Pubdate: Tue, 29 Oct 2002
Source: Wilmington Morning Star (NC)
Copyright: 2002 Wilmington Morning Star
Contact:  http://www.wilmingtonstar.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/500
Author: Mark Schreiner

TIME FOR CHANGE, SAY SOLES' FOES

Raleigh - A Republican had been elected president and bellbottom trousers 
were the rage in fashion when R.C. Soles of Tabor City first took a seat in 
the General Assembly.

A lot has changed for the state and the country since 1969, but one 
constancy has been state Sen. Soles' representation of Southeastern North 
Carolina.

He served four terms in the House before being elected to the Senate in 1976.

In the Senate, he has become a powerful and influential figure. Among other 
things, he is chairman of the Democratic majority caucus.

The issue for his two challengers is that they are not Robert Charles Soles 
Jr. and that they would bring a new name and new ideas to the Senate.

On Election Day, voters in Columbus, Brunswick and Pender counties will 
vote for a senator among candidates that include Sen. Soles, Republican Ray 
"R.C." Gilbert of Ash, and Libertarian Edward Gore of Sunset Beach.

"I love politics," said Sen. Soles, who is also an attorney in private 
practice. "I have enjoyed my time in the General Assembly, found it to be 
rewarding and have participated in a lot of things, in my opinion, that 
helped the district."

There are new challenges for his 18th campaign: Redistricting brought 
Pender County into the 8th Senate District, which he has never represented.

The Republican challenger, Mr. Gilbert - whose "R.C." stands for Raymond 
Carl - said making the hard decisions as a senator would be easy for him 
because "I don't have a 34-year history and relationship with the 
government agencies and special pet projects."

He proposes a 5 percent to 10 percent cut across the state's $14.3 billion 
budget.

Sen. Soles said that his experience is his greatest asset, and that he has 
had to win the support of the public in elections every other year for more 
than 30 years.

"This is my eighteenth campaign in a row," he said. "If I had not been 
doing something right, I would have been brought back home a long time ago."

He supported most of the major legislation passed last session, including a 
new program of business incentives in which corporations could receive 
rebates equal to some share of the withholding tax paid by the North 
Carolina workers they hire.

"It would have been a disaster not to approve the incentives, particularly 
given what other states are offering," he said.

Mr. Gore, who operates his own Internet service provider, also casts 
himself as a new choice for the district, one that is neither Democratic 
nor Republican.

"There needs to be a balancing voice in Raleigh," he said. "I think I'm a 
good choice for that."

He said he supports much of the Libertarian platform, which includes lower 
taxes, smaller government and major policy changes, like the repeal of many 
narcotics law.

"Drug violence," he said, "comes from the criminality of drugs."
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