North Carolina: Sixth District

Rep. Howard Coble (R)

Howard Coble (R) Elected 1984, 12th term up
Born:	03-18-1931, Greensboro
Home:	Greensboro
Education:	Appalachian St. U., 1949-50, Guilford Col., B.A. 1958, U. of NC, J.D. 1962
Religion:	Presbyterian
Marital Status:	single
Elected  Office:	NC House of Reps., 1968–70, 1978–84.
Military Career:	Coast Guard, 1952–56, 1977–78, Coast Guard Reserves, 1960–81.
Professional Career:	Claims Rep., State Farm Ins., 1961-67; Asst. Guilford Cnty. Atty., 1967-69; Asst. U.S. Atty., NC Middle Dist., 1969–73; Secy., NC Dept. of Revenue, 1973–77; Practicing atty., 1979–83.
DC Office	2468 RHOB, 20515 202-225-3065 Fax: 202-225-8611 Website: coble.house.gov
State Offices	Asheboro:336-626-3060; Graham:336-229-0159; Granite Quarry:704-209-0426; Greensboro:336-333-5005; High Point:336-886-5106;
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For more than half a century, furniture store managers and owners from all over the country twice a year have converged on the huge Furniture Mart in High Point, the center of the U.S. furniture business, for the giant trade show put on by manufacturers; it now attracts about 70,000 visitors. High Point sits amidst rolling farmland originally settled by Quakers; it was the site of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in the Revolutionary War. The furniture business grew here early in the 20th century because of the hardwoods in the mountains not far west and the abundance of low-wage labor in the flatlands not far east. For many years the furniture business has proven more resilient than textiles and tobacco, but lately it has faced serious competition from China and many furniture jobs have been lost. The Triad area—Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem—has been forced to scramble for new engines of economic growth to keep pace with booming Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte. Some seem to be coming. FedEx is building a new hub at Piedmont Triad airport, between Winston-Salem and Greensboro, with some 1,500 workers; that has led other firms to plan distribution centers to utilize the new facility. At the same time, the region’s Hispanic population is growing. The town of Robbins in Moore County—the childhood home of former Senator John Edwards—is now 48% Hispanic, as Latinos moved in to seek jobs in chicken processing and furniture making.

The 6th Congressional District of North Carolina is centered on greater Greensboro and High Point, which collectively cast about one-third of the votes. The Furniture Mart itself is not physically located within the 6th, but the district takes in other parts of High Point, which calls itself “North Carolina’s International City,” plus Quaker-settled Randolph County with its pottery craftsmen, golf-course-sprinkled Moore County to the south, parts of furniture-manufacturing Davidson County, most of textile-making Alamance County, much of populous Guilford County (though not central Greensboro) and the eastern half of Rowan County. Many of these areas are historically Republican, and others have moved that direction in the past generation; this is one of North Carolina’s most Republican districts.

The congressman from the 6th District is Howard Coble, a Republican first elected in 1984. He grew up in Guilford County, went to Guilford College, then after wrecking his father’s car joined the Coast Guard, in which he started off collecting garbage and served for five years. He was an insurance claims representative, went to law school and became an assistant U.S. attorney, state revenue commissioner and served in the state House for eight years. Coble was elected to Congress in what was then a swing district; it was the third time the 6th had changed parties in three elections. Coble won reelection in 1986 by just 79 votes—in a contest that Democrats complained was decided by the Guilford County election board’s refusal to hold a recount. But his personal popularity and redistricting made this a safe seat.

Coble is a friendly man who asks visitors if they mind if he smokes his cheap cigars; he likes bluegrass music and eats pork brains and eggs for breakfast. He is solidly conservative, with interesting twists. He is tightfisted, and since his first term he has tried to pass legislation to abolish pensions or health coverage for congressional retirees; he hasn’t found many co-sponsors, but he has refused to back down on his pledge to boycott the program himself. Like many of his constituents, he is leery of free trade. He opposed fast track for NAFTA, but finally voted for it in 1993; but he opposed GATT and normal trade relations with China. He was one of three House Republicans from North Carolina to oppose trade promotion authority, and in 2005 was one of 27 Republicans who voted against the Central America Free Trade Agreement. With Democratic colleague Mel Watt, he launched a House caucus to inform members of job losses in the furniture industry.

“I see my role more as one of keeping bad legislation off the books,” Coble once said. But as a subcommittee chairman he was legislatively productive. In 1997 he became chairman of the Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee of Judiciary. Arguing that copyright industries produce more GDP than manufacturing and that patent protection is essential to technological progress, Coble supported greater protection for intellectual property. When the Bush administration sought budget cuts from the Patent and Trademark Office, Coble told the appropriators to “keep their grubby paws out of the PTO’s coffers.” In 2002, he shepherded the enactment of additional changes in the patent law, including the development of an electronic system for the filing and processing of patent and trademark applications. In 2004, the Judiciary Committee approved his bill to protect commercial databases from piracy.

Despite his own limitations in operating a computer, Coble says that has not been an obstacle to dealing with the digital revolution and that he has come to appreciate the Internet. In 2003, Coble became chairman of the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee. The House passed his bill to modernize the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, with new investigative powers against rogue dealers who fail to follow rules on firearms sales. But gun-control advocates worried that his proposal set too high a standard to impose sanctions. He was in line to become senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee in 2007, but GOP leaders gave the post to Lamar Smith, a more prolific party fundraiser. Coble, instead, regained the top Republican post on the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property. He planned to focus on some patent disputes plus copyright-law changes to accommodate new technologies. Though he voted to authorize force in Iraq, by 2005 he began to distance himself from the party position and raised questions about war policy.

When Coble faces a Democratic opponent, which isn’t very often, he typically exceeds 70% of the vote. Democrats view this seat as possibly competitive once Coble departs, but that may be a stretch.

Committees

• Judiciary (3d of 17 R)
  Courts, the Internet & Intellectual Property (RMM); Crime, Terrorism & Homeland Security.
• Transportation & Infrastructure (4th of 34 R)
  Aviation; Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation; Highways & Transit.

Presidential Vote

District Demographics (More Info)

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R +17
• Area size: 2,989 square miles
• Urban Population: 51.6%
• Rural Population: 48.4%
• Population 2000: 619,178
• Population 2005 (est): 667,696
• Median Income: $43,503
• Poverty Status: 8.2%
• Military Veterans: 13.8%
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 85.3% White; 8.6% Black; 1.0% Asian; 0.4% Native Am.; 0.0% Hawaiian; 0.7% Two+ races; 0.1% Other; 3.9% Hispanic Origin;
• Ancestry: 15.3% USA%; 10.1% German%; 8.9% English%;
• Occupation: Blue collar 32.3%; White collar 55.8%; Gray collar 11.9%;