The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 71

10A THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Sunday January 3 1988 Watelh) Profiling A New Political Generation Alan Pugh Age: 35 County and party: Wake (R) Occupation: Special counsel to Gov Jim Martin Pugh belongs to a small club of aides to NC Republican governors Since 1985 the former Randolph County GOP chairman has been in-house political adviser to Martin the second GOP governor elected in the state this century think about all the experience and what learned about state government and the large number of people made contact says Pugh all extraordinarily The value to Pugh stems from his interest in running for something himself probably Congress or statewide office also value to the next GOP chief executive who will have a deeper pool to draw from in assembling a government team wife Mary Joan for example is an assistant secretary in the Martin-controlled Department of Natural Resources and Community Development Sam Currin Age: 39 County and party: Wake (R) Occupation: Superior Court judge US Sen Jesse Helms R-NC hired him as a legislative assistant and persuaded President Reagan to name him a US attorney for the Eastern District And Gov Jim Martin made him a special Superior Court judge last year after Currin withdrew as a federal judicial nominee But Currin whose wife Margaret succeeded him as US attorney likely to make the bench a career He has thought about running for the US Senate or some statewide office hard to get the excitement of politics out of your says Currin would be less than candid if I told anyone that the idea of not running for office in the future there" Many see Currin as the most durable and electable of the young conservatives waiting to carry the Helms tradition The Oxford-bom Currin also has a civil rights record he likes to talk about As US attorney he waged war on the White Patriot Party John Bennett Ag: 32 County ond party Wake (D) Occupation: Bennett A Associates consultants and fundraisers Bennett's name likely ever to appear on a ballot But like father Bert Bennett who shaped Jim political emergence in the 1960s and likely to be a player behind the scenes already raised record sums for Democrats He was Hunt's finance director in 1 US Senate race the most expensive in US history In 1986 he raised the money for Terry successful US Senate bid And this year helping former Democratic Rep Tom Gilmore of Greensboro try to unseat US Rep Howard Coble R-NC Even his clients People for the American Way and the Public School Forum deal with political issues In 1985 he cofounded the nonpartisan NC Leadership Forum which seeks to give young leaders a grasp of issues as well as the contacts and skills for politics is time-consuming but a great way to get to know good says Bennett have the gut the drive to be a candidate myself But I admire those who Some of the new generation of political figures of Durham County Alan Pugh of Wake County gather outside the Capitol in Raleigh Left to Roy Cooper III of Nash County and Sam Currin right: Hill Carrow Jr of Wake County Wib Gulley of Wake County Dan Blue Age: 38 County and party: Wake (D) Occupation: Lawyer Johnathan Rhyne Age: 32 County and party: Lincoln (R) Occupation: Lawyer He drives a 91 1 Turbo Porsche and pushes a three-hour marathon Now Johnathan Rhyne is accelerating his political career If the two-term GOP House member makes a successful Senate bid this year bumping one of three Democrats who together boast 45 years of experience many Republicans consider him a hot prospect in the post-Jim Martin generation of GOP leaders As a freshman Rhyne was among a class of militant young Republicans who would stalk out of the House to protest tactics This year he worked more within the system want to go to the Senate and be a says the steady-voiced Rhyne a former Davidson College basketball player and coach best way to represent my district would be to become a leader and to have some authority My main problem has been trying to be the best legislator in the General Assembly and the best lawyer in Lincoln Frank Emory Jr Age: 30 County and party: Mecklenburg (D) Occupation: Lawyer Frank Emory Jr became the youngest chairman of the Char-lotte-Mecldenburg Planning Commission just six weeks ago Coming shortly after the defeats of Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt and council member Ron Leeper the move left Emory potentially one of highest-pro-file black leaders an honors graduate of Duke University a graduate of law school and did his clerkship in the NC Court of Appeals His father was the first black elected to the school board and board of commissioners in Wilson County Frank Jr who practices law with former state Sen Mel Watt expects to start his political career within five years possibility of my holding a Council of State position or being a member of the legislature