SOUTHERN CITY Quarter 4 2022 16 The Hoops: A Conversation with Rep. Mitchell Setzer BEN BROWN NCLM Communications and Multimedia Strategist “I’m available. That’s the key function of being here. You’ve got to be accessible to people, and people have got to feel like they can call you.” In the legislative office of Rep. Mitchell Setzer, front and center on his desk, is an iron ornament that depicts what it can at times be like to serve in public office—especially for those who’ve had as much longevity and variety in the government sphere as he has. It’s a series of hoops with anthropomorphic figurines jumping through them, the meaning pretty clear. “Sometimes you’ve got to jump through the hoops,” said Representative Setzer, who has served 12 going on 13 terms in the NC House, the second-longest tenure of anyone currently in the chamber. This is to say he’s familiar with the challenges of public decision- making. But he says he finds it all worthwhile for the chance to help North Carolinians, to be personally available not just to fellow elected officials, but also to everyday people from individual walks of life who have real-world needs. For a man who also runs a family business back home in Catawba, 12 House terms and counting is a long commitment to service. But it didn’t start at the state level. Representative Setzer’s public leadership began in local government, where he served as a town board member and later mayor, helping to inform his style of service, accessibility to the people he represents, and understanding of the General Assembly’s diverse effects. Southern City recently visited Representative Setzer in his office to learn more. ˘˘˘ We’ve come off the 2022 legislative session and are gearing up for the 2023 legislature. What keeps you busy in the interim? MS: My family owns a pipe company. We make storm drainage pipe. My grandfather started it, and that’s where I work in the real world. I go back to my real-world job once the Assembly adjourns. This particular interim—it’s more like it used to be when we had an interim. We haven’t had to come back for committees or for floor votes. So, this has been a pleasant return to having an interim between sessions. You’ve served in the legislature a long time… MS: 24 years. I start my 25th in January. What initially interested you in lawmaking? Or any other public seat before you became a legislator? MS: When I was growing up, my uncle was elected county commissioner in Catawba County. And that’s sort of how I became involved. The family was involved in politics at that point. Time passes, I graduate from college, I move into the town of Catawba. I was asked to serve on the planning board, and I accepted and was appointed. And then a gentleman was retiring that next November from the board and asked me to run for his seat. On the town board… MS: On the town council, yes. So, I ran and won a four-year term there. And then the mayor retired. I ran for mayor and won. I was in my second term as mayor when this seat opened up. And I remember reading in the newspaper that my predecessor, Robert Brawley, was retiring. And I remember being at my kitchen table reading that, and thinking I had a town board meeting to go to that night and didn’t think anything else of it. I really didn’t plan to be here, to be honest with you. I received a phone call from the sheriff at the time the next day, and a county commissioner. And I told both of them the same thing: I’m not using my municipal service as a stepping stone; I don’t have time to go to Raleigh. The next thing I know, I’m filing for office and getting ready to start my 25th year. It sort of seems surreal to think about it. It’s been a fast 24 years. Were there any specific issues on your mind as you entered legislative office? MS: I’m generally constituent-based. So, I don’t have a personal agenda. If issues come up that involve my constituents, then that THROUGH 25 YEARS OF LAWMAKING, REP. SETZER BRINGS A RICH HISTORY OF LOCAL LEADERSHIP TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTY1NDIzOQ==