Legislature vs. Cities
2013-04-02 - by
A TAPster offers these observations on “the nasty civil war between the legislature and cities, now manifesting itself in high-profile fisticuffs over the Charlotte airport authority and the fate of the Dix property in Raleigh,” as follows:
“First, there have been other disputes like this over the years. Charlotte leaders (including the former mayor and now current Governor McCrory) stayed frustrated for years with former Senate leader Marc Basnight, whom they viewed as an eastern North Carolina rube who had no concept of the challenges of their great city. He wouldn’t send money for transportation projects, much less visit.
“Meanwhile, legislative leaders — whose core ideology is a disdain for a powerful central government and a passion for John Locke’s theories of individual freedom in civic, economic and religious life — have abandoned those principles to use their new-found power and authority to micromanage the affairs of local governments.
“Finally, the politics of this mess will be revealed if these issues come to a vote. If the local legislative delegations are split (especially among the GOP members) and the issues advance anyway, then it’s a sign that the legislative leadership has run amok and thinks it is the boss of everybody. If, however, the delegations are unified, then it will be up to voters to decide whether their representatives in Raleigh are reflecting local values or they are mere vassals of the new king in town.”
Legislature vs. Cities
2013-04-02/
A TAPster offers these observations on “the nasty civil war between the legislature and cities, now manifesting itself in high-profile fisticuffs over the Charlotte airport authority and the fate of the Dix property in Raleigh,” as follows:
“First, there have been other disputes like this over the years. Charlotte leaders (including the former mayor and now current Governor McCrory) stayed frustrated for years with former Senate leader Marc Basnight, whom they viewed as an eastern North Carolina rube who had no concept of the challenges of their great city. He wouldn’t send money for transportation projects, much less visit.
“Meanwhile, legislative leaders — whose core ideology is a disdain for a powerful central government and a passion for John Locke’s theories of individual freedom in civic, economic and religious life — have abandoned those principles to use their new-found power and authority to micromanage the affairs of local governments.
“Finally, the politics of this mess will be revealed if these issues come to a vote. If the local legislative delegations are split (especially among the GOP members) and the issues advance anyway, then it’s a sign that the legislative leadership has run amok and thinks it is the boss of everybody. If, however, the delegations are unified, then it will be up to voters to decide whether their representatives in Raleigh are reflecting local values or they are mere vassals of the new king in town.”