is one Emory says would depend on the circumstances although I would think that one might get a better sense of how to do the job in Raleigh by having served as a countywide New NC Leadership Includes Blacks Women Republicans Continued From Page 1A for more than old-fashioned loyalty Ask NC Democrats who could become the first black gov-emor and Dan name usually pops up First elected in 1980 from a House district then predominantly white Blue is an ally of House Speaker Liston Ramsey D-Madison and many Republicans and Democrats regard him as a good legislator not simply a good black legislator Ramsey put the Duke-educated Blue in charge of a judiciary committee where he helped engineer passage of a Dr Martin Luther King Jr holiday and an overhaul of campaign finance laws Blue almost certainly will run for reelection After that he says be content practicing law but he rule out a statewide or congressional race you really want to have some impact you have to recognize the opportunity when it Blue says laid out any blueprint as to this is what I want and this is how get Steve Walsh Ag: 40 County and party: Mecklenburg (R) Occupation: Apartment developer In 1986 Steve Walsh was looked at by GOP leaders wanting a replacement for then-ailing Republican Sen John East At the time he declined Should GOP Sen Jesse Helms bow out in 1990 the Charlotte developer may be poised I were a player it would be on the Senate says Walsh whose conservative politics mirror that of Helms and The Congressional Club see a role for myself locally And really more interested in national Walsh has been a key financial backer of Helms Gov Jim Martin and Charlotte Mayor Sue Myrick whom he accompanied on media interviews the night she defeated Harvey Gantt Now Southern finance chairman for the presidential campaign of US Rep Jack Kemp R-NY and state cochairman for Rep Bill lieutenant governor campaign His financial resources include apartments just announced sale of $105 million worth and MetroBank which also now selling Wib Gulley Ag39 County and party: Durham (D) Occupation: Lawyer Durham mayor He first made his mark in Durham as an anti-war activist at Duke University in 1969 Last year he won his second term as mayor Gulley has changed less than Durham in the intervening years The blue-collar of old is now politically dominated by a coalition of middle-class blacks and white liberals Gulley toppled an incumbent in 1985 by calling for a check on growth and preservation of neighborhoods Last year he easily defeated a conservative black challenger with the help of black political establishment Now Gulley says beginning to look beyond Durham to the state Senate and Congress problems that I face in Durham are increasingly similar to those faced by people in say Newton and Holly Springs and Gulley says elected officials will be getting more statewide visibility because people will be asking dealing with affordable housing? Who can provide economic development and jobs while also maintaining the quality of Hill Carrow Jr Agr 33 County and party: Wake (No party) Occupation: President and executive director NC Amateur Sports Association been called North answer to Lee Iacocca and Peter Ueberroth Like Iacocca a success story with no ties to either political party Ueberroth made his name in 1984 by running the Olympic Games in Los Angeles Carrow made his last year by directing the US Olympic Festival in Raleigh Carrow a Kinston-bom lawyer who promotes amateur sports competitions is a registered unaf-filiated voter Leaders in both parties mention him as a possible candidate under their banner Carrow admits interest in politics tend to think maybe naive that people are looking today for the best person someone who can lead and help the state says Carrow who previously worked in the legal department at Carolina Power Sc Light Co affiliation is taking a back achievers I want the party to be associated with people like says Van Hecke When the Democratic Party needed an executive director a year ago Van Hecke passed over several party activists and hired former Charlotte Observer political reporter Ken Eudy now 35 Eudy also had been a WBTV news reporter experience that suggested he could be the media-sawy party spokesman Van Hecke wanted are coming into politics from unexpected sometimes strange places: from journalism movements law says Stephanie Bass 37 a former spokeswoman for Hunt who now directs the NC Center for Crime and Punishment One new political prospect 33-year-old Hill Carrow Jr won praise from leaders of both parties for his direction of the US Olympic Festival in Raleigh last year registered as an unaffiliated voter but both Democrats and Republicans are wooing him the best way to be successful in politics is to establish your credentials somewhere else" says former Democratic Chairman Wade Smith Hill Carrows of the world are welcome in politics now The