Kinston Free Press: Hagan's march to the Senate

Kinston Free Press
David Anderson
September 24, 2008

Democratic senatorial candidate visits Snow Hill, Kinston

Kay Hagan’s weeklong tour of Eastern North Carolina took her through Greene and Lenoir counties Wednesday, where she met with local elected officials, citizens and farmers.

“Riding around, I just have such a good feeling, and when I win this Senate race, I will be back,” she told a group of supporters who gathered at the Greene County Museum of Art and History in Snow Hill for a morning meet-and-greet session.

Hagan, a Democratic state senator from Guilford County, then had lunch with supporters in Kinston and visited a Lenoir County farm Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday’s events were part of Hagan’s ongoing statewide “Best Interests, not the Special Interests” tour.

She gave speeches in all three locations, laying out her views on the economy, the war in Iraq, agriculture, energy policy and health care. She also took numerous swipes at her opponent, incumbent U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C.

Speaking in Snow Hill, Hagan noted how Dole is currently occupying the same seat the late Republican Sen. Jesse Helms held for 30 years.

She played on Helms’ nickname, “Senator No,” and Dole’s longtime residency in Kansas, the home state of her husband, former Sen. Bob Dole.

“Liddy Dole is Senator Nowhere in North Carolina,” Hagan joked. “Let’s give Elizabeth Dole that pair of ruby red slippers, click her heels three times and let her go home to Kansas with Bob.”

Two of Hagan’s supporters, former Democratic N.C. Gov. Jim Hunt and Wilson County tobacco farmer Pender Sharp, spoke on her behalf.

Hunt said he met Hagan in 1992 when he was running for his second eight-year tenure as governor. Hagan was a full-time mother and civic activist in her hometown of Greensboro at the time, and she took on the role of Hunt’s campaign director in Guilford County.

“Everybody told me what a great leader they had in Greensboro,” he said of Hagan.

Hunt encouraged her to run for the state Senate in 1998 and has been a major supporter of Hagan’s U.S. Senate campaign.

“I thought she’d be the perfect person to go up to Washington, be independent and make sure North Carolina got treated right,” he said.

Taking a dig at Dole, Sharp said, “Kay Hagan will travel through Eastern North Carolina, visiting small towns and trying to meet the people who have been lacking in representation over the last six years.”

Following the Snow Hill appearance, Hagan and her campaign staffers traveled to Kinston to have lunch with supporters there. The event was hosted by the Democratic Women of Lenoir County and the Lenoir County Democratic Party.

Hagan praised the local Democrats for their support.

“Keep up the good work,” she said.

Hagan gave a speech similar to what she discussed in Snow Hill and took questions from the audience.

Lyle Holland, the former head of the Lenoir County Democrats, asked her to keep in mind that, even if offshore oil and gas drilling – which Hagan supports – is approved, there is no where to process the extra fuel because no new refineries have been built in the United States.

“Don’t be fooled by all this, ‘drill, drill, drill (mantra),’ “ Holland said. “We haven’t built a refinery in 20 years.”

Hagan agreed and went on to say she was behind a bipartisan effort in the U.S. Senate by five Democrats and five Republicans known as the “Gang of 10” to pass a comprehensive energy package that promotes alternative energy and offshore drilling.

“People have to understand that this is five, seven, 10, 12 years out,” she said of the benefits of drilling.

Hagan ended the day at Tull Hill farm, located along Hugo Road. Brothers Jimmy and Kendall Hill, along with Kendall’s son Rob and their nephew Michael grow tobacco, sweet potatoes, soybeans and other crops on land their family has owned for more than 50 years.

Speaking in the farm’s warehouse with bundles of dried tobacco nearby, Hagan discussed the need to support farmers, plus the need to bring troops out of Iraq and shift them to Afghanistan, and keep a close watch on the Treasury Department’s proposed multi-billion dollar bailout plan if it passes.

“I will never support a bailout that doesn’t have oversight,” she said. “We took the cops off the street; the (financial) regulators went away.”

Kinston Mayor O.A. “Buddy” Ritch Jr., who attended her farm appearance, urged Hagan to establish an Eastern North Carolina office in Kinston if she wins.

“Please consider Kinston, an All-Americancity, for your Eastern North Carolina office,” Ritch said.

He added: “We know you’ll be a tremendous asset for the area and the people; you talk like us.”

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