What will it take to restore trust in the United States' political system?
Tom Ross, president emeritus of the University of North Carolina system and current Terry Sanford Distinguished Fellow at Duke, attempted to answer that question in a lecture Thursday evening at the Sanford School of Public Policy.
The talk, entitled “Divided We Fall: Restoring Trust in our Democracy,” was hosted by the Sanford School. Ross was introduced by President Richard Brodhead, who described him as a long-time friend and addressed him directly after sharing a story about bringing Ross to a Duke vs. Davidson College basketball game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Brodhead joked that it seemed like more people in the stadium knew Ross than him.
"Everybody assumes, if you're from North Carolina, you know something about this person—Tom Ross,” Brodhead said. “You've represented the university system with dignity, with passion, with patience if necessary. This state owes you an eternal debt of gratitude for your service.”
Ross said that he was honored to hold the title of Terry Sanford Fellow, and that the occasion meant a lot to him as an admirer of the late Sanford, a former North Carolina governor, U.S. senator and president of Duke.
“I think I've given truly hundreds of public speeches in my career, and I'll be honest when I say that I've never been more nervous or more intimidated than I am right now,” Ross said.
Alluding to the title of the talk, Ross said after the election he almost completely rewrote his intended speech.
Ultimately, Ross strongly advocated redrawing legislative districts to be nonpartisan, citing an effort that Duke hosted in August that allowed a panel of former N.C. judges to create a fair sample plan. Competitive districts would lead to more faith in elections, he noted.
“I believe it is the key to solving the most broken aspects of our political system,” Ross said. “I'm convinced that if we move to a nonpartisan redistricting system in all of our states in this country, that that may be one of, if not the most, important changes we can make if we wish to preserve our democracy and make it work well.”
Government does not get enough credit for the things it does well, he noted, which causes even greater distrust. To increase trust in government, people have to highlight the things it does well.
“The truth is that government already works quite effectively in many aspects of our lives, the problem is we take all that for granted," Ross said. "So I'm betting that when you wake up in the morning, and at some point you flush the toilet, you're not thinking about your waste water treatment plant, and how it got there and how it's functioning, or the sewer system and whether it has leaks in it.”
Ross alluded to President-elect Donald Trump’s recent claims that millions of people voted illegally in the Nov. 8 presidential election as an example of a harmful statement to the country.
“These allegations can do irreparable damage to our democracy,” Ross said. “Because when a country stops believing in its election, where are we? Look in our world where people don't believe in the vote, they don't believe in elections. Because often times what follows next is revolt.”
Before serving as president of the 17-campus University of North Carolina system—from which he was forced to resign by the Board of Governors in 2015—Ross was executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and spent 17 years as a Superior Court judge.
Ross also urged students in the audience to consider a career in government.
“Is the pay going to be as great as one of the consulting firms? ” Ross asked. “Probably not, but is the difference that you're going to make to your fellow citizens greater? Maybe.”
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