Carolina Politics Online

RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue is dialing down some expectations for her first year in office due to the economy and the Legislature.

In an interview three days before her swearing-in, Perdue said Wednesday she knows the state’s bad fiscal picture means her 2008 campaign platform of free community college tuition won’t happen in 2009.

“I do have tremendous concerns about college affordability and about higher ed in general,” Perdue said, but “I don’t believe that my first priority and my first accomplishment will be free community college because of the budget. It’s much harder than it was this time last year.”

WRAL

First off, good!  It’s a stupid idea not to mention a costly one.

Now to my suspicions.  Perdue is either inconceivably dense for a woman of her position or is just a liar.  It was well known the economy was tanking all across America throughout her campaign and yet she kept this as part of her platform.  So either Perdue is not the sharpest knife in the set because she could not foresee the dismal financial future that was so obvious to everyone else or she is another typical lying politician who will make empty promises in order to get people to vote for her.

Cansler is an interesting and unexpected pick as well as mysterious at the same time.  There is some concern that his appointment could be a conflict of interest considering his past dealings with the agency while in the private sector.

State law prevents lobbyists from being appointed to regulatory boards and commissions they lobby, said Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause North Carolina. While the law doesn’t address lobbyists taking charge of state agencies, Phillips said there should be a “cooling off period” of at least 12 months between lobbying for an agency and being appointed to run it.

Add to that, that he is also a registered Republican and it does raise an eyebrow.

Oh, there is one other thing about Cansler.  His middle name is Moose.  Better keep him away from Sarah Palin.

Robert Lee Guy, the man at the helm of the state’s probation system for the past 11 years, will be out of the job when Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue takes office.

It remains to be seen who will step in to fix the system plagued by high turnover and vacancies in urban offices. The disarray meant that many offenders were left unwatched — and some went on to kill.

The News & Observer

Guy is another failure of the Sleasley administration.  How this man even still has a job is boggling, particularly after the recklessness and holes in the probation system exposed by the media following the Eve Carson murder.  There has been no accountability in government under Mike Easley.  At least Perdue is starting off on the right foot in this area, to what extent remains unknown.

Alvin W. Keller Jr., a retired Marine colonel and military judge, will become the state’s new correction secretary. He will replace Guy’s boss, Theodis Beck, who said in late November he was stepping down at the start of this year. Keller, who is an assistant attorney general handling criminal appellate cases, addressed the probation system’s problems in brief remarks at Friday’s news conference.

“People who are being placed on probation will have to understand that there are adverse consequences for not following the terms of their probation,” Keller said.

Keller did not explain how he will do that or how he will address the management problems within the department. He could not be reached after the news conference.

Hopefully Keller will be able to make some real and noticable changes.  The criminal justice system in North Carolina is a farce.  I don’t know how the people put up with it.  We don’t have these issues in South Carolina because criminals actually receive punishment here.  Shocking, I know.  Keller being a retired marine officer gives me some solace that he may clean things up with an iron fist.

Perdue, a Democrat from New Bern, will begin her tenure with state government in a budget hole that some projections say could reach $1.6billion by the end of June. It’s an ominous figure. It took her predecessor, outgoing Democratic Gov. Mike Easley, three years to get out from under a budget shortfall he inherited after taking office in 2001 that initially totaled $850 million.

Charlotte Observer

And a new budget deficit that Sleasley helped create for 2008.

And the breadth of the nation’s recession means no one knows for sure just how accurate the projections are. If the economy doesn’t improve, the gap between the state’s expected revenues and its growing list of expenses could near $3 billion by the start of the next fiscal year in July.

The recession is only part of the problem.  When times were good and money was rolling into Raleigh on silver platters the legislature, like pretty much every other state now begging the Feds for a bailout, carelessly spent it all on pet projects and other waste.  Let’s tell the whole story here, shall we?

“I will not let it consume every breath that I take for the next year – although it could if one would let it because it is fundamentally unbalanced and there are tremendous challenges there,” Perdue, lieutenant governor since 2001, said of the state’s budget.

Perdue insists she won’t make the budget an excuse for failing to move forward with initiatives she pushed during her winning campaign.

