naval stores in the 19th century, it's interesting that North Carolina trees provide a global export for the state here now in the 21st century.  Go North Carolina!

Shoutin' About Redistricting

Sorry it's been a while since the last post, but things have slowed down in the Governor's Eastern Office since the General Assembly adjourned.  However, with the Assembly planning to reconvene for a four day session beginning next week to discuss electoral redistricting, Tar Heel politics is about to heat up once more.  With the numbers in from the 2010 Census, districts have to be redrawn to represent the changes in states.  And while North Carolina came up short of acquiring a 14th seat in the US House, lines will be redrawn.  And like I learned in Ms. Enright's AP Gov class several years ago, the party that controls the NC Assembly redraws the lines.  For the first time in nearly a century, the Republican Party will get the task, or more accurately, the opportunity.

Redistricting is politics plain and simple.  There's no hiding that whatever party runs the state will hammer new districts into shapes that increase its chances of winning down the road.  Everyone does it.  Consider the NC 12th Congressional District.  Literally, I've opened up text books and seen it provided as the example of Gerrymandering.  No Republican has a shot at winning that district; it was made that way by Democrats.  Consider the NC 5th, which is a Republican safe seat.  Republicans in the 2011 General Assembly will set forth to create a red state out of North Carolina.  Aside from some requirements for minority districts via the Voting Rights Act, there is nothing to restrain Republicans.  They'll need a simple majority in the Assembly (which they have) and its a type of bill that Governor Perdue can't veto.

Basic strategy for Republicans: Cluster Democratic precincts into minority precincts.  With minority districts required by law (which almost always vote Democratic), Republican legislators will try to pack these districts as liberal as they can make them.  Essentially, they'll seek to make a handful of districts ultra-liberal and dominated by minorities, leaving the rest and majority of the districts for them at best conservative, and at worst moderate.  For example, Greensborians can think of a neighborhood like Westerwood.  Westerwood is a very white, very liberal neighborhood.  Republicans will seek to put neighborhoods like Westerwood into minority districts like those found in East Greensboro, thereby conceding a liberal district they couldn't win anyway, and making Westerwood's former district more moderate.  This will likely result in black politicians representing a higher percentage of Democratic seats both in Congress and the Assembly.  NOTE: this is an example, I don't actually know of any plans specifically regarding Westerwood.  But hopefully for this post, the strategy for Republicans is clarified by such an example.  

To take a title from a book my mother read, "It's All Over But the Shoutin'."  With little the Democrats can do but file inevitable lawsuits, shoutin' is about all that will be done in Raleigh next week.  Here's to hoping the office doesn't get bombarded with people calling and shoutin' at me.