Rep. Ted Davis, Jr. (R-New Hanover) House District 19

“All I know is that we’re doing something” –Rep. Ted Davis, in response to the Senate’s unwillingness to take up his GenX bill. (WRAL, 1/10/18)

Ted Davis Jr., a descendent of one of New Hanover’s wealthiest families,

followed an uneventful legal career with an unremarkable tenure as county commissioner. Davis switched affiliation to Republican for political

expedi ence in order to run for public office. He was elected to the

legislature in 2012 and has largely been a cog in the Raleigh political

machine. As such, he failed to deliver anything of note for the Wilmington

area, like the return of meaningful film incentives.

Davis’ s time in the state House is probably most exemplified by his tenure

as Chair of the House Select Committee on River Quality set up to

“res pond” to the GenX crisis. In a role meant to give Davis a chance to

shine , he has so far doled out taxpayer money to political cronies of

Republican leadership and allowed a trade association lobbyist for Chemours , the company responsible for dumping GenX in our drinking

water, to write three budget provisions that let the polluter off the hook. Rep. Ted Davis, Jr. Meanwhile Cape Fear Public Utility Authority customers are seeing their

bills go up to pay for GenX cleanup and taxpayers are stuck with the bill for

more “study” of the problem.

Davis ’s inept handling of GenX is just the latest example of his failure to

provide meaningful service to the people of his district as he plays follow- the- leader in Raleigh. Davis went along with the Raleigh Republican

leaderships’ agenda to hand out more tax breaks to big out of state

companies while our public schools remain underfunded. He failed to raise

teacher salaries, which remain well below the national average. Davis served on the committee that failed to correct legislative districts ruled illegal racial gerrymanders, continuing the recent Republican tradition of denying voting rights to African-Americans.

While on the county commission Davis blocked funds for health insurance that covered contraceptives but has been more than happy in the legislature to provide millions in taxpayer funding for so-called Crisis Pregnancy Centers. These fake clinics claim to provide health services House District 19 despite not being required to have medical professionals on site. They have been documented to give false and misleading information to people seeking care.

Read on for more information about Davis.

Instead of swiftly responding to the GenX crisis with funding for DEQ, Davis allowed Chemours lobbyists to write key budget provisions that let them off the hook and made preventing future water crises more difficult.

• Davis failed to fund meaningful solutions to the GenX crisis and failed to push his bill across the finish line • Davis voted for the 2017 budget that cut DEQs budget for clean water programs and the 2018 budget that included provisions written by Chemours lobbyists that will limit future monitoring and study of contaminants in our water • Rates have gone up for Cape Fear Public Utility Authority customers to pay for GenX cleanup

Davis supported the Republican agenda that placed tax breaks for out of state corporations ahead of raising teacher pay to the national average.

• Out of state corporations have received $3.5 billion in tax cuts from Republican budgets • Teacher pay is still nearly $10,000 below the national average and teachers are forced to pay $500 to $1,000 out of pocket annually for classroom supplies not covered by Republican budgets • Schools are the second largest employer in New Hanover County, but Davis has repeatedly reinforced the idea that teachers are paid enough

Davis served on the committee that failed to fix legislative districts ruled unconstitutional racial gerrymanders

• The 2011 maps were ruled unconstitutional racial gerrymanders. They packed African- American voters into districts, diluting their vote in others • Lawmakers failed to comply with the courts orders to correct the racial gerrymanders and Davis gave the green light to maps that the court ruled failed to correct problems.

As a county commissioner, Davis blocked coverage for contraceptives, but as a lawmaker found it appropriate to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to fund fake pregnancy clinics

• Davis: “If these young women were responsible people and didn’t have the sex to begin with, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”’ • Davis voted for Republican budgets that allocated millions to crisis pregnancy centers and pro-life organizations.

Davis’s inept handling of GenX is just the latest example of his failure to provide meaningful service to the people of his district

GenX, a chemical compound discharged into the Cape Fear River with unknown health risks and showed high levels in Wilmington after a study by an NC State professor.

