The generation gap between Republican primary election candidates for the 14th District of the N.C. House of Representatives may not be the biggest difference between them, incumbent Rep. George Cleveland says.
Cleveland, 74, is defending his seat against Robert “Bobby” Mills, 27, for the GOP nomination on May 6 in what may be the greatest age discrepancy between two candidates this primary cycle. But while both candidates proclaim conservative principles, Cleveland believes Mills is really a liberal, a contention that Mills denies.
No Democratic candidates have filed to run for the seat, representing parts of Onslow County. Barring entry by a write-in or unaffiliated candidate, the May 6 primary victor will win the seat in the 2015-16 General Assembly.
Asked why he has chosen to run for the legislature at such a young age, Mills said, “I feel a calling to serve the public, and it’s an honor to do so. I’ve luckily positioned myself to run and run full-heartedly.”
Notwithstanding the candidates’ gap in ages, both offered similarly conservative positions. Tax cuts topped their lists. Both favor tax reforms that could lure new businesses to come to the state and the Jacksonville area. This is an important issue for the 14th District, as the prospect of military downsizing could affect Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, a source of thousands of jobs.
Cleveland, a 10-year House veteran, questioned whether Mills was conservative enough to represent the interests of the district.
“I’d venture to say he’s never voted for a Republican,” Cleveland said of Mills, citing his opponent’s record of having voted in Democratic primaries in the past. “He would not be a conservative representative. He would be a liberal person that is sitting in a conservative seat if he wins.”
Mills touted his conservative positions, saying that he’s experienced the effectiveness of private industry in his work as the general manager of Bob’s Auto Center and Bob’s Bargain Center, businesses his family owns that employ more than 40 people.
“First, and foremost, I’m a conservative,” said Mills. He believes that he would be a more effective conservative in the state legislature than Cleveland. “A Christian, effective conservative. That’s what I’m running for.”
Cleveland, who served 25 years in the Marine Corps and is now chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government, and on the Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee, said that the two greatest achievements of the last legislative session were passing new voter identification laws and tax reform.
He added that the biggest challenge for the Republican-controlled state legislature has been balancing the budget after the Great Recession stifled tax collections.
“The hardest thing was trying to find savings to take care of the $3 billion that Democrats left us in the hole,” said Cleveland.
It is important to continue changing the culture of state government agencies from using taxpayer money to generating their own revenue sources, he said.
Cleveland cited Tryon Palace and the Roanoke Island Commission as examples of state agencies that have taken steps toward generating their own revenue streams.
He stressed that further work must be done by state government to reform the state’s Medicaid structure, which, he said, runs deficits from $350 million to $450 million each year.
Mills, who was student body president at North Carolina State University and who earned a master’s degree in economic history at the London School of Economics where he became Postgraduate Officer (similar to being president of graduate school students), said his experience in the private sector and the knowledge he gained in his graduate studies would make him an effective legislator.
“We have to simplify the system,” Mills said, stressing that it was too easy for people to cheat the tax code. “We need to have a more simple process, that’s why I believe in the Fair Tax,” a reform model that would replace income taxes with consumption taxes.
Both candidates believe that their relationships with Onslow County citizens put them in a position to best serve their constituents.
Mills said he’s running a grass-roots campaign, knocking on constituents’ doors and asking for their votes.
“Most people are genuinely shocked that someone who is running for office is knocking on their door,” Mills said. “I want the public to know me, and I want them feeling that if they have a disagreement we can talk about it.”
Cleveland said that the most rewarding part of his job is helping constituents who experience trouble with state government.
“I take care of my constituents when they have a problem,” said Cleveland. “I do whatever I can to solve their problem. The most satisfying part of my job is when I’m able to solve a constituent’s problem with the bureaucracy.”
Brett Lewis is a contributor to Carolina Journal.