SETH EFFRON: Bob Jordan's legacy transformed N.C.; marked partisan transformation too

Friday, Feb. 21, 2020 -- Just as former Lt. Gov. Bob Jordan's tenure marked a transition from one party dominance politically, it marked a shift from a time when political leaders emerged from the state's business and economic establishment - not creatures concocted out of ideological action committees, special interest groups and political image makers. He was a community business leader who saw public service as an extension of that.

Posted 11:58 a.m. Feb 21, 2020 — Updated 2:33 a.m. Nov 3, 2022

EDITOR'S NOTE: This column is by Seth Effron, opinion editor for Capitol Broadcasting Company.

The accolades that followed the death earlier this month of former Lt. Gov. Bob Jordan were as predictable as they were deserved. But as much as his service to North Carolina marked achievements, it also marked a permanent shift in the partisan political landscape.

His achievements left a lasting mark.

Successful and entrepreneurial businessman as CEO and president of Jordan Lumber in Mount Gilead.
Dedicated and generous alumnus of N.C. State University, where he’d been vice president of the student government as an undergraduate, served as a trustee, led searches for two chancellors and was a generous donor establishing a graduate fellowship in natural resources innovation.
Selfless community leader who, after service in the U.S. Army, was a member of the Mount Gilead City Council; served four terms in the state Senate and was North Carolina’s lieutenant governor from 1985 to 1988.
Government innovator who championed a state commission leading to critical and lasting initiatives including the establishment of the Rural Economic Development Center, the Technological Development Center, the Biotechnology Center and creation of the Recreational Heritage Trust fund which provides millions for the purchase of land for preservation. He led efforts for early childhood initiatives and the creation of the Basic Education Program, an unprecedented effort to improve and support public education along with launching the Teaching Fellows Program.

Jordan’s service as lieutenant governor and his unsuccessful campaign for governor in 1988 mark the most significant landmark in 20th century state politics. The elections of Republicans -- Gov. Jim Holshouser and U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms – in 1972 could be seen as political blips.

But it was during Jordan’s service at lieutenant governor that there was a true emergence of a Republican presence in the legislature – a real two-party system. Gov. Jim Martin proved a strong presence and not just with vocal allies among fellow Republicans. He found legislative Democrats, particularly from the east like Sen. Harold Hardison, to back him on some of his critical initiatives.

After his 1988 defeat for governor to the incumbent Martin, Democratic Party rule in the legislature was shattered when a coalition of Democrats and Republicans overthrew the authoritarian leadership in the state House of Representatives. Worthy of note: A young Nash County Democrat, Roy Cooper, was just elected to his second term in the state House and was a leader in that coalition.

Democratic power never re-emerged with the dominance it had prior to 1985. In fact, GOP rule in the General Assembly today is more reflective of that earlier Democratic power.

Jordan was the last lieutenant governor who truly ran the Senate – appointing committee chairs; determining the priorities and daily agenda. Even when subsequent Democratic lieutenant governors presided over Democratic majorities they were figureheads, much as Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest is today in the GOP led state Senate.

Uniquely, Jordan saw his leadership as a matter of substance first and ambition second. He marked his rule of the Senate not as a doormat to higher office but the opportunity to move the state forward with more opportunities for its citizens. Jordan worked to bring opposing political forces together to produce a massive highway finance package. Martin used it as a mark of HIS administration’s accomplishments during the 1988 campaign against Jordan.

Early in his rule of the state Senate, a reporter was ordered removed from a meeting where the “super-sub” – a cabal of legislative leaders including Jordan – was meeting outside of public view to craft the state budget.

Within a year Jordan – tossing aside the heavy opposition from Democrats AND Republicans – sought to make the state Senate a slightly more transparent place. A portion of key budget talks in the Senate were open and reporters covered them. A bit of light was shed on previously mysterious budget provisions as Jordan required legislative sponsors names be attached to each item. It was small, but significant accountability. He was not able, however, to get the leaders of the state House to go along.

Just as Jordan’s tenure marked a transition from one party dominance politically, it marked a shift from a time when political leaders emerged from the state’s business and economic establishment – not creatures concocted out of ideological action committees, special interest groups and political image makers.

He was a community business leader who saw public service as an extension of that.

“For him, it wasn't so much what he said or how he said it, but rather how he did it,” said Ned Cline, a journalist who covered state government and wrote a biography of Jordan. “He was not pontificator in search of name or fame. He was instead a doer for good of people of the state.”

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