“The first year that a new governor is in office, her policies will take precedence,” said Ran Coble, executive director of the nonpartisan North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research.

But Perdue may have to take an incremental approach to reach her goals of offering free community college tuition and expanding subsidized health care for children.

I know, living within a budget sucks and not to mention that budgeting is so yesterday anyway.  Who does that anymore?  Why make sacrifices today when you can cripple your children with your debt tomorrow?  That is the Baby Boomer way.  Why should Bev Perdue conduct state business any different?  By golly, she promised that she’ll make your next door neighbor pay for your child’s college tuition and she’s going to deliver.  Dog gone it, she said she will make the lady down the street pay your brat’s medical bills and it’s going to happen, $3 billion deficit be damned!  These are the important things, don’t you know?  Bev cannot be hindered!

The health plan that covers teachers and state employees across North Carolina has been bleeding so much money that it is set to run out early next year, and officials say it needs an immediate $300 million cash infusion. The program insures more than 662,000 teachers, state employees, retirees and their dependents.

Asheville Citizen-Times

There are two things that need to happen to resolve this.  One, look for ways within the system to streamline costs.  Two, if a shortfall still exists raise the premium for the state employees.  I’d also eliminate benefits for future retirees.  There is no reason for the state to be paying health benefits for people no longer working for them.  Let them go on Medicare.

This will be a good test for incoming Governor Perdue.  Will she make the users of this system pay the additional costs needed to fund it or will she make you pay for it?  If I were a betting man I know where I’d be putting my money.

Her decision in this matter should give a good idea of how badly North Carolinians can expect to be screwed over the next four years.

North Carolina lost jobs at a record pace last month, pushing unemployment to a 25-year high as the outlook for the state darkened amid a deepening recession.

Employers slashed 46,000 jobs in November, more than in any state except Florida, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Those job cuts pushed the unemployment rate to 7.9 percent from 7.1 percent in October, according to figures from the N.C. Employment Security Commission. The jobless rate is now the highest since October 1983.

Experts project double-digit unemployment in the Carolinas next year.

Charlotte Observer

Most of this is the national meltdown as a whole.  The question is how will the incoming Perdue administration handle it.  Will they cut back on government spending and lower the tax burden which would spur some growth?  How about the oil reserves off of the coast?  Opening up the waters for drilling would bring good paying jobs to North Carolina.  The state will get a taste of what Perdue is capable of right off the bat when she takes the reigns next month.  I’m not holding my breath.

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina legislative leaders will form a committee to study whether offshore drilling is feasible off the coast.

Senate leader Marc Basnight said Thursday he remains opposed to drilling to explore for oil and natural gas reserves. Basnight is a powerful Democrat from coastal Dare County.

But Basnight and House Speaker Joe Hackney have agreed to create a legislative panel to look at environmental concerns and what the state can do proactively on the matter.

Rocky Mount Telegram

Oil prices have dropped below $50 a barrel, but that in no way means they won’t go back up again.  Despite that threat Marc Basnight wants to risk plaguing his constituents as well as the rest of the state with unbearable gas prices which many economists say could return.  Furthermore, he wants to keep North Carolina dependent on foreign oil, an exchange which puts money in the hands of groups like Al-Qaida, all in the name of faux environmental fears.

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue has been opposed to drilling. But her campaign said she would be open to the idea if a team of scientists said it was safe.

And of course she’ll find a team of “scientists” who she already knows will be opposed to the idea, providing she even follows through with this at all.  Perdue lied throughout her campaign so why do we have any reason to believe she won’t once in the governor’s seat?

Add N.C. Sen. David Hoyle, a Gaston County Democrat, to the list of possible commerce secretaries under Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue.

Hoyle, long known as a business advocate, said he has not talked with Perdue about the job and isn’t campaigning for it. He was asked about his interest in the post, though, by friends of Perdue, he said.

“I didn’t say ‘yes,’” Hoyle said, “and I didn’t say ‘no.’”

The News & Observer

Much like the possible appointment of Congressman Jack Spratt to the Obama administration, the Republicans will be very happy over Hoyle leaving his Senate seat to serve under Bev Perdue.  Hoyle’s seat is heavily Republican and will almost definitely go to the GOP once Hoyle vacates.

