Bell elected House majority whip
By Steve Herring
Published in News on November 26, 2014 1:46 PM
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Rep. John Bell, second from left, was recently elected House majority whip.
State House Rep. John R. Bell IV of Goldsboro has been elected majority whip by the House Republican Caucus for the new legislative session that convenes in January.
"This is an official position, and I am elected," Bell said. "I have already started working. I have a meeting next week with the new House leadership team."
The meeting will be held to talk about scheduling and getting organized so that its members will be ready to go to work when the session starts in January, Bell said.
Bell, who represents District 10 that includes portions of Wayne, Craven, Greene and Lenoir counties, was among the House leadership elected this past Saturday during the Republican Caucus meeting at Randolph Community College in Asheboro. Bell said that 73 of the 74 caucus members attended the meeting.
"My job will be to make sure that we have accurate vote counts and know the positions of our members when we go on the floor to do business," Bell said. "For example, when we have a very high-profile vote, or a controversial vote, or the state budget, I would talk with all of the members and know where our vote count is before we go to do business on the floor."
Bell said that means he will need to know specifically yes, no or maybe.
"So if you give me a yes, I know that you are voting for it," he said. "If no, I know you are voting against it. If you give me a maybe, we have some work to do."
Another part of the job is to know and understand each member's district -- knowing that some things that are very appealing for rural North Carolina may not be that popular in urban North Carolina, he said.
"So you have to understand the different needs of those districts, work with the different members," Bell said. "Also, you might have members who are not as knowledgeable on the issue, and you have to educate them, or point them in the right direction where they can get the knowledge they need to make an informed decision for their district."
Bell said it was an honor to be selected by his fellow Republican House members.
"But when you get bestowed an honor like this you have a lot of responsibility," Bell said. "Now it is time for me to be sure that I follow through on what the caucus has appointed to me.
"I am also very excited about the opportunity, but I know that there is a lot of work ahead."
Bell said that Wayne County's legislative delegation is "in a really good place" because of leadership positions held by fellow Republicans Rep. Jimmy Dixon and Sen. Louis Pate, both of Mount Olive.
Dixon is chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, and Pate was deputy president pro tempore of the Senate for the 2013-14 session. He also is vice chairman for the Appropriations on Health and Human Services Committee and Health Care Committee.
Bell, who was just re-elected to his second term, said it is a little unusual for the leadership position to go to a representative who has completed only one term.
"But most time a lot of your tenured folks are who receive these positions," he said. "But the House is in a situation now where the overwhelming majority of its members are three terms. So it has opened the door for folks who are in their first term and second term to take a shot at running for these positions.
"What happened is the current House majority whip (District 112 Rep. Mike Hager) ran for House majority leader. So it opened up a vacancy in that position. People told me they thought that I would be good for the position, and so I threw my name into the hat. We ran a campaign to get that done and luckily members of the House thought I was worthy enough of the position, and I was lucky enough to receive it."
Bell said that a couple of other people had considered running, but decided not to and instead to support him.
The other candidate was District 13 (Carteret and Jones counties) Rep. Pat McElraft. Ms. McElraft, who has served four terms in the House, had previously served as deputy whip.
The vote is decided by secret ballot.
Bell said he plans to focus on constructing strong and effective coalitions, fundraising and building a clear communication system to help advance the priorities of the caucus.
He currently serves as vice chairman on the Agriculture Committee and is a member of the Appropriations Committee, Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government Committee, Banking Committee, Government Committee, Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee, Judiciary Committee, Judiciary Subcommittee C Committee and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on the N.C. Lottery.