Mills rallies young Republicans

By: Jim Mcnally | Mooresville Tribune
Published: October 28, 2009

MOORESVILLE — State Rep. Grey Mills said his first session in the North Carolina General Assembly was an education in how government works.

But mostly what he learned is that Democrats come up with some unneeded legislation, love to raise taxes and have to be voted out in next year's elections.

Speaking at a Young Republicans of Iredell County meeting Tuesday night at Brooklyn Boys Pizza, Mills said Gov. Beverly Perdue broke her campaign promise when she raised the state sales tax.

"She said she wouldn't increase the tax for ordinary people," Mills said. "And then she added the 1 cent sales tax. Now that may not sound like much, but it's actually an increase of about 13 or 14 percent in Iredell County."

Mills talked about one meeting in which he was the only Republican in a roomful of Democrats.

"And as they kept talking, I had to check my wallet to see if I still had it," he said. "They wanted to tax everything."

Mills also spoke about some of the bills that were introduced by Democrats that didn't seem to make a lot of sense to him.

He mentioned one bill, introduced by Guilford County Rep. Earl Jones, that would have required grocery stores to supply hand sanitizer for people using shopping carts.

Another one sought to identify an honors-level physical education course for high school students.

"Do you really think the General Assembly ought to be worried about P.E. courses in the middle of this economic slump?" Mills asked rhetorically. "I don't."

He said a bill that would require small businesses to offer sick days to their workers would have adverse effects on a number of companies that cannot afford such benefits.

"Democrats want to dictate everything you do in your small business," he said.

He said one piece of legislation, HB-120, was ill-conceived. The bill seeks to establish a pilot program for public financing of municipal election campaigns.

"That is a terrible use of tax dollars," Mills said. "If you want to run for office, you need to get out and raise your own money."

Further on the topic of elections, Mills said next year's elections are vital because the legislators who are elected then will decide how to draw the district lines after the 2010 Census count is complete.

"Folks, if we don't win one or both houses, we're going to be out in the wilderness for another 10 years," he said.

Mills was joined Tuesday by Mecklenburg State Rep. Thom Tillis, the minority whip.

Tillis said winning at least one chamber of the General Assembly is very doable, largely because of the furor that has arisen in Republican circles during the first few months of President Barack Obama's term.

"We're going into one of the most favorable climates for Republicans in decades," Tillis said.

He said that last year, Obama garnered only 13,000 more votes than President George W. Bush received in 2004.

"And last year, for Republicans, was just about a worst-case scenario," he said.