Ellie Kinnaird stresses experience, accomplishments

With six terms in the N.C. Senate and four terms as mayor of Carrboro behind her, it’s no surprise that Sen. Ellie Kinnaird spends much of her time at campaign appearances talking about what she’s done.

Kinnaird began a recent UNC forum appearance by noting that many in the room were taking advantage of one of her accomplishments – one stop early voting.

“That was my bill,” she said, noting she also helped implement a law requiring paper ballots be used throughout the state to ensure accurate vote counts.

But Kinnaird places the strongest emphasis on her successes in enacting environmental legislation.

“I’ve had a strong environmental history,” she said. “We’ve passed energy and water conservation for all new public buildings.”

Bob Atwater works for campaign finance, transfer tax

I haven’t been able to get up with Sen. Bob Atwater regarding his campaign, but he’s been in the news a number of times since he was last up for election, so voters can get a decent idea of what he’s accomplished from that.

-He teamed up with Gov. Mike Easley to enact a bill that requires gift card vendors to disclose any maintenance fees.

-He supported a land transfer tax for Chatham County.

-He cosponsored a bill with Sen. Ellie Kinnaird to institute public financing of Council of State campaigns.

His goals, according to his Web site, include:

Final week brings endorsements, publicity

The Daily Tar Heel has also made an endorsement in the District 23 race, joining the Independent Weekly in supporting Sen. Ellie Kinnaird’s campaign for reelection.

But like the Independent, the DTH hasn’t done much research into Bass’s candidacy. Standard practice for newspapers is to obtain questionnaire answers or an in-person interview with both candidates before offering an endorsement, and given that Bass is mentioned in about two sentences, it seems as if they didn’t do that. They claim he’s an inactive candidate, which is not true as he has campaigned extensively (albeit without funds for much advertising), including several appearances at forums with his opponent. Also, I’m unable to link to the story because for some reason, it’s not available in the paper’s online edition. You can find it on the last page of the October 29 PDF print edition, however.

Speaking of information about Bass, check out the Roxboro Herald-Courier’s profile of his campaign.

Bass, Kinnaird discuss myriad issues at forum

Sen. Ellie Kinnaird squared off with challenger Greg Bass at a forum at UNC’s Campus Y on Monday, discussing a wide variety of issues with a handful of students in attendance. The forum was sponsored by the Public Policy Majors Union and the Roosevelt Institute.

This Daily Tar Heel article covers most of the highlights, though I can’t help but point out an error in the story. The article states that Kinnaird walked to the forum from her home. I walked with her to her car as I interviewed her, so that’s not true and I’m not sure how the DTH writer got it.

Another interesting moment at the forum was when Bass picked up on the theme of change that has been so prevalent this election season.

“We need to change things,” he said. “The Democrats have been in charge for the last eight years. It’s got nothing to do with Bush.”

Click here for a podcast of the forum. Pardon the low audio quality; the candidates were not miked but everything can still be heard over the background static.

Independent Weekly endorses incumbents

The Independent Weekly has released its endorsements in a number of local General Assembly races, and they’ve chosen Sen. Bob Atwater and Sen. Ellie Kinnaird.

However, the paper didn’t take the time to research the challengers. Instead, they are basing the endorsements off their knowledge of the incumbents’ records and a questionnaire they sent to candidates, which Roger Gerber answered minimally and Greg Bass didn’t answer at all. Given my experience talking to both challengers, they seem quite happy to provide their opinion on any issue and therefore the Indy appears to have done shoddy reporting. Not a good basis for endorsements, in my opinion.

District 23 Forum today

I just learned that several student organizations at UNC are hosting a forum with Sen. Ellie Kinnaird and Greg Bass. Here are the details if you want to attend.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2008
What: *N.C. State Senate Forum
*Time: 5:15 pm
Location: Anne Queen Lounge, Campus Y, UNC Campus
Participants: Senator Ellie Kinnaird (D), incumbent Greg Bass (R), challenger

I’m hoping to record a podcast of the event, so check back for that.

Roger Gerber focuses on education reform

Roger Gerber has spent years organizing and advocating for charter schools, so it’s no surprise that the issue is at the forefront of his campaign for N.C. Senate.

Gerber, the Republican candidate in District 18, wants to abolish the cap limiting the number of charter schools to 100 schools statewide, and while he doesn’t think it’s likely that he will defeat incumbent Sen. Bob Atwater, he hopes his candidacy will contribute to the statewide debate about charter schools. He says charter schools are often more effective than traditional public schools.

The Money Trail: Incumbents raise up to $50,000

I decided to take a cue from my colleague’s blog about campaign finances and take a look at the finance reports the candidates have filed with the N.C. State Board of Elections.

As one might expect, the Republican challengers are working with much less money than the incumbents. Jon “Greg” Bass is not required to file finance reports because he plans to keep his contributions and expenditures under $3,000. Roger Gerber is reporting his finances, but so far he’s posted only one contribution- a donation of $707 from himself.

Map: Where the candidates live

With senate districts as large and diverse as Districts 18 and 23, it’s interesting to note where the candidates live in relation to the rest of their district and constituents. The Google Maps application below shows the two districts (District 23 is in blue, District 18 is in yellow) and where candidates reside within their district. As you can see, the candidates, with the exception of Greg Bass, all reside in the greater Chapel Hill area. Use the “get directions” feature to find out how far you live from the person who could or does represent you. Also note that county lines drawn in the map are not intended to be precise. For those in Durham County who are unsure what district they reside in (as some precincts are split in half), I’m working on a map application that will show the exact senate district boundaries in the county.

View Larger Map

Greg Bass: Raise cigarette/beer taxes to pay teachers

In my last post introducing the candidates, I didn’t have much information on Jon “Greg” Bass, Sen. Ellie Kinnaird’s Republican opponent, as he doesn’t have a Web site. I spoke to Bass tonight, and he had a lot to say about his background, the state of politics in North Carolina and his plans if he’s elected.

Bass, 60, lives in Roxboro and is retired from the automobile industry. He is also a veteran, having served four years in the Air Force. He holds a degree in history from High Point College (now High Point University) and attended graduate school at UNC-Greensboro. His wife, Ruth, teaches in the Person County School System, having taught for 35 years.

Due to the knowledge of schools he gets from his wife, improving the state of schools in North Carolina is Bass’s main goal if elected.