Despite the local successes of County Commissioners, Senator-elect Hagan and President-elect Obama. The State Senate shows 1 seat GOP gain and the State House shows no change either way. The Democrats by all rights SHOULD have swept state legislative Democrats in office but didn’t.

This is important to note since the 2010 elections will determine who gets to set both state and federal legislative districts for the next 10 years. Will we continue with the status quo or will Republicans get their act together?

All Republicans need to get involved over the next two years to overcome 120 years of Democratic rule in North Carolina.

Marc Basnight laughing on the front page of the N&O was not laughing with Bev Perdue, he was laughing at North Carolina voters.

RALEIGH - Governor-elect Bev Perdue says O. Max Gardner, a governor and Democratic power broker in the first half of the 20th century, is one of her favorite political figures in Tar Heel history. Gardner was in office at the beginning of the Great Depression, and Perdue said he set an example relevant to the current economic crisis.

“He used the time as a transformational period for the state of North Carolina,” Perdue said. Instead of simply cutting the state’s budget, Gardner invested in roads and universities so the state would be positioned to prosper when the economy turned around.

And even as North Carolina faces a budget shortfall that could be as large as $1.6 billion this year, according to state economists, Perdue says the state needs to invest in education, transportation and other pillars of economic development.

The News & Record

No, it’s not as simple as just cutting the budget.  LOL!  It never is to bureaucrats.  The state faces a potential deficit of $1.6 billion but she won’t cut the budget, instead she’ll throw money away on the already over funded education system.  If Perdue does not responsibly trim back the government then either the state’s deficit will continue to grow or the already high taxes will increase or both.  But hey, this is apparently what residents of North Carolina because that’s what they voted for.

I have no doubt that McCrory would want to work with Perdue, especially when it comes to road funding, but I’m not so sure that Perdue will want to work with McCrory.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Less than a week after the closest gubernatorial election in a generation, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory said Monday he won’t let a painful defeat keep him from working with Democrat Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue.

The Herald-Sun

In her first public appearance as governor-elect, Bev Perdue on Thursday pledged to invest in Charlotte’s roads, turn around the state’s economy and bridge gaps between cities and political persuasions.

“The future we have is not about Democrats, it’s not about Republicans,” she told the crowd at the Charlotte Chamber’s annual meeting at the Time Warner Cable Arena. “We are all North Carolinians, and we’re all in this thing … together.”

Charlotte Observer

Yeah, sure you will, Bev.  Raleigh has ignored Metrolina for years.  You ran ads attacking McCrory for showing support for the City of Charlotte.  Why should anyone believe what you say?  Time will tell how well you fulfill your “promise”, but I’m not holding my breath.  The wrong person won that election.

So Election 2008 is now over and your friendly admin of CPO can slack off for a little while now.  We saw some big changes last night around the country and also right here in the Carolinas.

North Carolina has turned blue.  By a fraction of a hair it went to Obama last night.  He earned it.  His campaign had the ground game to make it happen.

Kay Hagan predictably ousted Elizabeth Dole by a handy margin.  Dole got slaughtered with outside 527 ads and I think the “Godless” ad she ran against Hagan sealed her fate.

One Congressional seat changed hands and that was the 8th Congressional District held by Republican Robin Hayes.  This was expected to happen, but I was hoping Hayes would pull it out only because I think Larry Kissell is the wrong man for that seat.  His energy policies are an infantile fantasy that will hurt his constituents which are mostly low income.  Virginia Foxx, Heath Shuler, and Patrick McHenry easily won reelection.

In statewide races, Bev Perdue (D) narrowly defeated Pat McCrory (R) for the gubernatorial race.  This made me very angry.  It could not have been more obvious who the candidate of change was in this race.  Bev Perdue will continue the same status quo culture of corruption that has plagued Raleigh for years.  I think straight party voting caused this victory.  Likewise, State Senator Walter Dalton (D) defeated State Senator Robert Pittenger (R) in the Lieutenant Governor’s race by a slightly larger margin.