GenX replaced older manufacturing chemicals seen as unsafe but was largely understudied and had no health recommendations. “GenX is the trade name of perfluoro-2-propoxypropanoic acid, used to make Teflon, Gore-Tex, fast food wrappers and other products. It was meant to replace older chemicals also in the “perfluorinated” family used in manufacturing. Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established health advisories for these older chemicals, such as PFOA, which has been known to cause cancer in animal tests, the agency has no such recommendations for the largely unstudied GenX. Despite the focus on GenX since June 2017, the compound has a long history in Wilmington-area water, where it has been discharged for years by the chemical company DuPont – and its spin-off Chemours – out of the Fayetteville Works facility.” (WRAL, 8/17/17)

The state began testing for GenX in June 2017 and Chemours stopped dumping the chemical. “State environmental officials began testing locations along the Cape Fear River for concentrations of GenX on June 19, 2017, and have continued to sample the water to track the contaminant. After the chemical company Chemours agreed to stop dumping GenX into the river June 20, concentrations dropped drastically, in most cases below the 140 parts per trillion public health standard set by the Department of Health and Human Services.” (WRAL, 8/31/17)

Davis served as senior chairman of the House Special Select Committee on River Water Quality, but repeatedly voted with his party for bills that harm the environment and reduce the budget for environmental monitoring.

Davis serves as senior chairman of the House Special Select Committee on River Water Quality. Reps. Holly Grange and serve as co-chairmen. Members include Reps. Bill Brisson, , Elmer Floyd, , Larry D. Hall, Pat McElraft, Chuck McGrady, Bob Muller, Bob Steinburg, Scott Stone, and . (NCGA, Retrieved 12/6/17)

Under Republican control, both DEQ and DHHS have faced massive budget cuts leaving the departments without adequate funding to study emerging contaminants like GenX.

Since 2013 DEQ has been forced to eliminate about 70 positions. “DEQ’s release said the department has seen the elimination of about 70 permitting, compliance or enforcement positions since 2013. We have deployed our experts to address the immediate concerns in the Lower Cape Fear region, Regan said in a statement, but because of cuts over the last few years, long-term solutions will take more resources than our department currently has. Under the proposal, the department would add four engineers, three environmental specialists, two environmental senior specialists, two hydrologists, two program consultants, a business technology analyst and two chemists. Those positions, a spokesman said, would serve two purposes. On one hand, they would address emerging contaminants such as GenX, which can go unregulated for decades before the federal government sets standards. On the other, they would help address a backlog of major wastewater permits that has risen from 14 percent in 2010 to 42 percent a category that includes Chemours, who has been legally operating under a permit that expired in October.” (Wilmington Star-News, 8/9/17)

Davis voted for the 2017 budget, which ordered DEQ to cut $1.8 million over the next two years. “Just days after environmental regulators began looking into a potentially hazardous pollutant in one of the state’s biggest rivers, state lawmakers cut their funding. In the new budget they passed June 22, legislators ordered the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality to cut $1.8 million over the next two years. It was just the latest in a decade of cuts to state regulators. While exact budget comparisons are difficult because of shifting agency responsibilities, money directed to environmental regulation has dropped by millions of dollars over the last decade, even as the state budget has grown significantly. Dozens of environmental protection jobs have disappeared, in specialties ranging from the coast to rivers and air pollution. And a months-long backlog of paperwork mean more companies are able to operate under outdated permits, without recent oversight.” (News & Observer, 9/22/17)

Davis voted for H56, the “junk drawer of environmental bills,” where lawmakers added $435,000 for GenX research to the bill that repealed the Outer Banks plastic bag ban and reduced county authority over landfills.

Republican legislators tied funding to monitor GenX to a repeal of the coastal ban on plastic bags. “Republican legislators tied new funding Wednesday to monitor GenX in the Cape Fear River to a long-discussed repeal of North Carolina's coastal ban on plastic bags. The two issues got sewn together in legislation that emerged in the early evening. House Bill 56 also includes provisions to create a new storm damage mitigation fund for the coast, as well as language that takes away some county authority to dictate that garbage collected within county borders also be dumped there. The bill includes $435,000 in new funding to monitor and study GenX, an unregulated chemical used to make Teflon and other products that has been found in the Cape Fear River. The chemical, which the Chemours plant said it stopped discharging in June, is not fully understood but is part of a family of toxic chemicals.” (WRAL, 8/31/17; H56, veto overridden, 10/14/17)

