Something special happened in North Carolina. And it was a bipartisan act by a very sincere and ethical Republican judge, Doug McCullough.
Roy Cooper defied the Republican avalanche in North Carolina and won the governorship. The NC Legislature has been trying to cripple him since.
The Charlotte Observer reported the following.
The Republican legislators leading an effort to reduce the size of the state Court of Appeals as three Republican judges near mandatory retirement age hit an unexpected obstacle on Monday.
Judge Doug McCullough, a Republican on the appellate bench who was expected to retire from the bench at the end of May, decided to retire early and give Gov. Roy Cooper the power to appoint his replacement.
The unexpected retirement announcement – and the quick appointment of Charlotte Democrat John Arrowood to the McCullough seat – came in a brief window of opportunity for Cooper in a power struggle between him and the Republican legislative leaders.
On Friday, Cooper vetoed the bill that would reduce the number of Appeals Court judges to 12 from the current 15 members.
The legislature could override Cooper’s veto this week. Lawmakers took no action on the bill Monday night.
But over the weekend, McCullough, a Republican from Atlantic Beach who has worked as a federal prosecutor, informed Cooper that he planned to step down from the bench 36 days before his forced retirement.
“I did not want my legacy to be the elimination of a seat and the impairment of a court that I have served on,” McCullough said Monday after the announcement.
Arrowood was sworn in Monday morning to fill the year and a half remaining in the term to which McCullough was elected in 2010.
The Judge understands the difference between today’s Republican and what good politics should be.
McCullough, while stressing that he was honored to serve on the bench, recalled a time when Gov. Jim Martin, a Republican, was in the executive office and the Democrats at the helm of the General Assembly “did not interfere with his power to make appointments to the judiciary.”
Democrats simply do not behave in a tribal manner that prevents good governance. Is there any doubt why Republicans who are now in full control of the Federal Government are unable to govern?
(h/t DailyKos)