Only time will tell whether they will truly go for "singles and doubles" on those issues, as new Pro Tem Dale Folwell predicts, or try to hit a "grand slam."
When it comes to everyone's first question, on the budget, it was tough to pin Folwell down on how much the education budget will be cut, and how that will affect teacher jobs and class sizes. Of course, I spoke to him Monday, less than 48 hours after he was elected pro tem Saturday, so that's fair. But these comments, which I didn't use in the piece for The Winston-Salem Journal, speak to his mindset on education:
Q: Will we need to increase school class sizes and, if so, will that mean teacher layoffs?Finally, file the following under promises you should try to hold folks to:
A: What I try to do is focus on priorities. I think it's ridiculous that, for the six years that I've been there we do a budget where we don't show what the previous (year's) expenditures is. And then when it comes time to raise taxes we always say, 'But this is for education,' If we're really serious about education in this state, why isn't that our first priority, not our last? Secondly, 70 percent of your readers have at least one thing in common: They don't have any direct involvement in public education, except that they're asked to pay for it. ... They're seeing more money being spent and less results. And we have to do a better job of prioritizing where public education rests in this whole equation which in my opinion is No. 1 and communicate to the voters exactly how that money is being spent.
Q: But in the end education makes up something like 60 percent of the budget. So, if you're going to balance it to the tune of (cutting) $3.5 billion, something's got to give. And I don't see how you make it give without increasing class sizes.
A: Anyone across North Carolina understands that we have a huge mess on our hands, and we don't know all the answers. And I got to where I am in life by surrounding myself with people who are smarter than I am. But I do know this: If we are not willing to push the power away from ourselves and away from Raleigh ... all the way back down to the local level ... we're never going to get ourselves out of this. ... I don't know what it's going to take to bend the curve, except that we have to start out with a basic premise. ... We may buy more fuel than Southwest Airlines does, but they do a lot better job of managing their fuel costs. We are the largest purchaser of health care in North Carolina and yet we can't look into the eyes of a school teacher, a highway patrolman or a DOT worker and answer one fundamental question: How can the largest purchaser of something not do it better and cheaper on behalf of participants than anyone else?
Q: Are there any obvious targets yet for redistricting, particularly in the Winston-Salem area?
A: I have one of the most split districts in North Carolina. Our approach to redistricting, as well as so many other issues, is fair and legal. ... (In my district) when you go up Miller street I rep both sides until top of the hill at Queen. And when I get to the top of the hill at Queen I only represent a certain side of Miller Street, until I get to Hawthorne Road. And then when I get to Hawthorne Road, I represent another side of Miller Street until I get to Silas Creek Parkway, and then I represent both sides of the street. That's ridiculous. ... When politicians pick the voters instead of the voters hiring the politicians, then we have problems.
Q: Can you say though that there won't be any attempt to gerrymander certain Democrats out of office?
A: I'm saying that we need to have districts that do not split neighborhoods and split people simply because their party affiliation, their gender or the color of their skin. So our complete focus, is on fair and legal.
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