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Another Candidate Debate/Forum on Tuesday, Oct. 16, at ASU’s Broyhill Events Center, Foxx Declines Invite

By Jesse Wood Oct. 15, 2012. As part of the ASU Department of Communication’s Fall Debate Series, candidates for the N.C. House and Senate, U.S. House and Watauga County Board of Commissioners will pitch their candidacy on Tuesday, Oct. 16, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Broyhill Events Center inside the Helen Powers Grand Hall. Participants include candidates for the 93rd District of the N.C. House – Jonathan Jordan and Cullie Tarleton; 45th District of the N.C. Senate – Dan Soucek and Roy Carter; the Watauga County Board of Commissioners – Tommy Adams, Vince Gable, Billy Kennedy, Virginia Roseman, John Welch and Perry Yates; and N.C. 5th District of U.S. House – Elisabeth Motsinger. Virginia Foxx, who resides in the High Country, declined her invitation participate, according to a release from ASU. A representative from Foxx’s campaign hasn’t returned a phone call as of Monday morning. The event, which is presented by AppSpeaks, College Democrats, College REpublicans and the SGA, is open to the public and is free to attend. A reception will follow the forum. For more information, contact Dr. Jeff Motter at 828-262-7527 or email him at motterjb@appstate.edu.

Testing Civility as Election Day Nears, For N.C. House, Tarleton, Jordan Slam Each Other with ‘False’ Claims

By Jesse Wood Oct. 14, 2012. Well, Watauga County Republican Party Chair Matthew Snyder hit the nail on the head. When asked about civility of the political races in August, Snyder said the tone has been “pretty smooth,” but he expected to see more “passion” once Election Day was closer. Last Tuesday, incumbent Jonathan Jordan and challenger Cullie Tarleton, candidates running for the 93rd District of the N.C. House, exhibited that passion at the courthouse during the “Meet the Candidate Forum” hosted by the Boone Area Chamber. While civility was maintained on the outside, the two candidates were visibly steaming like broccoli on the inside. In closing remarks, Jordan addressed Tarleton’s claims that Jordan and his cohorts in legislature laid off gobs of teachers by saying, “So when he says I fired local teachers, that is absolutely false, and I would go further, but this is a nice gentlemanly debate.” Both Jordan and Tarleton, who was defeated by Jordan in 2010, contend that the other is disseminating false information. Jordan Lays Into Tarleton About Bill Concerning Private Wells At the candidate forum, though, it wasn’t until Chamber President Dan Meyer, acting as the moderator, asked a question, which was handed …

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Tarleton Aims to Reclaim Jordan’s 93rd District Seat and ‘Restore Some Common Sense Back Into the Legislature’

By Ron Fitzwater March 10, 2012. BLOWING ROCK – It wasn’t even a question for Cullie Tarleton whether or not he would make a run at taking back the 93rd District seat he lost in 2010 to Representative Jonathan Jordan. “In November of 2010, when I lost, I filed in the back of my mind that I would certainly consider running again. I enjoyed it, it was a privilege for me to serve. After redistricting, they left the [93rd] District, as it was and didn’t make any changes, so it just made sense for me to do it.” Openly admitting most of it was coming from long-time supporters, some out of Raleigh, Tarleton said he received “a lot of encouragement” to run again. In reflecting on what happened in 2010 and how to prevent a repeat, Tarleton said that he was in the camp of people who believe the driving force behind the Republican/Tea Party victories across the state was one man, Art Pope. “You know, the Senate and the House, is the best Legislature that Art Pope could buy. He is personally responsible for many of the victories that occurred in 2010 by the amount of money he spent.” …

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