Henderson County Four Seasons Politics
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory conceded the election to Democratic challenger Roy Cooper on Monday, ending a contentious monthlong vote-counting process and ushering in a period of divided government in the state for the first time since the Republican sweep in 2012.
“I personally believe that the majority of our citizens have spoken, and we now should do everything we can to support the 75th governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper,” McCrory said in a video his campaign posted around noon after it became clear that a recount of votes in Durham County would not change the outcome. “The McCrory administration team will assist in every way to help the new administration make a smooth transition."
The Republican Governors Association applauded McCrory's service.
“North Carolina is a stronger state thanks to Governor Pat McCrory’s steadfast leadership and fiscal discipline,” RGA Chairman Governor Scott Walker said in a statement. “With over 300,000 jobs created on his watch, 9-year low unemployment, a $450 million budget surplus and $4.4 billion in tax relief, North Carolina is thriving. While we hoped for a different outcome from this very close race, ensuring all of the legal votes that were cast were counted was the right thing to do. As soon as that was done, Governor McCrory respected the will of the voters. The RGA is exceptionally appreciative of Governor McCrory for his strong leadership and enormous accomplishments as governor.”
The liberal Progress NC action was not as kind in its assessment.
“After wasting plenty of time and taxpayer dollars with frivolous complaints and bogus accusations, we are thankful that the McCrory campaign has finally acknowledged Governor-elect Cooper’s victory,” Gerrick Brenner, executive director of the organization, said in a statement. “Now it’s time to move forward and for the General Assembly to start repairing North Carolina’s reputation by repealing HB2, raising teacher pay to the national average and looking out for people instead of polluters. North Carolina voters supported these priorities when they elected Roy Cooper, and it’s time to move North Carolina forward instead of backwards.” Read Story »
Henderson County Four Seasons Politics
U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows on Wednesday confirmed what the Washington press corps had been reporting for several weeks. He is officially running to chair the House Freedom Caucus, a Tea Party-oriented group that has sought to steer the Republican leadership to a more conservative agenda.
“The coming year will be a critical period for the Freedom Caucus, and I am humbled at the opportunity to speak with our members and hopefully earn their support for chairman," Meadows, who won a third term in the Nov. 8 election, said in a news release. "From day one since our founding almost two years ago, the mission of the Freedom Caucus has been to give a voice to the countless Americans who feel that Washington does not represent them. Our members are committed to developing and advancing a policy driven agenda that supports accountable and limited government, Constitutional rule of law, and principles that foster the liberty, safety, and prosperity of Americans. I look forward to hopefully earning the support of my colleagues and to building on the great work of my good friend, Jim Jordan, as we continue working to return our government to its rightful owner: the American people.”
Reports from Washington since before the election have said that Meadows has strong support among his Freedom Caucus colleagues and that he appeared to have a clear path if he ran for the chair's seat. Read Story »
Henderson County Four Seasons Politics
Rain was the theme 20 months ago when officials gathered for the groundbreaking of the three-story health sciences building on the Pardee Hospital campus and it was the theme again Tuesday morning — for a while.
Rain fell for the first time in three months on Tuesday but as if on cue the sun came out just as the ceremonial ribbon-cutting finished up at 11:20 a.m.Hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the opening of the Health Sciences Center heard local officials praise the unprecedented five-party agreement that resulted in the building.“We want to welcome everyone to this beautiful facility in the city of Hendersonville,” said Mayor Barbara Volk. “That’s one of the things that we’re most pleased with is that it’s here in the city of Hendersonville.”When Wingate University began looking for bigger quarters, city officials scrambled to make sure the college didn’t leave the city. In the meantime, County Manager Steve Wyatt, then-Wingate president Jerry McGee, Pardee CEO Jay Kirby and BRCC president Molly Parkhill began working on an ambitious and unprecedented effort to cooperate on a major building that would serve them all.“It’s amazing when we pick up the paper today and see the divisiveness around the country and sometimes in our own community what can happen when you check your egos at the door,” said Pardee CEO Jay Kirby. “The fact that our county, the city, Wingate, Blue Ridge, Pardee all came together, put their egos at the door and did what was best for our community, for our patients and for our teachers and what you are standing in today is a reflection of that — nothing more, nothing less.”The Comprehensive Cancer Center, using Pardee oncologists and those from UNC Health Care, will “bring advanced healing close to home,” Kirby added. “We treat over 500 cancer patients each year. Eighty-five to 90 percent of all cancers on this earth can be treated in this building.”Wingate President Rhett Brown recalled a meeting early in the process when he visited Hendersonville and asked Wyatt, “Tell me again what we’re doing up here?”“And he said, ‘Walk with me.’ So we walked outside and we were standing in beautiful downtown Hendersonville and he put his arm around me and he said, ‘Imagine, if you will, that a young person born in Henderson County could not leave Henderson County and become a pharmacist, physician assistant or nurse anesthetist in our county.’ And it was at that point that I got the vision.”Brown thanked his predecessor, McGee, and Wyatt for their dedication to the project.“It was their shared vision and their sheer tenacity that brought us to this day,” he said. “Wingate University in Henderson County will eternally be grateful.” Read Story »
Hendersonville Four Seasons Politics
If the road to this point had not been so contentious, three other high school districts in Henderson County might well be grumbling about what the $53 million Taj Mahal Hendersonville High School is getting. The county rivals may yet look upon it with envy when the doors open to students in August of 2020.
