Note: This article appeared in the Opinion page of the Fayetteville Observer on Tuesday, September 16, 2008. You can read the article on the Fayetteville Observer's website by clicking here.

With the election season in full swing and all eyes on the future, it is worth taking a moment to look back at the recently completed legislative session, to examine both the accomplishments of the entire legislature and the Cumberland delegation in particular, as well as the challenges we still face as a community and a state. I am extraordinarily proud of the work my colleagues and I were able to accomplish on a number of the most pressing issues this year, and yet for every step forward there are several issues that continue to demand our attention, our dedication and a commitment to putting real effort and diligence behind the speeches and promises of the campaign trail.

Cumberland County is blessed with a delegation that cares passionately about the work we are entrusted to undertake, and we face the challenges ever mindful we have been granted the privilege of representing our community by the grace of its citizens, to whom we remain constantly and unconditionally accountable. Put another way, I am proud to serve with my colleagues in this delegation because they embody a promise I have made throughout my life in public service – to spend far more time and energy doing the job than trying to keep it.

The Budget

Through the efforts of our delegation, legislation passed during the last two-year session benefitted Cumberland County and North Carolina tremendously.  We secured full funding of enrollment growth at both Fayetteville State and FTCC, as well as funding for a fire training tower at FSU and a world-class 3D technology project at FTCC, an incredible innovation and the only such project in the country. Funding was also obtained or expanded for the Cumberland County Arts Council and Public Library, the Fascinate U science museum, the Defense Security Technology Accelerator and the NC Military Business Center, not to mention the crucial siting of the state Veteran’s Park in downtown Fayetteville.  

In addition, a budget was passed providing assistance to working families, critical resources for a growing senior citizen population, improvements in education at every level, salary increases for state employees and teachers, funds to increase campus safety and strengthen law enforcement, substantial protection for our water resources and improvements in technological infrastructure and enhanced research and development capacity throughout the state.

For the Troops

As part of our delegation and our state’s continued commitment to our troops, milestone legislation was passed this session benefitting our military members and their families. $1 million was allocated for quality of life and community support grants; families of service members who are injured or killed will be given expanded scholarship opportunities and a 50% property tax exemption; and the Interstate Compact on the Education of Military Children will streamline the process of transferring children of military families who have been relocated from or to North Carolina’s public schools. I am proud to say that members of the Cumberland delegation were central to the successful push on all of these issues, with Rep. Margaret Dickson taking a particularly outspoken and effective role in their passage.

Fiscal Responsibility

In one of the most difficult economic environments our country has faced in decades, many states are struggling to keep government working for their citizens. While tough economic times have not spared North Carolina, our government has been able to not only retain the level of service to our citizens and support for our teachers and workers, it has been able to increase vital human services for children, expand educational opportunity for all citizens, and invest in targeted economic development and infrastructure projects, including the crucial Goodyear incentive, all without additional taxes.  In fact, we were able to cut taxes in 2008 by over $50 million and invest $62 million in the state’s savings and $65 million in the repair and renovation fund.   

Over the last four years, as many states were cutting critical services, and like the federal government, running large deficits, North Carolina annually balanced its budget and placed over 800 million dollars in reserve.  Our pension fund is one of the strongest in the nation and this state continues to have the highest bond rating available. These investments in our state’s future were made possible by smart planning and tough decisions, as well as far greater legislative oversight that allowed for scaling back and eliminating programs or services that were inefficient or ineffective.

It has also been rightly noted that some of the investments being made now will be funded through increasing bond indebtedness, which has been likened by some to putting these investments on our state’s credit card.  While this description may seem alarming, a far different, non-partisan perspective is certainly more accurate. We are making investments in the future prosperity of one of the fastest-growing states in the nation while the costs of borrowing are among the lowest in recent memory - the equivalent of rock-bottom mortgage rates - and as any homeowner can attest, making an investment when rates are lowest in an appreciating asset is not only fiscally responsible, it is the foundation of future growth.

Investments

We are weathering the current national economic crisis far better than our neighbors in no small measure because of smart economic planning and fiscal decisions made several years ago, and the unprecedented influx of new workers, businesses and capital into North Carolina attest to the wisdom of those decisions.  

Many of the investments we make today may take years to show their result, but we make them with an unending belief that given the opportunity, access and environment to grow and succeed, the people of our community and our state will continue to move North Carolina forward well into the future as one of the best places in America to live, work, own a business and raise a family.  

The Future

As we move forward, we continue to face difficult challenges that will require 21^st Century solutions built on a foundation of the best information possible and consensus decision-making in the areas of transportation and energy infrastructure, the delivery of heath care services, particularly mental health, environmental preservation, expanded economic development and globally competitive K-16 education.  And, I will be working to ensure our state continues to be served by the best, most capable and dedicated legislators possible to help solve those problems.

I hope that as each voter considers what is being said and promised over the next two months, the accomplishments of our delegation will serve as an example of what government can do for its people when we elect those who seek not only to campaign for the job, but to dedicate themselves to the difficult, challenging and rewarding work it requires.