Friday, March 19, 2010

Candidates cry foul on sales tax poll, info omitted on Titan

A recent poll shows nearly 80 percent of the local electorate believes the Titan America cement project will have a negative impact on New Hanover County, even if the company meets every state and federal permitting requirement.

But that information was omitted when the county posted a summary online last week of a recent county-funded survey.

A host of other issues were left out as well, including the measured public views of government corruption, illegal immigration and others.

Favorability ratings were also determined for all five commissioners and Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo, but the exact figures were excluded from the summary. County officials said they were determining who would make the finest person to spearhead a drive in support of the quarter-cent sales tax referendum.

Deborah Butler, a candidate for county commissioner, and her campaign manager, Darla McGlamery, obtained a copy of the more than 300-page survey and made extras available to local media.

Officials today said the survey’s sole purpose was to gauge public perceptions of the quarter-cent sales tax referendum. But Butler and some other candidates for county commissioner have cried foul, saying the full survey should have been posted online and distributed to media.

Butler said the county cherry-picked what information they wanted to make public. She said it was inappropriate the county didn’t broadcast the entire survey given that an incumbent, commissioner Bill Caster, is seeking re-election. Candidates often pay big money for such telling data.

"If a sitting commissioner has it to the exclusion of everybody else, he has a valuable campaigning tool," Butler said. And, "If the media hasn’t been given this information, they’re not getting the whole picture."

Others felt the same.

"I think the entire thing should have been made public," said Sid Causey, the former sheriff-turned-commissioner candidate. "That’s taking stuff out of context. Lay it all out there and then let people decide."

"It should have been made more public but I don’t think it’s something they were trying to hide," said Charles Dorman, another candidate.

County officials said Caster wasn’t involved in planning or executing the poll.

Reached for comment on March 16, Caster said that while he was privy to the information, he didn’t know that only a portion had been posted online and distributed.

"All that wasn’t posted? I think it should have been," he said. "If the people running against me have the point of view that I got a free poll out of it, they’re right, and that shouldn’t have happened."

The county hired Capitol Communication to conduct the poll at a cost of $13,200, for a survey of 400 people.

Chris Coudriet, assistant county manager, said only senior county staff, a Capitol Communication consultant and two county commissioners, vice-chairman Jonathan Barfield and chairman Jason Thompson, were involved in developing questions.

Coudriet said it would have cost the same amount of money had they not polled perceptions about Titan, and illegal immigration, etcetera.

Asked why the other information wasn’t voluntarily made public, Coudriet said the entire document is available in the county manager’s office.

"It was summarized to speak to the intent of the survey, which is what the pulse of the community was regarding the quarter cent sales tax," he said.

Chairman Thompson said the poll was not political.

"If you read the poll, you’d clearly see that there’s no information a candidate could use in there to their benefit in a campaign," he said. "If they (the candidates) can’t find something better than that then they don’t need to be running for political office. They need to find an issue."

What wasn’t included in the online summary was that more people cited Titan, corruption and growth than they did crime, annexation or economic development as the single most important county issue.

As for approval ratings, nearly 40 percent of those polled have a favorable view of Thompson. Almost 15 percent have an unfavorable view; 32 percent have no opinion and 20 percent have never heard of him.

Commissioner Ted Davis got similar ratings: 32 percent have a favorable opinion, 15 percent have an unfavorable, 31.5 percent have no opinion and 21.5 percent have never heard of him.

The poll measured a 25.5 percent favorable rating for Barfield. Nearly 14 percent have an unfavorable opinion, 37 percent have no opinion and 23.5 percent have never heard of him.

As for Bobby Greer, 28 percent view him favorably; 22.5 percent unfavorably; 30 percent have no opinion and 19 percent have never heard of him.

Finally, 28 percent of those polled are favorable toward Caster; 26 percent unfavorable; 26 percent have no opinion and 20 percent have never heard of him.

--Brian Freskos

Fear and loathing on the campaign trail with Ilario Pantano

Ilario Pantano must’ve excelled in boot camp: his back is straight as a board. He talks fast, like a Gatling gun with infinite ammo (some of his buddies call him "Hurricane Ilario"). He’s quick, direct, articulate and approachable. His gaze is intense, leaving any audience tinged with his memory.

Pantano is one Republican contender attempting to unseat the seven-time North Carolina Democrat in the state’s 7th District, Congressman Mike McIntyre.

The Pantano campaign is now a full-time affair. And whether to his benefit or detriment, the retired Marine has name recognition: he gained the international spotlight when the government accused him of murder, and then later exonerated all charges for the shooting deaths of two Iraqis in Mahmudiya in 2004.

That experience left him scarred, Pantano says, but not broken. He has reshaped that baggage into a message that emphasizes his armed service. And he’s leveraged his experience as a former Goldman Sachs trader, small business owner and father, to underline a tough stance on greed, fiscal responsibility and conservatism.

His platform is comprised of three tiers: job creation and economic development, national security and conservative values.

It’s a message likely to ring the ears of far right Republicans hoping to capitalize on reports of disenchantment with the Democrats.

"To have two former military heroes running for Congress speaks well for our party, which is rooted in deep patriotism," said Sandy Best, the president of the Lower Cape Fear Republican Women’s Club, after meeting Pantano for the first time.

Also running against McIntyre are Will Breazeale, a three-time combat veteran, and Randy Crow.

