Archive for NC Governor
Pat McCrory’s Ethics and Transparency Under Fire
Posted by: | CommentsRepublican candidate for Governor, Pat McCrory, is being taken to task over his financial relationship with a mortgage lender. The news report below investigates the claims and then goes one further, scrutinizing McCrory’s unwillingness to release his tax records. It’s all very fishy. Kudos to WTVD for doing the legwork to actually investigate rather than just doing a he said-he said story.
NCDP Hijinks in Greensboro
Posted by: | CommentsSaturday’s events in Greensboro proved it takes more than business acumen and holding elective office to control a rowdy state Democratic Party meeting. It takes gravitas, stage presence, and experience — more than just the support of top party elected officials.
When outgoing North Carolina Democratic state chairman, David Parker, resigned as promised at a meeting of the State Executive Committee (SEC), the six-hour meeting dissolved into near-chaos soon after he left the room. As is often the case, there was more going on than meets the news camera’s eye.
The Day Before The Day
Posted by: | Comments
What’s the CW on who’s going to win all these races? Have you already voted? What do you think the GOP Presidential primary vote will look like? I’m guessing Romney doesn’t break 58% and that Ron Paul has his best southern state showing.
This would also be a great place to let everyone know where the election night parties and gatherings are.
With 37 different ballot styles in Buncombe County (Thanks a lot, Tim Moffitt), the Board of Elections may take a little more time than usual to release results tomorrow, but you can watch for results at this link right here.
Trust
Posted by: | CommentsJon Ostendorff at Politics Now reports on the rising controversy being caused by Republican candidate for Governor, Pat McCrory:
Pat McCrory continues to refuse to release his tax returns and lobbying client list despite questions about his employment with a lobbying firm and sitting on corporate boards, the group said.
The leading Democratic candidates for governor have released their returns.
Let’s Just Say It
Posted by: | Comments
I recommend reading this entire article, though you’ll run the risk of having some area Republicans and equivalency fetishists gnash their teeth when you share it with them.
Thomas E. Mann is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Norman J. Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. This essay is adapted from their book “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism,” which will be available Tuesday.
We have been studying Washington politics and Congress for more than 40 years, and never have we seen them this dysfunctional. In our past writings, we have criticized both parties when we believed it was warranted. Today, however, we have no choice but to acknowledge that the core of the problem lies with the Republican Party.
The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.
When one party moves this far from the mainstream, it makes it nearly impossible for the political system to deal constructively with the country’s challenges.
“Both sides do it” or “There is plenty of blame to go around” are the traditional refuges for an American news media intent on proving its lack of bias, while political scientists prefer generality and neutrality when discussing partisan polarization. Many self-styled bipartisan groups, in their search for common ground, propose solutions that move both sides to the center, a strategy that is simply untenable when one side is so far out of reach.
[...]
Lindsey’s Extra Awesome Voter Guide
Posted by: | CommentsLindsey Simerly sent this into my email inbox, and I thought I’d share it here. Lindsey has been involved in lots of Democratic campaigns (Jones, Smith, Newman, Reisinger, Shuler) and is currently working with the Campaign for Southern Equality as well as being Chair of the City of Asheville’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. She also ran for City Council in 2007, which is when I became enamored with her work ethic, intelligence, and boundless energy.
After the jump you’ll find her extra-awesome voter guide.
UPDATE/CLARIFICATION: “extra-awesome voter guide” is Lindsey’s title for this guide and post. Some folks made the assumption that Lindsey’s choices are also my endorsements. Hope this clears that up.
Voting Begins Tomorrow
Posted by: | CommentsTime to get your votin’ hat on. Voting prior to May 8th means that you can tell those callers, door knockers, and poliscolds, “I already voted.”
Business Development Open Thread
Posted by: | Comments“Victory has a thousand fathers”, said John F. Kennedy, and this week has made it plain that, in Asheville’s economic development, this couldn’t be more true.
Linamar, based in Canada but with 39 factories based in 11 countries, opened their plant yesterday in south Asheville. By the end of the year they’ll be employing 140 local workers in family-wage, career track manufacturing jobs. It took an enormous network of partners to make this happen from the NC Department of Commerce to the Asheville City Council. The Economic Development Coalition of Buncombe County wooed them, and the Buncombe County Commissioners, along with the state and city, came on board with a competitive incentive package. Volvo and Caterpillar signed contracts with Linamar for products, and suppliers made sure they got what they needed. Linamar is going to invest a minimum of $125 million in the plant over the next five years and employ 400 people. At yesterday’s Grand Opening, executives were already discussing expansion of the plant in the near future.
Today there’s going to be a big announcement, too. Come down to the Chamber of Commerce at 4pm if you’d like a front row seat. Ride your bike if you can, because the matter at hand will have permanent effects on our multimodal transportation network in addition to our employment universe. As with Linamar, it’s taken an enormous amount of team play to coax the group to Asheville. Private and public entities have focused like an effervescent laser beam. More details later, but suffice to say there will be jobs and an historic investment. Any economic incentives offered will have to be disclosed and voted upon in open meetings of public bodies.
Lots of folks have differing opinions about tax incentives, which these days most often take the form of tax abatements, but everyone’s got the same opinion about good jobs. We like ‘em.
This is your thread. Opine wildly.
NC Race for Governor: Who’s In? Who’s Out?
Posted by: | CommentsGovernor Beverly Perdue will not be seeking a second term. So, among Democrats so far, who’s in and who’s out? As best I can figure (in no particular order)…
IN
Lt. Governor Walter Dalton
State Rep.Bill Faison
OUT
Congressman Heath Shuler (NC-11)
Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx
Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines
NC Attorney General Roy Cooper
NO WORD YET
Erskine Bowles (recently of the Bowlers-Simpson Commission)
Congressman Brad Miller (NC-13)
Former NC state treasurer Richard Moore
What did I miss?
Bev Perdue Won’t Seek Re-election
Posted by: | CommentsNorth Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue (D) is set to announce today that she will not seek reelection in 2012, according to two sources familiar with her plans.
Sources say she has labored over her decision about whether to seek a second term. One source said she plans to announce she will step aside in a statement this afternoon.
Names that are likely to be bandied about as possible Democratic replacements include Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, Attorney General Roy Cooper, former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles and Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx.
Opine.
