NCGA Profile: Jim Davis
By Anna Haustein-Spanheimer
State Senator Jim Davis is the reason North Carolina can’t have nice thingsremove confederate monuments without approval. Maybe you heard about how, after Charlottesville, people, you know, want to take down monuments to confederate figures (most of which weren’t even erected until the 20th century anyway)? And maybe you also read an article like this one ( explaining that we can’t just take them down here in the good old NC? Well, if so, you can thank Jim Davis.
Read more about it here:
And here:
Name: James “Jim” Wayland Davis
Position: North Carolina State Senator, District 50
Home City: Franklin, NC
Most recent offense/on our radar because…: Sponsored SB 22 back in 2015, which requires approval from the North Carolina Historical Commission before altering or removing state-owned monuments and works of art except when the object in question is a highway marker, privately owned but located on public property, or when the object has been determined BY A BUILDING INSPECTOR to pose a threat to public safety. This means that the object can be offensive to people to the point of causing rioting (for example, a confederate monument), but unless it’s wobbly on its base or something similar, there’s no legal way to remove it without repealing this law. Davis has recently condemned Governor Cooper’s call to remove confederate monuments around the state, saying that they have historical significance, and that the government can’t be worried about who gets offended by things (or, you know, oppressed, but sure, it’s about being offended).
Other indefensible positions: Welp, now, that’s a tough one. Other than being in favor of confederate monuments, Davis isn’t too public about his opinions. In fact, despite the fact that he was just reelected in 2016, his campaign website is already inactive. His campaigns have, according to Ballotpedia, historically focused mainly on balancing the state budget, eliminating wasteful spending, “common-sense reform” of Medicaid, and infrastructure reform.
Davis is also listed as a co-sponsor for the recent SB 303, which would implement a $200 fine for slow drivers in the left lane, as well as the STOP Act, which aims to reduce the abuse of opioid pain killers.
You can read more about Davis’s current legislation here:
Ratings and Endorsements:
Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic: 0% (2011).
National Federation of Independent Business: 71% (2015-16). (2016 endorsement).
ACLU of North Carolina: 0% (2015)
American Conservative Union: 93% (2015) (lifetime score)
North Carolina League of Conservation Voters: 6% (2016) (lifetime score)
American Conservative Union: 93% (2015) (lifetime score)
National Rifle Association: 93% (2016). (2016 endorsement)
What can you do? Contact his office!
Office:
North Carolina Senate
300 North Salisbury Street, Room 621
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
Phone: 919.733.5875
District:
77 Georgia Road
Franklin, NC 28734
828.342.4483
Email:
Don’t believe us? Do your own research and fact check it for yourself.
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