By Damon Circosta
Most North Carolina schoolchildren are heading back to the classroom as their summer break comes to an end. Seeing all of those overstuffed backpacks and yellow school buses reminds me of the fear and uncertainty that comes with starting something new.
I had many of the same feelings earlier this year when the legislative session opened. As a first-time lobbyist and newcomer to the capital, I felt like a freshman in high school.
Being the new kid in school and starting a new job down at the Legislature are rife with similarities. In both situations, it’s tough to know where you should be and who you should talk to. Rumors about the old hands are plenty and gossip runs rampant. It’s easy to get lost and most of the time you end up feeling like everyone else knows something you don’t. The bell that rings the legislators to session could easily be mistaken for the homeroom tardy bell.
My job is to work on issues in election reform. Seeing as how every elected official fancies themselves an expert on the topic, it’s easy to get a conversation going. What isn’t so easy is convincing folks who have been successful under the current system to change the way things are done. It’s difficult work and it takes time.
Over the past few years, North Carolina has unfortunately been given far too many reasons why election reform is necessary. Stories of campaign finance scandals and improper special-interest influence grace the newspaper more days than not. With daily headlines of corruption and wrongdoing, it would be easy to dismiss the entire Legislature as crooked. Before I started working down there, I certainly felt as though our “honorables†were not living up to the title.
But the untold story down on Jones Street is that preconceived notions are often false, and people can surprise you. This session, I got to witness our legislative representatives doing the peoples’ work up close and personal.
Sure, there were some unsavory characters doing unsavory things. Anyone who takes a quick scan of the headlines could tell you as much. But what doesn’t make the front page is that the vast majority of our elected representatives were doing good work. They were debating the issues of the day and taking up causes they believed in. They were looking out for their constituents and doing their best to make our government better. Elected officials from both sides of the aisle and all across our state came to Raleigh with the goal of making North Carolina better.
The quiet work of turning the wheels of government is often drowned out by the noise of scandal, but good work indeed did go on. Of course there is plenty more that needs doing. The continuing saga of legislative improprieties highlights the need for more reform. Further changes to the system are required so the public can be certain that our representatives are engaged in public service, rather than private gain.
It is too early to tell how future historians will treat this chapter in North Carolina’s history. But with time comes perspective. Hopefully the high school freshman of 2020 can read about the 2007 legislative session and learn not only about the headline-grabbing scandal, but also the underreported good work done on behalf of North Carolina.