Local government bill draws concern from Forsyth County leaders

Multiple Forsyth County leaders spoke out against a local government bill that would change all of their respective municipal elections, apart from those in Winston-Salem, from nonpartisan to partisan. 

Sen. Paul A. Lowe Jr., D-Forsyth, said House Bill 1064 was a “hodgepodge of local stuff,” disagreeing with Sen. Timothy D. Moffitt, R-Henderson, that the bill is controversial in nature. 

“I think that we need to, even on a local bill, pay attention to what those locals have to say about it,” Lowe said. 

Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, said that there is no such thing as a nonpartisan election and that voter turnout increases when a candidate’s party affiliation is listed. “We all want more citizens to participate in our elective process,” Krawiec said. 

Lewisville Mayor Michael Horn said the short notice of the meeting prevented many Forsyth elected officials from attending the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday. 

“I would hope … that we can agree that the best legislation oftentimes comes from the collaboration efforts between the Legislature and those that will be impacted by it the most,” Horn said, adding he believes a referendum on the issue would yield overwhelming votes in favor of nonpartisan elections. 

Lewisville Town Council member Monte Long said a lot of great candidates are politically unaffiliated and this decision would rule out many leaders. 

Sen. Jay J. Chaudhuri, D-Wake, said unaffiliated citizens remain the fastest-growing party in North Carolina and legislation such as HB 1064 contributes to that rise. He urged his colleagues to vote against the bill. 

On the Senate floor Tuesday night, Lowe said he didn’t believe the process behind the bill was fair and proposed an amendment to divide the Forsyth County section from the bill. The amendment was tabled. HB 1064 passed on its second reading.