The bill split $435K between UNCW and the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority to monitor and study GenX. “The bill includes $435,000 in new funding to monitor and study GenX, an unregulated chemical used to make Teflon and other products that has been found in the Cape Fear River. The chemical, which the Chemours plant said it stopped discharging in June, is not fully understood but is part of a family of toxic chemicals. The bill directs $185,000 to the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority to monitor drinking water and to try to remove the chemical from the water. Another $250,000 is earmarked for the University of North Carolina at Wilmington to measure the concentration of the chemical in river sediments and to otherwise study the chemical.” (WRAL, 8/31/17; H56, veto overridden, 10/14/17)

H56 which appropriated just $435K after DEQ and DHHS requested $2.6 million to monitor, study, and clean up GenX. “Lawmakers approved $435,000 to be split between the Wilmington-area water utility and UNC Wilmington for studies. Cooper had requested $2.6 million for the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Health and Human Services to monitor GenX and study the health effects of long-term exposure. “Clean water is critical for our health and our economy and this legislation fails to appropriate any needed funds to the departments in state government charged with setting standards and enforcing laws to prevent illegal chemical discharges into rivers used for drinking water,” Cooper said in a statement announcing the veto. “It gives the impression of action while allowing the long-term problem to fester. And it unnecessarily rolls back other environmental protections for landfills, river basins, and our beaches,” Cooper said. “Instead this legislation diverts needed resources to the local utility and UNC-Wilmington and eliminates a local plastic bag ban supported by local governments and businesses that was passed to protect the environment in the Outer Banks,” according to Cooper.” (Outer Banks Voice, 9/21/17; H56, veto overridden, 10/14/17)

Davis backed off of a GenX funding bill when he lost support from Senate leadership and instead allowed Chemours lobbyists to write key 2018 budget provisions dealing with GenX and other contaminants

H189 would have allocated money to address backlogs in issuing permits and requires a “comprehensive review of the state’s permit disclosure requirements.” From the $1.3 million, $813,000 would be used to hire staff at the Division of Water Resources for water quality sampling for GenX and other contaminants, and to address backlogs in issuing permits. An amount of $232,950 would be used at the Division of Air Quality for sampling and analysis of atmospheric deposition of GenX and other contaminants, and $279,050 would be used by the Division of Waste Management for sampling and analysis of GenX and other contaminants in groundwater wells, soil and sediment. Roughly $1 million would also be appropriated from the remaining balance of the General Fund and the state Contingency and Emergency Fund to DEQ to purchase new equipment needed to better evaluate the threat to public safety GenX may pose as well as being able to more efficiently sample and test to track GenX. The bill also requires a comprehensive review of the state’s permit disclosure requirements and seeks recommendations to ensure full transparency in the permitting process. (NC Capitol Connection, 1/11/18; H189, ref to Senate Rules, 1/12/18)

GenX legislation was rolled into the 2018 budget; it will narrow water testing to focus on GenX and related chemicals and was requested by a lobbying group including GenX manufacturer Chemours

North Carolina will no longer test drinking water supplies for pharmaceuticals and emerging contaminants. “A lobbying group that includes GenX manufacturer Chemours asked for three changes to legislation targeting the company's chemical emissions, and it got all three during a complex back- and-forth that saw the bill morph significantly between rollout and inclusion in the new state budget. Among the changes: No longer would North Carolina test drinking water supplies for pharmaceuticals and an array of chemicals called emerging contaminants as part of a wide-ranging search for what's in the water. The focus is narrower under legislation about to pass this General Assembly, keying on GenX and related chemicals that have captured most of the public attention since their presence was revealed in Wilmington's drinking water one year ago.” (WRAL, 5/31/18; S99, Senate veto override 6/7/18, House veto override 6/12/18)

