The 52nd District N.C. House race has had more twists, turns, thrills and spills than an action flick with an unusually intricate plot.

Like any good screenplay, this overly long epic has had a couple of major "plot points." Not once but twice, somebody was thought to have the thing pretty well sewn up. But both times, a person or persons previously unknown came out of the woodwork to turn the story in an unexpected direction. Adding to the drama, the whole thing played out in a statewide spotlight.

At one point, Richard Morgan, eight-term House member and powerful speaker pro tem, might have seemed the presumptive winner. Then political unknown and hair salon proprietor Joe Boylan came out of nowhere to pull off a David-vs.-Goliath victory in the spring primary -- with a great deal of out-of-town help.

Then, just as Boylan seemed to have it made, along came two other newcomers, retired Gen. Bud Shaver and retired Southern Pines Police Chief Gerald Galloway, who filed as unaffiliated candidates and turned the thing into a wide-open horse race again.

We at The Pilot recognize that different voters can have heartfelt and honorable reasons for voting for any of the three candidates on the ballot. On balance, though, our choice is Gerald Galloway.

A Positive and Articulate Approach

In this campaign, oddly, more has sometimes hinged on who candidates aren't than on who they are and what they offer in terms of individual qualifications.

Despite all the hours he logged walking around the county and knocking on doors, Boylan still got a great many of his votes because he was the un-Morgan. Then along came Shaver, expressing outrage at the interference from Raleigh and presenting himself as the un-Boylan. Galloway offered yet another alternative.

In a few more days, this bitter and divisive campaign will be history. What matters is the final result. We urge voters to put aside concerns about who supports whom, who is allied with whom, and who is using whom to get back at whom -- and simply focus on the question of which of these three men holds out the best promise of representing Moore County as an effective legislator.

We think that man is Gerald Galloway. He has a background of significant accomplishments. He is a team player. He has run a positive and constructive campaign, steadfastly refusing to leave the high road and get down into the gutter. At each of two major candidate forums, he consistently came across as the best-informed, most articulate, and most forward-thinking of the three.

All Have Strengths, Weaknesses

We admire Boylan's courage and diligence. He won the Republican nomination the hard way, which has to count for something. He has grown as a candidate and sharpened his stands on the issues. He lacks political depth and experience, however, and is so beholden to the powerful forces who helped get him elected that we wonder about his ability to assert independence in Raleigh.

Shaver is a person of honesty and integrity and knows his way around the legislative halls from his successful leadership role in a couple of major tax battles. He is most assuredly his own man and would stand up for what he thinks is right. But, as befitting a former military commander, he seems better at barking out commands than in developing nuanced approaches to the issues. We wonder how much at home he would be in the give-and-take atmosphere of the General Assembly.

Galloway has vulnerabilities of his own. He is open to accusations of political opportunism, having entered the gunfight only after the other two participants began shooting holes in each other. As a candidate that many people view as a Democrat-in-unaffiliated's-clothing, Galloway faces what could be an uphill battle in a heavily Republican county.

On the other hand, though, the expected split in the Republican vote should help him. And if he wins, his party background should make him a more effective member of what is expected to be a Democratic-dominated N.C. House.

Predictably, opponents have tried to tar Galloway with the "liberal" brush because of his background as a Democrat, but that doesn't wash if you look at his positions. Besides, as he pointed out in one of the campaign's best quotes, "Have you ever seen a liberal police chief?"The 52nd District N.C. House race has had more twists, turns, thrills and spills than an action flick with an unusually intricate plot.

Like any good screenplay, this overly long epic has had a couple of major "plot points." Not once but twice, somebody was thought to have the thing pretty well sewn up. But both times, a person or persons previously unknown came out of the woodwork to turn the story in an unexpected direction. Adding to the drama, the whole thing played out in a statewide spotlight.

At one point, Richard Morgan, eight-term House member and powerful speaker pro tem, might have seemed the presumptive winner. Then political unknown and hair salon proprietor Joe Boylan came out of nowhere to pull off a David-vs.-Goliath victory in the spring primary -- with a great deal of out-of-town help.

Then, just as Boylan seemed to have it made, along came two other newcomers, retired Gen. Bud Shaver and retired Southern Pines Police Chief Gerald Galloway, who filed as unaffiliated candidates and turned the thing into a wide-open horse race again.

We at The Pilot recognize that different voters can have heartfelt and honorable reasons for voting for any of the three candidates on the ballot. On balance, though, our choice is Gerald Galloway.

A Positive and Articulate Approach

In this campaign, oddly, more has sometimes hinged on who candidates aren't than on who they are and what they offer in terms of individual qualifications.

Despite all the hours he logged walking around the county and knocking on doors, Boylan still got a great many of his votes because he was the un-Morgan. Then along came Shaver, expressing outrage at the interference from Raleigh and presenting himself as the un-Boylan. Galloway offered yet another alternative.

In a few more days, this bitter and divisive campaign will be history. What matters is the final result. We urge voters to put aside concerns about who supports whom, who is allied with whom, and who is using whom to get back at whom -- and simply focus on the question of which of these three men holds out the best promise of representing Moore County as an effective legislator.

We think that man is Gerald Galloway. He has a background of significant accomplishments. He is a team player. He has run a positive and constructive campaign, steadfastly refusing to leave the high road and get down into the gutter. At each of two major candidate forums, he consistently came across as the best-informed, most articulate, and most forward-thinking of the three.

All Have Strengths, Weaknesses

We admire Boylan's courage and diligence. He won the Republican nomination the hard way, which has to count for something. He has grown as a candidate and sharpened his stands on the issues. He lacks political depth and experience, however, and is so beholden to the powerful forces who helped get him elected that we wonder about his ability to assert independence in Raleigh.

Shaver is a person of honesty and integrity and knows his way around the legislative halls from his successful leadership role in a couple of major tax battles. He is most assuredly his own man and would stand up for what he thinks is right. But, as befitting a former military commander, he seems better at barking out commands than in developing nuanced approaches to the issues. We wonder how much at home he would be in the give-and-take atmosphere of the General Assembly.

Galloway has vulnerabilities of his own. He is open to accusations of political opportunism, having entered the gunfight only after the other two participants began shooting holes in each other. As a candidate that many people view as a Democrat-in-unaffiliated's-clothing, Galloway faces what could be an uphill battle in a heavily Republican county.

On the other hand, though, the expected split in the Republican vote should help him. And if he wins, his party background should make him a more effective member of what is expected to be a Democratic-dominated N.C. House.

Predictably, opponents have tried to tar Galloway with the "liberal" brush because of his background as a Democrat, but that doesn't wash if you look at his positions. Besides, as he pointed out in one of the campaign's best quotes, "Have you ever seen a liberal police chief?"