State Rep. Harold Brubaker of Asheboro, a former House speaker, is resigning from the legislature, ending a 35-year career in the legislature.
Brubaker, who is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, plans to open a lobbying practice. “With the close to this legislative session,” Brubaker said, “it is clear that my work has been accomplished and future goals in my career rest outside of this legislative body.
“It is now time for me to turn my attention to my family and my business. I will be expanding the scope of business for Brubaker & Associates to include strategic consulting and government affairs lobbying beginning in 2013. My son Jonathan, who has been with the family business since 2002, will be joining me in this new business venture in order for our company to offer a full scope of service to our clients.”
Accolades for Brubaker came from both parties.
GOP House Speaker Thom Tillis said: “I cannot overemphasize the positive impact Harold Brubaker has had on his constituents and his state. For more than three decades, he has served the people of Randolph County, rising to become North Carolina’s only Republican speaker of the House of the 20th century. His commitment to fiscal conservatism and his mastery of the legislative process have made him one of the most effective legislators in our state’s history. ... He is my mentor, a trusted colleague, and a dear friend.”
Meanwhile Democratic Gov. Bev. Perdue said: “Rep. Harold Brubaker has been a good friend. The North Carolina House will certainly miss his experience and depth of knowledge. His long-time service to the state and to the voters of the 78th district will be missed.”
Dalton: McCrory out of touch
Democrat Walter Dalton’s campaign is accusing Republican Pat McCrory of being out of touch for his recent comments on unemployment.
During an appearance in Fayetteville on Wednesday, the GOP gubernatorial candidate was quoted as suggesting that it was too easy to collect unemployment benefits.
“Part of it is the process of applying is too easy. ... If they turn down jobs that are offered to them, why should be allowed to stay on unemployment?” McCrory was quoted as saying in The Fayetteville Observer.
Ford Porter, Dalton’s spokesman, said Thursday, “yesterday Pat McCrory proved how out of touch he is with North Carolina. McCrory’s shameful assertion that out-of-work North Carolinians prefer unemployment to the rigors of the job search sounded more like the corporate interests pulling his strings than the reality faced by people across this state.”
New anti-Obama ad in N.C.
Crossroads GPS, the super PAC allied with Mitt Romney, is airing a new TV commercial in North Carolina and eight other battleground states criticizing President Barack Obama on jobs and the national debt.
The new ad is called “Tried,” and it will run for seven to 10 days in North Carolina, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia.
Crossroads is associated with Karl Rove, the former adviser to President George W. Bush.
“President Obama promised that his policies of big spending and taking on more debt would create jobs, but instead we’ve seen the weakest economic recovery in modern history,” said Steven Law, president of Crossroads.
Ann Romney in Greensboro
Ann Romney, wife of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, will be the star attraction at a fundraiser in Greensboro next week.
Romney, along with former Republican National Chairman Ed Gillespie, will appear at a fundraising luncheon July 19 at the home of Bonnie and Bynum Hunter.
Bonnie Hunter is a former chairwoman of the American Red Cross, co-founder of Pace Communications, a former U.S. ambassador to Finland, and was national finance chairwoman for Elizabeth Dole’s aborted run for president during the 2000 election cycle. Her husband is a prominent Greensboro attorney.
The lunch will cost $2,500 per person, but people can give $10,000 for a campaign briefing or $50,000 for an earlier executive roundtable. It is a joint fund raiser of the Romney committee and the Republican National Committee, and the Republican parties of Idaho, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Vermont, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Staff writer Rob Christensen
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