Zon
BooneCountyGirl
Rick Barton
Lewis
Skyler the Weird
2012: The Year of the Mecklenburg Activist
This past year saw several victories for grassroots activism and activists in Mecklenburg County. Yes, there were defeats, and if you are a conservative some of those defeats are hard to swallow. But here are a few of the victories which owe their success in large part to citizen activism. Remember them. Use them when a challenge seems too big to overcome. You just might win.
- Dan Forest Lieutenant Governor Campaign - This campaign is now the model for how North Carolina statewide elections can be won by harnessing the power of local activists. Here locally, activists with CAUTION (Common Americans United to Inspire Our Nation) formed a core of campaign supporters working tirelessly to get out the campaign’s message. If it wasn’t for these activists here and across the state it’s hard to see how Dan Forrest would have become only the 2nd Republican Lt Governor in modern state history.
- Mecklenburg County Revaluation - Every Mecklenburg County resident owes former Cornelius Commissioner Jim Bensman and his fellow activists in Cornelius a big thank you for their relentless efforts in pushing for an audit and review of the botched 2010 revaluation. Together with SMART (South Mecklenburg Alliance for Responsible Taxpayers) they kept the pressure on county staff and our elected officials. Without that pressure nothing would have happened.
- 4-Year Terms Defeated in Davidson - This year, the Town of Davidson in North Mecklenburg saw the reemergence of the topic of 4-year terms for Town elected officials. There can be little doubt that commissioners would have unilaterally made this change back in 2011 if not for local activism against it. When the issue resurfaced this year, activism from aShortChronicle blog and other locals once again helped ensure it did not happen – protecting the voters’ voice at the ballot box.
- Activists Rise to Positions of Influence - Matthew Ridenhour, a leader in the Charlotte Tea Party movement, and Claire Fallon, a former community activist with the Northeast Coalition in the University City area, have begun making their respective marks as elected officials. Ridenhour becomes the first person elected to office in Mecklenburg County directly associated with the Tea Party, and Fallon has achieved the status of “Chief Fly in the Ointment” of Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx’s dreams of an expanded Streetcar.
From Statewide to hyper-local, Mecklenburg activists shaped and influenced many of the most important debates in our communities this past year. It is an exhausting and often thankless effort, but one that is needed. I’ll leave you with a quote I heard from Don Reid years ago at one of his famous Thursday breakfast meetings in South Charlotte. To many, Don is the godfather of Mecklenburg conservative activism. If you think a challenge is too big to tackle, remember these words.
“To achieve great things, attempt something where only divine intervention will allow you to succeed.”
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We’ve still got a LOT of work to do, but there were certainly some positives to come out of 2012.
On a personal note, I’d like to mention that while Dan Forest certainly enjoyed Tea Party support from across the state, he had mass appeal as well. Locally, in addition to folks in CAUTION, the ladies of the North Mecklenburg Republican Women’s Club did an *amazing* amount of work on his behalf. I won’t name names because I’m sure I’ll forget someone, but you know who you are!
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Thanks Christian for mentioning the NMRW. Not doing so was a big ommission on my part. I agree. They did do an amazing amount of work.
Here are a couple of numbers that I could hardly believe. I had to double check them to make sure they were correct. One NMRW volunteer made over 30,000 calls during this campaign season from the Victory Centers. You read that right. 30,000 calls. Another knocked on 3000 doors.
That’s a level of dedication you won’t see too often but is required if you want to win.
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2013 will be a true test of our ability to effect policy change through grassroots pressure, by stopping ObamaCare implementation in NC at the state level. It will require the efforts of each and every one of us, and an alliance between the dozens of groups around the state, in order to do so. A 3-step process will be required, for which I am sure there is no appetite in Raleigh, at least not for all 3.
1.) Return the $73.5 million in ObamaCare bribe money to set up a state/federal hybrid ObamaCare Exchange.
2.) Refuse federal money to expand Medicaid in NC.
3.) Pass nullification and interposition legislation outlawing the implementation of any federal ObamaCare Exchange, with criminal penalties for any state or federal elected officials who try to implement one.
To that end, I want to invite everyone to join us next Wednesday in Raleigh at Halifax Mall for the Honor The Oath Rally. We’ll send the message to the legislature as it reconvenes that we expect ALL of these steps to be adopted. With a Republican Governor, Lt. Governor, supermajority legislature, and majority on the State Supreme Court, there’s absolutely NO reason not to get this done.
RSVP here today: https://www.facebook.com/events/234147343377947/?ref=ts&fref=ts
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I would extend the thank you regarding the Mecklenburg County Revaluation to every homeowner who didn’t take no for an answer and continued appealing – even in the face of a concerted effort on behalf of the county to marginalize the affected as baseless whiners.
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You left off the defeat of the Charlotte City Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and the corresponding 8% property tax increase.
Though a lot of credit must also go to the ineptitude of the Democratic majority to get their votes in line and the shrewd manuvering of the lone 2 Republicans on Council – there was a large and vocal opposition from CAUTION and Charlotte Matters that aided in the defeat.
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