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^^ "^"^^ UNC-CH SERIOI c **CHILL c-7S39 -1300J S» w * ^ LHAPEL HILL (Lar a Crimes VOLUME 97 - NUMBER 30 DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, JULY 28, 2018 TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 50 CENTS NCLBC Chair To GOP: Reconsider Bryan Beatty Appointment’ by Cash Michaels Special for NCBPA newspapers State Sen. Erica Smith (D-Bertie), chair of the NC Legislative Black Caucus, has now weighed in, on behalf of the NCLBC, on the growing controversy over the Republican-led legislative majority rejecting Gov. Roy Cooper’s nomination of former Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety Bryan Beatty, an African- American, for a special superior court seat on June 29 th as the short session was ending. “Secretary Beatty has an outstanding background of service to our statesmen.” Sen. Smith said in a statement Monday. “It is appalling that the GOP supermajority refused to appoint him as a special superior court judge without any explanation. This is not only an attack against Governor Cooper but all of us.” “Secretary Beatty was voted out with no explanation whatsoever. The North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus fully supports Secretary Beatty and calls for the GOP to reconsider this appoint,” the NCLBC chairwoman continued. Beatty was also a former director of the State Bureau of Investigation, and a graduate of UNC - Chapel Hill Law School. The Senate Judiciary Committee, one of three state legislative committees Sec. Beatty appeared before and cleared in consideration for the judicial seat, is co- chaired by three Republicans - Sen. Tamara Barringer (Wake); Sen. Warren Daniel (Burke); and Sen. Shirley B. Randleman (Stokes). There are 21 members in all on that panel - 6 Democrats including Sen. Paul Lowe (Forsyth), Majority Leader Dan Blue (Wake), Sen. Floyd McKissick, Jr.(Durham), Sen. Terry Van Duyn (Buncombe), Sen. Jeff Jackson (Mecklenburg) and retired Superior Court Judge Milton “Toby” Fitch, Jr. (Wilson); and 12 other Republicans. In an interview this week, Sen. Lowe maintains that no one on the committee said anything negative about Secretary Beatty’s nomination after he was questioned, and it passed unanimously. “[The committee passed his nomination] with flying colors,” Sen. Lowe recalls. “Everyone thank him for his service...the whole bit.” In fact, Lowe recalls, while the white male judicial nominee from Lumberton also passed committee muster “with flying colors,” the white female judicial nominee didn’t attend that committee meeting at all. But when it reached the joint session of the legislature on June 29 th , the Republican majority in both the Senate and House voted Beatty’s nomination down without explanation. SEN. ERICA D. SMITH “It was extremely disappointing ....the way [Republicans] addressed it in the joint session, was to not address it all,” Lowe opined. The Forsyth County Democrat said the main reason clearly was because Beatty was one of Gov. Cooper’s judicial nominees. But the GOP lawmakers did ratify Cooper’s other two judicial nominees for special superior court seats - a white male and white female. So why was Beatty - the only African-American of the three - turned down? No Republican has given a reason why on the record, but Sen. Lowe says, “ I think that was part of a plan for fear that, you know, somebody might pull a race card out...” Lowe maintains that last part is speculation on his part, but still, to many, what Republicans did, and how they did it, speaks yarns. NCNAACP Pres. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman called the GOP rejection of Sec. Beatty “...quite blatant.” Ford Porter, Gov. Cooper’s spokesperson, blasted legislative Republicans for “.. .working to inject partisan politics into our courts...,” especially after the GOP also circulated a flier with the pictures of twelve judges and justices - three of them black - and all appointed by Democratic governors, titled, “WHEN GOVERNORS IGNORE THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE.” Speaking on behalf of the NCLBC, Chairwoman Sen. Erica Smith maintained, “Our courts must represent North Carolina.” Big N Carolina political donor gives $1M for scholarships (AP) - A multimillion-dollar donor to North Carolina political causes is now contributing $1 million for competitive college scholarships for students attending the state’s historically black schools. The North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus Foundation announced Jully 20 that Durham investment firm founder Greg Lindberg will give $200,000 per year for five years Beginning in 2019, five in-state students majoring in or considering business-related studies will receive $40,000 to use over four years. Lindberg is chairman of Eli Global. Its insurance group arm will offer internships and mentors for scholarship recipients. Lindberg didn’t attend the announcement at North Carolina Central University. Campaign finance reports show Lindberg has given more than $5 million to state candidate or independent expenditure committees since 2016, with much benefiting Republicans. Lindberg has said little publicly about his political giving. BRYAN BEATTY Worries of violence accompany 2020 GOP convention choice By Steve Peoples and Tom Foreman Jr. CHARLOTTE (AP) - Charlotte, the North Carolina city selected for the 2020 Republican national Convention, has a history of diversity and inclusiveness that has sometimes been difficult to achieve. The Democratic-leaning city was chosen over Las Vegas at the summer meeting of the GOP’s national committee july 20. In 2012, North Carolina’s largest city hosted the Democratic National Convention. The city hopes to present itself as belonging on the national stage, but some residents worry about the potential for violence between supporters and opponents of President Donald Trump. ‘I’m going to call for unity,” said Vi Lyles, Charlotte’s first black female mayor, after the City Council voted 6-5 to make a bid for the convention. ‘Unity doesn’t come easily. It comes with hard work, and we’re trying our best to make that happen.” Recent history has proven how elusive unity can be. Under Lyles’ predecessor, Jennifer Roberts, Charlotte passed an LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinance in 2016 that included allowing people to choose the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity. The Republican-led General Assembly responded with House Bill 2, which prevented other local governments from passing similar laws and directed transgender people in schools and government buildings to use restrooms and locker rooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificates. A protracted battle marked by corporate pullouts and sports boycotts ended when state lawmakers rolled back the restrictions, but not enough to satisfy LGBTQ advocates. Against the backdrop of Trump’s statements denigrating minorities, Muslims, women and the LGBTQ population, several residents have expressed concerns about the potential for upheaval outside the convention given divisions within the city, particularly in the wake of violent protests in 2016 in downtown Charlotte after the police shooting of a black man. The Rev. Amantha Barbee said that although the city was able to handle protesters during the Democratic convention in 2012, it may see more trouble in two years. ‘It’s not an issue of Democrat versus Republican. It is an issue of public safety,” Barbee said. ‘I know they say they have this money for extra security and that we didn’t have these problems in the past. But we have a very different climate in 2012.1 don’t think anybody can deny the amount of angst that we have experienced in this country over the last year and a half. And now, with our heightened interaction with the Russian government, it’s even caused more concern.” Barbee, who spoke at the hearing before the City Council vote, said she had a message for city leaders. T think you and six members of the City Council made a conscious decision to put the public safety at risk,” she said, referring to Lyles and the six yes votes. Charlotte-based Republican consultant Larry Shaheen says he doesn’t expect to see violence like that at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. ‘I do not believe that something like '68 is going to happen in Charlotte,” Shaheen said. Given recent events in the city, he said, Charlotte convention organizers would be wise to begin building civic unity for the event now to avoid a spark ‘fanning into the flame.” Las Vegas was a finalist for the GOP convention in 2016 as well. Some Republican leaders feared the city’s reputation, and the influence of casino moguls Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn on Republican politics, might cloud the convention’s message. Democrats, meanwhile, have narrowed their 2020 convention choices to Houston, Miami and Milwaukee. Anticipating a crowded and contentious primary battle, they’re also planning to move up their convention date to give the party more time to come together before the fall general election. Associated Press writer Gary Robertson contributed reporting
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July 28, 2018, edition 1
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