State House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg) says Governor Bev Perdue is disenfranchising thousands of voters in the 113th District by delaying the seating of Representative Trudy Walend (R-Transylvania). Walend was picked by Republicans to replace David Guice who took a job in the Department of Public Safety. Tillis said all the paperwork required has been filed and there is no reason for the Governor to ignore the Walend appointment. The Governor must approve the appointment before Walend can take her seat and more importantly vote in a special session to override a veto of a bill narrowing the scope of the Racial Justice Act.
Tillis says it’s obvious the Governor is playing partisan politics to further delay the death penalty by not allowing Walend to vote on a veto override.
The Governor’s office claims it takes a few days to process an approval but Tillis says the Governor knew about Guice leaving and when Walend would be seated because the Governor called lawmakers back for the special session.
Update: Late Wednesday afternoon Gov. Perdue officially approved Walend’s appointment.
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