Republican Horner, Democrat Pacer seek open seat in Senate District 11

Republican Rick Horner is campaigning to maintain the conservative direction state government is heading, while Democratic opponent Al Pacer is telling voters in Senate District 11 covering areas around Rocky Mount that change is needed.

Buck Newton, a Republican, currently holds the seat, but has opted to run for state attorney general instead of seeking re-election to the Senate.

The 2016 Republican primary to replace Newton was close. Horner eked out a victory over Benton Sawrey by a 724-vote margin out of more than 22,000 ballots cast in what the North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation calls a strong Republican district based on conventional voting behavior.

Pacer ran unopposed in the primary cycle.

Senate District 11 covers portions of Johnston, Nash, and Wilson counties. Its voter mix is 42 percent Democratic, 33.8 percent Republican, and 23.6 percent unaffiliated.

Pacer doesn’t agree with the changes to the state tax code made by the Republicans who have controlled state government over the past few years.

He says efforts to broaden the sales tax base are counterproductive, and that sales taxes are regressive, disproportionately affecting those with lower incomes. He also said the state’s schools and infrastructure have suffered from Republican tax cutting.

“Continued fiscal discipline” is what Horner said should be the top priority going forward. Horner says Republican leaders have done a good job holding the line on state spending but is unsure where taxes should be cut further. He’d like to see more data on tax collections over time before making a decision on the issue.

“Everything is jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said of the issues facing the state.

Another issue that’s generated considerable debate in Raleigh is the state’s certificate-of-need regulations, which require state approval for hospital and medical practices to provide certain services, buy expensive equipment, build freestanding clinics, or add additional capacity.

Horner would like to study the issue more closely, but is concerned about the viability of rural hospitals in the absence of CON rules. While he recognizes that removing CON may increase competition in urban areas, he’s unsure whether the state would find a solution that loosens the regulations in big cities while ensuring the survival of small-town health care providers.

Pacer’s view of CON is much less nuanced.

“I’m not necessarily in favor of getting rid of certificate of need,” he said. He believes that without such regulations there would be chaos, which is what he believes the free market would bring.

Pacer has strong views on election reform. While much of the focus on reforming how the state elects the General Assembly has centered on creating a nonpartisan commission to draw legislative districts, Pacer would take things a step further. He supports a system of proportional representation, thus eliminating the need for changing district lines every decade.

“I wish for more compact districts that are reflective of county lines … except mine,” Horner joked. On a more serious note, he believes that redistricting reform is unlikely to pass because whichever party is in power won’t want to give up the advantage they can achieve by drawing district lines favorable to them.

Horner said he was a victim of gerrymandered district lines when he ran for the Senate in 2000 and his district was redrawn to favor a Democrat.

Horner is a Nash County native with a degree in business administration from East Carolina University. His business career has been spent mainly in the financial services industry, both as a financial advisor and later in commercial insurance.

Horner served for 14 years on the Nash-Rocky Mount Board of Education, including four years as its chairman. He currently serves on Wilson County Community College’s Board of Trustees.

Horner’s main interests are agriculture, education, and financial services. Ideally, he’d like to serve on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Pacer’s background is primarily in government. He served as budget director for Albany County, N.Y., before transferring to establish and then run its worker training department. He later worked for 13 years as a planner for Broward County, Fla.

Pacer’s undergraduate degree is from what is now UNC-Wilmington. He also holds a master’s degree in political science from Appalachian State University, and another master’s in public administration from the State University of New York at Albany.