Charlotte Observer Logo

How state legislators got power over cities | Charlotte Observer

×
  • E-edition
  • Customer Service
  • Advertise
  • Newsletters

    • News
    • Local
    • Crime
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Election
    • Politics
    • Nation/World
    • Special Reports
    • North Carolina
    • South Carolina
    • Corrections
    • Columnists
    • Retro Charlotte
    • Your Schools
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Sports
    • Carolina Panthers
    • Charlotte Hornets
    • That's Racin'
    • High Schools
    • College Sports
    • Charlotte Knights/MLB
    • Other Sports
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Inside the Panthers
    • Inside the NBA
    • Prep Insiders
    • Scott Fowler
    • Tom Sorensen
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • The North Carolina Influencer Series
    • RNC 2020
    • Business
    • Banking
    • Stocks Center
    • Top Workplaces
    • National Business
    • What's in Store
    • Development
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Living
    • Religion
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Family
    • Home & Garden
    • CLT Style
    • Travel
    • Living Here Guide
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • I'll Bite
    • Kathleen Purvis
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Arts/Culture
    • Events
    • Movie News & Reviews
    • Restaurants
    • Music/Nightlife
    • Television
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Rewards
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Kevin Siers
    • Letters
    • Submit an Op-ed
    • Submit a Letter
    • Viewpoint
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • O-Pinion
    • You Write The Caption
    • Taylor Batten
    • Peter St. Onge
  • Celebrations
  • Obituaries
  • TV Listings

  • Public Notices
  • Cars
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Virtual Career Fair
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
  • Place an ad
  • Mobile & Apps

  • MomsCharlotte
  • Carolina Bride Magazine
  • South Park Magazine

Viewpoint

How state legislators got power over cities

By Ed Williams

Special to the Observer

    ORDER REPRINT →

April 15, 2016 06:26 PM

The clash between Charlotte and state legislators over HB2, inadequately described as the “bathroom bill,” raises a fundamental question: If Charlotte wants to provide broader protections for civil rights than N.C. law does, why should legislators across the state have any say in it? Must the needs of our big cities be limited to what’s acceptable in Mayberry, the bucolic hamlet policed by Sheriff Andy?

Though that point may seem arguable, in fact legislative authority over local governments is well established in a rule originated by a 19th-century Iowa Supreme Court justice.

Before serving on Iowa’s high court, John Dillon was a corporate lawyer noted for his expertise in local government and his hostility toward local officials.

Their sometimes risky investments in railroad expansion and other private ventures appalled him. His 1868 ruling clamped down by forbidding municipalities to exercise powers not specifically granted by the state. In 1903, a U.S. Supreme Court decision adopted Dillon’s Rule. Most states, including ours, now operate under some form of it.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Charlotte Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

In North Carolina, however, a legal scholar a decade ago concluded that legislators and judges had given cities more authority than in all but a few states. That may be changing as Republican legislators exert greater authority over Democrat-run local governments.

About the mythical Mayberry there is much to admire, but big cities are different. Throughout history, they have been more supportive of innovation and risk, greater generators of jobs and wealth, and more accepting of diversity and conflict than smaller communities.

That difference was evident in the 2012 vote on a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Statewide, 61 percent of voters approved it. In Mecklenburg, the state’s largest county, 54 percent of voters rejected it. In the next largest county, Wake (Raleigh), even more voters opposed it – 57 percent.

Though legislators value the amenities and revenues that big cities provide, some of them abhor the challenges to traditional values that cities create. That’s evident in HB2. Lawmakers enacted it in response to an urban myth they created without regard to experience elsewhere: that sexual predators lurk within Charlotte, eager to don female attire and invade women’s restrooms.

But society’s views on sexual identity continue to evolve. Legislators who command social change to halt often discover that Dillon’s Rule doesn’t grant them that power.

Ed Williams retired in 2008 after 25 years as editor of The Observer’s editorial pages.

  Comments  

Videos

Responders evacuate Florida high school following shooting

Tonya Jameson held at gunpoint by off-duty cop as she picks up new SUV

View More Video

Trending Stories

The NBA All-Star Celebrity Game was looking weak. Then some strong basketball saved it.

February 16, 2019 02:26 AM

A 6th grader asked a billionaire for tickets to the All-Star Game. His school got 30.

February 17, 2019 01:44 PM

The NFL reaches a settlement with Colin Kaepernick. And EVERYONE is talking about it

February 16, 2019 08:00 AM

Driver fatally shoots stranger who jumped on car hood, broke window in Charlotte

February 16, 2019 07:00 PM

Hornets rookie Miles Bridges’ Larry Johnson tribute not enough in slam-dunk contest

February 16, 2019 11:06 PM

things to do

Read Next

Charlotte arts need rescuing, and a tax for them would pay off many times over

Viewpoint

Charlotte arts need rescuing, and a tax for them would pay off many times over

By Stacey M. Anderson and Darrel Williams, Special to the Observer

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 17, 2019 06:00 AM

Mecklenburg voters could decide whether to charge a quarter cent sales tax for the arts. Supporters explain why it’s needed.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Charlotte Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE VIEWPOINT

Viewpoint

NC Treasurer’s Health Plan statements are offensive

February 15, 2019 11:35 PM
NC Treasurer’s Health Plan statements are offensive

Opinion

NC Treasurer’s Health Plan statements are offensive

February 15, 2019 04:36 PM
City Council puts showmanship over the good of Charlotte

Viewpoint

City Council puts showmanship over the good of Charlotte

February 12, 2019 05:11 PM
A lesson in politics from Phil Donahue and The Duke

Viewpoint

A lesson in politics from Phil Donahue and The Duke

February 12, 2019 12:21 PM
Trump rule change could threaten North Carolina’s water

Opinion Columns & Blogs

Trump rule change could threaten North Carolina’s water

February 11, 2019 05:00 AM
Big is best for school districts

Opinion

Big is best for school districts

February 08, 2019 03:09 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Charlotte Observer App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Photo Store
Advertising
  • Information
  • Place a Classified
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story