Local democrats are having a nutty over Tricia Cotham's switch to the Republican Party.
But this is mostly good news for North Carolina and bad news for those pursuing a woke virtue signaling agenda. More so great news for law enforcement officer state wide.
The local paper did a fair look into Cotham's voting record and this is pretty good work. Unfortunately you can't read it online because of the endless pop-ups and webpage reloads. It is even worst if you are using your iPhone.
So here as a public service is the "local paper's" take:
What Does NC Rep. Tricia Cotham stand for?
Here’s what her voting history shows
The party switch On April 5, 2023, Democratic N.C. House Rep. Tricia Cotham announced she would join the House Republican caucus, provoking polarizing reactions from each party. The move will have major ramifications for North Carolina state politics.
N.C. Rep. Tricia Cotham spoke clearly during an emotional 2015 debate about a bill to require women to wait three days before getting an abortion. “My womb and my uterus are not up for your political grab,” said Cotham, then a Democratic representative for the 100th N.C. House District. Seven years later, she again made her opinion known in response to a questionnaire from The Charlotte Observer.
Cotham left the legislature in 2017
after an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2016.
She won the 112th House District seat in November as a
registered Democrat. “North Carolina should act now to codify Roe v. Wade to
affirm the right to an abortion without interference,” Cotham wrote in 2022
when asked what the state should do if the landmark court ruling was
overturned.
She also signed on as a co-sponsor in January of a bill to “codify Roe v. Wade” — prevent restrictions on abortion before fetal viability, unless the person’s life or health is in danger and stop any “undue burden” of the ability of a woman to choose.
But as she announced a party registration change on
Wednesday, giving North Carolina Republicans a supermajority in the House,
Cotham declined to commit to specific views on legislation. Cotham said she’s
never thought abortion was “the biggest issue facing women in North Carolina”
and said she would research bills before deciding. “There’s a piece of good
advice I learned a long time ago: Don’t discuss legislation that’s not before
you. So, I’m not going to do that,” Cotham said Wednesday during a news
conference in Raleigh.
Already a swing vote on some issues, Cotham’s stance could
be decisive on abortion rights in North Carolina. The state currently bans
abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and Republicans are considering a 12-week
ban. A total abortion ban introduced this year has just three sponsors or
co-sponsors and hasn’t moved out of the House Rules Committee.
A gubernatorial veto override requires three-fifths of people present in the House at the time. That’s 72 votes with all members present, and Cotham’s switch makes 72 House Republicans. Here’s where Cotham stands on other issues or when she has crossed party lines.
IMMIGRATION AND SHERIFFS
Cotham voted last month with Republicans and two other
Democrats in favor of House Bill 10. The bill passed the House 71-44, with two
Democrats and three Republicans not voting.
It requires county sheriffs to comply with U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement when people are charged with certain felony and
misdemeanor offenses and are the subject of immigration detainers, including
holding them for at least 48 hours in jail. It would also require sheriffs and
other jail administrators to notify ICE if they can’t determine the legal
status of people charged with certain crimes.
The bill attracted opposition from N.C. sheriffs such as
Mecklenburg County’s Garry McFadden, who previously told the Observer the bill
takes away local law enforcement’s authority and that sheriffs already must
cooperate with ICE.
PISTOL PERMIT REPEAL
Cotham was absent March 29 when the House voted to override
Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 41, which eliminated the state’s pistol
permit requirement. It also allowed concealed handguns in places of worship
that are also schools. Because she and two other Democrats missed the vote,
Republicans succeeded in overriding Cooper’s veto with a 71-46 vote count. She
said a scheduled medical appointment for long COVID was the reason for her
absence. She voted in February against a more narrowly tailored measure, House
Bill 50, only containing the pistol permit repeal.
CHARTER SCHOOLS
Prior to her party switch, Cotham maintained an outsized
role for a Democrat in a Republican-controlled legislature as chair of the
House K-12 Education Committee. She’s a former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
educator and served as vice chair of the House Education committee during her
prior stint in the legislature. Sign up for Kaleidoscope An essential
newsletter about race, culture and equity in the greater Charlotte and
Mecklenburg County region.
She was one of three Democrats to vote with Republicans in
favor of House Bill 149, which she also co-sponsored. The bill allows regional
and statewide online-only charter schools, extends the state’s virtual charter
school pilot program for one year and requires the state community college
system’s president to be confirmed by the legislature.
WHO IS TRICIA COTHAM?
New Republican has history of Demoratic politics She’s the
only Democrat to sign on as a co-sponsor of a charter school omnibus bill, HB
2019. The bill’s provisions include requiring the State Board of Education not
to consider the impact on local public school districts when deciding when to
approve a charter. It allows for the creation of a “micro school” within
charter schools that could include specialized curriculum for a group of
students. Another section of the bill allows counties to provide money to
charter schools for capital improvements similar to local public school
districts. In her 2022 questionnaire, Cotham said she wanted to eliminate “high
stakes tests” because the state puts too much weight on test scores. Cotham
also said in the questionnaire the state should fully fund the Leandro plan,
which refers to court rulings that North Carolina has a constitutional
obligation to give students access to a sound, basic education.
NEW RULES FOR NC DEAF AND BLIND SCHOOLS
Cotham voted last month with two other Democrats in favor of
House Bill 11, which creates new boards to supervise the Eastern North Carolina
School for the Deaf in Wilson, the North Carolina School for the Deaf in
Morganton and the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh. Cooper
allowed the bill to become law without his signature, saying it
“unconstitutionally attacks the State Board of Education by putting partisan
political appointees of the legislature in charge of our NC schools for the
deaf and blind.”
CRITICAL RACE THEORY
Cotham voted last month with Democrats against House Bill
187, a bill titled “equality in education,” but that critics such as
Mecklenburg Democratic Rep. Laura Budd say would “micromanage from the General
Assembly into the classrooms.” The bill says that teachers shall not promote
that anyone “should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of
psychological distress” based on their race or sex.
PARTISAN SCHOOL BOARDS
Last month, Cotham voted along party lines and with
Democrats against House Bill 88, which would make a number of local school
board races partisan. The bill made changes to school board elections in Ashe,
Cabarrus, Henderson, McDowell and Mitchell counties. Now, in counties such as
Cabarrus candidates will run according to what party they’re registered with.
Republican legislators argue the change gives voters more
information. Opponents say it injects more national politics into local public
schools. In Guilford County, House Bill 88 also set a procedure for local
political parties to fill school board vacancies. It also made changes to some
small town elections. TRICIA COTHAM'S MOM: Democratic county commissioner speak
about daughter's change
PENALTIES FOR RIOTING
Cotham and a majority of Democrats voted in February against
House Bill 40, which increases penalties for the crimes of rioting or inciting
a riot. Six Democrats voted for the measure. Gov. Roy Cooper let the bill
become law without his signature, citing concerns about the First Amendment and
“disparate impacts on communities of color.” The 75-43 vote count in the House
would have been enough to override a veto. HOUSE BILL 2 Cotham in 2016 voted
against House Bill 2, which reversed a Charlotte ordinance that protected
transgender people who use public restrooms based on their gender identity. It
required people to use the bathroom in public facilities that matched the
gender on their birth certificate. “Don’t tell me this #HB2 is to save women
and children. Disingenuous,” she wrote in a tweet at the time. The N.C. General
Assembly repealed the bill and approved a compromise measure after its passage
resulted in nationwide backlash and economic losses for the state.
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