In an address to the Moore County Republican Women’s Club this month, Morgan said that his campaign has begun building opposition research files on potential challengers.
However, he went on to suggest that primaries are good for party growth.
“I think you already know that I have never taken any election for granted,” Morgan said. “It is always up to the voters to decide.”
Morgan also questioned the effectiveness of the state GOP leadership, whom he blamed for failure to recruit and fund Republican candidates last year. He also criticized the leadership for allowing the Democrats to raise more money and spend more money on their candidates.
In an address focusing on three areas essential for effective governing, Morgan emphasized leadership, service and integrity.
But he opened his address with brief comments about the 2005 legislative session, which did not adjourn until late summer. In particular, Morgan expressed concern about what he calls “a structural deficit in our budget.” He said the state needs long-range plans to ensure sound fiscal policy.
“I’m afraid this session did very little to guarantee the fiscal stability of our state,” he said. “The budget used non-recurring money to fund some recurring expenses as well as enact new tax and fee increases that impact almost every facet of our lives from newborn screening fees to taxes on funeral expenses.”
Morgan said that “effective leadership requires vision” and described a private briefing he attended with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, whom he called a leading visionary. The occasion was the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Seattle.
Gates shared his belief that an overhaul of the country’s high school system is crucial if the United States wants to maintain a strong global economic presence. Gates said the university system in this country has been successful in preparing students for new openings in biotechnology, medicine and computer technology.
“Effective leadership also requires a proven ability to implement that vision,” he said. “A key component of implementing any vision is an ability to build consensus — within our own political party and, when necessary, across party lines.”
‘Breakdown in Cooperation’
During his 2003-04 tenure as co-speaker of the House Morgan said he worked “to move North Carolina forward through cooperation and progress and away from bickering and gridlock.”
Accomplishments during that period included adoption of a budget before July 1 and a timely adjournment.
“In those budgets we were able to provide funds for education, advances in medicine at our universities, work force training and biotechnology in order to attract quality jobs to this state, and most importantly, we were able to accomplish that without severe or crippling spending cuts or tax increases,” Morgan said.
“Unfortunately, this most recent session saw a breakdown of that cooperation and a return to partisan squabbling and as a result the length of the session was extended,” he said.
Helping Moore County
Although some people may not agree with his decisions, Morgan said that his duty as a state representative is to represent everyone in Moore County, not just those who “threaten retribution at the ballot box” if he doesn’t vote to suit them.
In addition to the interests of Moore County residents, Morgan said that his service must also be directed toward the needs of North Carolina as a whole. But he said that he tries always to put the needs of his Moore County constituents first.
“From sponsoring legislation placing a moratorium on corporate hog farms that threatened our quality of life and property value or obtaining funds for a senior center — or helping our hospital provide dental care to children — or simply helping individual constituents with bureaucratic red tape, I always seek to aid the citizens of Moore County,” he said.
Morgan said he tries very hard to be responsive to the needs of Moore County residents, even when they don’t receive the answer they prefer.
On the subject of integrity, Morgan quoted President Dwight D. Eisenhower who once said that “the supreme quality for a leader is unquestionable integrity.”
Morgan said he had always tried to maintain his credibility, making actions match his words, regardless of the position he held in the House, ranging from chairman of the Rules Committee, minority leader, speaker of the House and his present office as speaker pro tem.
“This sincerity was one of the primary reasons for the success of the historic co-speakership,” Morgan said. “I really hope it was because of my integrity that we were able to take a fragile political compromise and make it one of the most successful legislative sessions in years.”
Without the trust of the House membership, the co-speakership would have failed, he added.
“It is also my hope that you know that my honesty continued throughout this past session,” he said. “I said I would not support new taxes, and I did not. I will continue to offer this same level of integrity regardless of my office or leadership position in the House.”
Inserting a little bit of local history into his address, Morgan reminded his listeners that he is the second Moore County native to serve as speaker of the House. Forty years earlier, Aberdeen newspaper publisher H. Clifton Blue served as speaker.
“Although from different parties, a look at history shows that both of us endeavored to lead the people of Moore County and the state of North Carolina through an evolution of political balance and, although varied, through difficult times,” he said. “I am so proud and feel so fortunate to be one of two to share this distinction.”
Loyalty Questioned
In his closing comments, Morgan called attention to questions raised by the state party leadership about his Republican loyalty. That same leadership, he added, went on to blame him for failure to gain legislative seats.
“These charges are absurd and they are meant to mask the leadership’s record of enormous failures in recruiting and funding candidates statewide,” he said.
In 2003, when he was speaker, Morgan said he met with the Republican Redistricting Committee chairman and the House Republican leader to draw up new legislative districts that would be favorable to their party. He said that the plan finally adopted was indeed favorable to Republicans.
“You don’t have to take my word for it,” he said. “The independent group, NC Free, said that the 2003 House Redistricting Plan gave Republicans a better chance to gain a majority than any district alignment in more than a century.”
Under that plan, it appeared that Republicans were favored to take 55 of the 120 seats, with the Democrats favored for 51. The remaining 14 seats were considered too close to call, but he quoted some political observers who expressed the opinion that the Republicans had a good chance of capturing the House by a 65- or even 66-seat majority.
That didn’t happen.
“The answer is simple — failure by the state party leadership to recruit and fund Republican candidates,” Morgan said. “Of the 14 tossup House seats, they failed to even recruit a challenger in three districts, thereby automatically giving these seats to the Democrats. Furthermore, when there were Republicans running in one of these swing districts, they left them on their own and allowed them to be outspent 10 to 1 by their Democrat-ic opponents.”
The funding disparity was even worse on a statewide basis, he said.
‘Failure in Leadership’
Despite his own efforts to raise money for Republican candidates, Morgan said he was puzzled that the state party leadership continues to question his loyalty.
“It is hard for me to comprehend how they can continue to make this spurious charge when, as speaker of the House, I was able to draw legislative districts that favored a Republican majority and when I outspent the entire party by $70,000 in funding Republican candidates,” he said.
“The problem is clear; there is a serious void and failure in leadership,” he said. “Decisions are made by a small group of people who fill their days by making numerous pronouncements but do little real work to elect Republicans.
“Instead of helping elect Republicans in 2004, they chose to put over $1 million into a lawsuit to fight a redistricting plan that favored Republicans. Imagine what $1 million could have done to elect Republicans in this state.”
Morgan further accused the leadership of threatening other “loyal, hard-working Republican House members” whose decisions did not agree with the leadership’s views.
“It is wrong when differing opinions are no longer tolerated by our state party leadership,” he said. “Folks, this is not the face we want on our Republican Party.”
Morgan said he is aware that recruitment efforts are under way — from here in Moore County and from outside the county — to find potential candidates for his seat in the House.
Throughout his 15 years in the House, Morgan said he was most proud of having assured Moore County “a seat at the table of decision” when such things as budget and policy issues were under consideration.
Morgan said that early in his legislative career, he recognized the importance of the House leadership and worked to play a leadership role, whether the party was in the majority or in the minority, to make sure that Moore County had effective representation.
Florence Gilkeson can be reached at 947-4962 or by e-mail at florence@thepilot.com.
