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GREENSBORO — Voters in the Democratic primary for Senate District 28 will choose between two well-known politicians who, as they describe themselves, offer a choice between steady leadership and a new vision.

The incumbent is Katie Dorsett, a former City Council member, county commissioner and state secretary of Administration. She is being challenged by Bruce Davis, a county commissioner since 2002.

District 28 sweeps from High Point into southern Guilford County and then west into most of High Point. Davis lives on the High Point side of the district; Dorsett is from Greensboro. There is no Republican filed to run in the district, so baring an unusually effective write-in or third-party challenge, the winner of this primary May 6 will hold the seat come January.

It is rare for established members of the same political party to challenge one another in a legislative primary.

"It's nothing against you at all," Davis told Dorsett after an interview with the News & Record's editorial board. "I'm an ambitious man."

During the interview, when asked why he was running against Dorsett, Davis said it had nothing to do with any misstep by Dorsett.

"I feel like I'm more of the visionary type, it's not about the incumbent," Davis said. But he went on to say, "I think it's time for a change and it's time to have a fresh new voice in that seat."

Pressed to explain his answer, Davis said that he would press other leaders to make changes.

"I don't know (Ms.) Dorsett, whether she has challenged the state to...put forth any legislation that has — takes care of the needs of District 28," Davis said. "We have to be about the business of putting forth legislation that addresses some of the critical issues in our legislation. Education, I don't know if she has put forth any legislation that addresses that need or any other needs."

Dorsett chafed at that criticism.

"I have introduced 47 bills as the primary sponsor....I was the first person to introduce the bill...for the High Point Furniture Market, for the Charlotte Hawkins Brown (Memorial in Sedalia)....I have been the primary and only sponsor of the cervical cancer bill that provides education for young girls throughout the state," Dorsett said.

A check of Dorsett's legislative history confirmed she was a sponsor or co-sponsor of 171 bills. The bulk of the bills on which she was a lead sponsor involved allocating money to projects or for certain functions, such as paying nonteaching school employees a minimum salary.
Davis dismissed Dorsett's record, saying ,"I don't see any visionary things there." When asked to provide an example of how he had acted in a visionary way during his six years as a county official, he pointed to his time as chairman of the board of commissioners.

"I was able to secure $6 million for a new department of Social Services in High Point," he said. "One of my suggestions which seems to be the one we're going to go with is to put that building on the campus where the health department is already at."

Dorsett makes her case for re-election based on her seniority in the Senate, serving as co-chairman and vice chairman of several committees. She is also the Democratic whip, a legislative position that puts her among the more senior members of her party and in a position to help set the chamber's priorities.

Dorsett also pointed out that Sen. Kay Hagan is leaving the legislature to run for the U.S. Senate.

"We're the only two (senators) who truly represent Guilford County, and we looked at it, and if I left and Kay left, we would not have any experience in the Senate. No seniority," she said. When pressed as to whether a freshman legislator would be ignored by senior leaders of the party, Dorsett said it was a question of being able to operate in the sometimes-arcane legislative world.

"I think we recognize that seniority has its place," she said. "I do not believe a new legislature can come in, and hit the ground, and be that effective."

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com