As Gov. Pat McCrory’s new administration starts its work, media outlets highlighting McCrory and his priorities are turning to John Locke Foundation President John Hood for expert commentary. An article in the News & Observer and Charlotte Observer about McCrory’s qualifications as a “turnaround artist” quotes Hood.
The N&O‘s “Under the Dome” blog republished Hood’s recent column about unemployment insurance reform. N.C. Senate Republicans promoted that same column in their daily press email, while the Winston-Salem Journal interviewed Hood about unemployment benefits. (“There is no question that North Carolina needs to bring its jobless benefits in line with other states, and with the realities of the job market,” said John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation, a conservative policy research group. “But policymakers may not want to affect state eligibility for federal emergency benefits. So I think they will either push for flexibility or a change of policy from Washington, or else delay the implementation of their benefits reforms.”)
The Greensboro News & Record‘s “Mixing It Up” column mentioned Hood’s column on reforming North Carolina’s judicial election process, while a Charlotte Observer letter writer cited Hood’s thoughts about that topic. A High Point Enterprise letter writer took that newspaper to task for skewing Hood’s thoughts on voter identification in a follow-up editorial.
A Lexington Dispatch editorial detailing recent wire service changes referenced Hood’s statewide syndicated column. N.C. Senate Republicans promoted Hood’s column questioning local property-tax exemptions for nonprofit groups and state government.
