WESTFIELD — The latest political filing season for state offices is barely a week old, but already a hot primary battle is shaping up between two candidates not only from the same political party but the same area of Surry County.

Paul Johnson, making good on an earlier promise, officially threw his hat into the ring Friday to challenge longtime state Sen. Don East of Pilot Mountain, a fellow member of the GOP. Johnson, 48, of Westfield, now represents the East District on the Surry County Board of Commissioners and is presently the board’s chairman.

East also filed last week for re-election to the area’s 30th Senate District, which includes Alleghany, Stokes and Yadkin counties in addition to Surry.

“Passion” was a word used often Monday by Johnson in outlining why he wants to make the jump from Dobson to Raleigh, which he could do by winning a Republican Party primary in May and the general election next November against the Democratic Party nominee.

“I think sometimes new blood in the right situation is good,” Johnson said in discussing his bid aimed at unseating a state senator who has been in office since 1995.

Yet longevity is not the real issue, according to Johnson, who as a county commissioner serving his 14th year in that office has built a long record as well.

“I haven’t lost the desire to serve,” Johnson said. “I think that if a person has lost his or her desire to serve and represent the people and it becomes more of a burden to them than a passion, then I say new blood is warranted.”

Johnson indicated that while it doesn’t matter how long a person has served in an office, but how enthusiastic they are about the job, he charged East no longer fills that bill. “I think that he has lost his passion and desire, yes, I really do.”

The challenger said he has been formulating plans to seek the state office for more than a year, which included testing the waters with GOP members throughout the district. He added that the timing of his candidacy was based on an assumption East wouldn’t run again.

Johnson said there is sentiment around the district that the incumbent has lost contact with citizens. “We need somebody in this area who is going to stay in touch with the issues, stay in touch with the people.”

He also said that a state representative should be diligent about returning telephone calls or emails in a timely manner, “and not just with rhetoric, but a real solution to their problem.” Johnson said people might not always like the answers supplied by him, but constituents can count on them being factual and punctual.

“I feel like the Surry, Stokes, Yadkin and Alleghany County citizens deserve better than what we’ve had in the past,” Johnson said of his overall reasons for seeking the 30th District Senate seat.

While East believes that it is important for the Northwest counties to maintain a conservative member in the state Legislature and a strong minority voice against the present Democratic majority, Johnson says that’s not enough.

“In Raleigh, even if you’re in the minority,” the challenger said, “there’s still no reason that whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat ... that you can’t find a solution or a way to help overcome the problems that the district has.”

In Johnson’s view, a senator should try to make a difference regardless and not just be holding a seat “for the sake of the Democratic Party or the Republican Party” and become preoccupied with “the numbers.”

Otherwise, a representative of the minority party can serve for 10 years “and still not accomplish anything,” he added.

Issues Loom

Johnson had charged last year that East has failed to champion legislation supporting localities in the past, including a proposal for a county tourism tax that later was approved by the General Assembly without East’s blessing.

If elected, Johnson said he immediately would pursue several issues affecting the district which he already has identified as needs.

While jobs and the economy is an obvious first priority, fighting high state taxes is the second concern, trailed by public education and determining the best ways to provide school funding.

Johnson said roads also are a major concern, alleging that this part of North Carolina has been shortchanged, especially concerning the secondary road system. He added that he had heard for years that all such roads would be paved by 2000. “And it is now 2010, and we haven’t saw that happen.”

The candidate says he realizes the slow economy has stalled such projects to an extent, but that counties in this part of the state always manage to be treated worse than those in eastern North Carolina.

Johnson further is concerned about an alleged lack of state support for local infrastructure projects, including work to extend water and sewer service to areas along major highways and to heavier-populated sections.

He also expressed concern about a situation in which money from 911 surcharges on monthly telephone bills is being taken away from smaller counties and given to heavier-populated ones.

Even honeybees are on the list of issues for Johnson, who said that area beekeepers have approached him about a problem in which honey from foreign countries is being sold without labeling that identifies its origins. “That’s not right,” he said. “North Carolina is one of your top-producing states for honey, year in and year out.”

Aside from the key issues, Johnson wants citizens of the district to believe they simply have a senator who cares.

“I just want to say that I’ve always considered myself a people person and I will continue to be a people person,” he said. “And if I ever lose my passion and desire to serve my constituents, then the citizens won’t have to tell me when to leave — I’ll do it on my own.”

Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.