arena of politics is not a turf marked off for those who got their start as precinct Wealth can help too In Kentucky last year book magnate Wallace Wilkinson 46 beat better-known candidates for governor by drawing on his personal fortune for TV spots In North Carolina Charlotte Hornets owner George Shinn 46 has money and according to some is interested in running for governor someday Last year Bill Carl the 46-year-old cofounder of the Golden Corral restaurant chain briefly considered entering the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination At the time he said be willing to spend $8 million He decided against going in but promises to try another year no question there are more diverse ways to achieve visibility and viability as candidates says freshman US Rep David Price D-NC 47 and the decline of party control open up a lot of The General Assembly and other traditional suppliers of political leaders are still manufacturing candidates But some untraditional ones are emerging: Rep Dan Blue D-Wake 38 is a four-term black lawmaker who chairs a House Judiciary Committee Freshman Rep Beverly Perdue D-Craven 40 is a health consultant who spent a record $66217 in 1986 to beat eight rivals Republicans remain outnumbered by almost 3 to 1 in the legislature But state GOP Chairman Jack Hawke says the General Assembly now be our best training ground not always been true for Rep Johnathan Rhyne R-Lincoln 32 is giving up his House seat this year to try to unseat one of three longtime Democratic state senators in his district And House Minority Whip Ray Warren R-Mecklen-burg 30 is running for secretary of state Freshman Rep Roy Cooper D-Nash a 30-year-old Rocky Mount lawyer has yet to achieve much clout in the legislature But the Morehead scholar looks good on television and is frequently mentioned by Democrats asked to pick a future governor The Republican Party paved two additional avenues to power in the mid-1980s The Helms-allied National Congressional Club is rooming a class of conservatives such as Tom Fetzer 2 who plans to challenge Price this year in the 4th Congressional District Martin only the second Republican elected NC governor in this century has hired a corps of young Republicans such as political adviser Alan Pugh 35 got an obligation to build not just for the next four years if we have another Republican term but also for the time beyond says Martin who is running for reelection this year way when we do elect a Republican governor have a strong cadre of people to build Says John Sanders director of the Chapel Hill-based Institute of Government is giving them experience and credentials so that when they run in the future they can say was secretary of this or A sample of North political future may be on display in the 4th Congressional District around Raleigh That district traded an incumbent Democrat for a conservative Republican in 1984 then switched to a moderate Democrat in 1986 people (voters) are streaming in every says Bass not attracted to either party They look at the person and his or her ideas All that makes it a more competitive political progress into state politics Leadership factories such as the General Assembly and the office once all-white male and Democratic are supplying untraditional leaders who are black female or Republican A generation ago everybody knew where to look for up-and-comers The Young Democrats numbered more than 10000 and launched the political careers of Hunt former Charlotte Mayor Eddie Knox Attorney General Lacy Thornburg and many others really cut our teeth on politics in the (Y oung says former NC House principal clerk Jo Ann Smith the unofficial historian had a lot of elections that were really contested and we took it all very In January 1964 she remembers the NC group chartered two planes to Las Vegas to help elect one of their own A1 House of Roanoke Rapids national Young Democrats president That kind of excitement is rare today Arid a recent count by the party turned up between 600 and 700 members across the state still a good place to says Hunt state president in 1968 additional places to make those personal connections and get leadership training It has no monopoly anymore have a marvelous class of bankers accountants those who are building our economy the ones on the cutting Leadership Charlotte and other chamber of commerce-based training programs are drawing budding executives into community projects And some young professionals are joining the nonpartisan NC Leadership Forum Cofounded in 1985 by then-30-year-old Bennett a Democrat and now chaired by Sanford industrialist Tom Darden a 32-year-old Republican the 400-member group sponsors issue seminars on everything from Impact on the 1988 Presidential to in the Year Its roster includes some of the biggest political names the sons and daughters of the past and present leaders A sampling: Billy Clarke 31 son of