Tim Moore has spent almost all his life in Kings Mountain, an old textile town more than 150 miles southwest of Raleigh with perhaps more in common with South Carolina than North Carolina. Its name originates from the Revolutionary War battle just south of the state line.
But the small-town attorney never has been too far from the thick of North Carolina politics as an adult, from a university student government leader to the parliamentary traffic cop and agenda enforcer in the state House.
As Rules Committee chairman under House Speaker Thom Tillis, however, Moore avoided the worst relational pitfalls the position can bring when deciding whose bills get heard. It helped him cobble support from fellow Republicans to be the party speaker nominee to succeed Tillis, who's now entering the U.S. Senate.
"I was always honest with everybody," Moore, entering his seventh House term, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press, adding, "I'd treat my colleagues the way I'd want to be treated."
Moore is expected to win the speaker's post when the full House votes Jan. 14, since Republicans hold 74 of the chamber's 120 seats. Unofficially, his job will be to extend recent political successes for the GOP, which didn't control both General Assembly chambers simultaneously for 140 years until 2011. There will also be expectations for him to be a strong negotiating counterweight to Senate Leader Phil Berger and work well with Gov. Pat McCrory.
Moore, 44, grew up in Kings Mountain, working in his father's convenience store as a youth. The younger Moore got interested in politics as a teenager, putting up campaign placards. He served on the student council at Campbell University before transferring to UNC-Chapel Hill, where he quickly became the speaker of the Student Congress.
"He was quite the rising star in terms of campus politics," said state Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, a Democrat who interacted with Moore in student government while Goodwin was a UNC law school student.
Moore generated a firestorm while UNC-Chapel Hill speaker when he attempted to prevent the Carolina Gay and Lesbian Association from receiving student activity funds. Moore said he doesn't regret his actions at the time, which angered many on campus.
"At the heart of the issue was the belief that we shouldn't use taxpayer dollars or student fees to fund a gay and lesbian group, as well as a lot of other groups for that matter," he said.
Moore supported the 2012 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and said he would continue to legally defend the prohibition as speaker even though judges struck it down in October. Still, Moore said his focus as speaker would be on job creation and industrial recruitment, and that people would be hard pressed to find someone "who's felt like I've treated them discourteously or not treated them fairly based upon their lifestyle choices."
After time on the UNC system Board of Governors and as Cleveland County Republican Party chairman, Moore joined the House after narrowly defeating then-House Majority Whip Andy Dedmon in 2002.
Moore found paths to accomplishment while Republicans were in the minority or shared power with Democrats. He cites overwhelming passage of a measure he co-sponsored in 2007 to toughen penalties for child sex offenders as proof he wants bipartisan legislation passed.
"I'm not taking time away from my kids and my business and everything else to be up here just to get into political grudge matches," said Moore, the father of two sons.
As rules chairman, Moore had plenty of opportunity to make enemies within both parties. While hard feelings invariably occur, lawmakers and legislative aides agree he dodged the levels of enmity some previous chairmen have received.
"He was accessible to the membership," said Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, who went to Campbell with Moore and is expected to succeed Moore as rules chairman.
Democrats complained Moore used parliamentary procedure dozens of times to cut off floor debate. Rep. Jean Farmer-Butterfield, D-Wilson, is hopeful Moore would assemble important legislation that both parties can support but as rules chairman, "he'll listen to what you have to say, but I think ultimately his agenda is what comes out on top."
Moore printed a 12-page color booklet stating his case for speaker to Republicans before the House nomination vote in late November. The pamphlet reflects his commitment to the position, he said: "I hope the folks know that I'm here to try to do what's best for the state, to respect the members and make sure those members serve their districts the best they can."
