Planned Parenthood is itching for a fight after the one-two punch it suffered in the General Assembly this year: One of its affiliates had to sue the state to retain funding after Republican lawmakers cut out of the budget its services providing cancer screening, birth control and sexually transmitted disease prevention. The organization also fought unsuccessfully to block the new law requiring a 24-hour waiting period and other conditions on abortions.
But wait until the next election, they say. On Tuesday night, Chapel Hill philanthropists Jane Brown and James Protzman held a fundraiser for the organization's North Carolina political action committee that included an appearance by Gov. Bev Perdue.
The evening drew more than 100 people and brought in $50,000, according to the PAC.
Janet Colm, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina, said the money will be used to get female voters to the polls and to contribute money to elect sympathetic candidates in 2012.
Conservative roll call
The American Conservative Union is preparing a ranking of state legislators with a roll out scheduled for Nov. 29 in Raleigh. The event will honor "ACU Conservatives" and "Defenders of Liberty."
"Just as we hold every member of Congress accountable for his or her voting record on the most important issues facing our nation, the ACU will ensure voters in critical states have access to the latest information on their state representatives' conservative credentials," ACU Chairman Al Cardenas said in a statement.
After its first session in power, the Republican legislature certainly will earn kudos for a wide range of conservative accomplishments - much to Democrats' chagrin.
SEANC has new officers
The State Employees Association of North Carolina has announced newly elected officers to take office Saturday.
Elected were President Charles Johnson of Raleigh, a captain at Central Prison; First Vice President Sidney Sandy of Indian Trail, a retired Department of Transportation maintenance engineer; Second Vice President Doranna Anderson of Raleigh, with the oral health section of the Department of Health and Human Services; and Treasurer Marilyn Jean Martin of Salisbury, a captain at Piedmont Correctional Institution.
Nearly 850 delegates voted at SEANC's annual convention this month. The association also raised nearly $18,000 for Operation Homefront, which provides baby items for military families.
Staff writers Craig Jarvis and Lynn Bonner
