The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 14

144 THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Sunday September 13 1992 YOUR VOTE IN '92 Faircioth hek terms on fam Senate a HOW TO CALL Do vou have a question 1 if' 14tit Do you have a question i I 1 a i 1 1' i' rT i '4 :1 I :1 (t fy -4 1 Continued from page IA you'd like for us to ask Lauch Faircloth? Call 358-5068 or (800) 852-2803 from outside Charlotte anytime today Well try to ask Fair-cloth a representative number of questions and then publish the answers If you'd like to contact Faircloth's campaign directly the number is (919) 790-1111 You can write him at this address: PO Box 26585 Raleigh NC 27611-6585 I it 11 't 14'' tr? '1 r''' -1'-: a sI 1 ft: ir '4s 4 i 4 't 4f 41 'i1i 7 41 '5' 4 ''''1 1 'j c'''i 4 '7f 't' t' i''' f't A ''i ti 0 40' 4 1 4 14014 3)'' 1 -4 1 1 t- i tr -y: 71 4 e-- ::5: 1 4 -A "-v 4: '4''1 eh '1- 10 7' 'i 4' '4- 1-1: I 6 :4 'i: d(1 1 i '''''1 4' $4 '2Z 14i 4 I''''PlItitri oe (434v5i: 44'''4-4milliti! 4e Iii' 'i 4'' 1 4''-'y: f7''Z '5 '''l i '-1'' 1 1 'i '4o0- 4 1 I A' tt 'p-- 2 4 -ii- -01' ''40 1 i I A I relfe i I i 1: 11i -''ti'' 4 i' -4 A -t73tt: I 1 1 i- 4 1 ti -A1 1 I 1 4 A i :1 File Unsuccessful race for NC governor: During the race in 1984 Lauch Faircloth campaigns in Richmond County Now Faircloth 64 wants to be a US senator a DUNCAN McLAUGHLIN FAIRCLOTH A Democrat until 1991 he supported liberal candidates such as Sanford Gov Kerr Scott and US Rep Richardson Preyer who all believed that government had to spend money to solve problems That's a philosophy he now rejects Whether he embraces government or not he knows how it works His highway and commerce appointments by Goys Sanford Hunt and Bob Scott gave him statewide stature Closer to home the City of Clinton mows his vacant lots in exchange for the right to store equipment and dump debris on others When he was a member of the Highway Commission from 1961 to 1965 it approved a four-lane bypass around Clinton on US 421 that was finished in 1967 Later during his term as chairman the commission extended the road and named it the Faircloth Freeway Before he left the Highway Commission in 1973 the board also agreed to widen NC 24 which intersects the freeway at land Fair-cloth bought in 1970 In 1977 Faircloth and Charlotte developer Henry Faison built an 86-acre shopping center at the intersection Tax appraisers now value it at $3 million "There wasn't any conflict" says Faircloth "I purchased the land after the road was built I have never used state government for any personal gain in any way" In 1970 the board also agreed to widen US 701 in Clinton The road runs by an auto dealership Faircloth owned Defenders say it would have been hard to avoid new roads near Faircloth's land Rose the retired highway official once watched Faircloth illustrate that to a reporter "He gave him a ruler and said 'I bet you can't draw a line across Sampson County without running across some property I owned" Sometimes top NC Republicans were the ones pointing fin Born: Jan14 1928 Hometown: Clinton (in Sampson County about 140 miles east of Charlotte) Education: Roseboro High School (Sampson County) Family: Divorced one daughter Anne Military service: Army 1955 (served less than a year before discharge) Business: Farmer entrepreneur Major holdings: Faircloth Construction Co Buffalo Investment Co Coharrie Hog Farm 4120 acres of farmland Collections: Gold coins valued at more than $100000 Net worth: Minimum $61 million maximum at least $117 million (according to Senate financial disclosure report) Appointments: State Highway Commission (by Gov Terry Sanford 1961-65) chairman state Highway Commission (by Gov Bob Scott 1969-73) NC commerce secretary (by Gov Jim Hunt 1977-83) Political races: Governor 1984 (finished third in Democratic primary with 16 of the vote) Club he's been an elusive campaigner to the media Campaign aides say Faircloth has been busy traveling around the state though the campaign has refused reporters' request for weekly schedules of campaign activities But since winning the May GOP primary easily beating former Charlotte Mayor Sue Myrick and two other challengers he's made few public appearances to which the media were invited or notified Phone calls to campaign headquarters are returned sporadically When reached at his home Faircloth often says he's just come in from the fields Gail Gainey his secretary at Faircloth Farms says he's usually in Clinton at least three to four days a week "He's here just about every day unless he's gone on an extended trip" she says "And when he's here he usually heads out to the farm" In 1979 when critics called him an absentee commerce secretary Faircloth put off skeptics by saying: "I've never had a job per se that required my day-to-day direction I've always had a number of partners in a number of businesses They tend to run it so I have the opportunity to pursue my interest in government" privileged character" after TV reports questioned his use of state aircraft Records showed Faircloth had made 43 trips on state planes or helicopters from Raleigh to Clinton The taxpayers' cost: $15000 "1 never saw anything wrong with what he did" recalls Democrat John Williams Hunt's chief of staff "Out late at night on a business trip he would say just take me back to Clinton and I'll get somebody to drive me to Raleigh tomorrow" Campaign style not like '84 Barely seven weeks before Election Day Faircloth appears to be running his Senate campaign