Politics

House speaker talks budget, jobs

Thom Tillis talks about legislative success in 2011 session.

By Bill Moss, Published: April 6, 2012

House Speaker Thom Tillis, the first Republican to lead the chamber since the 1990s, told a friendly Henderson County audience Thursday that he’d work to carry out major reform efforts if Pat McCrory is elected governor.

Tillis also told the gathering that he would have much patience for legislation regarding gay marriage once the measure is decided by voters. If House members are interested in activism on that issue, he said, they’ll have to wait until the 2013-14 cycle, when he says he’ll give up the gavel.

An hour late because of the New Belgium brewery announcement in Asheville Thursday afternoon, and because of storms and traffic problems, Tillis, an IT expert and management consultant by training, defended his first year as one of unprecedented achievement in responsible budgeting.