Tom Apodaca
| Senator Tom Apodaca | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the North Carolina Senate from the 48th district | |
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In office 2003 – present | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Thomas Michael Apodaca November 8, 1957 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Western Carolina University |
| Occupation | entrepreneur |
| Religion | Methodist |
Thomas Michael "Tom" Apodaca is a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's forty-eighth Senate district, including constituents in Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvania counties.[1] He was reelected in 2010.[2]
Tom Apodaca is a businessman and state legislator. He currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee. His wife, Lisa, is a former public school teacher. They’ve been married for over 30 years and have two sons, Brandon and Tate. All four Apodacas are graduates of Western Carolina University, where Tom served as a member of the board of trustees. Tom has started businesses employing dozens of people over the past three decades. His current interests include bond insurance, real estate investment, and a travel agency. The Apodacas are active in a number of local charities with the Hendersonville Boys and Girls Club being a particular favorite of the family. Tom was elected to the North Carolina Senate in 2002 during his first campaign for public office. He was re-elected by his Western North Carolina constituents in 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. In addition to chairing the Senate Rules Committee, Tom co-chairs the Committee on Insurance, the Committee on Pensions & Retirement and Aging and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education & Higher Education.
In response to public outcry after a coal ash spill into the Dan River in northern North Carolina from a facility owned by Duke Energy Inc., Apodaca said he planned to draft legislation in May 2014 that will require Duke Energy to clean up its coal ash ponds, including the one in Buncombe County.
He told the Hendersonville Times-News on February 12, after a coal-ash spill into the Dan River: "I don't want a containment plan, I want a plan to get rid of it. ... We need a five- to 10-year plan to get rid of them because we don't need it sitting there next to the river."[3] Over the court of his time in politics, Apodaca has accepted over $65,000 from organizations representing Duke Energy and Progress Energy. 61[4]
In the 2013 legislative session, Apodaca introduced and voted for a bill, Senate Bill 10, that would reorganize the Environmental Management Commission and the N.C. Utilities Commission and replace the members with new appointees. This Bill included the elimination of dozens of obsolete and rarely convened boards and commissions. 50[5] Senate Bill 10 was not signed into law in 2013. Sen. Tom Apodaca said his main complaint to the House version was that it strikes language that would fire 12 special superior court judges. 60[6]
In May 2013, after receiving the maximum $8000 contribution from North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association, Apodaca sponsored legislation that would make it illegal for any car maker to bypass dealerships and sell directly to consumers in North Carolina. Apodaca's proposal was widely criticized as anti-competitive and aimed at insulating automobile dealers from Tesla Motors' business model.[7]
In March 2016, Apodaca orchestrated a special session of the North Carolina General Assembly that ultimately passed controversial legislation denying the authority of local governments to enact civil rights protection, and denied transgendered North Carolinians the right to use restrooms of the gender with which they identified.[8] After this session of congress, Apodaca called on the city of Charlotte to pay the $42,000 cost of the emergency legislative session which led to the bill's passage.[9] After the controversial bill passed, companies such as PayPal withdrew their plans to expand in North Carolina, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs for North Carolinians.[10] Achieving international attention, the United Kingdom issued travel advisories to citizens traveling to North Carolina in the wake of the passage of "HB2." [11]
References
- ↑ "Biography". Tom Apodaca. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
- ↑ "Election results". clarity elections.com. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
- ↑ "Apodaca calls for removing coal ash ponds from Duke plant". Hendersonville Times-News. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ↑ "Wood questions Apodaca's campaign contributions from Duke". blueridgenow.com. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "Senate Bill 10, Edition Five". North Carolina General Assembly official site. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ↑ http://www.mountainx.com/article/48747/Carolina-Public-Press-Ramsey-McGrady-oppose-SB-10-co-written-by-Apodaca
- ↑ Murawski, John (May 9, 2013). "Law would stop Tesla electric car sales in NC". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/opinion/transgender-law-makes-north-carolina-pioneer-in-bigotry.html?_r=1
- ↑ http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20160324/NEWS/160329873/1151?Title=Apodaca-calls-for-Charlotte-to-cover-cost-of-special-session
- ↑ https://www.paypal.com/stories/us/paypal-withdraws-plan-for-charlotte-expansion
- ↑ http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/21/travel/uk-lgbt-travel-advice-north-carolina-mississippi/
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