An interesting, and even odd, aspect of the Republican primary for governor is that the Randy Parton Theatre fiasco hasn’t reared its head.

A couple of months ago, the top Democrats running for governor — Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and State Treasurer Richard Moore — began sparring over the Roanoke Rapids theater.

The theater, paid for with local tax money, had become a tempting target after its namesake was booted from the project after allegedly showing up drunk for performances. Low attendance, lavish payouts and questionable financing caused more snickering. From outside appearances, the theater looks like an idiotic government boondoggle.

Perdue tried to tie Moore to the theater and its problems because the Local Government Commission, which he heads, gave its blessing to the deal. But the Perdue camp hushed after revelations that a Board of Transportation member and fund-raiser on her behalf had been hitting up those associated with the theater for campaign donations.

So, what’s all this got to do with the Republicans?

Well, in one way or another, two of the leading contenders for the GOP nomination for governor were indirect enablers of the theater.

Back in 2004, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory was cheerleader-in-chief for the legislation and constitutional amendment that allowed the theater to be built. A Republican rival for the nomination, state Sen. Fred Smith of Johnston County, voted for the legislation four separate times.

The legislation and constitutional amendment permitted something called tax-increment financing, in which local governments can create special tax zones so that property taxes from new private businesses can go to pay off a public investment. Local governments can do all this without the typical voter referendum needed to borrow money.

In the case of Roanoke Rapids, the public investment is the theater. The private investment? Well, there’s not much there, and that’s the problem. Without private businesses, the tax base won’t increase, and the money won’t be there to pay off the project. So, it will come from local taxpayers.

Of course, McCrory and Smith can claim that this kind of ill-conceived project wasn’t what they had in mind when they pushed for or voted for tax-increment financing.

So, too, can the Democratic majorities in the legislature. Only two Democratic House members, then-Rep. Martin Nesbitt of Buncombe County and then-Rep. Alex Warner of Cumberland County, voted against the measure. Just one Democrat in the Senate, former Durham Mayor Wib Gulley, voted against it, and he did so just one of four times.

Still, two dozen Republicans in the House and Senate opposed the proposal.

Perhaps, though, the Randy Parton Theatre and the broader issue of tax-increment financing hasn’t come up as an issue in the Republican primary because there was another enabler involved.

This type of financing was allowed only because of a constitutional amendment. And that constitutional amendment came about only because of us, the voters of North Carolina.

We approved it in the 2004 election.