Politics

Apodaca ranked 2nd in effectiveness

By Bill Moss, Published: April 7, 2014

State Sen. Tom Apodaca ranked second in an annual evaluation of legislators' effectiveness conducted by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research.

Apodaca, the six-term incumbent from Hendersonville and a close ally of Senate leader Phil Berger, chairs the Senate Rules Committee. From that perch, Apodaca controls the flow of legislation to the Senate floor.
Along with other veteran Republicans, Apodaca has seen his effectiveness rating rise since the GOP took control of both houses of the Legislature in 2010. It now controls both the House and Senate with supermajorities.
Tom ApodacaApodaca had risen in influence even before the Republican takeover, working his way up from 32nd in his freshman year to 17th in 2009, the year before a Republican tidal wave swept Democrats out of power.
Second-term state Rep. Chuck McGrady ranked 27th in the House, a substantial gain from his freshman year ranking of 53rd. Among area House members, Rep. Tim Moffitt, an Asheville Republican who chairs the Regulatory Reform Committee, ranked the highest at no. 12.
The N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization created in 1977 to evaluate state government programs and study important public policy issues facing North Carolina.