“The focus is narrower…keying on GenX and related chemicals.” “A lobbying group that includes GenX manufacturer Chemours asked for three changes to legislation targeting the company's chemical emissions, and it got all three during a complex back-and-forth that saw the bill morph significantly between rollout and inclusion in the new state budget. Among the changes: No longer would North Carolina test drinking water supplies for pharmaceuticals and an array of chemicals called emerging contaminants as part of a wide-ranging search for what's in the water. The focus is narrower under legislation about to pass this General Assembly, keying on GenX and related chemicals that have captured most of the public attention since their presence was revealed in Wilmington's drinking water one year ago.” (WRAL, 5/31/18; S99, Senate veto override 6/7/18, House veto override 6/12/18)

“A lobbying group that includes GenX manufacturer Chemours asked for three changes to legislation targeting the company’s chemical emissions, and it got all three…” “A lobbying group that includes GenX manufacturer Chemours asked for three changes to legislation targeting the company's chemical emissions, and it got all three during a complex back-and-forth that saw the bill morph significantly between rollout and inclusion in the new state budget. Among the changes: No longer would North Carolina test drinking water supplies for pharmaceuticals and an array of chemicals called emerging contaminants as part of a wide-ranging search for what's in the water. The focus is narrower under legislation about to pass this General Assembly, keying on GenX and related chemicals that have captured most of the public attention since their presence was revealed in Wilmington's drinking water one year ago.” (WRAL, 6/1/18)

Rates have gone up for customers of CFPUA

CFPUA customers will see a rise in their water and sewere rates in 2019, GenX was a factor in th hike. “Cape Fear Public Utility Authority customers will see a rise in their water and sewer rates in 2019. The CFPUA board approved the 2019 budget at its meeting Wednesday. That budget includes a 2.16 percent increase in residential customers’ yearly combined water and sewer bills, totaling about $16.44. The budget also includes $650,000 to deal with GenX and other compounds in the water. According to CFPUA Board Chairman Mike Brown, money for GenX did factor into the water and sewer rate hike. The $650,000 will go toward legal fees in litigation with Chemours, and testing and sampling costs for GenX. CFPUA has spent almost $2 million on GenX in the past year.” (WECT, 6/13/18)

Davis played follow the leader in Raleigh, continuing the Republican trend of cutting taxes for corporations rather than raising per pupil spending or paying teachers at the national average

The 2017 Republican budget continued the trend of cutting corporate taxes, totaling $3.5 billion, rather than raising per pupil spending. “This budget will cut individual income tax rates to 5.25 percent from 5.499 percent and the corporate rate to 2.5 percent from 3 percent in the second year, costing the state $900 million annually when fully implemented. This means that the legislature will eventually have cut $3.5 billion annually in all its tax cuts –money that could have gone for services. North Carolina, for example, ranks 41st nationally in per pupil spending for public education. Here is a question for lawmakers: Which is most likely hindering industrial recruitment and economic development in small- town North Carolina –high taxes or poor schools?” (News & Observer Editorial, 6/24/17, S257, Vetoed 6/27/17, Senate Veto Override 6/27/17, House Veto Override 6/28/17)

NEA listed NC at 39th in the country for per pupil spending in 2017 rankings and in 2018 estimated rankings. (NEA Rankings & Estimates, 2018)

Teachers across the country spent $500 to $1000 out-of-pocket for classroom supplies and job- related expenses last year. “According to a recent report from “Time,” the Education Market Association says most teachers across the country spent $500 to $1,000 annually out of their own pockets for classroom supplies and job-related expenses last year. The report said that $1.6 billion in school supply costs are shifted from parents or cash-strapped school districts onto teachers themselves.” (Gaston Gazette, 5/6/17)

NC pays teachers nearly $10,000 less than the national average, but Davis repeatedly reinforced the idea that teachers make enough.

