Cooper Wins Veto. Again
Governor Cooper has won the veto twice now. This year, he broke the Republican supermajority. More than 20 years ago, he helped pass the veto in the first place.
Former Governor Jim Hunt reminded me of how that happened.
Before 1995, North Carolina was the only one of the 50 states where the governor didn’t have veto power. (Governors couldn’t even run for a second term before Hunt changed that in 1977. That’s another story.)
The veto came about because of a confluence of events and an odd-couple coalition.
When Republican Jim Martin was governor, 1985 to 1993, the legislature was Democratic. Martin would send over his proposed budget, and legislative leaders would ceremoniously dump it in the trash can.
Republicans became big veto fans. They put it in their state platforms. They ran on it.
In 1993, Hunt was elected to a third term as Governor. He wanted the veto, and so did Senate Democrats, including a rising young senator named Roy Cooper. House Democrats, though, had no use for the veto. It went nowhere.
Things changed in 1994, Bill Clinton’s disastrous first midterm election. Republicans won a majority in the state House. When the legislature convened, Governor Hunt promptly brought up the veto again. This time, the Republican House leadership was publicly pledged to it. Naturally, some Republicans started rethinking the issue. So did some Senate Democrats.
But Governor Hunt said then-Senator Cooper played a key role in getting veto through the legislature and onto the ballot as a proposed constitutional amendment. It passed.
Two decades later, Governor Cooper gets to use the veto. For real.
Karma.
PS: Governor Hunt is never satisfied. When he told me this story, he added, “Now that I look back, I wish we hadn’t compromised and provided that governors can’t veto redistricting bills.”
PPS: Speaking of Governor Hunt, I’m happy to correct an earlier blog. Just after Election Day, I reported that Rachel Hunt apparently had lost her House race in Mecklenburg. In fact, she won. (A recount is pending.) I was with Jim Hunt all four nights he was elected Governor; I never saw him happier than now.
Cooper Wins Veto. Again
Governor Cooper has won the veto twice now. This year, he broke the Republican supermajority. More than 20 years ago, he helped pass the veto in the first place.
Former Governor Jim Hunt reminded me of how that happened.
Before 1995, North Carolina was the only one of the 50 states where the governor didn’t have veto power. (Governors couldn’t even run for a second term before Hunt changed that in 1977. That’s another story.)
The veto came about because of a confluence of events and an odd-couple coalition.
When Republican Jim Martin was governor, 1985 to 1993, the legislature was Democratic. Martin would send over his proposed budget, and legislative leaders would ceremoniously dump it in the trash can.
Republicans became big veto fans. They put it in their state platforms. They ran on it.
In 1993, Hunt was elected to a third term as Governor. He wanted the veto, and so did Senate Democrats, including a rising young senator named Roy Cooper. House Democrats, though, had no use for the veto. It went nowhere.
Things changed in 1994, Bill Clinton’s disastrous first midterm election. Republicans won a majority in the state House. When the legislature convened, Governor Hunt promptly brought up the veto again. This time, the Republican House leadership was publicly pledged to it. Naturally, some Republicans started rethinking the issue. So did some Senate Democrats.
But Governor Hunt said then-Senator Cooper played a key role in getting veto through the legislature and onto the ballot as a proposed constitutional amendment. It passed.
Two decades later, Governor Cooper gets to use the veto. For real.
Karma.
PS: Governor Hunt is never satisfied. When he told me this story, he added, “Now that I look back, I wish we hadn’t compromised and provided that governors can’t veto redistricting bills.”
PPS: Speaking of Governor Hunt, I’m happy to correct an earlier blog. Just after Election Day, I reported that Rachel Hunt apparently had lost her House race in Mecklenburg. In fact, she won. (A recount is pending.) I was with Jim Hunt all four nights he was elected Governor; I never saw him happier than now.