By Dave Yochum. The 70th governor of North Carolina, a Republican, wowed Democrats and Republicans alike with his homespun but ultimately dead-on comments at a recent Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce lunch held in honor of political officials.
“If I could do anything, it would be to bring the moderates into both parties,” said Jim Martin, the former Republican governor of North Carolina.
“We just find a social media outlet we agree with, so it just reinforces your view. This is a big factor in the polarization of our country.”
—Former Gov. Jim Martin
Homespun or not, Martin may be the smartest person who’s ever resided in the governor’s mansion. Born in Savannah, he earned a doctorate in chemistry from Princeton University in New Jersey. He did his undergraduate at Davidson College and taught in Davidson until 1972.
He ran for Davidson town board and failed in 1966. But when he ran for the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, he won, and served seven years. He earned street cred when he chaired the county board in 1968 in the wake of the Martin Luther King assassination. He helped push through laws that prohibited the then-common practice among lenders of redlining black neighborhoods.
Martin went on to run for the U.S. House of Representatives where he served six terms.
He ran for governor of North Carolina in 1984 and was re-elected in 1988, a first for Republican governors. His heyday was back when leaders like Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, a Democrat, and Ronald Reagan, a Republican, were able to hash out their differences with a drink and conversation.
“Learn what the opposition is all about. Take the time to work with your colleagues; you can compromise around the edges.”
—Former Gov. Jim Martin
Martin, who turns 81 in December, said computer-driven redistricting as well as a shift from traditional national news outlets to the plethora of social media platforms have helped divide and polarize the country in recent years.
Districts are either intensely Red or intensely Blue, driving moderates out of not just both parties, but mainstream political discourse and conversation.
“We just find a social media outlet we agree with, so it just reinforces your view. This is a big factor in the polarization of our country,” said Martin, a Lake Norman resident.
Just as bad, Congress “doesn’t live in Washington, D.C. any more.” It means the people who govern us don’t talk to each other enough and can’t strike a middle ground. “They’re sleeping on the couch in their offices.”
“It all makes the parties extreme,” Martin said.
He had pointers for the younger politicians in the room, ranging from NC Rep John Bradford to Rep.-elect Chaz Beasley, from Cornelius Commissioner Dave Gilroy to Mecklenburg County Commissioner Pat Cotham.
“Learn what the opposition is all about. Take the time to work with your colleagues; you can compromise around the edges,” Martin said.
Still more advice: “Don’t demonize other people. Don’t think what’s right for you is never wrong for someone else.”
“Do what you think is right, and most people will appreciate you for doing what you think is right,” he said.
