2 challenge Brock for 34th District seat

By Kathy Chaffin

kchaffin@salisburypost.com

Two challengers will face four-term incumbent Andrew Brock in the May 4 primary for the Republican nomination to the N.C. Senate 34th District seat representing Rowan and Davie counties.

John H. Ferguson, who is in his third term as mayor of Bermuda Run in Davie County, and Robert Dale Stirewalt of China Grove, who is retired after 25 years of service with the N.C. National Guard, are hoping to unseat Brock.

There are no Democratic or Independent candidates in the Senate race.

Brock, who at 35 has been the youngest member of the Senate since he was first elected in the fall of 2002, said he hopes to be re-elected so he can do everything he can to ensure that his children and grandchildren don't end up paying for the state's current budget woes.

"We're expecting a $500 million shortfall in the budget," he said, "and we have an outstanding health care liability for the state health care plan of close to $30 billion."

When he was first elected, Brock said he recognized the irresponsible spending patterns in state government and brought it to the attention of the Senate leadership.

"We spread our money too thin when times were good," he said, "and as soon as times started getting bad, 'Oh, watch out now.' That's just poor planning and people not paying attention to our money ... We've got to get it fixed or we're going to be in a world of hurt for a long time."

Ferguson said the only answer to the state's money problems is what is known in the business world as a zero base budget. "You start over every year with what you absolutely have to have that year," he said. "I think one of the biggest problems we have with our state budget is we're not willing to start over again every year.

"We get all these projects going, and we have to fund every project every year. In bad times, you can't afford to do that."

Ferguson, who is retired from Wachovia Bank as a senior vice president group executive, said he thinks his business knowledge and 11 years experience in municipal government as the mayor of Bermuda Run will help him to make wise decisions in the Senate.

Stirewalt, who was a 1st Sgt. in the N.C. National Guard, said he hopes to be a voice of integrity in the Senate.

"I'm in politics now," he said, "but don't call me a politician. I will be a public servant."

Stirewalt said it's important for politicians to work together in their respective parties and for the different parties to work together for the greater good.

While attending memorials for fallen soldiers during his tour in Iraq, he said, "I never asked if the soldier was a republican, independent or democrat. To me, he was a soldier and an American."

Stirewalt, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the 34th District Senate seat in 1980, said he wants to represent the "common man" in Raleigh.

"If you want to change things, you've got to vote," he said. "Nobody's running for this job on the Democratic ticket. Either Mr. Ferguson, Andrew Brock or me, one of us is going to be senator. It's going to be decided on May 4."

All three candidates said they've been talking to people about what they want from their representative in the N.C. Senate.

Ferguson said the people he has talked with are concerned about two things: jobs and taxes. "Our taxes are so high," he said, "our sales taxes and all those temporary taxes they keep talking about putting on that never come off is bothering people. It's very expensive for small businesses to do business in this state right now."

Stirewalt said one man asked him how he felt about forced annexation. "I said, 'Well, in my opinion, if you want to live in the city, buy a house in the city,' " he said. "I don't believe that a city has the right to come out and take our property just because they want more tax revenue.

"That's totally wrong."

Opposing forced annexation would be Stirewalt's No. 3 priority if elected. His first priority would be ethics reform; his second, to protect the traditional institution of marriage between a man and woman; and his fourth, limiting the terms of candidates. "If you are unclear, vote the 'anybody but' rule," he said, "anybody but the incumbent."

His No. 5 priority is protecting the 2nd Amendment giving citizens the right to bear arms. "God, guts and guns made America free," he said. "Let's keep all three."

Brock said he's pleased when his constituents in Davie and Rowan counties tell him he voted the way they would have voted.

"You vote the way the people want you to vote back home ..." he said. "You're supposed to represent the people and not try to win a popularity contest with lobbyists and leadership.

"We have so many pork barrel projects on bills that go through just because somebody wants it passed. It's more of a personality contest than anything. That's a bad way for the state to do business."

Ferguson said he believes he's more qualified to serve in the Senate than Brock or Stirewalt because he has experience in business and municipal government. Brock "is a professional politician," he said. "He's never held another job other than being a politician."

As for Stirewalt, he said, "he does not have the background in business that I have."

Ferguson also criticized Brock for "voting no on everything that comes up."

"I will not try to be the most conservative senator down there," he said. "I will try to work with people to get things accomplished, particularly for our region of the state ... He has also been constantly rated at the bottom in getting things done in his efficiency rating."

Ferguson also criticized Brock for voting against the recently-passed law making it illegal to text while driving, saying "that is a very, very bad impression to give to our young drivers, that it's OK to text while driving."

Brock, responding to Ferguson's comments, said, "I think he's just grasping at straws and trying to cover up the fact that he's got nothing to run on."

Before being elected to the Senate, Brock worked helping counties set up welfare reform packages as a field representative for U.S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth. Later, he ran Bill Cobey's campaign for N.C. Republican chairman, and once he was elected, served as his special assistant and as the State Republican Party's liaison to the N.C. General Assembly.

Afterward, Brock worked in sales for RCS Communications in Winston-Salem for almost a year before resigning to run Congressman Walter Jones' campaign in Greenville. After that, he worked for Citizens for a Sound Economy and headed up Bob Orr's campaign for the N.C. Supreme Court.

When he is not serving in the N.C. Senate, Brock works as a consultant for campaigns and businesses through his company, Brock Communications.

As for the texting while driving law, Brock said law enforcement officers already had the authority to arrest people for reckless driving. "I'm like 'How do you distinguish between somebody texting and somebody dialing a number or just looking down at their phone?' " he said. "The Highway Patrol said, 'There's no way to tell what someone's doing.'

"It was really a 'do nothing' bill to me," he said. "We were wasting time with this when we were looking at major problems with our state health care system and our state budget, companies were going out of business and leaving North Carolina, unemployment was going to double digits ..."

Contact Kathy Chaffin at 704-797-4249.

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