Remember Who You Work For ...

The opinion piece below was written by Representative Jake Johnson, NC District 113, and submitted to several newspapers in Polk, Henderson and Transylvania counties.   At the same time, he shared this very important information with the respective Republican Parties in these three (3) counties.  Please take a moment to read this most important message from you elected representative.

Remember Who You Work For

First of all, I want to express what an honor it is to be serving as your current state representative and as a Polk County commissioner before that. Even on the days where we are on the house floor debating until 3am, I enjoy every second you allow me to be up there fighting for our values and interests.

I usually do not like to bring the infighting that happens in Raleigh back to this district, it would be counter-productive to the goals we are trying to accomplish. However, something happened this past week that struck me as the reason that many people are simply fed up with our political system. I want to share what happen and why it was so disappointing to me.

As many of you may know, the Governor and I have a strong difference of opinion on a wide variety of policy points. With that being said, the North Carolina Constitution gives him the authority to veto legislation that comes out of the Republican controlled legislature, and after the 2018 elections, we do not have the votes to override his vetoes with just Republican votes. An override now requires some democrats to vote with us when we are all present on the floor. In addition, the North Carolina Supreme Court is controlled by a 6-1 Democrat majority. This is why you are seeing a lot of gridlock when it comes to getting laws implemented in the state.

A couple of weeks ago we passed House Bill 652, The Freedom to Worship Safely Act. I was a huge advocate for this bill because it allows concealed carry permit holders to lawfully carry on the grounds of a place of worship that also serves as educational property, as long as such possession does not take place during any time of school curricular or extracurricular activities. It was a great measure to make sure places of worship who were used for educational purposes during the week had the same ability to protect themselves as other churches across the state. This bill easily passed the house with every Republican voting in favor and 12 democrats as well. In the smaller Senate chamber, it also passed with every Republican voting in favor along with 5 democrats. However, despite this overwhelming bipartisan support, Governor Cooper vetoed the bill. Then came the part that is the most disappointing and epitomizes what is wrong in politics today…

When the bill came back to the house for a veto override this past week, I felt decent about our chances to get the three fifths majority we needed to successfully override, after all 12 democrats had just voted in favor of this bill, and absolutely nothing in it had been changed. Yet, when the Speaker called for the vote, not one single democrat voted in favor of it, and the override attempt failed. My question I would ask to those who flipped their vote is: What changed? It was certainly not the language of the bill, so what was it that changed? The only thing that was different, was that this time, it was a vote to go against the wishes of the Governor.

This is one of the most disappointing things I have witnessed during my time in public office. People willing to change their position based on what the Governor thinks or tells them. That is not why we are there. I work for the people of Polk, Henderson, and Transylvania counties, not the person who happens to be residing in the Governor’s Mansion or the White House. There may be times I agree or disagree with State or Federal executives, but that will never dictate how I cast my vote. This is a bill that would potentially save innocent lives and it will not become law because some of my colleagues forgot who they work for.

I cannot guarantee that I will always agree with everyone in my district or that they will consider me a perfect representation of their ideas. Yet I can promise you that I will never forget who I work for, and I will never change my position based on an outside influence when it goes against what I believe.

-Representative Jake Johnson

Proudly Serving District 113, Polk, Henderson, and Transylvania counties