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Henderson County Four Seasons Politics
It could be a month before the state Board of Elections officially confirms the vote count in the Nov. 8 gubernatorial election and a recount could not begin until that final convass, Henderson County Elections Director Beverly Cunningham said Friday.
A federal court order, a razor-thin gubernatorial race and the scrutiny of observers from both parties poses uncertainty as 100 county elections boards undertake the process to certify the Nov. 8 election.
Gov. Pat McCrory, who trails Democratic challenger Roy Cooper by 5,001 votes after Election Day and one-stop votes were counted, gained 15 votes when the Henderson County Board of Elections tabulated absentee ballots it had approved. McCrory won the absentee vote, 83-68, padding his lead in Henderson County to 11,124. The board on Friday counted 173 absentee ballots and added those to the previous totals.
"I don't think it's signficant at all," Terry Lyda, who was observing the county canvass for the Democratic Party, said of McCrory's 15-vote gain in heavily Republican Henderson County. "It's going to take something really crazy somewhere" to allow McCrory to overtake Cooper. "I'm thrilled. 83-68 is excellent for the absentee count."
After it approved and tabulated the absentee votes, the elections board could take no other action in what is usually a routine canvass to certify the elections results. The state Board of Elections has directed the 100 county elections boards to wait until the state Division of Motor Vehicles researches voter registrations it has received.
"Since these races are so close they want to make sure the information they provided is accurate," Cunningham said.
Henderson County has 243 provisional ballots that have not yet been vetted and approved. They cannot be counted until the board blesses or rejects them.
The state Board of Elections canvass, originally set for Nov. 28, has already been pushed back.
"I'm hearing they're going to reset it for the first or second week of December now," she said.
Elections Board Chairman Robert Heltman explained the process to a roomful of observers, on hand mostly to monitor the governor's race.
"We were all hoping we would be done at the end of today," he said. "That is not the case."
The board will reconvene at 10 a.m. Tuesday. There's no guarantee that the state will have completed its research on the DMV-generated registration even then, Cunningham said.
Heltman and Tom Wilson, a Democrat and the previous chair, said they had never seen a delay this long.
"This seems to be a unique situation," Heltman said.
The McCrory campaign has filed elections complaints in 52 counties, claiming that irregularities could favor his opponent. None has been filed in Henderson County. Both Republicans and Democrats praised the Henderson County's elections administration as above board and accurate.
"We're just lucky we've got the people here that we have," Lyda said. "I feel very confident in these people."
Michael Edney, the county commissioner and an attorney, was retained by the state Republican Party to monitor the canvass.
"In Henderson County we've got a great board and great staff," he said. "Clearly they know what they're doing."
Josh Lawson, the general counsel of the state Elections Board, sent a memo to county elections boards at 5 p.m. Wednesday that directed the local boards to wait for a verification of voters' eligibility before counting the provisional votes.
The state Board of Elections signaled in a news release on Thursday the likelihood that Friday's canvass may not produce a final result.
The canvass "is followed by a final certification of statewide totals by the State Board of Elections," the N.C. Board of Elections said. "Counties may, however, delay canvass for a 'reasonable time' if the initial counting has not been completed," the state Elections Board said. "Many, if not all, counties are expected to do just that. Postponing canvass is necessary when certain decisions have not been made regarding provisional ballots, certain types of election protests are pending, or a delay is necessary to comply with a judicial order. The counties have good reason to extend their canvasses this year, including a recent court order."
"In the final days of early voting, a federal court required election officials and the Division of Motor Vehicles to create a new review process for certain voters who claim they registered or changed their address at the DMV, even if no record of registration could be found."
After counties canvass, a statewide candidate who trails by 10,000 votes or fewer may demand a recount by noon on the second business day. If a recount is demanded, the counties would conduct recounts individually in public view.
A recount is a near certainty in the governor's race and likely in the state auditor election, where Democratic incumbent Beth Wood leads Republican challenger Chuck Stuber by 2,670 votes.
“With each passing day, we discover more and more cases of voting fraud and irregularities,” McCrory campaign manager Russell Peck said in a news release. “We intend to make sure that every vote is properly counted and serious voter fraud concerns are addressed before the results of the election can be determined.”
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article115492333.html#storylink=cpy
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Henderson County Four Seasons Politics
The Henderson County School Board honored two colleagues Monday night who were serving in their last board meeting — longtime Chair Ervin Bazzle and first-term member Josh Houston.
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Henderson County Four Seasons Politics
The Henderson County Board of Commissioners will meet with the School Board for a joint discussion on the Hendersonville High School construction next week, the first time the two bodies will have sat down in the same room amid a widening conflict over power and money.
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Hendersonville Four Seasons Politics
Female voters outnumbered male voters by 3,159 after 10 days of early voting in Henderson County, election figures show, and more Republicans had voted than Democrats and independents.
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Edneyville Four Seasons Politics
EDNEYVILLE — Months into a contentious battle with Hendersonville High School graduates, the Henderson County Board of Commissioners appears to have picked a new fight with Edneyville Elementary School and the Edneyville community.
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