Political stepping stones

 by Patrick Gannon, The Insider, published by Greenville Daily Reflector, February 6, 2015.

Former House Speaker Thom Tillis used his prominent position in state government to help him climb the ladder to the U.S. Senate, where he is serving his first term.

Former state Rep. Alma Adams of Greensboro used her work in the General Assembly to position herself for U.S. Congress, where she’s also in her first term.

And the fact that Gale Adcock served on the Cary Town Council for several years didn’t hurt her chances of getting elected to the state House, where she now sits, representing parts of Wake County.

These types of promotions are commonplace in the political world.

A different kind of stepping stone is less common, but still not unusual in North Carolina politics. Former state legislators are parlaying their friendships and experience at the General Assembly into more lucrative positions inside state government, getting paid by taxpayers to affect legislation in different ways.

It’s nothing new. Democrats did it when they controlled state government, too. But recent hires by state agencies have brought the issue to the forefront again.

Take, for example, Tom Murry, a two-term Republican lawmaker from Morrisville who lost his re-election bid in November. Two months later, Murry, an attorney, is beginning work as chief legal counsel for government affairs for the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts. He’ll make $89,000 a year lobbying his Republican friends and former colleagues to try to get more state budget funding and other changes for the courts system, where officials have expressed concerns about shortfalls.

Of course, the courts officials who hired Murry believe his knowledge of the legislative process — and his friendships with the GOP majority — will give them a better chance of fulfilling their legislative objectives for the next two years.

Then there’s former Rep. Edgar Starnes, a Caldwell County Republican who won re-election to his state House seat in November, only to resign the day before the session began to take a position as an advisor and legislative liaison for State Treasurer Janet Cowell. He’s making $65,000 a year.

There are other examples — Republicans and Democrats.

Yes, this smells a bit funny, and there’s probably reason to be skeptical about such arrangements. While legislators must wait six months after leaving office before registering as lobbyists — the so-called “cooling off” period — there is no such prohibition in North Carolina for legislative liaisons, who function much like lobbyists but work for state government agencies, rather than private interests. At least several other states prohibit legislators from working as liaisons for a certain length of time — typically a year — after they leave their elected positions.

Some good government advocates question whether it’s fair for former legislators to seek legislative favors from their former colleagues within weeks or months of having served with them. It may, they say, create an uneven playing field for other lobbyists and outside interests, as lawmakers may be inclined to take friends’ advice first.

Others say such arrangements reinforce the good ol’ boy system, where a small circle of people makes the important decisions, while ignoring other perspectives.

Politics is politics. Both major political parties do it and will continue to do so, as long as they’re allowed.

Does that make it OK? It’s a discussion worth having.

 http://www.reflector.com/opinion/other-voices/gannon-political-stepping-stones-2787197