The Pilot - Our New Coble? Moore in Line to Join Ellmers' Debut

News Article

By Florence Gilkeson

Moore County won't become part of the new congressional District 2 until next year, but U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers already has "beautiful landscapes and golf courses" in her sights.

Moore's switch from the familiar District 6 is still not a certainty, but redistricting maps adopted earlier this year by the North Carolina General Assembly do indeed place Moore County in the district now served by the Harnett County Republican.

Before the new districts are officially in place, their boundaries must first pass muster by the U.S. Department of Justice. That's to make sure they comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlaws discriminatory voting practices. Moore County is not among the North Carolina counties targeted by the federal law, but it can be affected by neighboring districts that are included.

"While we are still waiting for final rulings on the new district maps, I am excited for the chance to represent new constituents from Moore County," Ellmers said in response to an email request from The Pilot.

The 47-year-old Ellmers, who unseated veteran Democrat Bob Etheridge in the 2010 election, makes it clear that she intends to seek a second term in the U.S. House.

If the new districts win federal approval and she is re-elected, Ellmers will follow 14-term Republican Howard Coble as the member of Congress representing GOP-controlled Moore County. Coble has served the 6th District since 1985.

The 2nd District is familiar territory here. Before the last redistricting, Moore County was split between the 8th and 2nd districts. The county's legislative delegation at that time successfully lobbied to get all of Moore County placed in a single district, the 6th.

Although the new maps split several counties, Moore County will remain intact in the new 2nd District. In fact, Moore and Lee are the only counties in the proposed 2nd District that are not broken up into two or more districts. The new 2nd includes most of Randolph, Chatham and Hoke counties, part of Cumberland, Harnett and Wake counties and a tiny piece of Alamance.

At present, both the 6th and the 2nd are more compact. Under the new maps, the 6th will be spread out northward, with five counties and part of a sixth flanking the Virginia state line. In addition to Surry, Stokes, Rockingham, Caswell, Person and part of Granville counties, the new 6th will include parts of Durham, Orange, Alamance and Guilford counties. Coble, 80, lives in Greensboro.

The present 6th District is largely made up of Guilford, Randolph, Alamance and Moore counties. The present 2nd District includes all or part of Chatham, Cumberland, Franklin, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Nash, Sampson, Vance and Wake counties.

Praise for Coble

Ellmers praised Coble for his dedicated service to the people of the 6th District.

"Congressman Coble has served Moore County for years with honor and determination, and I am honored to follow in his footsteps," she said.

The congresswoman has studied up on Moore County and hinted that she wants to continue serving this area.

"Moore County has a proud history from its founding in 1784 in honor of Revolutionary War hero and Supreme Court Justice Alfred Moore to the beautiful landscapes and golf courses that attract spectators from all over the world to this day," she said.

Ellmers said she will continue to focus on cutting wasteful spending in Washington and will work to remove burdensome regulations "so that our job creators can begin hiring again." She called this "a cornerstone of my work in Congress on behalf of the 2nd District and all of North Carolina."

She recently co-sponsored a bill to protect small business owners damaged by recent natural disasters. One aspect of the bill will be of interest to golfers and golf course owners. The Disaster Tax Act of 2011 (H.R. 2718) would provide tax relief for businesses damaged by tornadoes, hurricanes and other natural disasters.

"This bill will extend this tax relief to golf courses whereas the previous legislation wrongly excluded golf courses and placed them in the same category as massage parlors, casinos and liquor stores," she said. "I am working hard to protect our state's job creators and give them the tools to grow and survive when natural disasters threaten their livelihood. This is only one of the many pieces of legislation that I am fighting for here in Washington while keeping wasteful spending in check."

Michigan Native

Unlike Coble and Etheridge, Ellmers is not a North Carolina native. Born in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, she later moved with her family to Detroit, where her father worked for General Motors until his retirement. After receiving training as a medical assistant, she worked her way through college.

Ellmers earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing at Oakland University. While working as a surgical intensive care nurse at Beaumont Hospital, she met her husband, Brent, a graduate of the University of Indiana School of Medicine. While visiting family in Cary, the couple made the decision to make North Carolina home. By then, they had a young son. After settling in Dunn, she worked as clinical director with her husband at the Trinity Wound Care Center.

In Harnett County, she has become active in the community with emphasis on nursing and medical issues. She has served as an officer of the Chamber of Commerce and served on the Dunn Planning Board, the Betsy Johnson Hospital Foundation Board and the Harnett County Nursing Home Committee.

Ellmers is a volunteer at Cape Fear Christian Academy, where her son, Ben, is a student, and teaches Sunday School at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

It was a town hall meeting on President Obama's proposed health care reform bill that inspired her to challenge Etheridge last year. She has become an outspoken opponent of what she calls "government-run health care."

In her first term in Congress, Ellmers serves on the House Committees on Agriculture, Foreign Affairs and Small Business. She chairs the subcommittee on Health Care and Technology.

Her website shows that, in addition to voting to repeal the health care reform bill, Ellmers voted "to end the failed mortgage refinancing program and save $175 million of direct spending and cancel $8 billion of TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) funding."

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