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Rep. Rapp Relishes Raleigh
by Denise McKillop
Ray Rapp (center) encountered his rival for office, Marge Carpenter, and former Senator Robert Dole on Main Street in Mars Hill while campaigning in '02.
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The importance of service is emphasized strongly at Mars Hill College. Many faculty and staff members not only teach but also accomplish a lot of other things, including service to the community. One such person is Ray Rapp, dean of the college's Adult ACCESS program, who was elected last year to represent Madison County and the rest of District 118 in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
Rapp, a Democrat, has spent much of the last year going back and forth from his job in Mars Hill to the state capital in Raleigh, where the legislature convenes.
He got his dual interest in teaching and politics from his family. His mother was a Latin and English teacher. His father was a Republican town chairman. He says his father respected his decision to become a Democrat. "I grew up in a family where academics and activism have been an integral part of my life," he said during a recent interview.
He became involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the 70's. In 1978 he came to Mars Hill, attracted by its emphasis on serving the community. "There's an expectation here that you're going to serve your community," said Rapp. "So it never was a matter of are you doing it? It was a matter of, what are you doing?"
Politics interested him from the beginning because of "the ability to make some positive changes for people that we serve, both in the region and in the state." He served on the Region B Council of Governments, chaired the Watershed Task Force Committee, served two terms on the Mars Hill Board of Aldermen, and was elected to three terms as Mayor of Mars Hill. And now he's completing his first year in the legislature.
Rapp has been able to meet some very interesting people, from fellow "freshmen" like himself - the newest recruits that serve in the House -- to the two co-speakers of the North Carolina House, one Republican and the other Democrat.
He explained that when the representatives met last January to elect a speaker, for the first time since 1866 a speaker was not chosen on the first ballot. After going through nine ballots, the representatives came up with the idea of co-speakers who alternate, with the Republican serving one day, the Democrat the next.
He believes that this setup of dual leadership in the House is very beneficial to both parties. He hopes that in the future more parts of government will have a co-leadership role because he feels it will allow for more focus on the state's problems. "The reason is, you step back and say, "What's good for North Carolina? …it means that you disagree when you do disagree -- and you're going to because you have different political philosophies and parties -- but that's probably true of any agenda that comes before the legislature. You agree on 85 percent of the legislation that comes through, and you disagree with about 15 percent. The problem with the parties in recent years is that they've been so focused on what they disagreed on that they forgot what they agreed on."
What Rapp likes most about politics is the ability to make changes that benefit people. "That to me is top and bottom line what service is all about," he says. "If you're in it for other reasons, you're in it for the wrong reasons. This is about serving, how can we serve people, how can we protect our environment, how can we help to better educate our children and provide support for education? How can we provide jobs for people hurting right now? How do we take care of people who are struggling with prescription medicines, particularly our retirees who are on fixed incomes? Those are the issues it seems to me we need to be about. And by serving in the legislature and passing and enacting legislation, working on the budget to address these kinds of issues, there's the vehicle to serve."
Rapp can also tell you what he doesn't like about politics. "We are redistricting, and there is no activity that is more blinding. It is purely a matter of two parties trying to one-up the other party and claim the advantage in terms of these districts."
Rapp has been an active participant in the legislature from the start. He is proud of his part in helping get a $14.8 billion budget passed on time - which meant coming to terms with a $1.7 billion shortfall. His first bill was the Amber Alert Bill, which puts out a warning for when a child goes missing. He also has had a hand in protecting The North Carolina Legislative Tuition Grant, which was in danger of being cut. Realizing that so many of the students at Mars Hill and private colleges across the state rely on these grants to attend college, Rapp fought hard along with some of his fellow legislators to preserve it. Rapp also fought for safety islands and crosswalks on Highway 213, the main highway that cuts through campus. Cars must now stop or slow down for students to cross, or students can stand on the walkways until it is safe to cross.
Rapp said he feels "energized," by his work, "not enervated." But he promises that if there ever comes a day when "a person calls and says I need your help, and I just say, 'Oh no, I don't have time for this,' then I'll know it's time to do something else. Because this is about service…if you don't see this as an opportunity rather than one more thing to do, then it's time to move on."
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