On Leadership and the Monumental Year of 2020

Legislative News by Nelda Holder –

I’m an optimist.

I leaven that with a heavy dose of realism, inherited from my father, I believe, but I am by nature an optimist.

It is the end of the year—not just any year, but very specifically the year 2020, which all of us I believe would agree will remain among the most personally, nationally, and globally significant and stressful years we have endured. I do not need to talk about personal tragedies; we are overwhelmed by them daily as we deal with a monumental pandemic and its consequences.

But what I do want to highlight, as the prospect of hope begins to glimmer in the not-too-distant future, is the idea of leadership in a time of crisis. Leadership, after all, is what I am dedicated to writing about in this monthly column— specifically, this state’s political leadership. So I want to begin by recognizing what I deem a year of extraordinary leadership on behalf of we, the people of North Carolina.

When leadership becomes a life-or-death question

I think to a certain extent we are all so very weary of thinking about, talking about Covid-19. The daily numbers of hospitalizations and deaths. The weekly litany of rules and regulations. The existential—and all too physical—threat of those members of our public clan who do not choose the safety of others as a priority. Even the heroism of our medical personnel, whom we see highlighted in television features and who, we recognize over and over, are going above and beyond the call of duty and should be given every accolade we can find. Yet still, that reminds us that the one thing they need most is every citizen’s cooperation in controlling the spread of this virus.

But in this state of North Carolina, despite our losses, two people (and one sidekick) have been dependable voices of order and hope. I offer a salute to Gov. Roy Cooper and to our Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Mandy Cohen, whose almost weekly briefings have presented calm voices in the storm—along with Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry.

Over the many months of raging viral spread, seeing these three at press conferences through which they inform and update the public has been a steadying influence. Monitoring their decisions, always measured, always striking what they obviously hope is the best balance in public safety and pandemic prudence, has provided a path for the citizens of this state to help each other.

In the absence of orderly national leadership, the individual states have had to rely, to a high degree, on state leadership—with varying and sometimes devastating results. The Cooper-Cohen-Sprayberry trio could not keep this virus from spreading, but they have certainly offered sound guidance to the public and reasoned decisions on the public’s behalf.

As we anticipate the advent of vaccine protection against this viral enemy, state leadership will be under a new test of strength—as will the resilience of our citizens. It would be this writer’s hope that we find additional leadership in the newly convened 2021-22 General Assembly, beginning in January, that will overlook partisanship and find the best solutions possible to begin to get this state and its people back on their personal and economically stable feet.

Another case of outstanding state leadership

On December 12, 2020 Cherie Beasley, Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court, conceded her loss to Justice Paul Newby, after the final recount maintained a 401-vote margin in Newby’s favor, out of almost 5.4 million ballots cast. Newby, the Court’s senior justice, had publicly challenged Beasley’s elevation to chief justice in 2019, and his race against her this year brought him the office he hoped for—and a bit of revenge.

Despite the final outcome of this race, we should all recognize the strength and wisdom Beasley brought to her appointment as chief justice by Gov. Cooper in 2019. Beasley was the first Black woman elected to statewide office in North Carolina (NC Court of Appeals in 2008). In what seemed the blink of an eye, as chief justice she took control of the larger needs of the judiciary, chairing the Equal Access to Justice Commission.

Beasley launched the Faith and Justice Alliance to provide a service-oriented intersection of faith, law, and justice for many citizens of greatest need in our communities. She oversaw the launch of NC Fair Chance (NCFairChance.org), a website to help citizens expunge eligible criminal charges and restore drivers’ licenses. She has also sensitively guided the court system through pandemic responses to ensure the safety of personnel as well as the accused.

And speaking of elections

As has been acknowledged here in an earlier column, North Carolina’s Republican-led Statehouse remains that way post-election. This brings with it a dilemma that has plagued public (and individual) safety during the pandemic: the refusal of the Republican leadership to accept state expansion of Medicaid—something that would offer medical coverage to roughly half a million people now without it. Even now, with an ever greater need, there is no indication that Speaker of the House Tim Moore or President Pro Tempore of the Senate Phil Berger have any intention of extending this to the general public, despite its availability to the state.

Last month this column covered the state’s general election results (“What Hath the Voters Wrought?”), but it is worth a postscript to point out that NC’s 15 electoral votes will be delegated to President Donald Trump, who won the state with an approximately 1.3% lead in the overall votes. We had been watched closely in the hotly contested presidential race, since we have become known as a “purple” leaning entity—to which the closeness of the race bore witness. Not to be lost in the shuffle, however, is the fact that President-Elect Joe Biden was the Democratic primary winner in North Carolina, signifying an underlying support for his upcoming presidency.

And that brings us to ….

One more salute

Having worked at the polls myself in the past, I watched the November elections, and the post-election attacks on the election, with extreme interest and sympathy. And it is with heartfelt appreciation that I thank thousands and thousands of individual citizens—and their professional supervisors in election offices across that states—who upheld Mission Democracy with their bodies and souls during our national voting cycle.

I have personally witnessed the dedication of these workers. I have personally observed the safeguards put in place to bring about fair elections. I have been repulsed by the attempts to undermine public confidence in our election system, and appalled by the physical threats made to election officials and workers in the wake of fair results that some individuals refuse to accept.

Hence, I hereby create my own award for those hardworking citizens who have dedicated themselves to our right to vote. I shall call it the Fundamental Rights Award—at least for this column—and I grant it to all these 2020 workers. But I particularly want to single out two people—both of them Republicans—who have galvanized the issue: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers.

Raffensperger openly resisted allegations from President Trump and allies (including Sen. Lindsey Graham of SC) questioning the validity of legally cast absentee ballots. Bowers dismissed calls from Trump and his legal team to overturn the certified results of the November election, saying they “presented theories not proof.” Both men deserve recognition for standing up within their own political party to defend the will of the people expressed through legal voting in their states. Bravo

Nelda Holder is the author of The Thirteenth Juror – Ferguson: A Personal Look at the Grand Jury Transcripts.