Iceman

I don't know if the N&O thinks the legislative session is nearing and end or not, but today they burned some trees on the kind of wrap-up story usually reserved for post-mortems. But it's a good piece about our most excellent Speaker of the House.

Senate leader Marc Basnight is a fan of his counterpart in the House, Speaker Joe Hackney. But Basnight doesn't relish negotiating a $20 billion budget with him. Basnight, and, for that matter, Gov. Mike Easley, have ideas about how to get the budget impasse resolved. Hackney, in his first term as speaker, listens carefully. He's polite, plain-spoken and open to their ideas. But then he respectfully declines to cut a deal.

Easley calls Hackney the "Iceman." "Because," he said, "you can't get him rattled and you can't get him hurried up."

Hackney, an Orange County Democrat, became speaker in January, succeeding Jim Black, who held the post for a record-tying eight years before being convicted earlier this year on a federal public corruption charge. Black is scheduled to be sentenced next week.

Hackney, 61, had the disadvantage of being labeled a "Chapel Hill liberal" in a legislature that typically steers more toward the middle of the road. But Hackney also is one of the chamber's longest-serving members, and he has a strong reputation for integrity, having co-authored a package of ethics, campaign finance and lobbying reforms in response to the scandal that swirled about Black.

So far, those strengths are paying off. Colleagues and political observers say Hackney has returned the House to the business of passing laws and crafting budgets, and away from the problems that dogged the legislature during the final years of Black's tenure.

"The fact that Hackney is known as Mr. Clean, and that ethics are important for him, that sets the tone for the House," said Ran Coble, executive director of the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research, a nonpartisan group that examines state government's effectiveness. "And that has not been easy given all that's gone on in the session, much less before the session."

Joe Hackney as Speaker is the best thing to happen in North Carolina politics in a good long time. If you're so inclined, send him a note at joeh@ncleg.net and encourage him to stay strong. It's okay with me if the budget negotiations last another couple of months, as long as local governments get the option to have a transfer tax, and as long as the "temporary" tax on wealthy individuals is made permanent.

(Photo linked to N&O Story)