Leader targets stable tuition

For two decades, Joe Hackney has shown leadership in the N.C. House, working on both sides of the aisle to get things done.

As he prepares to enter his 13th term in the legislature, the Orange County Democrat has a lot on his agenda.

In the upcoming term, he plans to address storm water management and other environmental concerns. He also will focus on training and educational access for those left unemployed as manufacturing plants continue to shut down.

But as the 2005-06 term knocks on lawmakers’ front doors, the biggest priority is reining in a budget shortfall of more than $1 billion. And somewhere in that, the UNC system will feel the effects of yet another tightened leash.

Hackney said his goals are to hold tuition as stable as possible while increasing enrollment funding and working to increase faculty and staff salaries. But he said it’s still too early to tell just how much funding the system will see.

Kevin FitzGerald, legislative liaison for UNC, said the University is realistic in its expectations and is looking for help with enrollment growth and faculty and staff salary increases.

But he said that even when the state is strapped for cash, Hackney will go to bat for higher education.

“Part of exercising leadership is knowing how and when to lead,” Hackney said. “And Joe is really good … at helping folks come to the right decisions. There’s a quiet, very effective leadership style.”

Hackney, who has logged more than 30 years as a lawyer, said he originally ran for office because of his interest in environmental issues and a desire to make a change in politics.

“I thought we could do it better,” he said.

And in that time, the father of two has racked up a number of accomplishments, including serving on House committees like appropriations and energy, as well as holding the coveted title of speaker pro tem during the 1999-2000 session.

More recently, Hackney was at the legislative helm as the House Democratic leader during the 2003-04 session, serving on the appropriations and finance committees and chairing the judiciary committee.

But it isn’t just titles that have garnered him respect from his colleagues and friends. The UNC-CH alumnus has made great strides in environmental and educational issues as well as DWI and family legislation.

FitzGerald said that in the last few years, he has come to find Hackney as an educational ally, a representative who works hard to preserve higher education in a state facing tough budget constraints.

“Joe is really one of the strongest advocates for the University,” he said. “And he’s worked really hard to understand the needs and the interests of the University, and he’s consistently been very responsive.”

FitzGerald credited Hackney with helping to preserve university funding. Last year, the state kept UNC-system cuts to just 1.7 percent.

He added that Hackney also was important in helping to get the UNC-CH cancer hospital off the ground and in allowing the University to use overhead receipts for research purposes.

“Joe has been really good about voicing the importance of education in terms of the future of the state’s economy,” FitzGerald said.

“The governor and the Senate and House leadership have basically said in very tough times that the investment in education is a key to our future, and Joe is one of the leaders to articulate that sentiment.”

Hackney said perhaps his most important legislation in the field of drunk driving has involved lowering the blood alcohol level allowed while driving from .10 to .08, as well as raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21.

Even though those changes can be unpopular, the former assistant district attorney said they are vital to the safety of N.C. citizens.

“Statistically, (drunk driving has) taken more lives than any other thing,” he said.

His experience in family law as a partner at Epting & Hackney also has influenced his work in the legislature. He said that family and domestic law is a matter close to him and that legislation such as better child support collection services, more resources for protective services and improved domestic violence laws are key.

Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, said Hackney, a quiet and thoughtful man, has always been a good source of advice in helping her get important legislation passed with bipartisan support.

Insko, who has served alongside Hackney since 1997, had previously worked with him as on the Orange County Board of Commissioners and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education. And she said Hackney has proved to be a man able to work with anyone.

“(Hackney is) good at developing a bill that has consensus,” she said. “He works really hard to get input from all the parties, to make sure that their needs are addressed.”

Assistant State & National Editor Eric Johnson contributed to this story.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.