Remarkable Basnight calls it quits

I met Marc Basnight about 20 years ago. He dropped by my office at the newspaper late one afternoon as he was headed either to Raleigh or Manteo, I don't remember which, and introduced himself. We shot the breeze a bit about North Carolina and politics, and we exchanged business cards. He seemed genuine, sincere and not the least bit pretentious. Years later, when one of my reporters interviewed Basnight, he asked about me, demonstrating his remarkable memory for names and people, a characteristic of nearly all successful politicians.

Basnight announced his retirement from the Senate Tuesday, and the decision deserved the mega-size headline in the News & Observer. After 23 years as president pro-tem of the Senate, the most powerful politician in North Carolina was stepping down. The N&O articles expressed some uncertainty whether Basnight or the governor was the most powerful Democrat in Raleigh. To my thinking, there was never any doubt. Nothing got through the Senate without Basnight's approval, and any legislation Basnight wanted passed was approved, sooner or later. Even with the rarely used veto, the governor could not sway legislation the way Basnight could. Not only could he control legislation, he could sway elections. From his secure coastal district, Basnight raised many thousands of unneeded campaign dollars, which he gave away to Democratic colleagues facing contested elections. Until last year, his fundraising capabilities assured Democratic dominance in the Senate. With his power sharply diminished, his electoral influence waning and his health in question, Basnight made a rational decision to resign.

He leaves a remarkable legacy, regardless of whether you approve of the way Basnight ran the state (and make no mistake, he ran the state as much as anyone did). With only a high school education and a remarkable drive to match an innate intelligence, Basnight molded himself into a well-informed historian and economist. His "people skills" assured his rise to power and the respect he won from legislators, lobbyists and others. Like Robert Byrd in the U.S. Senate, Basnight was not shy about using tax dollars to improve his state. The highways, museums, parks and other attractions in his coastal district testify to his power and generosity, as do the UNC cancer hospital, the building boom across UNC campuses and the ECU dental school. But his steadfast belief in state spending to boost the state and the state's economy is at least partly to blame for the huge deficit legislators face this year. Basnight promised that state spending on capital projects and new programs would help lift North Carolina out of the economic downturn. It hasn't worked, and now someone else has to fix the problems left behind.

Regardless of gender, governor has big task

Much has been made of the fact that North Carolina's newly inaugurated governor is a woman. Certainly, it is a historic moment, but I'm not sure it will mean major changes in the way state government operates.

Gov. Bev Perdue is a woman. She is also a Democrat who has toiled in the vineyard of the Democratic power structure in the legislature. As a member of the state House and state Senate and during two terms as lieutenant governor, Perdue has paid her dues. But she has also toed the line to promote her party's agenda. She was a protege of Sen. Marc Basnight, who, as president pro tem of the Senate, is arguably the most powerful person in the state. Nothing happens in the Senate without Basnight's approval, and nothing gets through the Senate if Basnight opposes it.

Perdue's campaign consisted of little more than platitudes about making North Carolina the best that it can be. She showed little spark in her debates against Republican nominee Pat McCrory. Former Gov. Jim Hunt has opined that Perdue will be a better governor than she was a campaigner. Let's hope so. Her work is cut out for her.

The international financial crisis' victims include state government. Already, outgoing Gov. Mike Easley has ordered state agencies to reduce spending. More spending cuts are almost certain. Perdue, to her credit, has admitted that her proposal to make community college tuition free will have to be postponed. Other cost-saving measures will be needed to avoid a tax increase, which might further damage the state's economy.

The state's mental health system, its transportation department, and its probation and parole system are all in a shambles. Public education is faltering as far too many students drop out and far too many fail to pass standardized tests. Governmental ethics are endangered following the prosecution of several high-ranking government officials, including the former speaker of the N.C. House and the state commissioner of agriculture.

For Perdue to succeed against these crises, she will need more than an allegiance to party hierarchy and ideology. Creative ideas will be needed. Some sacred cows might have to be skewered. Her success will depend on her willingness to put public interest above partisan interests. She might even have to take on Basnight and other power brokers. All of this has nothing to do with being female or male.