THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 4, 1996 TAG: 9605040372
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
For most voters in the 86th District, the major issues revolve around three E's - the environment, education and economic development.
And incumbent Rep. W.T. ``Bill'' Culpepper III, D-Edenton, believes the two E's - experience and enthusiasm - will return him to Raleigh for his second full term in the General Assembly.
Culpepper, however, faces a primary challenge from former Washington County school board Chairman Bill Forbes and former Manteo Town Commissioner Rocky D. Midgette.
No Republicans have filed for the seat, but the Republican Executive Committee could appoint a candidate to run in the fall.
``I think we're going to do very well,'' Culpepper said by phone from the capital on Thursday. ``I've got the experience necessary and I've got a great enthusiasm for the job.''
Culpepper, 49, is the ranking minority member on the House Judiciary Committee. His proudest achievement in the House is the toughening of North Carolina law dealing with parents who fail to pay child support.
``When this legislation is fully implemented, judges will have the authority to revoke driving privileges, revoke any professional licenses, and hunting and fishing licenses to people who fail to meet their child support obligations. This law makes it tougher on parents who make it tough on their children. I worked hard for months to get that bill through, and I'm proud of it,'' he said.
Culpepper said water quality issues, along with education and economic development, are on the minds of constituents.
``I'm talking to a lot of people who are concerned about water and the fish kills in the Neuse (River),'' Culpepper said. ``It's a shame that we have to have problems like hog waste spillage and things like that to get water quality on the front burner. But it is a big issue.''
While Culpepper is trying to build on his experience in Raleigh, Forbes is hoping to attract voters by running as an outsider.
``I think we need to get the General Assembly out of its ivory tower,'' Forbes said. ``We're a region of harvesters. We either harvest fish, trees, crops or tourists. People here have survived for 400 years. I think we know what's best for us. There are a lot of issues in which the people in the east are ignored.''
Forbes, an auctioneer, said his business experience would help make him an effective lawmaker.
``I work with people every day in my business trying to help them get the most money they can for their possessions,'' he said. ``A lot of those people are widows, or people who have had a hard time. There are a lot of people in this part of the state who need help, in education and in economic development. I want to help bring that here.''
A Creswell resident, the 49-year-old Forbes served on the Washington County Board of Education from 1978 to 1988. That experience in working with education issues, he says, will help in the General Assembly.
``When I was chairman of the school board, we passed a bond issue for facilities in Washington County with an 84 percent approval rating,'' he said. ``At that time, it was a state record. I think if I can help get a bond issue passed with that kind of approval rating, I can get things done in Raleigh.''
``I work in a business that relies on personal service,'' Forbes said. ``With that, I think I have the skills to help people and serve them well. A lot of times in my business, I get folks more money than they expect. I think those skills will help in the legislature.''
Midgette, 38, has portrayed himself throughout the race as ``a working class'' candidate.
``I think I can bring a sense of reality to the legislature,'' he said. ``I consider myself to be part of the working poor. I do not believe that when the General Assembly sits down to decide how they are going to tax and spend our money, they realize its impact on common people.''
Midgette said he differs with Culpepper on a variety of issues, particularly the proposed rollback of the state tax on food.
``Mr. Culpepper has said that he wants to decrease the tax on food 1 cent per year for five years,'' Midgette said. ``The only people who are going to benefit by that are the rich who buy filet mignon, and not the working folks who buy ground chuck.''
Midgette, a Manteo resident, said he also favors easing state regulations on the commercial fishing industry. Those rules, he said, are strangling the ability of watermen to earn a decent living.
``We need to take a common-sense approach to regulating the industry,'' Midgett said. ``The people who have been working these waters for generations know more about what's going on out there than some biologist from New Jersey. We need more input from the commercial fishermen before we make rules. We need to cut back on a lot of the regulation.''
Midgette, a graduate of Amherst College, said that he is the true outsider in the race.
``The power elite in this district are against me,'' Midgett said. ``But I have a wide base of support among blacks and whites in the district. I've talked personally to about 500 to 600 people, and 90 percent of them are for me. But I know it will take more than that.'' by CNB