Rep. Mitchell Setzer, as the maps are drawn, doesn’t represent us here in Anson County.
But he does represent us, and all North Carolinians. Just give him a call — trust us, he said to do it.
Setzer is a Republican from Catawba County. That’s Hickory if your map-finding skills need sharpening, a bit northwest of Charlotte and southwest of Winston-Salem.
The N.C. Press Association on Thursday presented him with the William C. Lassiter Award. Today we offer him a word of thanks.
This is a special award, typically the only one not given to a journalist at the annual convention, and one that doesn’t get awarded each year. It goes to First Amendment proponents and members of the public who have made significant contributions in support of open government.
Setzer has fought for our industry just as many previous winners have, to include recent picks Rep. Cody Henson (2017), lawyer C. Amanda Martin (2016), Sen. Norman Sanderson (2015) and Rep. Marilyn Avila (2014).
In Eric Millsaps’ remarks, he described Setzer as one who believes “an informed citizen is a better citizen.” He also said the 20-year veteran of the legislature “stands up for freedom of the press repeatedly in his votes and in his actions — especially in committee. More than once he has stood on the side of freedom and knowledge when others conspired to provide less access to important government actions.”
Millsaps also said, “He’s earned the trust of his Catawba County constituents by being forthright and accountable. He expects no more or less of the press.”
He’s much like Henson, Sanderson and Avila.
Consider a story about Henson from a year ago. He represents Transylvania County, which borders three South Carolina counties and is a short drive to Georgia and Tennessee.
Bills to effectively eliminate legal notices in newspapers and burden newspaper circulation with additional taxes carried pressure in the House and Senate from his own party. He voted no on three bills related to the measures, and when House whips sought votes for an override of Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto, he held to his principles.
He was contacted by newspaper publishers and the NCPA’s lobbyist, but it was a resident with no internet access who drove to the Transylvania County Library to write Henson an email. She reads the Transylvania Times, she wrote, to find out about zonings, tax increases, road closures, who doesn’t pay property taxes and what’s happening with infrastructure.
Newspapers and open government are not dead. Warrants detailing a ballot harvesting scheme in Bladen County would still be sealed without the media coalition that sought transparency. So would the alleged child molestation charges against a prominent auto dealer in Cumberland County that happened in Darlington, South Carolina.
These are but a few examples.
Setzer’s commitment to open government is to be applauded. Today, we offer our ours.