“At one time I was, at least, considering retiring,” said the 78-year-old
Congressman, who is seeking his 14th term. “I thought, ‘Well, I’ve been up here (in Washington) a long time and maybe going back home isn’t such a bad idea.’ But I never did anything else beyond that.”
During the interview following the Veterans Day celebration at Well Spring retirement center, Coble credited his constituents for his decision to run again.
“I bounced [the idea of retirement] off some folks throughout my district, and they said, ‘You’re still in good health. Why quit as long as your health is good and you’re accessible?’” Coble recalled. “Accessibility is one of the main keys to being a successful elected official, in my opinion.”
This year, Coble is not the only Republican candidate seeking nomination to run for North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District seat. Cathy Hinson, 58, announced earlier this month her intention to file as a Republican candidate for the seat. Hinson, an alumnus of High Point Central High School and High
Point University, is manager of Union Square, a furniture showroom. The former adjunct professor at Davidson County Community College is making her first bid for political office. She is Coble’s first Republican challenger to the seat since 1984.
“I’ve been asked if I planned to approach this campaign any differently, because it is intra-party,” Coble said. “No, we’re going to handle this just like we do any contested race. I’m not going to take it for granted. I’ve been awarded 13 two-year leases, and those leases come up for revocation or renewal every two years.”
When Coble challenged first-term Democrat Robin Britt for the 6th District seat in 1984, he had to battle former Greensboro City Councilman and
Guilford County Republican Party chairman Walter Cockerham for the nomination. He defeated Cockerham, who later became a Guilford County
Commissioner and chairman of the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority, by less than 200 votes, before unseating Britt. Two years later, Coble defeated
Britt again, but this time by less than 100 votes. Coble has not had a close race for re-election since.
“I don’t think I own this seat by any means, and I’ve never treated it like
I own it,” Coble said. “The seat belongs to the people of the 6th District and the people in these six counties that I represent.”
The homebuyers tax credit has recently been extended and expanded by a new law. Earlier this year, Coble introduced a bill to extend the credit, which was due to expire at the end of November, but the bill that passed the House and Senate and was signed into law on Nov. 6 by President Obama, had different numbers than Coble’s bill.
“I introduced that bill after a visit with a builder in High Point, named
Richard Wilson,” Coble said. “We were visiting the site of a handsome house he had built, and he told me, ‘I can’t move it. We’ve got to get some sort of credit for these buyers.’ I thought that was a good idea and figured,
‘Why restrict it to first-time buyers? Let it be for any buyer,’ and ‘Why restrict it to the end of ’09? Make it through the end of 2010.’”
The version that was passed into law extends the first time homebuyer tax credit through June 30, as long as the home purchase in under contract by
April 30. It, too, offers a tax-credit for current homeowners wishing to purchase another home, but these current homeowners must meet certain conditions, not included in Coble’s version, and the amount of credit is reduced to $6,500.
“That’s half a loaf, better than nothing,” Coble said of the version that passed. “I’d still like to see it go on through 2010 because I’m convinced that this type of credit will prompt people, who otherwise would be reluctant to purchase a house. At least this new law promotes the spirit of my bill.”
An even more publicized bill passed the House Nov. 7 despite Coble’s vote in opposition, the Affrdable Health Care for America Actl.
“Everywhere I go I have several people come up to me and thank me for my vote on that,” Coble said. “I don’t suggest that everything in that Pelosi bill is bad, but I think that there’s more bad than good in it.”
The bill, sponsored in part by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D- Calif.), now goes to the Senate.
“I’m hoping that the Senate will examine it carefully, and I think they will,” Coble continued. “I think if anything comes out of the Senate, it will be a drastic alteration of the bill that we sent over to them last week.”
Speaking of health, Coble, who turns 79 on March 18, is grateful for his own, and that has led him to seek a 14th “lease” on his House seat.
“As long as my health continues — knock on wood — I don’t anticipate any voluntary abrupt departure,” Coble said of the job he has held for almost a quarter century. “I could be involuntarily departed, but I look forward to running again and, hopefully, the contract will be renewed.”
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