StopNCAnnexation

Annexation Study Committee Public Hearing  

Wednesday night's Public Hearing in Raleigh was attended by close to 400 people. Extra seats had to be brought in and there were still people standing across the back of the room. 90 people signed up to speak to the committee.

The clerk for the Select Committee told someone from Rowan that there were 22 "city" side speakers, and 68 "reform" speakers on our side. The sergeant-at-arms reported nearly 400 attendees were present.  The total numbers from Rowan County were 108 on the two buses and approximately 10  more in cars.

Clearly, many areas across NC were represented at this hearing. Just from the speakers list, there were at least 16 Counties represented. There were probably more if those who didn't speak had been surveyed.
Add to this turnout the people from Western NC Counties who attended the Study Committee Hearing in Buncombe Co. and the Counties represented easily rises to TWENTY COUNTIES speaking out for reform of forced annexation.

The Rowan County opponents to forced annexation really turned out in numbers and were very well prepared, but everyone spoke eloquently in the limited time that they were given. There is only so much one can say in three minutes. The comments that have been heard by the Committee are absolutely having a positive impact on  the understanding by Committee members that there are serious problems with how the cities are using and abusing this power to annex by force.
Rowan County Commissioners stepped up for their constituents at this hearing also! KUDO's to them for this! Senator Brock was also at the hearing and he stayed till the very end.

Of note and very much appreciated, was the fact that a representative for NC State Grange and two people with the Moore County group, Southern Moore Alliance of Excluded Communities were there to speak to the Committee.

The Hearing was also attended by a small group of city officials enlisted by the League of Municipalities. They ALL read from their scripts that Ellis Hankins clearly provided for them and anyone listening could tell that their comments weren't exactly their own. Most if not all of the City Officials left soon after they gave their canned comments.

The Study Committee could have saved a little time by telling Ellis Hankins that he should just read his own material once and be done with it. That would be a generous allowance for the hearing given that the Committee has already given Ellis over 30 minutes of their time at a previous meeting along with an equal amount of time for the City Attorney from the NCLM's favorite City of Charlotte.

The Hearing lasted for FIVE HOURS and more than half of the people who came to speak for reform stayed to the end.

I think that I can say on behalf of most of us that we do appreciate the opportunity that the House Study Committee gave us with this hearing and we appreciate the time that they gave to this on Wednesday night. It was a marathon for all of us.

I'm sure that we will all continue to provide the Committee with ongoing communications to assist them in enacting the proper reforms for the people of North Carolina.

What is missing still from this discussion about North Carolina's Forced Annexation laws is some equal input from some policy experts and other knowledgeable people who would present the researched case against the policy of forced annexation. The city lobbyists for the status quo have been given the time by the Committee to make their case in more than three minutes. No rational debate can be so lopsided and be fairly analyzed.

And the other missing ingredient is the participation of our NC Senators. The people need to continue to contact their Senators and ask them to get on board with reforming annexation. If your Senator decides to ignore the wishes of his constituents, perhaps the ballot box in November will be where you need to register your unhappiness with the lack of action.

To read a collection of news articles reporting on the hearing, go to the website at  http://www.stopncannexation.com/legislative_news08.htm  

See all past updates at: http://stopncannexation.blogspot.com/

Cathy Heath
StopNCAnnexation

"If we move in mass, be it ever so circuitously, we shall attain our object; but if we break into squads, everyone pursuing the path he thinks most direct, we become an easy conquest to those who can now barely hold us in check."
-- Thomas Jefferson (letter to William Duane, 1811)