Long-serving Democrat from Orange County to retire from NC legislature
The longest-serving Democrat in the North Carolina General Assembly will retire after her current term expires.
State Rep. Verla Insko, who has represented Orange County since 1997, announced her decision Wednesday. Her term ends Dec. 31, 2022.
“It has just been an enormously gratifying career,” Insko said during a speech at the end of the House’s floor session Wednesday. “... I’ve been proud of actually being able to make a contribution to the difference that we make for people.”
Insko, 85, has been a consistent, liberal voice on expanding health care access and reforming mental health services. The Orange County representative also was a top budget writer on health issues when Democrats controlled the House.
She helped lead a committee in the early 2000s focused on improving ballot security, especially with the rise of electronic voting systems.
“We have our differences, but one thing we have in common is we have those 80,000 people back home that are depending on us,” Insko told her fellow lawmakers. “People that are depending on me to make sure that government works for them and society works for them. It is a wide range of people with many different needs.”
She told colleagues that she was a registered Republican before changing parties because “I thought the Republican Party had left me.”
She said both parties make mistakes and the lawmakers should “keep true to your values.”
“Hang in there, and love each other, and fight the good fight,” Insko said.
Insko has been an elected official for decades, serving on the Chapel HIll-Carrboro Board of Education from 1977 to 1985. She was on the Orange County Board of Commissioners from 1990 to 1994. She worked for U.S. Rep. David Price in his district office and was chair of the Orange County Democratic Party.
She also worked for Smart Start when former Gov. Jim Hunt started the program.
“Few understand the long hours and late nights she has put into committee meetings, House sessions, and meeting and communicating with constituents,” said former House Speaker Joe Hackney in a statement. “Her expertise and experience in health care and public education, in particular, will be missed.”
Her announcement comes weeks before the GOP-controlled legislature draws General Assembly districts for the next decade. Her departure will give mapmakers more flexibility to set boundaries in Orange County. The Democratic primary winner in March almost assuredly will get elected to the seat in November 2022 given the area’s leftward electoral leaning.
Insko said she chose to announce her decision now to give potential replacements time to make a decision about running ahead of the December deadline for candidates to file for election.
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This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 11:21 AM with the headline "Long-serving Democrat from Orange County to retire from NC legislature."
