The Weekly Activist
Many thanks to all the activists who made phone calls, sent emails, and protested the City Manager’s proposed budget and 8.2% property tax increase! In a 6-5 vote last Monday, the Charlotte City Council voted down the proposal. (Read HERE for additional information.) As exciting, and frankly unexpected, as the vote was; a budget still needs to be approved by the end of the month. Please continue to make phone calls to and email the Council members and Mayor Foxx. Click HERE for their contact information. Let’s reinforce that we are paying attention and will not support any tax increase on the people of Charlotte!
Upcoming Events
Monday, June 18th – CAUTION’s regular weekly meeting will feature Jim Pendergraph, candidate for the 9th Congressional District. CAUTION meets at the Dilworth Neighborhood Grille located at 911 East Morehead Street in Charlotte from 6:00-7:30pm with a social hour in advance. All are welcome.
Tuesday, June 19th – The Mecklenburg Evening Republican Women’s Club will meet from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Red Rocks Café at 4223-B Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC 28211. The featured speaker will be City Council member Warren Cooksey who will preset “ A Brief introduction to the NC Constitution”.
Wednesday, June 20th – The Mecklenburg Republican Party hosts it’s monthly “Lincoln Lunch” at the Dilworth Neighborhood Grille from 11:30am-1:00pm. This week’s lunch will feature the primary candidates for Senate District 41 (John Aneralla and Jeff Tarte) and County Commission Distict 5 (Matthew Ridenhour and Sarah Cherne).
Wednesday, June 20th – The Frederick Douglass Foundation, NC will have a free showing of Shamrock Stine Productions “FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN” from 6:30 to 9:00 at the Dilworth Neighborhood Grille. Invite your friends and neighbors to see this epic movie that neither party wants you to see. Come and make your own judgements for yourself. After the movie, have your questions ready because the creators and film makers will be present to answer your questions. Call Earl at 757-679-6031 for any details or if you have any questions.
Wednesday, June 20th – The North Mecklenburg Republican Women host their monthly “mix and mingle” social event at the Hickory Tavern located at 9526 Birkdale Crossing in Huntersville. This non-business meeting is a fun chance to talk politics with fellow conservatives. Contact Carole Gibbons at carole.gibbons@allentate.com for additional information and to RSVP.
Wednesday, June 20th – The Mecklenburg County Young Republicans host their monthly social event from 7:00 until 10:00. Via their Facebook Event page, “Last month we had a great time at Crave Dessert Bar, this month we get to enjoy the awesome patio at Angry Ale’s on Montford Drive. Bud Light bottles will be $2.25 & trivia starts at 9pm so bring your savvy brain power & join us! We will once again be partnering with Socialflockers so you will be able to meet new people from our amazing group & theirs! Looking forward to seeing you all from 7-10 on June 20th!”
Monday, June 25th – The Campaign for Liberty (C4L) is relaunching in Charlotte and will host a meet and greet at 6:30pm at the Presto Bar and Grille located at 445 W. Trade Street in Charlotte. Click HERE for the Facebook event page.
Tuesday, June 26 –
ARE YOU A CANDIDATE OR CAMPAIGN MANAGER?
Candidates can learn how to win, courtesy of The Civitas Institute. The Civitas campaign-training program on June 26 will provide participants with the knowledge and practical skills they will need to build a winning campaign from the ground up. Whether you are interested in managing a campaign, running for office, or simply in how campaigns work, the class will lay out the groundwork for an effective campaign strategy. Sign up at: http://www.nccivitas.org/training/campaigntraining/ (This event is from 1-6pm at the Brownstone Doubletree Hotel in Raleigh.)
Legislative Update from Senator Phil Berger:
This week, the North Carolina Senate debated and passed adjustments to the two-year budget we enacted last June.
Our current budget filled a $2.5 billion deficit, reduced government spending by nearly $1 billion, enacted a $50,000 income tax exemption for job-creating businesses and reformed public education – all without raising taxes or incurring debt. The main purpose of this short session has been to make any necessary adjustments to the budget. That includes addressing critical areas that needed refining – like Medicaid – and providing increased funding for some of our priorities – like education.
Of course, some Democrats would have us take a different path. Governor Beverly Perdue and Lieutenant Governor Walter Dalton have pushed for a sales tax hike that would raise North Carolinians’ taxes by nearly $1 billion per year.
The North Carolina Senate unanimously rejected this tax-and-spend approach to governing on Thursday. We voted down an amendment to the budget adjustment proposal that would have raised taxes by $950 million per year. Every single Democrat senator joined with Republicans to defeat the amendment.
Rather than raise taxes, the Senate passed a budget adjustment that spends responsibly, invests wisely, and fixes some problems Republicans inherited. Highlights of the proposal include:
· It restores $158 million in recurring state dollars that were scheduled to be cut in the second year back into the state’s K-12 education system.
· It continues to fully fund at the state level all classroom teachers and teaching assistants. In fact, it increases state level funding for teachers.
· It provides $47.4 million for an education reform program to strengthen student literacy, improve graduation rates, increase accountability in the classroom, reward effective teachers and give parents tools to make better informed decisions about their children’s education.
· It puts $230 million back into Medicaid to cover liabilities created while Democrats controlled the General Assembly. The bill also establishes a $100 million Medicaid reserve fund to address future potential shortfalls.
· It cuts and freezes the state gas tax to 37.5 cents per gallon – 1.4 cents per gallon less than the current rate.
· It provides state employees a 1.2 percent raise. Our K-12, community college and university systems are given some flexibility on how to use this money to recruit, retain and reward excellent instructors.
Have something to share?
If you have information on events and causes that would be of interest to our readership, please contact us at editor@pundithouse.com for inclusion in this weekly posting. As always, feel free to leave your event in the comments section below.
Remember, MeckGOP County Executive Committee meeting tonight. Registration begins at 6:30, meeting starts at 7 – to be held at the government center uptown on 4th St. Multiple MeckGOP board positions need to be filled so if you’re interested in serving tonight would be a good chance to get involved.
Yes, I know it conflicts with CAUTION, I didn’t do the scheduling…
meckgop.com for more information
The Meck GOP shouldn’t schedule their meetings on Monday nights if they want individuals from CAUTION to attend.
It’s not like we’ve been meeting every Monday night for the last 3 years.
Letters,signs, emails and phone calls to the City Council Representative are what made the difference. The new members who are not so beholding to the Chamber as is Smuggie Mitchell and friends were impressed by the outpouring of concern.
Thanks Lewis.
It’s the last statement that really makes it…that your friends were impressed by the outpouring of concern.
There are so many folks who agree with us, they just feel like their voice doesn’t make a difference. If nothing else, if we can inspire new people to pay attention and GET INVOLVED, knowing that together we are strong, maybe, just maybe, we can start turning things around.
“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds.”