Democrat Beth Wood defeated Republican incumbent Les Merritt in the Auditor’s race which is another blow to the state.  Merritt was the only firewall defending the people from the corruption in the state legislature and now that is gone.  Roy Cooper (D), Steve Troxler (R), Cherie Berry (R), Elaine Marshall (D), and June Atkinson (D) all got reelected to their posts.  State Senator Janet Cowell (D) is now the new State Treasurer and Democrat Wayne Goodwin won the Insurance Commissioner’s race.

The Republican Party in North Carolina is extremely incompetent.

In the State Legislature Debbie Ann Clary won the race in Senate District 46 flipping that from Democrat to Republican.  In State House District 86 Republican Hugh Blackwell defeated Democratic incumbent Walter Church and in State House District 90 Republican Sarah Stevens ousted incumbent Democrat Jim Harrell.

South Carolina gave our electoral votes to John McCain last night and we were the only Atlantic coast state to do so.  Lindsey Graham easily won reelection to the U.S. Senate.  All six Congressmen won reelections to their seats as well.

In the state legislature there weren’t many changes.  Republican Kris Crawford did win reelection in House District 63.  I said last night that he lost.  Anton Gunn picked up House District 79 for the Democrats.  The District 115 race between Republican incumbent Wallace Scarborough and Democrat Anne Peterson Hutto is too close to call at this time, althought Scarborough has claimed victory.

The ballot amendment to change the Constitution to allow the state legislature to set the age of consent passed.

It’s not just the next President we’re electing on Tuesday; we’ve got all kinds of races going on in both states from the U.S. Senate down to your local school board.  I have put together a list of state and Federal races that should be carefully followed Tuesday night as I imagine they will be close.

• President - Obviously everyone knows we’ll be choosing our next President.  I think John McCain is going to carry both North and South Carolina, North by a hair and South easily, however I think Barack Obama will end up becoming the next President.
• NC US Senate Race - This has been a brutal race between Elizabeth Dole and Kay Hagan.  I think Hagan is going to emerge the victor in this in no small part by the Dole campaign’s “Godless” ad.  I think that hurt Dole more than Hagan.
• NC Gubernatorial Race - Another nail biter, but I think and pray that Pat McCrory ends up the next governor and I am going to make a very bold prediction here.  I think his Lt Governor will end up being Democrat Walter Dalton, not Pittenger.  McCrory has been leading by three or four points in the last few polls that have come out.  If people really are change oriented as they claim then McCrory should prevail.  He is the candidate of sorely needed change in Raleigh.
• NC 5th Congressional District - Virginia Foxx has received a tougher than anticipated challenge from Roy Carter, but I think Foxx will be reelected.
• NC 8th Congressional District - If Robin Hayes pulls out a reelection victory Tuesday night I will be stunned.  I just don’t see it and I think that Larry Kissell will be the 8th District’s new Congressman.  I think this will be the only Congressional District to flip in both states.
• NC Auditor General - I think Les Merritt will be okay, but it will be a close victory.  As I have stated in recent days, voters would be doing a disservice to themselves by replacing him.  He is the only watchdog the people have had against the majority party in Raleigh.
• NC Labor Commissioner - I think Cherie Berry is going to lose.  I think people will make a mental connection between Labor Commissioner and a soured economy.  They have absolutely nothing to do with each other, but when you think of a bad economy you think of job losses, hence labor, and people tend to relate to Democrats better than Republicans on labor issues.
• NC Senate District 9 - I think Julia Boseman will come out on top in this one, but I still expect a close race considering the money that has been spent on it on both sides.
• NC Senate District 25 - Tony Foriest just won this seat in 2006 and faces a challenge from Rick Gunn to take the seat back for the GOP.  I think Foriest will get reelected.
• NC Senate DIstrict 46 - This is Walter Dalton’s Senate seat that he is vacating to run for Lieutenant Governor.  This should be a Republican pickup.  It’s fairly conservative and has leaned Republican for some time now, but Dalton has hung on due to incumbency and having a more conservative voting record.
• SC Senate District 10 - This is John Drummond’s seat and he decided to retire after many years in public service.  The seat is being strongly contested on both sides with Dee Compton as the Republican candidate and Greenwood Mayor Floyd Nicholson on the Democratic ticket.  This has the potential to go either way, but I think the Democrats will hold this seat.
• SC Senate District 25 - I think this will be the closest race of all of them.  Republican Shane Massey won this seat last year in a special election after the former Democratic Senator Tommy Moore resigned from the Senate for a more lucrative career opportunity.  This seat actually leans slightly Democratic, but Massey has never really stopped campaigning since he won it.  He faces Democrat Greg Anderson.  This is too close for me to make a call on how this will turn out.
• SC House District 115 - Wallace Scarborough almost lost his seat in 2006 when his challenger came within a little over 300 votes of him.  He faces another strong challenge this year from Anne Peterson Hutto, but I think Scarborough is going to hang on by a larger margin than ‘06.

