From WRAL.com (12/9/09): Democratic state Sen. David Hoyle announced Wednesday that he will not seek a tenth term in 2010, making him the second high-powered lawmaker from his party in as many months to announce plans to forgo a return to the General Assembly.
Hoyle, of Gaston County, is considered an ally of business and efforts to overhaul the state’s tax system as longtime co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, as well as the chamber’s top booster of open government legislation. He said it was time to retire after nearly two decades in the Legislature. He’ll serve out the remainder of his term, through the end of next year.
Hoyle, 70, said he never expected to spend more than 10 years in the General Assembly, and some older colleagues who have since died told him not to hang around the Legislature too long.
“Four years ago, it was one more (term). Two years ago, it was one more time. I’ve run out of time,” Hoyle said in an interview. “I’m getting older and I’ve got some things I want to do.”
Hoyle’s decision opens a potential seat for the GOP to win next year. His district is considered to be leaning toward Republicans.
Hoyle’s longtime local connections – he served as mayor of his hometown of Dallas 45 years ago and was on the state Board of Transportation – and conservative views on business, gun rights and gay marriage helped him defeat Republican opponents.
“Having had the honor and privilege to serve my community and state in every way that has been asked of me … it is now the time and the season to welcome the next phase of my life,” Hoyle said in a statement.
State Rep. Wil Neumann, R-Gaston, had announced last month he would run for Hoyle’s seat, whether or not Hoyle would run again.
Hoyle’s departure also means another Senate political heavyweight is stepping down. Former Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, announced last month he would leave by the end of the year to become the new head of the state parole commission. Rand was usually considered the No. 2 leader in the Senate hierarchy, followed by Hoyle at No. 3.
Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, who rooms with Hoyle while they work in Raleigh, called him a great friend: “He has so much knowledge and knew how to make business work for all of us. He’s the best I’ve ever seen in the last 20 years.”
Hoyle shepherded many bills through the Legislature designed to protect public records and keep government meetings open, including a 1999 law giving reporters limited immunity against testifying in court. The “shield law” is considered a model nationwide, media law attorney John Bussian said.
Hoyle “is a guardian angel of open government,” Bussian said. “He will be dearly missed.”
Known for his debate on the floor in defense of small business and the state’s business climate, Hoyle also took heat from Republicans when he voted for budgets written by Democrats that raised taxes.
Hoyle pointed out during his career he helped pass laws that eliminated the state’s share of the food tax and the intangibles tax on investments. He also supported targeted tax incentives – even while protesting their use by surrounding states – as a way to recruit business to the state.
Hoyle is pessimistic about passage in his final year in office of a tax overhaul plan that would lower sales and income tax rates while expanding the number of services subject to the sales tax and simplifying tax filing.
“The chances of passing that are very slim,” he said. “People resist change, and change is hard to pass.”
by Gary D. Robertson, AP