the same way he's managed other jobs in and out of government He's delegated responsibility to the National Congressional Club the conservative political organization linked to Republican US Sen Jesse Helms Club operatives manage his day-to-day schedules campaign fund-raising and advertising out of the their suites in a north Raleigh office building When he ran for governor in 1984 Faircloth kept a busy schedule of public appearances This year like some past candidates associated with the Congressional to do a good job" The man who's collected 37 traffic violations in 32 years hasn't always let rules get in his way Once highway administrators went to him with a problem Money was short Following procedure they needed to ask planners to review a list of road projects Then the highway board could decide what to cut "We told (Faircloth) what we were going to have to do he said 'Hell bring it in here I'll tell you what we're going to do' says former highway administrator George Willoughby who watched as Faircloth whipped out a pencil and killed a project "He would be very arbitrary about it" Faircloth can't recall the occasion but says "I never did have a problem making a decision" To admirers he is practical energetic and efficient To critics he's hard-charging and overbearing with a well-developed sense of self-interest "He has hustled about as much as anybody around here" said Democrat Elbert Dudley a furniture dealer and former Sampson County commissioner "He's worked hard but he's never backed off from getting anybody else hurt in reaching his goals" Faircloth has done things his way Not without controversy And not without contradictions Critics and allies Shortly after becoming full-time highway chairman in 1969 Fair-cloth noticed employees streaming out of their gray building in downtown Raleigh for extended coffee breaks "He put out a directive: He expected them to work while they were on working hours and if they didn't want to they could find somewhere else to work" says Billy Rose a former assistant highway administrator and Faircloth admirer Because Faircloth kept irregular hours snide comments followed the memo Rose says Faircloth "did what was necessary for the chairman to do And he did a good job at it" His work habits would draw fire again In 1980 reporters discovered the private phone he'd kept in his commerce office three years suggesting to critics that he tended to other business on state time Fair-cloth says he installed the line because state regulations bar personal calls on state phones "Early in the morning and on weekends I certainly paid attention to my own business" he says "But not on state time" In 1982 reporters investigated his credit-card calls from Clinton his hometown in Sampson County to the Commerce Department Over 23 months calls were made on 140 business days again suggesting to critics that Faircloth was not adequately tending to his state job "He does that with his companies" says Joe Grimsley Hunt's secretary of administration "He just basically drops in periodically and I think he ran Commerce the same way (Deputy Secretary) Vic (Barfield) was the day-to-day operator" Faircloth says office time is deceptive "There were just constant demands for various functions" he says "ground-breakings plant openings road openings (and) innumerable out-of-town meetings" Barfield who heads Democrats for Faircloth says "Faircloth worked every minute he was needed in the Department of Commerce If that meant Sunday that meant Sunday Anybody that criticizes Lauch Faircloth's hours is a guy who doesn't know Lauch Faircloth or doesn't like Lauch Faircloth" Tom Taft who answered to Faircloth as head of the ports authority says his boss "paid attention to the larger issues but not to the details" Such controversies often eclipsed Faircloth's accomplishments At the Highway Commission he presided over a burst of road building fueled by Gov Bob Scott's 2-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax increase Among other things the state built large stretches of interstate highways including 1-85 from Charlotte to Concord during his tenure As commerce secretary Fair-cloth helped North Carolina's private jobs grow by 24 while unemployment remained third lowest among the nation's biggest states Average weekly wages rose from $170 to $297 Familiar with government In his Senate campaign Fair cloth rails against big government wasteful spending and bloated bureaucracy But years ago he supported proponents of active government and made government work for him gers at Fake loth then a Democrat Shortly after Faircloth became chairman of the Highway Commission in 1969 NC GOP Chairman Jim Holshouser called for him to resign The future governor claimed Faircloth had a conflict of interest because he owned a corn pany that supplied concrete to road builders NC Attorney General Robert Morgan exonerated Faircloth but told him to establish a blind trust for his company In 1981 state GOP Chairman David Flaherty called Faircloth "a RECORD OF COMMENTS FAIRCLOTH'S TIME IN GOVERNMENT Faircloth's views on issues tration to Republican in 1991 he's said the Democratic Party abandoned its commitment to fiscal conservatism and less government Republicans: In 1986 he said "I would urge those tens of thousands of textile workers and farmers who voted Republican in the last election to come home to the party that always has put the workers and farmers of America first "I remind them that once again the Republicans have