Could a Charlotte Democrat help override NC governor’s vetoes? Her party is worried. | Opinion
It’s well-established by now that Republicans need just one vote to override any of Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes. House Speaker Tim Moore has repeatedly insisted that he effectively has a “governing supermajority” in his chamber because certain Democrats are willing to cross party lines to vote with Republicans on certain issues.
The larger question is who that vote — or votes — might be.
One possibility that’s emerging is Rep. Tricia Cotham, a Mecklenburg County Democrat who recently began her second stint in the legislature after representing parts of Charlotte in the state House from 2007 to 2016.
North State Journal, a conservative statewide news outlet, reported last week that the House is likely to introduce its own version of the Parents’ Bill of Rights, a controversial bill that has drawn comparisons to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. The House’s version of the bill would apparently ban instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity through seventh grade — stricter than what the Senate has already passed.
Rep. John Torbett, co-chair of the House Education Committee, told North State Journal a veto override in the House is likely to be successful because Cotham may join Republicans in voting for the bill. No Democrats voted for the bill in the Senate, where the GOP already holds an outright supermajority.
Torbett — and Democrats — have reason to believe that could happen, given Cotham’s recent voting history. Cotham was one of five Democrats who voted in favor of a controversial rules package that would make it easier for Republicans to override Cooper’s vetoes. Cotham was also the only Democrat on the House’s education committee to support a proposed constitutional amendment to elect members of the State Board of Education rather than appoint them. Cooper has openly criticized that bill, calling it “a blatant attempt to have radical right-wing politicians run our public schools rather than educators and experts.”
Multiple Democrats told me they’re worried about that possibility.
“As Democrats, we fear every vote that threatens the well-being of North Carolinians,” Rep. Deb Butler, a Wilmington Democrat, told me when asked whether House Democrats were worried about a potential veto override on the Parents’ Bill of Rights.
As co-chair of the education committee, Cotham is one of just three Democrats given a committee gavel this session. All three of them happen to be Democrats who have voted with the GOP on occasion. The other two Democrats granted a chair position, Reps. Michael Wray and Shelly Willingham, also have a history of voting with Republicans.
“Every legislator should work towards producing good legislation that helps people in their district and the state,” Cotham told The News & Observer earlier this year. “It is an honor to have a seat at the table via my committee appointments to help craft legislation that will make N.C. a better place to work, play, and raise a family.”
Cotham did not respond to my request for comment.
Cotham has a longstanding reputation for bipartisanship. In her first several terms as a legislator, she worked with Republicans on charter schools, state budgets and other issues. She shares that independent mindset with her mother, Mecklenburg County commissioner Pat Cotham, who is well-known for her willingness to work across the aisle.
That can be a good thing, but it nonetheless may be a problem for Democrats, who cannot afford to lose even a single vote on any given bill. Republicans tend to be united, voting as a monolith once major bills make it to the floor (Medicaid expansion being an exception), but Democrats sometimes are not.
Elected officials — both Democrat and Republican — should be led by their values instead of blind allegiance to their party. Excess partisanship doesn’t benefit anyone, and it’s always more important to do the right thing than it is to simply fall in line. Sometimes principles and party loyalty contradict each other, and sometimes they do not. Cotham and other Democrats shouldn’t be chided simply for thinking independently, but they really ought to keep the health and safety of all North Carolinians in mind.
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The Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer editorial boards combined in 2019 to provide fuller and more diverse North Carolina opinion content to our readers. The editorial board operates independently from the newsrooms in Charlotte and Raleigh and does not influence the work of the reporting and editing staffs. The combined board is led by N.C. Opinion Editor Peter St. Onge, who is joined in Raleigh by deputy Opinion editor Ned Barnett and in Charlotte by deputy Opinion editor Paige Masten. Board members also include Observer editor Rana Cash and News & Observer editor Nicole Stockdale. For questions about the board or our editorials, email pstonge@charlotteobserver.com.
This story was originally published February 19, 2023 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Could a Charlotte Democrat help override NC governor’s vetoes? Her party is worried. | Opinion."
