Broyhill joins congressional race (North Carolina)

The Winston-Salem Journal ^ | Wednesday, July 23, 2003 | Theo Helm

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

Businessman says he wants to help those in 5th District who lost jobs

The son of Jim Broyhill, a former congressman and U.S. senator, is joining the list of Republican candidates trying to replace U.S. Rep. Richard Burr in the 5th Congressional District.

Ed Broyhill, a Winston-Salem businessman and the former owner of Edgar B Furniture Industries Inc., said yesterday he will run in the Republican primary next May.

Burr has said he will run for the U.S. Senate next year.

Broyhill, 49, said he wants to help people in the district who have lost jobs - especially in the textile, furniture and tobacco industries.

'My concern in this district is the tremendous loss of jobs,' he said. 'I'd like to go to Washington to be (the unemployed's) voice.... I feel very strongly that 5th District specifically has been shortchanged by the federal government.'

Broyhill said that his family would be active in his campaign and fund-raising efforts.

Broyhill's father served as a U.S. representative for Northwest North Carolina from 1963 to 1986 and was appointed to finish the term of Republican Sen. John East in 1986. Ed Broyhill's grandfather, the late J.E. Broyhill, founded Broyhill Furniture Industries in 1926 and sold it in 1980 for more than $150 million.

Broyhill is the president and managing director of the Broyhill Group, an investment-banking company in Winston-Salem. He also started Edgar B in 1978, which emphasized catalog sales instead of showroom sales.

But the company filed for bankruptcy protection in October 1995, listing $7.5 million in debts and leaving more than 4,000 customers without their orders.

Broyhill said yesterday that the company suffered from many of the same hardships that affected the furniture industry as a whole. He has had many successes and one failure, he said.

'I've been through the schools of hard knocks,' he said. 'It will provide me that extra motivation to go to Washington, D.C., and represent (the furniture industry's) interests.'

Broyhill joins a list of candidates that includes Vernon Robinson, a member of the Winston-Salem City Council -- Joe Byrd, a former Wilkes County commissioner -- state Sen. Virginia Foxx of Banner Elk -- John Cosgrove, a Clemmons businessman -- Ed Powell, a former state representative and former N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles commissioner -- Jim Snyder, a lawyer from Lexington -- Jay Helvey, a Winston-Salem businessman -- and Nathan Tabor, a vice president at Revival Soy, which is based in Kernersville.

Federal campaign-finance reports filed last week showed that several candidates have already raised several hundred thousand dollars each, but Broyhill said he is not too late in joining the race.

'We've been laying the foundation for this campaign for about two months,' he said. 'Given my past experience ... we will have the organization and staff to be able to develop the strategic financial base throughout the state of North Carolina.'

Broyhill said he thought that it would take $2 million to win the race. He said he would spend his own money in the campaign if others also contribute.

Theo Helm can be reached at 727-7481 or at thelm@wsjournal.com

[Leroy S. Mort]

He also started Edgar B in 1978, which emphasized catalog sales instead of showroom sales. But the company filed for bankruptcy protection in October 1995, listing $7.5 million in debts and leaving more than 4,000 customers without their orders.
Broyhill said yesterday that the company suffered from many of the same hardships that affected the furniture industry as a whole. He has had many successes and one failure, he said.

I'm quite familiar with this part of Broyhill's resume. His screwing of 4,000 customers had little to do with "hardships that affected the furniture industry as a whole" and a whole lot to do with greed, mismanagement, and outright prevarication.

[Huber]

'I've been through the schools of hard knocks,' he said. 'It will provide me that extra motivation to go to Washington, D.C., and represent (the furniture industry's) interests.'. 'Given my past experience ... we will have the organization and staff to be able to develop the strategic financial base throughout the state of North Carolina.'

OK everyone! How can you not be motivated by this degree of vision and charisma? I'm inspired. Time to get behind this guy!!!

[fieldmarshaldj]

NC politics *ping*

Broyhill is a big name in NC politics, but this is the seat that needs to be won by Vernon Robinson.

[Impy]

Yup.

LOL when I saw the title I though it was Senator Broyhill himself not his son.

[Kuksool]

As of right now, 9 candidates are planning to run in the GOP primary for the NC-05. Let's hope the voters don't mistakely nominate a RINO. It would be a shame for a RINO to be representing one of the most conservative parts of NC.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I thought so, too.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Indeed, though I'd be even a slight bit more worried if they nominated a RINO deliberately. Broyhill might use his family's money to try to buy that nomination, and while they're not really liberal, per se, that wing of the NC party hasn't exactly had much luck with increasing the GOP party strength.

[TaxRelief]

Best I can tell, Vernon Robinson is the only through-and-true Republican on the list. Several of the others claim they are, but Mr. Robinson is the only one with a solid, and documented, conservative record.

[Huber]

'I've been through the schools of hard knocks,' he said. 'It will provide me that extra motivation to go to Washington, D.C., and represent (the furniture industry's) interests.'. 'Given my past experience ... we will have the organization and staff to be able to develop the strategic financial base throughout the state of North Carolina.'

OK everyone! How can you not be motivated by this degree of vision and charisma? I'm inspired. Time to get behind this guy!!!

I have been informed that my sarcasm was not evident on the post above. For the record, sarcasm WAS intended. Why can't these guys figure out that that if you don't buy into principles, you're just a RINO?

If you demonstrate principles, and can present them well, the money will come. Too many candidates address their campaigns as if they were a corporate United Way drive.

[AristotlesRepublic]

You should check out the website www.BankruptBroyhill.com, from what I can tell it is a reprint of an article written 1996 about Edgar's failure using his his grandfather's name.

[blue-chip]

Broyhill has a website with his commericals. Broyhilljobs.com

Helvey has his commercials on his web page. helveyforcongress.org

[Axeslinger]

I'm still undecided as to whom I support, however I did find Nathan Tabor's website interesting.

I know that Tabor had some flak thrown his way by ConservativeGadfly here on FR last week. I also know that Tabor responded here (yes, he's registered) in a forthright manner.

Re: Robinson. Part of me liked the 10 Commandments stunt last week, the cynic in me was a bit put off.