The county school system is the second largest employer in New Hanover. (NC Dept. of Commerce, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, retrieved 1/8/18)

Davis has repeatedly reinforced the idea that North Carolina is paying its teachers enough and sufficiently funding public education under the Republican majority. “That prompted a sharp rebuke from state Rep. Ted Davis Jr., R- New Hanover, who called her comment absolutely incorrect. He said he knows North Carolina and Butler will ‘see the facts and figures when you get up to Raleigh.’ Butler interjected, telling Davis his response was a little patronizing. Davis then told her, ‘Don’t interrupt me.’ ‘Don’t sit here and say North Carolina is at the bottom of the barrel,’ he continued, before Councilman Neil Anderson tempered the heated argument with a change of subject.” (Star News, 2/28/17)

Meanwhile, many educators, including veterans of 25 years, will only see an increase of $30 a month, merely a tank of gas, under the 2017 budget. “The newly unveiled North Carolina state budget does include increases in teacher pay, but they are neither big nor dramatic. Many educators – including veterans who have devoted 25 years or more to our state’s children – will see an increase of $30 a month. That amounts to little more than a tank of gas, which will hardly be enough to allow teachers to quit their second or third jobs.” (Charlotte Observer, Op-Ed, 6/21/17, S257, Vetoed 6/27/17, Senate Veto Override 6/27/17, House Veto Override 6/28/17)

NC teachers are paid $9,600 below the national average. (NEA Rankings & Estimates, 2018) As a member of the House Select Committee on Redistricting, Davis voted for maps that failed to correct illegally drawn racial gerrymanders

A federal court found that 28 legislative districts were racial gerrymanders. “The plaintiffs had argued the state's plans packed African-Americans in districts already with a high percentage of black voters, thus diluting their presence in neighboring districts. In August 2016, the US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina found that that 28 legislative districts ‘are racial gerrymanders in violation of the Equal Protection Clause.’” (CNN, 8/1/17)

The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the decision by the lower court that the 2011 maps were unconstitutional. “Several lawsuits focused on the maps that included 28 districts found unconstitutional after they were used to elect state House and Senate members. A panel of federal judges will review new lines approved by state lawmakers on Aug. 30 for those districts. The judges struck down the 2011 maps more than a year ago in a ruling that was unanimously affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court.” (Charlotte Observer, 9/15/17)

The 2011 maps packed black voters into certain districts, diluting their voting strength in others. “T he plaintiffs had argued the state's plans packed African-Americans in districts already with a high percentage of black voters, thus diluting their presence in neighboring districts. In August 2016, the US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina found that that 28 legislative districts ‘are racial gerrymanders in violation of the Equal Protection Clause.’” (CNN, 8/1/17)

Republican maps passed in 2017 failed to correct illegally drawn districts, a federal court ruled

Republicans failed to fully fix illegally drawn election districts. “A federal court appeared to rebuke North Carolina Republicans on Thursday for failing to fully fix election districts illegally drawn because they weakened the influence of black voters.” (Huffington Post, 10/26/17)

The court said some redrawn districts were still illegal unconstitutional and appointed a “special master” to futher evaluate and draw districts. “The court issued an order on Thursday saying nine of those districts were likely to still be illegal or unconstitutional. The court also announced it would appoint Nathaniel Persily, a Stanford law professor, as a “special master” to help them further evaluate the districts and, if necessary, redraw them. Republican lawmakers said the new proposed districts could not be unconstitutional based on race because they did not consider it as a factor at all when drawing the new lines. Michael McDonald, a political science professor at the University of Florida who has served as an expert witness in other gerrymandering cases, said Persily’s appointment was a signal the court was suspicious of the GOP’s new plan.” (Huffington Post, 10/26/17)

As a New Hanover Commissioner, Davis opposed funding health coverage for contraception but voted to spend taxpayer dollars to fund fake pregnancy clinics

In 2012 the New Hanover Board of County Commissioners voted to reject a $9,000 state grant to its health department for contraceptives and family planning services

The state offered the New Hanover County Health Department a grant to be used for contraceptives, family planning, and other reproductive services. “The county’s health department was awarded $8,899 in family planning funds that would ‘provide medical services related to family planning including physician’s consultation, examination, prescription, continuing supervision, laboratory examination and contraceptive supplies,’ according to a budget amendment item included in documents for Monday’s commissioners meeting. The county was not required to match the state grant.” (Star- News, 3/12/12)

Davis said, “If these young women were responsible people and didn’t have the sex to begin with, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

Davis said it was a “sad day” when “taxpayers are asked to pay money to buy for contraceptives” for women having sex without planning responsibly. “‘If these young women were responsible people and didn’t have the sex to begin with, we wouldn’t be in this situation,’ Davis said. Commissioner Jonathan Barfield said he was ‘one of those abstinence guys’ and agreed with Davis’ comment.” (Star- News, 3/12/12)

In the wake of the initial meeting, Barfield, a Democrat, publicly stated that he regretted his decision. “The lone Democrat on the commission, Jonathan Barfield, has stated after the news broke out that he regrets his decision after talking to his wife. He called his vote “an error” and said that he would talk to the county’s legal staff about whether the issue can be brought back to the board for reconsideration.” (Huffington Post, 3/15/12)

Davis voted for Republican budgets that allocated millions to crisis pregnancy centers and pro- life organizations.