US Rep James Clarke D-NC Betsy Jordan 28 daughter of Democratic Lt Gov Bob Jordan and Edgar Broyhill 33 son of former US Sen Jim Broyhill R-NC a need out there for a group like the says its executive director Beth Branch people are hungry to get involved in something that presents both One forum-sponsored event in Greensboro last year had representatives from the Helms-allied National Congressional Club and the American Civil Liberties Union sparring over US Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork Another change: Young mayors and council members running North cities appear more likely to become contenders in state politics Gulley the Durham mayor might be a 1990 candidate for the state Senate media (have) created a different path to says Gulley now 39 the past even if a successful mayor wanted to run but was not part of the party it was tough He had to build a separate Also there are signs the tag is less of an albatross in a still-rural state Former US Rep Jim Martin who began his political career as a Mecklenburg County commissioner was elected governor in 1984 and Waxhaw and Summerfield have traffic problems says Jim Van Hecke Jr the 40-year-old NC Democratic chairman explained folks in those areas can understand urban problems identify with them and vote for urban candidates" Another emerging trend: Advocacy groups that once mainly lobbied the legislature are also fielding candidates now Sharon Thompson a 39-year-old Durham lawyer who lobbied the legislature on feminist and civil rights issues ran and won a seat in the state House in 1986 Charlotte lawyer Leslie Winner 37 who sued over state legislative districting and State Abortion Fund restrictions says she may run for the General Assembly too Sierra Club lobbyist Bill Holman 31 says one of his top priorities these days is to recruit environmentalist-minded candidates He care which party they belong to of my generation are more motivated by causes than by loyalty to a political he says The parties themselves will as always be doing their own candidate recruiting But be looking Beverly Perdue Ag: 40 County and party: Craven (D) Occupation: Health care Roy Cooper III Agr 30 County and party: Nash (D) Occupation: Lawyer Leslie Winner Agr 37 County and party: Mecklenburg (D) Occupation: Lawyer As architect of a 1984 court action redrawing legislative districts Leslie Winner already has had more impact on the General Assembly than many of its members The former Legal Services lawyer led a court fight for single-member districts in some urban counties The change upheld by the US Supreme Court helped put more blacks and Republicans in the legislature shown similar determination as a community activist and most recently critic of US policy in El Salvador When discussions turn to who might play a role in state politics one of the few women almost always mentioned Winner abandoned a fledging House campaign in 1984 to avoid possible conflict while districts were redrawn She intends to steer back on course still really want to be in the says Winner whose brother Dennis is a state senator from Asheville is the body that has always had appeal to me because the body most appropriate to tackle the big problems and because the process when it works is a very appealing and effective process for problem Midway through her first House term Perdue has her eyes on higher office And the University of Kentucky graduate finds a model in that former governor Martha Layne Collins a state like Kentucky opens up to a leadership then I certainly think a state like North Carolina that is much more progressive is ready for she says certainly will look at the top positions in the state in four to five Perdue the daughter of a Virginia coal mine operator had clear professional goals: She has a doctorate in gerontology But in 1986 she won a House seat spending $66217 twice that of any other member and using TV and direct-mail methods still foreign to most rural districts Perdue says her political drive was fueled in part by her death in 1983 I saw my brother die she says just realized you could not put off what you wanted to Even before sliding into his NC House seat last winter Roy Cooper had been tabbed by Democrats as a future governor A Morehead scholar from an active political family he beat 1 2-term Rep Allen Barbee by a 3-to-l margin in a 1986 Democratic primary using direct mail and other state-of-the-art campaign tools A star of the legislative basketball team he played by the rules in his first session keeping a low profile One exception: He helped resolve a racially charged merger dispute among three home-county school districts would like to serve between three to five terms in the Cooper says that time I would have been able to make an impact and accomplish things I want to accomplish 15 years from now I think I could look to some other office or make a living practicing i 1.