In light of the April and May 2010 primary elections in Kentucky, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and elsewhere, it’s interesting to take a look at what has happened over the course of this senate primary season. Two new republican candidates for the 9th District North Carolina state senate seat, Thom Goolsby and Michael Lee, sat down together in front of a live radio audience to debate the issues at WHQR, Wilmington, North Carolina’s public radio affiliate station just a few days before the primary. Goolsby went on to win the republican spot, and will face off against democratic senator James Leutze in November.
Republican State Senate Candidates
Both Goolsby and Lee were lawyers in Wilmington. Goolsby has a private practice which he started himself, while Lee works for a real estate firm of over 100 lawyers.
Goolsby had name recognition and the support of the state republican machine behind him. As a longtime lawyer in town, he had been running television and radio commercials for 15 years. Lee, the younger of the tow candidates, was less well known in town.
Primary Debate Set Up
A panel of local columnists and reporters from WHQR and the local newspaper, the Wilmington Star News, alternated asking each candidate questions they had collected from the public. For the first half of the debate, Tom Goolsby answered first; the order switched after a short break in the middle.
The questions ranged from how to handle the state budget deficit to what to do to improve education in the state. On most issues, the candidates voiced a general agreement, with only a few small changes in detail.
Republican Debate Questions
Both candidates agreed that the state should get out of the liquor business—that instead of state-run liquor stores, private companies should be allowed to compete for this sector of Wilmington’s industry.
On the question of how to handle the state’s surplus of prisoners, Goolsby answered that the state should look into building lower cost prison facilities. Lee answered that the state should hire private contractors to build and maintain private jails and prisons. The state has already begun to do this.
The candidates were asked for their respective opinions on whether the state should offer tax incentives to private industries.
Goolsby answered first, and said that he does not support “blackmailing” companies into setting up shop in Wilmington. He did however, allow for one exception, which was the film industry. He acknowledged that the film business is of special importance in Wilmington, and suggested that a limited amount of tax incentives should be allowed for film.
Lee responded that he saw no reason to eliminate the whole tax incentives program, and that film was a particularly valuable industry for Wilmington’s economy.
Civil Primary Debate
The debate was kept at a civil level by both candidates, despite one minor flair-up over negative ad campaigns. Goolsby accused Lee of attacking him in campaign ads, and Lee countered by saying that he felt the voters had a right to know when they were being lied to. After this terse exchange, the candidates returned to their civil tones.
Goolsby, who benefited from more name recognition, went on to win the primary on May 4th.
Eva Gordon - Eva Sage Gordon
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