Pat Ryan

In campaigns, it's often asked whether you are better off now than you were before someone took office... And by every metric imaginable, North Carolina is a better place today than it was before Phil Berger was elected president pro tem in 2011.

If you missed it earlier this week, take a look at @TheAssemblyNC's deep dive on the turnaround at Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy, led by Superintendent Jason Wray. "Jamiya Ford, a senior who has attended the school for six years, said she enrolled because her brother and sister went there. She said she was skeptical at first about the school’s strict environment. "But Ford, who is taking college courses while finishing high school, said she has discovered a love for nursing. She plans to attend N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University in the fall. "'My goal was to get to the top, and now I’m here,' she said. 'This whole school year is going by so fast. I’m a little afraid to get out in the real world, but I feel like I’m going to be OK again with Paul Brown helping me.' "Taylor, the Wake schools superintendent, asked Wray to speak during a workshop last fall for leaders of the state’s largest district. Wray talked about strategies to boost test scores, particularly at low-performing schools. "Wray said he wants to continue to grow and improve the Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy. He eventually plans to retire, but he said he wants to ensure the school is stable. "'You can never be satisfied with where you are, always trying to make continuous improvement,' Wray said in a recent interview. 'Everyone should be trying to get better every day, and that’s the mindset I want to have with school.'" #ncpol #NCed theassemblync.com/news/education…

Doesn't look very strait

One of the fastest growing counties in the state and we’re playing “mother may I” to catch-up on needed hospital beds. No reason that we can’t trust our hospital board and CEO to make these investment decisions and stay ahead of the curve. #ncpol

If you're not reading Carolina Partnership for Reform's newsletter you should, but it was stunning to see these stats in the past week's edition. The Republican-led North Carolina General Assembly over the past 15 years unquestionably improved life in our State. #NCPOL #NCGA

It seems future NC energy policy debates will revolve around creating enough power to fuel homes as well as business/AI facilities, not just "clean" vs "dirty" energy. NC Rep. @gachesser sits on a key energy policy committee and says it's fascinating when energy stakeholders meet. #ncpol #StateLines @MyPBSNC

@BergerWarRoom I'm sure Page is a nice guy. I have no idea why he is running for State Senate or why he is running against Phil Berger. He did not make that clear in the debate. This isn't what a lot of my friends want to hear, but it is what it is.

I watched the Rockingham County debate between @SenatorBerger and @SheriffPage This was a massacre. Berger's delivery was good and his message was focused. Page rambled, had no message, and was even more unfocused than he was when I spoke with him a year or so ago. It's pretty obvious that Phil Berger is the clear conservative choice in this race. Having polled this race, Page illustrated his biggest negative -- that he was not qualified to be a State Senator and just isn't in Berger's league. I have no horse in this contest, but I'm going to send Berger a donation.

Giving the people what they want. Here are the first three TV ads from the Berger campaign (all positive 😱). #ncpol Trump endorsement ad 👇 youtube.com/watch?v=4lyn_G…

A new poll is claiming that Senate leader Phil Berger has about a four percentage point lead in his District 26 GOP primary battle against Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. nctribune.com/berger-up-4-in… @Shaftan #ncpol

First Independent Poll Shows Berger Leading Page In State Senate Primary The poll found that Senator Berger led Sheriff Sam Page by 39%-35%. Key takeaways from the poll: “Berger leads 46-18 in Guilford and Page leads 52-32 in Rockingham.  Rockingham seems to be poised for a slightly higher turnout that the voter file (56% Guilford) would indicate.  We had it 50-50 between the counties.” “Berger wins Republicans (69% of the electorate) 41-35.  Page wins Undeclareds (31%) by 36-34.” “Berger wins very conservative voters (51%) by 40-34 and somewhat conservative voters (32%) by 39-31.  Page leads 46-35 with moderate and liberal primary voters (16%).” “President Trump's endorsement is a 39-7 net plus, with 54% saying it makes no difference.  Berger leads 54-21 with those more likely to back a Trump-endorsed candidate, while Page leads 55-18 among those less likely and 42-31 with those for whom it makes no difference.” Read more below:

#ncga #ncpol

I had a great time this weekend ringing in the holiday season with events across District 26! #ncpol

Thanks, @hughhewitt, for having me on to talk about the work the Republican-led #NCGA has done to make North Carolina the best state in the nation in which to live, work, and raise a family. #ncpol youtu.be/FWGkolDJBB8?si…

Adopting new technology for our team has increased operational efficiency, which means we’re producing greater returns for North Carolina. Excited for what’s to come as we continue down this path. #ncpol #ncga

This is a great piece with some mind-boggling statistics. - At Brown and Harvard, more than 20% of undergraduates are registered as disabled - At Amherst: more than 30 percent - At Stanford: nearly 40 percent Soon, many of these schools "may have more students receiving [disability] accommodations than not, a scenario that would have seemed absurd just a decade ago." As students and their parents have recognized the benefits of claiming disability—extended time on tests, housing accommodations, etc—the rates of disability at colleges, and especially at elite colleges, has exploded. America used to stigmatize disability too severely. Now elite institutions reward it too liberally. It simply does not make any sense to have a policy that declares half of the students at Stanford cognitively disabled and in need of accommodations.

🧵 The idea that retention explains away the Mississippi Miracle has already been repeatedly debunked, yet this new set of academics is so sure the MM is fake that they compare it to holding back short students in order to graduate only tall students.

Great panel! Thanks for having me on! #ncpol

Increase literacy rates with this one weird trick (phonics)