turned their backs on you A leopard can't change its spots" Lauch Faircloth was NC secretary of commerce from 1977 to 1983 under former Cm Jim Hunt During that time: The state's average weekly wage rose from $170 to 6297 but remained virtually unchanged relative to national wages North Carolina's unemployment rate was 665 third lowest among the nation's 11 largest states Private employment grew by 24 fifth highest among 11 Southeastern states And manufacturing jobs rose by 84 the third fastest rate in the Southeast The number of employees in the 2400-employee p-7 department fell by about two dozen ----R- In 1978 Faircloth said "We may have to settle for lower wage lower skill indus- Vii ig tries to match the industry with the commu- nity This is not a retreat from our goals it tl is making the hard choice: low wage jobs 71' rather than none" lLi In 1983 Hunt said "Lauch's straight- talking style and businesslike approach -0 have been two of North Carolina's most important assets in competing for economic Hunt growth" Though Lauch Faircloth has never held elected office he's staked out positions on issues over nearly 15 years as an appointed state official or candidate Since he changed from Democrat to Republican in 1991 some of those positions have changed Abortion As a gubernatorial candidate in 1984 he said: "The Supreme Court settled the issue of abortions as far as the right of a woman to have one Personally I am opposed to abortion But that is not really an issue anymore" He supported state funding for abortions for poor women This year he says he supports abortion only in cases of rape or incest or when a pregnant woman's life is endangered He supports government funding in those cases Spending During his Democratic gubernatorial campaign in 1984 he called for higher teacher pay "equal pay for equal work" among state employees and more money for adult day care But he also called for a freeze on state hiring that year like his proposal this year for a "flexible freeze" on overall federal spending Economic development Taxes 9 As commerce secretary in 1977 he said: "Because of the under- developed condition of parts of Iliour state we sometimes find expanding existing low-wage plants to be in the state's best interests After all common business sense tells you that a new factory that pays only $274 an hour is still an improvement when it locates in a town with no factory and high unemployment" Equal Rights Amendment Though he has denied supporting the Equal Rights Amendment in 1982 he said: "Passage of the ERA would further our state's tradition and reputation as a place where people believe others should be treated fairly" Environment As chairman of the state High- Ng A IL way Commission in 1970 he said: "There will inevitably be times when conservation and progress or will be in conflict and in Eastern 1 North Carolina progress must be 4-- our most Important consider- ation" In 1969 he supported Gov Bob Alt tir Scott's 2-cent-a-gallon increase in Ft tchreiticgiazsedtanwdhinichl9R8elpuhbelilc loaned $60000 to a group backing Gov I Jim Hunt's proposed 3-cent gas tax increase The money helped counter an aggressive media campaign against the tax by the National Congressional Club which now runs Faircloth's campaign In 1984 he proposed eliminating the state income tax for people making less than $7000 a move that would have cost the state $110 million He also opposed repealing the sales tax on food as well as taxes on manufacturer's inventories and Intangible properties until new revenues were found He now opposes any higher taxes Transportation He's consistently supported highways as the answer to transportation problems As Highway Commission chairman in 1972 he warned against diverting gas tax money for mass transit and the commission refused to study the issue Faircloth was a member of the NC Highway Commission (now the Department of Transportation) from 1961 to 1965 and chairman from 1969 to 1973 During his chairmanship: In 1970 the state let a record $170 million in construction contracts projects including stretches of 1-40 near Asheville1-85 from Charlotte to Concord 1-40 near Winston-Salem and several sections of US 74 in Robeson and Columbus counties Small Sampson County got $6 million in highway projects from 1969 to 1972 Critics called that a disproportionately large amount given its size Part of the money helped extend part of US 421 known as the Faircloth Freeway Faircloth then a Democrat opposed Democratic Gov Bob Scott on several iof' issues including Scott's proposal to double the amount of gas tax revenues that cities i 17:: received ii In 1970 the state auditor said the 1 commission had circumvented law by hiding the true cost of projects with accounting Li changes tricks Faircloth defended the agency but alp i Scott ordered it to comply with proposed Scott In 1970 Faircloth said the State Highway Commission "knows a man's politics and if his politics are wrong it will be a brief conversation we have with him You don't open doors in Raleigh if you are with the GOP" Washington Political parties Bowing out of the Democratic US Senate primary in 1986 he said: "I intend to stay here and work within our state rather than traveling to distant shores of the Potomac Frankly I enjoy being around the people in North Carolina" Democrats: From the early 1950s to 1980 he consistently supported moderate to liberal Democrats such as Kerr Scott Terry Sanford Richardson Preyer and Jim Hunt Since changing his regis.