Beverly Perdue

Last week Richard Moore quietly closed out the campaign account for his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign. He had loaned the campaign $1,250,000 in personal funds of which $288,232 had been repaid. The final report to the State Board of Elections dated 4/7/09 listed $3,055 cash on hand before expenses and $961,768 in forgiven loans. Moore is often mentioned as a potential contender for Richard Burr's Senate seat but reportedly has no plans to run.Read more

At this very moment, our pal Justice Bob Orr is announcing his representation of Superintendent June Atkinson in a lawsuit against Governor Perdue to determine who will actually control North Carolina's education system:

When: April 3, 2009 at 11:00 am

Where: 333 E. Six Forks Road • Suite 180 • Raleigh, North Carolina

Purpose: Media briefing by Justice Robert F. Orr (retired) concerning litigation that will be filed Friday, April 3, 2009, by Dr. June St. Clair Atkinson to challenge the constitutionality of certain legislative and executive branch actions taken to usurp the Superintendent of Public Instruction’s constitutional authority to administer the North Carolina public school system.Read more

The mood in North Carolina is mixed these days. While polls show high levels of citizen satisfaction with Governor Perdue, they also show continuing support by half of all North Carolinians for bigotry and state-sponsored killing.

None of this is surprising, in my view, given the top dog we elected. Instead of seeing policies that reflect a deep understanding of complex policy issues, we get tough-gal rhetoric, short on evidence of expertise.Read more

The complete prepared text of Gov Perdue’s State of the State Address follows.

Gov. Bev Perdue State of the State

March 9, 2009, Raleigh

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Speaker Hackney, President Pro-Tem Basnight, Lt. Gov. Dalton members of the General Assembly and honored guests.Read more

Bev Perdue must have been reading my post from Sunday. She wants us all to know that "The buck stops with me." That is, even with North Carolina's convoluted educational hierarchy, the governor is the one responsible for successfully educating our children.

What about our Constitutionally mandated and elected Superintendent of Public Instruction? Well, Perdue says "I don't believe an elected statewide official is a figurehead and I resent that on behalf of June Atkinson and the voters of North Carolina." That's not what she her actions indicated. Today she suggested creating a new position of Chief Executive Officer for the Department of Public Instruction. When there's a CEO, what's the Superintendent supposed to do? Perdue has asked her to lead a special commission on career development and workforce issues.

Sure sounds like something you ask a figurehead to do...Read more

There's big inauguration happening in DC later this month, but there's another going down this weekend in Raleigh. The Dome has been all a-twitter with coverage of the extravagance, the red dress, and the happy dancing to be had.

A few weeks ago, Rob Schofield captured my own opinion about the grand affair.

None of this is to imply that there isn't a place for ceremony and celebration at important moments of institutional renewal in our democracy. No one's saying we shouldn't fire some guns or have a nice parade. But if such celebrations occur they ought to belong to all of us and be conducted with some eye toward the tenor of the times. At this point, next month's celebrations look like they will amount to nothing more than business as usual in a dreadfully unusual time.

The phrase "fiddling while Rome burns" seems to perfectly fit the bill.Read more

I don't know of any gentle way to say this, but what the heck are you thinking? You've just named revolving-door lobbyist Lanier Cansler to be the state secretary of health and human services? A lobbyist who up until a few days ago was working for Computer Sciences Corporation?

In case you missed the news, his client just won a $265 million contract in what the folks a NC Policy Watch describe as a contentious bid process. Sure he says he really didn't do lobbying ... he just introduced his client to legislators. Duh?Read more

This one from Rob Schofield ... ripped off in its entirety without permission.

An open letter to the Governor-elect

Dear Governor-elect Perdue:

It's been pretty crazy around here the last three weeks. What with the economic meltdown, the dramatic change in Washington and then the state budget shortfall and all of the news surrounding your soon-to-be administration here in Raleigh, some of us progressives have forgotten our manners.

We launched right into a series of critiques of your campaign and your initial statements and actions after the election without even taking a step back and saying some basic things that need to be said. Sorry about that. This can happen when you care a lot - or as one conservative Republican lawmaker told us the other day in a rather strange email, "have such hatred in your heart." (We don't actually, and will try to take the attack as a compliment).

Anyway, we never congratulated you on your victory. You beat two formidable and accomplished politicians in a pair of tough, hard fought campaigns. In a year that everyone agreed was about "change" you figured out a way to win as a familiar figure running on a statewide ballot for the third consecutive election.Read more

Wealthy Republican donors have been lining up to contribute to an ad campaign for Pat McCrory in amounts far in excess of normal $4,000 contribution limits and it's all perfectly legal. Last week the Republican Governor's Association reported spending on an anti-Perdue ad and reported contributions to the RGA NC 2008 PAC of $616,500 from 23 wealthy donors, an average contribution of $26,804 per person.Read more

Lt. Governor Beverly Perdue spoke in Charlotte this week. She was delightful. I was certainly impressed. Read more