Page 22 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - First Quarter 2021

LEGISLATIVE/ASSOCIATION NEWS
2020 Election: Outcomes and
Likely Impact on the Forest Industry
The 2020 election season was long and drawn out, with
many races being contested locally and federally. The NCFA has created a recap to help explain how these races affect the forestry industry in North Carolina.
Governor Roy Cooper will be serving another term, having defeated current Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest. Other Council of State members are shown in TABLE 1.
At the State House, Republicans will maintain their control of both the House and the Senate. Republicans picked up four seats in the House, giving them a 69-51 lead over Democrats for the 2021- 2022 legislative session. Notable races are shown in TABLE 2.
At the state level, the NCFA will continue to invest in our relationships with Democratic and Republican members of the General Assembly
to ensure that policies benefit North Carolina’s $33.6 billion forest sector.
In the Senate, Republicans lost a seat, reducing their lead to 28-22 over Democrats for the upcoming session. As seen in TABLE 3, Harper Peterson from Wilmington lost to former NC State Senator, Michael Lee. The seat formerly held by NC State Senator John M. Alexander, Jr. (R) will be occupied by Sarah Crawford (D) this session,
TABLE 1: COUNCIL OF STATE MEMBERS
Office
Name
Party
Defeated
Party
Lieutenant Governor
Mark Robinson
R
Yvonne Lewis Holley
D
Attorney General
Josh Stein*
D
Jim O’Neill
R
Auditor
Beth A. Wood*
R
Anthony Wayne Street
D
Commissioner of Agriculture
Steve Troxler*
R
Jenna Wadsworth
D
Commissioner of Insurance
Mike Causey*
R
Wayne Goodwin
D
Commissioner of Labor
Josh Dobson
R
Jessica Holmes
D
Secretary of State
Elaine Marshall*
D
E.C. Sykes
R
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Catherine Truitt
R
Jen Mangrum
D
Treasurer
Dale Folwell*
R
Ronnie Chatterji
D
* Incumbent
TABLE 2: NOTABLE STATE HOUSE RACES
District
Name
Party
Defeated
Party
9 (Pitt)
Brian Farkas
D
Perrin Jones*
R
37 (Wake)
Erin Pare
R
Sydney Batch*
D
43 (Cumberland)
Diane Wheatley
R
Kimberly Hardy
D
63 (Alamance)
Ricky Hurtado
D
Stephen M. Ross*
R
93 (Ashe, Watauga)
Ray Pickett
R
C. Ray Russell*
D
66 (Montgomery, Richmond, Stanly)
Ben Moss
R
Scott T. Brewer *
D
98 (Mecklenburg)
John R. Bradford, III
R
Christy Clark*
D
119 (Haywood, Jackson, Swain)
Mike Clampitt
R
Joe Sam Queen*
D
* Incumbent
TABLE 3: SENATE RACES
District
Name
Party
Defeated
Party
9 (New Hanover)
Michael Lee
R
Harper Peterson*
D
18 (Franklin, Wake)
Sarah Crawford
D
Larry Norman
R
39 (Mecklenburg)
DeAndrea Salvador
D
Joshua Niday
R
* Incumbent
20 ncforestry.org / FIRST QUARTER 2021