Rumor has it that the Greensboro City Council’s lone conservative member—District 5 rep Tony Wilkins—will challenge incumbent District 62 Rep. John Blust in next March’s primary.
Neither Wilkins nor Blust have commented, but speculation is the challenge would come about because Blust is not conservative enough, specifically regarding Sen. Trudy Wade’s bill restructuring the Gboro council, which Blust strongly opposed.
With that in mind, N&R’s Doug Clark says it is Wade—not Blust—who should be challenged:
Blust has impeccable conservative credentials. He’s consistent in applying him, unlike the majority of Republicans in the legislature whose primary governing principle is preserving and building power. It is not “conservative” to apply state power over local government nor to rule rather than represent.
Anyone who would challenge Blust would have to argue that he was wrong to listen to the people rather than to join with the ruling majority in Raleigh. How is that a winning election issue?
On other matters where Blust has run afoul of legislative leaders — fighting for democratic procedures within the legislature —opposing him would be another mistake.
Blust fought Democratic leaders and Republican leaders for the same faults — rushed votes, lack of transparency, hidden provisions, overriding the wishes of rank-and-file members, entrenched leadership, etc.
Who is going to make a case against Blust’s integrity on these kinds of issues? Only someone who intends to became a tool of legislative leaders. We have too many legislators like that already.
I don’t think Wilkins would do that or will do that.
Someone may run against Blust. But if someone wants to run to be a true representative of the people, rather than a ruler over them, he or she should run against Sen. Wade instead.
Don’t know if Clark and Blust are FB friends—the representative has over 2500 friends—he might note that Blust appears to be among the politically panicked here in North Carolina (which now includes Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Roy Cooper, in case you missed it) over the Syrian refugee crisis.
But I guess that’s politics—you agree with some issues and disagree on others, although that increasingly seems not to be the case these days.