Endorsement: State Senate District 5

John H. Kerr III faces a different challenge in the coming election. In the past, the senatorial district which he serves was composed of parts of Wayne, Lenoir and Greene counties. The voters in those counties know and respect the senator for his long service in Raleigh and his constituency service at home.

But this will be a different senatorial district.

Under a realignment, Kerr finds himself in the 5th District which embraces a significant portion of Pitt County as well as part of Wayne, all of Greene — and none of Lenoir.

Sen. Tony Moore, who is completing his first term, lives in Pitt County and is running for re-election.

Hence we have two incumbent senators running for the same seat. And there are as many voters in Moore’s portion of Pitt County as there are in Kerr’s share of Wayne County.

The geography and arithmetic suggest a close race.

But the people of the 5th District would be well served if they predicated their votes on effectiveness rather than on geography.

John Kerr has served six terms in the Senate and he served three terms in the House before that.

Throughout most of his legislative career, Kerr has been rated among the five most effective members of the General Assembly. He is co-chairman of the Finance Committee and serves on Appropriations, Commerce, Ways and Means and Military.

He has a great knowledge of the state and its needs and of state government and how it works. He also has been close to the people of the state and knows their concerns and priorities.

That is why they have expressed their confidence and appreciation by sending John Kerr back to the General Assembly time and time again for almost two decades.

He offers a dependability, knowledge and influence virtually unsurpassed in state government today.

Without any reservations, this newspaper endorses John Kerr III for re-election to the state Senate.

Published in Editorials on October 26, 2004 11:33 AM