Page 2
News
The Clarion \ November 10, 2006
Election
continued from page 1
age, protect the mountains and
seek a new direction in Iraq.
Taylor, who had controlled the
seat since 1990, conceded the race
around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night
in a speech to disheartened fol
lowers in West Asheville. But the
65-year-old vowed to remain in
volved with the region.
“I will continue to work with
our communities, families, indi
viduals and non-profit organiza
tions to improve the lives of the
people in this region,” said Tay
lor, a Brevard resident and fre
quent visitor to the college.
How does outcome
affect BC?
One of the foremost issues for
BC students in this year’s North
Carolina ll'*" District race was
education.
Charles Taylor boasts an exten
sive record of fundraising for col
leges and universities in Western
North Carolina, including Brevard
College.
In Sept. 2004, BC President
Drew Van Horn launched the three
year “Building from Strength —
Remembering the Past... Securing
the Future” campaign to raise $ 14
million for the college. With more
than $ 19 million raised last spring.
Van Horn cited Taylor as a key
contributor
“Congressman Taylor’s involve
ment in the Education and Re
search Consortium of the Western
Carolinas (ERC), An Adventure of
the American Mind, Brevard
College’s Pisgah Forest Institute,
and the International Trade and
Small Business Institute based at
Brevard College has been impor
tant in the college’s strategic plans
to promote regional vitality and
business growth,” Van Horn said
in September
Taylor secured $100,000 from
the U.S. Department of Com
merce in 2005 to finance the Inter
national Trade and Small Business
Institute at BC. Seven Russian
students are attending BC this year
through the program.
Hamlett, who has been teaching
at BC since 1999, says that
Taylor’s defeat may have a dra
matic influence on colleges and
universities in Western North
Carolina.
And if Shuler wants to get re
elected, Hamlett says, he too will
create programs that benefit area
colleges and universities.
“(Shuler’s) campaigning for
2008 starts today,” Hamlett said.
According to his campaign
website, Shuler says he will strive
for improvements to colleges and
universities in Western North
Carolina. In particular, Shuler
want to make financial aid more
accessible for students.
“I will fight for increased finan
cial aid funding, especially need-
based aid and Pell Grants, so that
the door to higher education is al
ways open to any student,” Shuler
says on the website.
Democrats take Congress
On a larger scale. Democrats
seized control of the House of
Representatives for the first time
in 12 years on Tuesday. As of
Thursday at 10 a.m.. Democrats
had picked up 29 seats in the
House; they only needed 15 to
capture the majority.
With the takeover, U.S. Rep.
Nancy Pelosi (D-California) is
scheduled to be the first female
Speaker of the House.
Pelosi has said that in the first
100 hours of Democratic control,
the party will push for imple
menting the 9/11 Commission rec
ommendations, raising the mini
mum wage to $7.25 per hour, sup
porting embryonic stem-cell re
search, abolishing corporate sub
sidies for oil companies, allowing
the governmental negotiation of
Medicare drug prices, imposing
new restrictions on lobbyists and
cutting interest rates on college
loans.
According to BC freshman Ryan
Fiffick, the Democratic takeover
was just a matter of time.
“There’s been a disproportioned
allotment of power for a number
of years,” Fiffick said. “It’s a self-
correcting measure that occurs in
all policies that prove ineffective,
and it’s about time”
Wednesday evening the Asso
ciated Press reported that the
Democrats had gained control of
the U.S. Senate as well by a mar
gin of 51 to 49.
According to the AP, Democrats
gained all six seats that they needed
to capture the majority in the Sen
ate.
The Virginia race, which matched
Republican incumbent George
Allen with Democratic challenger
Jim Webb, was predicted by CNN
to be 50 percent to 49 percent in
favor of Allen. CNN did not de
clare Webb the winner as of Thurs
day morning, however, because a
candidate may request a recount
vote if the margin is less than one
percent.
Many are predicting a recount
vote in the state, which could take
weeks, a process that Fiffick
doesn’t mind waiting for
“I think the Republican policy
council will probably take the same
recount measures as Florida (2000
Presidential Election),” Fiffick
said. “But I don’t think they ’ 11 be
successful like they were down
there.”
Supporters campaign outside of tlie Brevard/Davidson River Presbyterian Feiiowship i-iaii on Tuesday.