The 2018 budget provides $1 million for Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship, “a pro-life group that operates clinics for expecting mothers statewide.” “Perhaps the biggest religious recipient of state money is Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship, a pro-life group that operates clinics for expecting mothers statewide, which will receive $1 million. However, that's actually a cut from the $1.3 million legislators had previously approved for the group. This year's budget takes the $300,000 cut from that group and redirects it to a different pro-life group, the Human Coalition, which describes itself explicitly as opposing the "abortion industry." It operates clinics in Raleigh and Charlotte, and the new state money is for its Raleigh clinic. But despite the group's outspoken ideological leanings, the budget does say that it should only use the funds for "nonsectarian purposes."” (News & Observer, 5/29/18; S99, Senate veto override 6/7/18, House veto override 6/12/18)

In the 2017 budget, funding for CPC umbrella organization the Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship increased from $300,000 to $1.9 million. “The Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship, an umbrella group of about 65 clinics in North Carolina, has received in the state budget $300,000 a year for the past several years. This year that amount shot up to $1.9 million for that group and another, paying for equipment purchase, training, a pilot program and for two specific clinics. ▪ $800,000 goes to the Fellowship for ultrasound equipment to distribute to clinics that apply for them. ▪ Up to $170,000 for the organization to provide grants for training on the equipment. ▪ Up to $30,000 for the group’s administration. ▪ $300,000 for an organization called Human Coalition to develop a pilot program at its Raleigh clinic. ▪ $450,000 for the H.E.L.P. Center Inc., which provides services for pregnant women who are under insured or don’t quality for prenatal health care. ▪ $100,000 for the Coastal Pregnancy Center in Beaufort County.” (News & Observer, 6/24/17, S257, Vetoed 6/27/17, Senate Veto Override 6/27/17, House Veto Override 6/28/17)

Clinics that “discourage women from getting abortions” received significant state funding in the 2017 state budget. “Counseling clinics that discourage women from getting abortions would receive a big boost in state financial support in the budget the General Assembly approved this week. The money will help them buy ultrasound equipment, and launch a “continuum of care” pilot project in Raleigh. The groups call themselves “pregnancy resource centers.” They used to be called “crisis pregnancy centers,” and have long been the bane of abortion-rights advocates, who say they mislead pregnant women into thinking they are abortion clinics, and then try to coerce them out of the procedure.” (News & Observer, 6/24/17, S257, Vetoed 6/27/17, Senate Veto Override 6/27/17, House Veto Override 6/28/17)

Crisis pregnancy centers “rely heavily on misleading or outright lying to women about reproductive health care in order to dissuade them from having abortions.” “Faith-based crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), which vastly outnumber abortion clinics in the United States, rely heavily on misleading or outright lying to women about reproductive health care in order to dissuade them from having abortions. They often masquerade as abortion clinics or licensed medical facilities ― sometimes even cloaking their unlicensed staffers in medical garb ― in order to attract pregnant women who are weighing their options. And many of these centers receive state money to do so.” (Huffington Post, 11/13/17)

Davis voted to defund Planned Parenthood

Davis voted for the 2015 budget, which defunded Planned Parenthood pregnancy prevention programs. “Tucked into the 636 pages of the budget document unveiled late Monday is a provision that appears to be aimed squarely at pregnancy prevention programs run by the state's largest abortion provider. The provision on page 163 would ban the state Department of Health and Human Services from contracting for ‘family planning services, pregnancy prevention activities, or adolescent parenting programs with any provider that performs abortions.’” (WRAL, 9/15/15; H97, signed on 9/18/15)

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