A Pinehurst-based organization has received its second pledge from a congressional candidate to serve a limited number of terms if elected.

The Alliance for Bonded Term Limits, founded last year, encourages candidates to execute a bonded term limit agreement that says the candidate will donate a significant sum of his or her personal net worth to a charitable organization if he or she reneges.

Republican Scott Keadle wants to represent North Carolina's 10th Congressional District, which encompasses portions of the central and western parts of the state. He will challenge fellow Republican and three-term incumbent Patrick McHenry in the May primary for the party's nomination.

Keadle was in Pinehurst Tuesday for a signing ceremony at the alliance's office in the Theater Building.

"I think what Alliance for Bonded Term Limits is doing is very, very important," he said. "I think it's a very unique and forward-looking idea."

Keadle, an Air Force veteran and dentist, has pledged $500,000 of his personal assets to Moore County Sentinels of Freedom if he breaks his promise to serve a maximum of six years - three terms - in the House of Representatives. He currently serves on the Iredell County Board of Commissioners.

"This is one way I think that we're going to be able to make sure that people, when they say something, they mean it," he said. "So, I'm very glad to be the second person to sign one of these pledges and post a good deal of my personal net worth up so that you guys can know that I'm telling you the truth."

Keadle said he is running because he doesn't agree with what's going on in Washington and was critical of McHenry's voting record.

"I think it's important that we try to elect a Congress that's made up of people who see America first as their first motivation," he said. "You have to see America first before you see your party and certainly before you see yourself."

Keadle stressed the importance of getting fresh ideas in Washington, adding that he would vote against "the best member of Congress [he] ever met in [his] life" if it had been up there for more than six years.

He went so far as to say that if he is elected and a better candidate comes along in two years, he would encourage voters to replace him.

Because he doesn't plan on breaking his pledge, Keadle said if he is elected, he will donate $10,000 after six years to Moore County Sentinels of Freedom, which is a chapter of a national organization that is dedicated to assisting servicemen and women who have sustained brain trauma in combat. Retired Army Maj. Gen. Sidney Shachnow represented the group at the ceremony.

Keadle joins another Republican challenger, Will Breazeale, in making such a pledge. Breazeale, an airline pilot and decorated Army veteran, looks to unseat longtime Democrat-ic incumbent Mike McIntyre in North Carolina's 7th Congressional Dis-trict.

Founded in May, the alliance has started to gain momentum and national recognition. It contends that many politicians - both Democrats and Republicans - become enamored with the power and glitz of Washington and focus their attention on staying in office rather than working for the good of their constituents.

It recently received an endorsement from former Congressman J.C. Watts.

Though its first two commitments are Republicans, the alliance is a nonpartisan group that welcomes candidates of all political persuasions. It recommends three two-year terms for congressmen and one six-year term for senators as the term limits.

At a time when most Americans are fed up with Congress, founder John Skvarla believes the bonded term limit pledge is valuable ammunition for challengers to use against entrenched incumbents. If the alliance can get enough press, he thinks it could really catch fire.

"I think what can happen," he said in a brief interview after the ceremony, "depending on the nature of the exposure we can get - especially at the national level - I believe it has a chance to pick up some serious momentum, and virtually every challenger in the country is going to have to do this in order to have an opportunity to win."

Contact John Krahnert III at (910) 693-2473 or by e-mail at jkrahnert@thepilot.com.