With the retirement of Democratic Rep. Bob England, Republican challengers believe they have a real opportunity to take the House District 112 seat in the November election.
The political atmosphere is favorable. While registration in the 112th leans Democratic, it’s a conservative district where more than a few voters aren’t happy with government’s ever-expanding role in their lives.
“It’s a very conservative-leaning district —conservative social values and conservative fiscal values,” said Michael Hager, a mechanical engineer and property developer who hopes to replace England in the General Assembly.
“It’s what I call ‘old-school Democrat,” said Alan Toney, a businessman who also is seeking England’s seat. “I know a lot of people who are registered Democrats, but they’re not Democrats.”
Hager and Toney are two of four candidates for the seat running in the May 4 Republican primary. Other candidates include insurance adjuster Jim Wayne Newton and retired teacher Dennis Davis. The winner will face Democrat Jim Proctor in the general election.
The 112th, which includes Cleveland and Rutherford counties, was hit hard by the decline in the textile and furniture industries, and the recent economic meltdown only has added to the misery. Unemployment is 18 percent in Rutherford County and almost 16 percent in Cleveland County.
“That’s what the record shows, but if you live here, you know it’s more like 25 to 30 percent,” Newton said. “Many people drive elsewhere to work because they’re no jobs here.”
“The first three issues in this campaign are jobs, jobs, and jobs,” Hager said.
The candidates agree that in order to attract companies to the district, the corporate tax burden must be lightened. However, they disagree somewhat on economic incentives.
Hager is against incentives, saying “you can’t pick and choose who’s going to be successful and who’s not going to be successful.”
Newton said that economic incentives are “something we’re having to do to survive,” while acknowledging that they’re “just a band-aid” and “not in any way a solution to the problem.”
Toney described economic incentives as a double-edged sword because “sometimes they come back to bite you.”
He cited as an example a company that took advantage of economic incentives in the district and was gone within a few years.
Instead, he’d rather government make the playing field level for all companies by limiting its role.
“I’d rather see government just get out of the way and let us prosper without all the regulations, restrictions and taxes,” he said.
Newton believes that high taxes not only affect companies that provide jobs, but also workers. He said he added up the sum total of his personal taxes and found that the government claimed 51 percent of his income.
That’s less money people have to invest and spend, which further takes its toll on the economy.
But Newton added that the tax burden government puts on citizens isn’t just about money; it’s about control.
“If the government takes half your money, then they control you,” he said. “That’s an important matter to me, and it’s important to other people, too. There are some people who like socialism, but I’m not one of them.”
Newton added that taxation is not the only form of government control. He emphasized that government indeed plays a positive role when providing core services and regulating safety. But his experience with in the textile industry taught him that government often overreaches.
“Goodness knows I believe in safety for employees, but the government gets hold and they just go to excess. There needs to be a balance between the regulations and reason,” he said.
Toney expressed a similar sentiment when discussing a required Environmental Protection Agency lead paint course related to his fire and water remediation business. The course not only cost his business money, but lost production as well.
“I don’t see a problem with protecting kids or anybody else from lead paint,” Toney said. “But I just believe our government has grown so big that every time you turn around, they’re there. We need to reverse that trend.”
When asked about the biggest issue the state faces, Hager said the legislators need to rein in spending, emphasizing that a lower tax burden would give citizens the tools they need to be successful.
“We have to stop this wild spending spree we’ve been on since the early ’80s,” Hager said.
Hager said he’s been outspoken about education issues, adding that “it’s amazing how you can throw more money at a problem and have lower results.”
He favors lifting the charter school cap, believing that public education should take a hard look at the “best practices” of charter schools, private schools and business.
One “best practice,” he says, would be a more streamlined administrative structure.
“We’ve got to make sure teachers are the ones making the decisions with minimal hindrance from administration,” Hager said.
Toney biggest education issue is the belief that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in schools.
“We’re all created equal, we’re all the same, and I think evolution teaches the opposite of that,” Toney said.
Dennis Davis could not be reached for an interview. But in a forum sponsored by the Shelby Star, he endorsed conservative themes of lower taxes and a less top-heavy education system.
Davis was a classroom teacher for 31 years who believes the state should raise the cap for charter schools and that the public education system overemphasizes testing, which inhibits students’ ability to reason.
Sam A. Hieb is a contributor to Carolina Journal.