At a club meeting on March 4 at Bluewater Restaurant in Wrightsville Beach, Best approached Pantano with a candid inquiry regarding the 2004 shooting incident.

Having read the Associated Press account of the shooting, published that morning, which included the fact that Pantano left a sign on the insurgent’s vehicle that read, "No better friend, no worse enemy," a famous Marine motto, Best asked, Why the sign?

He said that it’s difficult to understand from a spectator’s view the urgency, panic and hysteria of warfare.

"We think about it, act on it like it’s rational. But it is the most irrational part of humankind," he said.

Asked later if it’s a question posed frequently, Pantano replied, "Actually no...But it’s a totally legitimate question."

Within 10 minutes after meeting Best, Pantano had already shaken hands with dozens of other people amassed in the meeting room.

His scheduling manager, Ron Holmes, also a retired Marine, had to peel Pantano away so they would be on time for his final engagement of the night: speaking to a group of Wilmington firefighters in the Moose Lodge on Carolina Beach Road.

In that room of first-responders, seemingly awash in southern conservative ideals, Pantano struck their chord by highlighting his own Sept. 11 experience, support for gun rights and rolling back taxes.

Pantano even said he favors making English the nation’s official language.

When asked about his nationalism, Pantano likes to tell the story of his father, an Italian immigrant who moved to New York and worked in a comb factory in Spanish Harlem for a dollar an hour. Pantano seems proud that he never learned to speak Italian. The goal, he says, was to always speak English at home so his father would learn it.

Pantano jokes that he is a "born again southerner." He explains it like this: "I’m a self-hating New Yorker that has rejected the immorality and godlessness of where I was born to choose a place to raise my family." He moved to North Carolina in 2003.

Despite his conservative appeal, Pantano says he is not the typical Republican. In fact, he told Lumina News, he was a registered independent until recently.

In a county, that nearly always leans to red, Pantano could rise as a contender after the May 4 primary.

Either way, this election is wide-open, with no clear ending in sight.

--Brian Freskos

Fifty-three file for 15 seats

A few last minute candidates swept into the New Hanover County and North Carolina board of elections offices to file before the noon deadline on Feb. 26. With filing for the 2010 mid-terms officially finished, a string of incumbent retirements and the ballot packed with choices, the race looks wide open.

Highly contested primaries will whittle down the choices. One-stop primary voting begins on April 15, and the official primary day is
May 4. Election Day is Nov. 2.

U.S. Senate

Sen. Richard Burr is facing a contingent of challengers from within his own party and the rivaling Democrats. In addition to Burr, primary choices for Congress on the Republican side will include Larry Linney, Brad Jones and Eddie Burks.

For the Democrats, Marcus W. Williams, Ann Worthy, Elaine Marshall, Ken Lewis, Susan Harris and Cal Cunningham are running.

Also running is Libertarian Michael Beitler.

Only one candidate from each party can advance onto the November elections ballot.

U.S. House

Rep. Mike McIntyre won’t face any challenge from within his own party, but three Republicans will vie for a shot at his seat: Ilario Gregory Pantano, Randy Crow and Will Breazeale.

Julia Boseman’s District 9 State Senate seat

Julia Boseman’s (D-New Hanover) soon-to-be-vacated state senate seat has driven three candidates to declare. A Republican primary will choose between Michael Lee and Thom Goolsby, while a lone democrat, Jim Leutze, advances in November.

Hughes bows out of House District 18

Rep. Sandra Spaulding Hughes is also bowing out and four candidates have already stepped in to bid on her seat: Beth Dawson and
J. Michael Hutson, both Republicans; and James Utley and Susi Hamilton, both Democrats. Only one candidate from each party will advance after the May primary.

Carolyn Justice vies to remain in House District 16

Incumbent Rep. Carolyn Justice (R) will face a challenger, Frank Rivenbark, a Democrat.

McComas and David aren’t going anywhere

Rep. Danny McComas is running unopposed in district 19, as is District Attorney Ben David.

County Commissioner race wide-open

The retirement of Commissioner Bobby Greer after five elected terms in office has given the Democrats a solid chance at changing the make-up of a board that has been traditionally stocked with Republicans.

With two vacancies, Democrats have put forward four candidates: Deborah Butler, Dale Smith, Tom Gale and Sid Causey, former county sheriff.

Several Republicans have also stepped forward including incumbent Bill Caster, Justin Harris, Rick Catlin, Charles Dorman, Justin LaNasa, Brian Berger and Napier Fuller.

Two candidates from each party will be chosen through the primary process and advance to the November ballot.

McMahon gets challenged for sheriff

Sheriff Ed McMahon (D), who was appointed to fill the seat vacated by former sheriff Sid Causey, will be challenged by Republican Marcus T. Benson.

Clerk of Superior Court

Incumbent Brenda Tucker has stepped aside. Lillian Salcines Bright (D) and Jan Kennedy (R) have declared their bids.

Board of Education

No primary will be held for Democrats with four candidates running for the four open seats, but there will be a big one for Republicans. All four school board incumbents are running for re-election: Nick Rhodes, Democrat, as well as Edward Higgins, Janice Cavenaugh and Don Hayes, all Republican.

Joining them will be Democrats Wm. Clancy Thompson, Philip Stine and Joyce Huguelet; and Republicans Derrick Hickey, Steven Bilzi, Stephanie Kraybill, Julia Davis and Laura Parks.

-- Brian Freskos