Hard to imagine Allred 'fading away'

D.G. Martin, the former Charlotte lawyer, political candidate and later lobbyist for the UNC sytem, has a few kind words for former state Rep. Cary Allred. He resigned effective Monday afternoon following complaints filed by fellow Republican legislators about a bad evening Allred had April 27. (Allred said he had one drink, a chelada, before leaving his home in Burlington, got stopped for driving 102 mph but not issued a ticket until days later, had a loud exchange with House Speaker Joe Hackney, and hugged and kissed a teenage House page, a neighbor whom he sponsored for the pageship in a way that some of his fellow GOP members thought was unseemly at best. The matter was referred to the Legislative Ethics Commission, but Allred's resignation ends whatever inquiry the commission might have made.

Here's part of what Martin had to say about Allred Monday in his weekly column:

I remember watching Allred in action two years ago. He had taken up the cause of an old time locksmith who had been fixing broken locks in his neighborhood for years. A new locksmith licensing law required him to register, take tests, pay fees and maintain his license by taking locksmith education classes.
Allred was trying to persuade a legislative committee to exempt older and experienced locksmiths from the education requirements since his locksmith friend “didn’t really need any more education” to do what he had been doing all his life.

Allred presented his arguments with a passion for the plight of an individual who was tragically being put out of business by insensitive government legislation.
He did not persuade the committee to overturn a system of regulation designed to deal with professionals who install and repair sophisticated electronic security systems.

But he persuaded me that he had a good heart that would go to bat for the “little guy.”

Apparently, he also persuaded a lot of voters in Alamance County that he would try to stand up for them, rather than just working to go along with other legislators.
Current Alamance County Republican chair Robert Simpson said, “Cary's a lone wolf. He usually doesn't follow the advice or consent of his fellow Republicans. He does generally what he wants to do.”

Being a “lone wolf” might be the right thing for a politician who wants to please voters who distrust government and all the compromises it involves.
But when a “lone wolf” gets in trouble, there is no one to shield him from the daggers.

Allred's resignation quoted the late Gen. Douglas MacArthur's observation about old soldiers never dying, they just fade away. Allred himself was not a soldier. He was a sailor, having served in the U.S. Navy and then in the Naval Reserve, according to his biography. Close enough, but it's hard to imagine Cary Allred fading away. We'll hear from him again.