by John Steed
Whoever wins the primary, the State Senate representation of Craven, Beaufort, and Lenoir counties will move rightward in the next legislature. The retirement of moderate liberal Republican State Senator Jim Perry from the District 3 senate seat has led to two more conservative candidates seeking the nomination in the Republican primary. No Democrat has filed.
The race pits former four term State Representative Michael Speciale who filed early in the process and first term New Bern Alderman Bob Brinson who filed at the last minute. Both are long time military veterans, Speciale in the Marines and Brinson in the Army. Both are former chairmen of the Craven County Republican Party, Speciale having served two full years and Brinson serving three months before resigning to run for alderman.
Both candidates espouse conservative views, so the main factors deciding the race will be on experience and who is most likely to stand up and fight for conservative principles and for the interests of the district in Raleigh. This is where the backgrounds of the candidates differ.
Speciale has been a fighter for conservative principles long before he went to Raleigh. He was one of the organizers and an early chairman of the Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association. Later, Speciale helped found and served as chairman of the God and Country Christian Alliance of Craven County. Both Brinson and Speciale have been very active in campaigning for other Republican candidates.
Most important is legislative experience and a demonstrated willingness to stand up for conservative principles. In the NC House of Representatives, Speciale was the founder and first chairman of the NC House Freedom Caucus, composed of individual conservative legislators banding together to jointly fight for conservative issues. Under Speciale's leadership, the Freedom Caucus scored some notable successes in forcing the more liberal House Speaker Tim Moore to the right. The Freedom Caucus is continuing that record under Speciale's successor as its chairman, Rep. Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort). Speciale also served as chairman of the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee of the NC House.
As a first term New Bern Alderman, Brinson has not been in the same political crucible to demonstrate a leadership on conservative issues. Only time would tell how conservative or how effective he would be.
The more liberal Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, who has shepherded some of liberal Governor Roy Cooper's key liberal agenda items through the legislature, seems to have taken note of the potential arrival in the Senate of a conservative fighter with a record of success in the House.
Berger is twisting arms of senators to contribute to Brinson, who he seems to regard as easier to control. Brinson, himself, says he would not be under Berger's thumb in Raleigh, although only time would tell for sure.
One other major difference is which candidate sticks to the offices with which they are entrusted. Speciale made a term limit pledge when he was first elected to the NC House to serve no more than four terms in that office. At the end of his fourth term, he honored that promise to the voters and retired from the House. Brinson pledged to spend a full two-year term as county GOP chairman, but resigned after three months to run for Alderman. Now in the middle of that term as alderman he is running for state senate which would cut short his term as alderman.
While the two primary candidates have generally similar positions on issues, there are other key differences that should decide the race. Either would be an improvement over the more liberal Perry.
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Victoria said:
( January 30th, 2024 @ 9:03 am )
Maybe Brinson ought to finish at least one job he started before trying to move on to a higher one in the middle of his first term. Can we really trust someone that brazenly ambitious? Will he just tell us what he thinks we want to hear, and then do whatever he wants?
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I scratch my head over the blizzard of mail that Brinson is sending out. Is he spending a lot of personal money to try to buy the seat like Bill Graham is for governor? Does he have a lot of rich friends? Or is he going the Jim Perry route and selling the seat to the special interests for money with which to buy the seat for himself? It will be real interesting reading when his campaign finance forms are published. I hear from folks in Lenoir County that Perry's group is supporting Brinson, which is not at all a positive sign. We don't need another legislator who prostitutes themselves to the special interests like Perry so brazenly did. Speciale, I am comfortable with, but there are a whole lot of questions that need answers with Brinson.
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Mike Speciale in the House was one of the main gun rights supporters in the legislature, a top ally of NC's leading gun rights organization, Grassroots North Carolina. Not only were his votes solid on gun rights, but he was often the chief sponsor of gun rights legislation. We need him more than ever in the Senate.
While 27 other states now have Constitutional Carry, North Carolina does not because liberal Senate President pro tem Phil Berger killed it in last year's General Assembly session. "Silent Mark" Robinson sat twiddling his thumbs while Berger did so. Now Bob Brinson puts our mailers saying he is for gun rights but Phil Berger is pushing people to send Brinson money. What just does not add up about that picture? If you are a gun rights supporter, Mike Speciale is your candidate. He has the backbone to stand up to the likes of Phil Berger and the proven legislative skills to do so successfully. In the Governor's race, Dale Folwell is the gun rights supporter we can depend on. Mark Robinson made great speeches on gun rights, but when the chips were down on gun rights in the legislature, Robinson, the presiding officer over the state senate, let us down. |
Mike Speciale represented Beaufort County or at least a part of it for several of his terms, so we saw firsthand what sort of legislator he is. Mike was the real deal who walked the walk as a staunch conservative as well as talking the talk, and was a strong voice for the interests and principles of the district. He was approachable by citizens either at his office in Raleigh or in the town halls he held regularly in each county in his district, where constituents were encouraged to ask questions and make comments. He stood his ground in Raleigh on policy and in doing so often moved the needle significantly to the right. While keeping a respectful relationship with the more liberal leadership, he was adept at finding ways to manuever around them to achieve conservative results.
With no conservatives in the senate willing to engage with the leadership as Mike did in the House, Mike is exactly who conservatives need in Raleigh to make a real difference for the whole state, not just for our district but for all conservatives. His opponent does talk a good game, but does not have the record of action that Mike does. He may talk the talk, but if he got to Raleigh, it would be an open question if he would walk the walk. If Berger is pushing money toward him, that means at least Berger beleives he would not. We have seen too many politicians talk a good game but then do the opposite like Thom Tillis, or talk a good game and then sit on their hands and do nothing like Mark Robinson. All talk and no "do" gets us nowhere. When we have a sure thing, why take a chance on a "maybe"? |
Speciale was a taxpayer hero in the legislature, leading successful efforts to trim lots of wasteful spending, including the state subsidies for expensive and unreliable solar and wind energy from the budget. We need him back.
I asked a friend in New Bern if the other guy had done anything for the taxpayers on the New Bern city council and he could not come up with a thing he had done to cut taxes and spending. |
Speciale has a proven record and is not beholden to Phil Berger.
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