PILOT MOUNTAIN — Franklin Delano Roosevelt once urged voters not to change horses in the middle of a stream, and even though he’s from a different political party, state Sen. Don East seems to be asking the same thing.

Just about any office-holder who has been serving a good while — in East’s case for more than 15 years — will hear calls for a change from those seeking to apply fresh approaches and ideas to issues such as the recent recession.

However, East, 65, a Pilot Mountain Republican, believes there is no reason for new representation in the 30th Senate District, although Paul Johnson, a GOP challenger to his seat, is saying more effective leadership is needed.

“My response would be that this is a very conservative-leaning district,” the incumbent said of the counties he represents, including Surry, Alleghany, Stokes and Yadkin. “If you’ve got a good conservative, why change?”

Both East and Johnson filed for the 30th District Senate race last week, setting up a party primary in May for the right to advance to the general election next November. This area’s only state Senate seat will be at stake.

“The county and the state are going in so many different directions,” said East, who thinks a steady conservative voice should be maintained at a time when citizens’ rights are being diminished while taxation is increasing.

“It’s kind of an ongoing battle between the conservatives who have one philosophy and the liberals who have another philosophy,” he said. “I come down on the conservative side.”

East said the difference in the two philosophies was clear last year when the Democratic majority of the N.C. General Assembly voted to raise various taxes by nearly $1 billion in order to balance the state budget.

In the state Senate — which now has 30 Democrats and 20 Republicans — all GOP members voted against the spending package that was muscled through by the majority. “If we’d had six more Republicans, we wouldn’t have had that almost $1 billion increase in taxes,” said East, who is seeking his seventh two-year term after first winning the office in 1994.

It is important, also, in East’s view, for the Republicans to continue controlling the seats it has — including his — rather than take a chance on adding to the liberals’ strength.

“My whole career in the General Assembly has been in the minority,” East said, pointing out that the majority party gets to pick and choose what happens in the General Assembly. “The winner gets the spoils.”

However, the incumbent wants to help his party fight for more control in the legislature in order to cut unneeded programs and taxes and in the meantime try to help keep spending and other policies as stable as possible.

Opposition Questioned

Johnson, East’s opponent, is trying to take the path to Raleigh that East did. As Johnson does now, East served as a Surry County commissioner representing the East District (from 1984-92), before capturing the Senate seat.

The similarities might end there in the view of East, who questions Johnson’s record of conservatism even though his opponent is a Republican. “I’m not sure Paul tows the conservative line,” the incumbent said.

East said he bases that belief on several recent actions by the local commissioners, including Surry being one of only eight counties to opt to raise the sales tax about a year ago during tough economic times.

In another case cited, the veteran senator questioned Surry County’s recent battle to acquire a 100-year-old farm in order to obtain more property for its landfill at Holly Springs. East believes that situation could have been handled differently rather than through a costly condemnation procedure.

East also mentioned a case in which a landowner in the Long Hill Township kept old trailers on his property and did not pay county taxes on it for 15 years. After that man died, Surry officials turned down an offer of $35,000 from someone wanting to buy the seven acres, according to the state senator.

Then the county cleaned up the site and donated it to Habitat for Humanity. While East said he approves of aiding Habitat for Humanity, the move has resulted in tax revenue and other funds being lost on the property.

Challenges In Raleigh

Sen. East said that while the next legislative session to begin in Raleigh in May will be a “short” one, it should present its share of obstacles.

“It will be a busy spring — it will be an interesting spring,” he said. “We’ll just have to hang around and see how it all shapes up.”

The incumbent believes state lawmakers will have to deal with the residue from actions taken last year, including cuts in Medicaid and reductions in reimbursements to in-home health providers. “That’ll be looked at,” he said.

An ongoing issue for legislators involves money allocated for mental health programs, which suffered huge cuts last year. That helped balance the budget but caused much uproar around the state. This will be another priority for the session, according to East.

And North Carolina will continue to struggle with budgetary matters, especially since federal stimulus funding that aided its fiscal crunch in 2009 won’t be there this year.

“Money will be a big deal,” East said of the upcoming session. “It will be the big story.”

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