Mayor McCrory Issue Update

Article By Writer Michael Kraft Author: Michael Kraft
Published: July 25, 2007
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Kelly From Crime in Charlotte send me this email so we will publish it to make Charlotte aware of the opportunity to get involved.
We thank Mayor Pat McCrory for taking the time to bring this to our attention VIA www.crimeincharlotte.com

Dear Caravan to Raleigh Participants:

The State General Assembly is looking to try and wrap up this legislative session, potentially in the next two weeks. I need your help over the next week to contact the state legislators, particularly those who represent Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

The budget discussions are still ongoing, but all signs are that the criminal justice system will get more funding, based on the support of Senator Basnight. Continue to thank him for understanding the need to better fund the state criminal justice system.

The good news is that the gang legislation is still being debated in both the House and Senate, but the disappointing news is that the gang legislation does not reflect what we were supporting in February. The Senate version removed many of the strong enforcement measures and penalities, added money for new programs, and now includes a lot of unwanted provisions such as the ability of 16 and 17 years olds to have their criminal records expunged (”cleaned”).

Our intent all along was to get legislation to provide the necessary deterent to help address gang membership and get gangs off the street. We have never asked for money with the gang legislation — we simply need legislation, with tough sentencing, to support our police officers and get gang members out of our neighborhoods.

The DA for Forsyth County (Thomas J. Keith) is so frustrated by this situation that he sent me and the other Metropolitan Mayors the following letter on July 12 that stated, in part:

“By now you know that the Senate stripped about anything useful for the Street Gang Prevention Act. All that is left is a Class H felony which, after a difficult and complex trial, carries only a 5 to 6 months sentence with possible probation. The gang leadership punishment was reduced from 10 years to a Class F felony which is only a 13 to 16 months sentence with possible probation. The 5, 7.5, and 10 year enhancement for use of a gun were completely eliminated. We will need to concentrate on the strong House version.”

We made a strong statement in February and we still have time to make an impact. Please contact the state leaders and representatives to let them know you support more funding for the criminal justice system, as they work to finalize the state budget, and that you want tough gang legislation to help law enforcement address the growing gang problem across the state. The current Senate version of the gang legislation does not do enough to support our police officers in fighting gangs and we can’t go another year without State support, through gang legislation, for our police officers. Given this situation, I did not participate in a news conference today in Raleigh with Senate leaders regarding the gang legislation, as I did not want to give the impression that the gang legislation in the Senate is a good bill, in its current form, that merits our support.

Thank you for your continued interest in public safety. I’ll be in touch to let you know if we need more action to help those representatives in Raleigh hear what the needs are in Charlotte and across the State.

God bless you.
Mayor Pat McCrory

Mayor McCrory Issue Update on issues to vite in Noth Carolina legislation

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One Response to “Mayor McCrory Issue Update”

Jack on July 25th, 2007 9:41 pm

This is the problem with the state legislature. Nobody wants to be in the state legislature because it sucks so these goons allow a good bill to die in the house. Keep pushing McCrory.

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