State Republican leaders, fresh off their historic legislative victories Tuesday, are laying the groundwork for who will be at the helm of the Senate and the House when their majorities take office next January.
North Carolina GOP Chairman Tom Fetzer has been introducing Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, as the Senate president pro-tem in waiting, the choice for House speaker is less clear.
Two names have emerged as top candidates for the post: Rep. Paul “Skip” Stam, R-Wake, who is the House’s current minority leader, and Rep. Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, who is the House’s current minority whip.Both speak well of each other. And both say that the process for picking the next House speaker is just getting under way.
Up until about midnight Tuesday, the Republican leadership had been concentrating on getting GOP candidates elected to the House, they said.“We all agreed that the first thing to do is get to the majority, and that’s just where we are today,” Tillis said Wednesday.The Republican House members plan to caucus and select their nominees for speaker and speaker pro-tem, along with electing their majority leader on Nov. 20.
“There’s no question that whoever we nominate on the 20th will be elected on Jan. 26 (2011),” Stam said. That’s the date that the General Assembly convenes for the next session.
The House GOP leaders said it’s safe to assume that members of the current leadership team would play leadership roles next year.
They include the current deputy Republican whips, Reps. Nelson Dollar of Wake County, Carolyn Justice of Pender County and Fred Steen of Rowan County.
Berger said that while he plans to be a candidate for Senate president pro-tem, he doesn’t want to be presumptive.
As far as Fetzer’s reference to Berger being the next Senate leader, Berger said, “When you’re in a campaign, and somebody is running for president, you always introduce that person as the next president.”
Senate Republicans plan to caucus a couple days before their House counterparts to select their leaders. That will occur on Nov. 18. Berger said he expects other members of the current Senate GOP leadership team to be a part of the team next year when Republicans are in the majority. They include the three deputy Republican leaders, Sens. Harry Brown of Onslow County, Peter Brunstetter of Forsyth County and Neal Hunt of Wake County, along with the Republican whip, Sen. Jerry Tillman of Randolph County.
Who is selected speaker and president pro-tem is significant because they have traditionally directed the flow of legislation and appointed committees in their respective chambers.
The speaker of the House and president pro-tem of the Senate are actually formally elected during the first day of the new session.
Posted November 3, 2010 – 4:50 PM
From the Editors
(M2Mpolitics.com)
