Pate to run to keep his seat
By Steve Herring
Published in News on October 27, 2015 1:46 PM
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State Sen. Louis Pate
MOUNT OLIVE -- State Sen. Louis Pate has announced that he will seek a fourth term.
Pate, a Republican, is currently serving as deputy president pro tempore of the chamber and said he wants another term in order to continue his work on Medicaid reform and to protect the state's military bases and the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.
Pate represents District 7 which includes most of Wayne and Lenoir counties and a portion of Pitt County.
The candidate filing period for the 2016 primary and general election begins at noon on Tuesday, Dec. 1, and ends at noon on Monday, Dec. 21.
The 2016 statewide primary, including the presidential preference primary, is Tuesday, March 15.
"I sort of got caught up in this Medicaid reform," Pate said. "We spent a lot of time trying to make our Medicaid program for our citizens a lot better than it is. We passed a bill this year after about five years of working on it.
"Now we realize the bill itself just gives the OK for the state to start working on a plan to reform Medicaid. So it will be a few more years before that is all done."
Pate said he would like to have the opportunity to see that the state is getting the reform off on the right step because Medicaid has been "extremely expensive" to North Carolina.
For a number of years the program has suffered cost overruns, he said.
"This is going to be a true effort to see if we can't make it a much more efficient program, and I would just like to be around to see if we can use the best possible thoughts and procedures for making it a much more efficient program than it is now," Pate said.
The Brody School of Medicine is another issue that concerns Pate because of its importance to eastern North Carolina.
"They are set up a little bit different than the UNC School of Medicine," Pate said. "The arrangement between the school and (Vidant) hospital is different in Greenville because it is a private hospital which is separate from the medical school.
"Over in Chapel Hill, the medical school and the hospital are both owned by the university. That is not the same as in Greenville. So every once in a while we need to remind ourselves, and remind the rest of the legislators, that it is different in Greenville, and that the funding formula does not work the same way."
That means special attention is needed to ensure the Brody School of Medicine is not "hurt" from the finances it receives from the state, he said.
If it is treated just as UNC Hospitals are treated then that could damage the Brody School of Medicine, Pate said.
"So we have to be vigilant about that," he said. "Since I have been told over and over again how that works I think I need to stick around a little bit more to get the young people used to what has got to happen with the Brody School to keep it out of financial trouble."
It is essential that the state keep the school "moving along," he said.
He emphasized his commitment to protecting Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and North Carolina's other military installations.
"Of course, we have to worry about our military," Pate said. "That is another thing that you can never truly think is A-OK. We hope that Congress is not going to, if there is a BRAC committee, to do any harm to any military bases in North Carolina.
"They are all in the east and that is another issue, not only for the east, but for the state as a whole, that we have to be vigilant about."
Pate said he was also glad that he had had a "little hand" in the new state veterans cemetery in Wayne County that will be dedicated early next month.
"I think that is an appropriate facility for veterans in this area, and I think it will not only do that part, but I think it has an economic impact as well," he said. "So we want to have that facility for our veterans as time goes on and they need it. I think that is an accomplishment that we can all be proud of."
Also, Pate said he was able to get a bill through to conduct a statewide study on subdivision roads.
In some cases developers open a subdivision, fail to bring the roads up to the standard to be accepted by the state for maintenance and then leave, he said.
"We want to study that and see what the DOT recommends," Pate said. "It is a lot of money, but people are tired of living in potholes.
"We have got to see that all of the promises made at the beginning are kept, and we have to be sure that it is binding if they are going to have decent roads and subdivisions."
Some roads are so bad school buses will not go down them, he said.
It is not an issue that will set the world on fire, but it is important nevertheless, Pate said.
Pate currently serving as co-chairman of the Appropriations on Health and Human Services Committee and Health Care Committee.
He is a member of the following committees: Appropriations/Base Budget; Education/High Education; Judiciary I; Pensions and Retirement and Aging; State and Local Government; Joint Legislative Education Oversight; Joint Legislative Oversight on Health and Human Services; Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight; and Joint Legislative Workforce Development System Reform Oversight.
He is an ex officio member of the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations.
Pate previously served four terms in the state House. He also is the former mayor of Mount Olive. He is a former Air Force major and enjoyed a successful career in the building supply business.