This is how road funding is handled in North Carolina

The next governor will help figure out how to pay for the state’s growing burden of clogged roads and how to change the way decisions are made on road spending.

The 19-member state Board of Transportation, whose members represent districts, oversees spending all the way down to approving stoplights. Money is parceled out through a formula that doesn’t consider factors such as traffic congestion.

“The board has evolved into a shadow legislature,” said David Hartgen, a transportation analyst at UNC-Charlotte who also writes for the conservative John Locke Foundation. “They see their job as bringing home projects to those counties. That’s wrong.”

One board member recently resigned after The News & Observer reported he steered road work near commercial property he owned. The member, Louis W. Sewell Jr. of Jacksonville, raised money for both Perdue and Gov. Mike Easley. Another board member and Perdue fundraiser resigned in January after trying to raise money from country singer Randy Parton and others building a theater in Roanoke Rapids.

The News & Observer

This is how Pat McCrory will handle road funding as governor:

McCrory, a Republican, said he would not appoint someone to the board who raised money for him, though contributors could serve. He wants a smaller board appointed based on expertise.

“It should be a statewide plan that they’re approving, with interconnectivity,” McCrory said, “not ward politics with everyone trying to get their share of the pie.”

Bev Perdue would like to keep things just the way they are:

Perdue would not commit to banning fundraisers from the board. She said any ban would extend to all boards, but she first wants to create an endowment funded by nonprofits that would fund candidates in the governor’s race. That would eliminate the need for fundraisers, she said.

Any questions?

Leaders of the Mecklenburg County Republican Party have challenged Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue to broadcast her latest campaign ad in Charlotte.

The commercial is running in Eastern North Carolina and Greensboro. It accuses Perdue’s Republican opponent, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, of putting Charlotte’s transportation interests ahead of the rest of the state’s and suggests he will neglect rural road needs.

The News & Observer

Another lying ad from Bev Perdue.  She is running this everywhere in the state except for Charlotte.  What McCrory has pledged to do is see to it that road funding is used based on need and not political patronage as is the way today, a way Ms Perdue says she sees no reason to change.  With McCrory in charge, places like Charlotte will get the approrpriate road funding we’ve been denied.  It doesn’t mean that rural areas will be ignored, but it does mean there will be no more bridges built in New Bern, courtesy of Bev Perdue, that nobody drives on.

Mayor Pat McCrory is still ahead of Lt. Governor Bev Perdue by four points, 51 percent to 47 percent, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey.  Please click the link below to read more:
Rasmussen Reports

In addition, The Wilson Daily Times, is the seventh major daily newspaper to endorse Pat McCrory. The Asheville Citizen-Times, The Winston-Salem Journal, The Charlotte Observer, The Greensboro News & Record, The Durham Herald-Sun and The High Point Enterprise have already endorsed Pat.

WILSON Times

According to a poll released by the Civitas Institute Pat McCrory is leading Bev Perdue by three points statewide. Hagan leads Dole by three as well.

In the 8th Senate District Julia Boseman (D) is leading her challenger Michael Lee (R) 49% to 37%.  In the 9th Senate District R.C. Soles (D) leads challenger Bettie Fennel (R) 42% to 33%.

Congressman Mike McIntyre (D) is handily leading Republican challenger Will Breazeale 64% to 22%.

It’s getting to be close to Election Day so the annoying political ads on TV are popping up about every five minutes now.  And here I present you with a tribute to all those exciting ads that we just lick our chops for every election season.

Robin Hayes is desperate!!