Mecklenburgers moving up in Senate

Mecklenburgers moving up in the Senate
When state Senate leaders began handing out committee assignments Wednesday, it was obvious that Mecklenburg’s Dan Clodfelter is moving up again. And Mecklenburg Sens. Charlie Dannelly and Malcolm Graham are among the chamber’s leaders. All three are Democrats.
Coldfelter has proved to be a capable legislator in a number of roles, including revenue policy and especially a chair of the Senate Judiciary I Committee, handling government ethics, lobbyist regulation and a number of other tough ones.
Clodfelter gives up the chairmanship of that committee (though he remains a vice chair) in order to become co-chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, along with David Hoyle of Gaston and John Kerr of Goldsboro. Clodfelter also becomes chairman of a new finance subcommittee on capital and infrastructure financing. And he is also vice chair of Appropriations/Justice and Public Safety. In all (and if I counted right), Clodfelter has eight committee assignments. The new posts puts him in position to continue accumulating clout in the Senate and – who knows? – move into higher leadership positions such as Senate majority leader or president pro tem in future sessions if circumstances permit. He has just become, by the way, chairman of the Mecklenburg delegation to Raleigh.
Dannelly, who is also Senate deputy president pro tem, has eight committees and is chairman of Ways and Means and vice chair of Appropriations/Base Budget.
Graham also has eight committees, and is vice chairman of Information Technology and co-chair of State and Local Government.
Mecklenburg’s two Republicans had fewer assignments. Sen. Eddie Goodall of Union County, who represents a portion of Mecklenburg, got five committee assignments; Sen. Robert Pittenger got three committees.
For more on these assignments, here’s a link to the legislative website. When Speaker Joe Hackney makes House appointments, we’ll take a look at those as well.