One-stop absentee voting begins Thursday

One-Stop No Excuse Absentee voting for the North Carolina primary elections begins Thursday.

Iredell County voters are encouraged to vote early to help lessen the large crowds that are expected May 6.

Voters may go to the Board of Election headquarters at 203 Stockton St. in Statesville beginning at 8 a.m.

Two other early voting elections sites will open in the southern part of the county next Monday.

5th District candidates to debate today
The first of two debates between Democratic candidates in the 5th Congressional District will be held at 7 p.m. today in Winston-Salem.

Statesville businesswoman Diane Hamby and retired Wilkes County teacher and football coach Roy Carter will face off in the Anneberg Forum of Carswell Hall on the campus of Wake Forest University.

The debate is sponsored by the Wake Forest University College Democrats and by Wake Forest University’s national champion debate team.

A second debate is scheduled for April 28 in Boone and will be sponsored by the Appalachian State University College Democrats.

Neal, Obama, Perdue win 10th District straw poll
Chapel Hill businessman Jim Neal won the straw poll for the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate race in North Carolina’s 10th Congressional District, which was held last weekend in Hickory.

Neal, who has been running neck-and-neck in polls with state Sen. Kay Hagan for the nomination, won the straw poll with 54 percent of the vote.

In a release, Neal said the straw poll results represent “the power of the grassroots.”

He said Hagan was outspending him “two-to-one” but that his campaigning was paying off.

“North Carolinians are supporting our movement for a government that works for all the people,” Neal said.

The winner in the May 6 primary will likely face Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole in the general election. Dole is expected to win her primary against Pete DiLauro of Weldon, who is on disability pension from the New York City Police Department.

Other results in the Democratic Party’s 10th District straw poll included Sen. Barack Obama outpolling Sen. Hillary Clinton 138-109 in the presidential race and Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue beating Treasurer Richard Moore 129-115 in the race for the governor’s mansion.

Gubernatorial candidate calls for gas tax ‘holiday’
Salisbury attorney Bill Graham is going back to his political roots in calling for a reprieve of gasoline taxes.

Graham, a candidate for the Republican nomination in the North Carolina governor’s race, said he is joining in presidential candidate John McCain’s call for a “gas tax holiday” and pushing a similar break in the Tar Heel State.

McCain has proposed a suspension of the federal government collecting 18.4 cents per gallon of gas and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

In a release, Graham said he supports the plan but believes its chances of becoming a reality will be thwarted by partisan politics.

“I applaud John McCain’s leadership on this issue,” Graham said. “But I seriously doubt the Democrat-controlled Congress will act.”

Graham first became involved in politics in 2006 when he called for a gas tax reduction in the middle of the post-Hurricane Katrina spike in gas prices. He called on Gov. Mike Easley and the General Assembly to “alleviate” the “burden.”

“I urge those in Raleigh to act and declare a holiday from collecting the 30.15 cents per gallon tax on fuel,” he said.

Graham said his 2006 effort collected more than 75,000 signatures, resulted in a cap on the gasoline tax and saved state drivers more than $180 million.

Posted on 04/16/08 at 07:05 AM
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