WINTERVILLE - Because of the towns of Ayden, Grifton and Winterville, Senator Tony Moore made it into the Senate. And he's doing everything he can to give back to the people who helped him.  

Senator Moore, who first filed for office in January 2002, served on the Winterville Board of Alderman. He was once an employee of the town where he's been a 30-year resident.

Now that his place is in the Senate, he says there is never a quiet moment.

"You can think you know all the problems and answers, but until you're actually there...you're bombarded with so many issues," Moore said.

Moore serves on a part-time legislature which met this year from January 29 until July 20, a total of 100 days. Moore says they are usually in session from Monday until Thursday. At the last session, Moore says 15 of the 50 present actually left early while there were still a lot of problems on the table.

One of those problems, according to Moore, was the Corrections Bill, a 70 page document. Others were study commissions and the tobacco settlement.

The Senate recently agreed on a two-year moratorium on executions so legislators would be allowed to examine more ways to improve the system. Although Moore says he was one of the 21 who voted against the moratorium, there were 29 votes cast to adopt it and stop executions temporarily in the state.

Moore stated a few items that were moved back. One was the big lottery discussion. Others were, according to Moore, medical malpractice, economic development, and redistricting.

Moore says in the legislative sessions the Senate would have up to 50 topics a day to make a decision on.

Being a freshman in the Senate doesn't seem to bother Moore, who is only 52 years old. He says around him are 72-year-old men who are from bigger towns, yet he feels he's had more experience across the state. Moore says 15 out of the 50 Senators this term are freshman.

Moore went to the Senate with several important issues. One was to give East Carolina University a good representative. The others were to promote the hospital and the heart center, and to represent the average person from smaller towns.

Moore is big on education. Having been in school systems, as both a teacher and principal, he feels strongly about not cutting education funds.  According to Moore, sixty percent of the state budget is for education. This year, $900,000 was cut from Pitt County Schools.

Moore does not agree with cutting money from schools but he does not like the general government cutting either. Moore says the general government consists of 16 agencies and every department was cut 5%. Moore feels the government cannot sufficiently make changes without proper staffing and pay. "How you do you have the staff to make the right changes if you don't pay them," Moore said.

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