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Hood Richardson confirms run for State Senate
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February 16, 2010 Hood Richardson, Beaufort County Commissioner, confirmed today (2-15-10) that he plans to file to run for the N. C. Senate in District 1, now held by Marc Basnight. A formal announcement is expected to be made in Raleigh on Wednesday.
Richardson has served on the Beaufort County Commission for 14 years. He led the ticket in the last election. Basnight, a native and current resident of Manteo in Dare County, has served in the Senate for the last 26 years after succeeding his uncle in that office, and has served as the president pro-tempore since 1993. As president pro-tem. he is one of the most powerful politicians in the state. It has been said by legislative watchers that "nothing gets passed unless Marc wants it to pass."
Richardson, commenting on Basnight's tenure, said: "He's served a long time and he has a lot of power in the legislature but that means that he should be held accountable for the huge increases in state spending and the scandals that have been constantly coming out of Raleigh. He could have stopped the largest tax increase in history last session but he pushed it through. He could have seen to it that the mess in Mental Health was prevented. Same thing for the probation system scandal and he could have also kept Mike Easley a little more honest if he had put some teeth in the Public Records law. Now, he's really good at some things, like raising hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyists and special interests. And he's done a lot for Dare County, bringing home the pork, like a $25 million fishing pier in a year when he raised taxes in the face of the highest unemployment in years. Then the business he ran until recently, and is still run by family, gets a Big Bucks contract for the pier."
"I think people are sick and tired of the corruption in Raleigh. I think it is disgusting that Senator Basnight would support a man for Secretary of Transportation who was a "major player" in the Mike Easley mess. And now we've got another scandal coming out on the health cost for prison inmates. And it looks like that trail goes to his Shotgun buddy, Tony Rand. You can't tell me Basnight was not in on that one. People tell me they want a choice so they can send a message to Raleigh that they are fed up with the tax and spend policies and all the corruption we've seen, not to mention what is still to come out," Richardson told the Observer.
Basnight has been reported in recent months to be in ill-health. He says it is a rare nerve condition but contends it does not affect his job performance. Legislative observers have wondered how much longer he will be able to drive back and forth to Raleigh. He has also suffered other tribulations in recent years with the death of his wife Sandy in 2007 and the loss of his business, the Lone Cedar Restaurant due to suspected arson in 2007. The restaurant has since been rebuilt and no one has ever been charged with the arson. Basnight says he resigned as a principal in the construction company he ran for some 30 years, just before the company secured a big contract on the $25 million fishing pier now being built near his restaurant. He said one of the major reasons for building the pier was to attract tourists, although he did not claim it was to attract patrons to his restaurant.
Richardson is known in Beaufort County as a thorn in the side of bureaucrats and other politicians who perform in what he considers to be less than a commendable manner. Several months ago he began questioning the way Beaufort County Schools are teaching U. S. History and in recent days that subject has become a controversial issue statewide. Basnight himself picked up on the issue, recently writing the State Superintendent taking virtually the same position Richardson has taken for months now.
Richardson has also been very outspoken about government spending, ranting over the budget overruns in the school system. He has voted against most spending increases while on the county commission. He also is very outspoken about government making it easier for immigrants who choose not to learn English and recently served on the Observer writing team that crafted this article: "What's wrong with Spanish on the state websites?" "He is also very outspoken about the cost to the taxpayers of maintaining illegal immigrants and what he described as "the special privileges handed out by state government to illegal immigrants."
Richardson joked: "like the ole country music song, 'I was conservative when being conservative wasn't kool' but I think a lot of people are coming to realize that the Democrats have about spent us into the ground and it is time for a real change in Raleigh (and Washington). I am running to offer that change. If people are satisfied with the way things have been done in Raleigh then I would invite them to vote for my opponent in this election. But if they want to send a message to Raleigh that they tired of the way things have been done then they should vote for me and any other Republican running for office."
Basnight's office did not return calls made to them, although they were made after hours. If we hear from them we'll let you know what they have to say about Hood's announcement.
Disclosure statement: Hood is a member of the Observer editorial team. He occassionally writes for this website. He was part owner of the print edition of the Beaufort Observer but does not own any part of the Beaufort Observer Online.
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