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2008 NC Governor's primary race

ChiefJoJo

By ChiefJoJo
in North Carolina

2008 NC Governor's race (including primaries)  

56 members have voted

  1. 1. Who is your choice for Governor in 2008?

    • Bill Graham (R), Salisbury attorney
      0
    • Pat McCrory (R), 7-term Charlotte Mayor
      28
    • Richard Moore (D), 2-term NC State Treasurer
      9
    • Bob Orr (R), former NC State Supreme Court Justice
      1
    • Bev Perdue (D), 2-term NC State Lieutenant Governor
      14
    • Fred Smith (R), 3-term NC State Senator (Johnston Co)
      4

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ChiefJoJo Town

ChiefJoJo

Posted
Posted

Now that the race for Governor is more clear and TV and web ads are appearing, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss this election. I think it's fair to say, like the 2008 Presidential election, this is an important one for NC. Mike Easley has been Governor since 2001, and the state has grown rapidly since then, adding as much as a million people from 2000 to 2007. What are the big issues, especially for NC's urban communities (since this is UP)? Who do you think will address these issues most effectively and provide leadership for NC moving forward?

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Spatula Whistle-Stop

Spatula

Posted
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I'm not very content with either of the democratic candidates. It appears to be more of the 'tough on crime' social conservative, economically moderate tripe we got under Hunt. Unless one of the Republicans stands out, which I highly doubt, I'm considering passing on this one.

The DLC thinks this state is still in the 1950s apparently. :(

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Spartan Gigalopolis

Spartan

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Just don't vote for Fred Smith. He's a developer of crappy tract homes in Raleigh. I don't trust him to support anything that actually helps our urban centers.

McCrory is my favorite so far. He's one of the few politicians that 'get it' when it comes to urban issues and where this state needs to go. This article from the Charlotte Observer highlights some of that. Reforming transportation should be a key issue in the coming election, but certainly not the only one. Since I don't know where all the candidates stand on every issue, I could still change my mind. But I have a hard time believing that other candidates will have as good of a grasp on city planning issues as the mayor of our most urban city.

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Charlotte_native City

Charlotte_native

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McCrory has done a lot of good for Charlotte AND made a lot of bonehead moves. He considers himself progressive, yet refuses to consider a moderate position on gays. I don't believe we need another bigot in any office, regardless of party or other stances. He has also come across as a giddy cheerleader for George W. Bush.

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elvigy Whistle-Stop

elvigy

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I'm with Charlotte Native. Social issues are important to me and I just couldn't bring myself to vote for someone who panders so much to the bigoted voters in Charlotte (and NC). I do think Pat has managed to accomplish a few good things in Charlotte but to be honest, I think most of his accomplishments probably would have happened anyway since the local businesses with clout (BoA, Wachovia, Duke) pretty much wanted the same things. It seems he just went along for the ride with most of what the business community wanted. And in some cases that was a good thing (light rail) and in some bad bad bad (sprawl).

I'll probably end up voting for Perdue, but there is no candidate listed above that I can get excited about.

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ChiefJoJo Town

ChiefJoJo

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Just don't vote for Fred Smith. He's a developer of crappy tract homes in Raleigh. I don't trust him to support anything that actually helps our urban centers.

McCrory is my favorite so far. He's one of the few politicians that 'get it' when it comes to urban issues and where this state needs to go. This article from the Charlotte Observer highlights some of that. Reforming transportation should be a key issue in the coming election, but certainly not the only one. Since I don't know where all the candidates stand on every issue, I could still change my mind. But I have a hard time believing that other candidates will have as good of a grasp on city planning issues as the mayor of our most urban city.

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Miesian Corners City

Miesian Corners

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I'll give McCrory credit for keeping public transit on the front burner, but beyond that, what exactly has he done? In Charlotte's manager-council form of government, all the mayor does is act as a figure head. He only votes as a tiebreaker and he leads council meetings. From the Char-Meck website, Charlotte has a Council-Manager form of government with a Mayor and 11 Council Members elected every two years in November, and a professional City Manager to run the day-to-day operations...The Mayor presides at all City Council meetings and officially represents the City at special ceremonies and events. The Mayor is generally responsible for the execution of local laws. It is the Mayor's role to represent the City in an official capacity at the state capital in Raleigh, in Washington and internationally.

Can he effectively govern an entire state? Not sure. This election for me presents a quandary. While I like McCrory's position on transit and his understanding of (some) urban issues, his record on social issues is less than stellar. He said no to a living wage resolution for city workers (and his dismissive attitude regarding the fight for such) as well as his ongoing opposition to non-discrimination language for gay and lesbian city employees. And he's a Republican :scared:

As for the Democrats in the running, is there really a choice? I don't want to bash Eastern NC, but can we not get a Democratic candidate from the Piedmont? We desperately need a governor that knows what issues are affecting the urban areas of the state. I can't say that either Bev or Richard know the first thing about what cities need. Oxford and New Bern aren't exactly megalopolises. Do they know anything about city planning? Do they care?

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Spartan Gigalopolis

Spartan

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Yet under McCroy's leadership, Charlotte has approved the worst suburban sprawl in the state. He has done nothing to fix the urban crime problems and had demonstrated an unique inability to work on projects of a regional basis or get buy in from the surrounding communities.
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1979Heel Whistle-Stop

1979Heel

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The biggest issue for me is reform of the DOT and the so-called equity funding formula, which of course isn't equitable AT ALL. Reading some of the lame excuses for lack of freeway lighting recently given by "our guy" in the Albemarle office made me weep. (Needless to say, no freeway in Raleigh ever suffers these indignities.) Whether for good or ill, roads are a critical economic development issue and Charlotte is getting the very short end of the stick. By the way, the fact that there is an office in Albemarle for a Charlotte need is highly illustrative of our problem.

I'm unconvinced that either Perdue or Moore can reform the DOT, although they have both at least started to discuss it.

If I were straight I'd probably vote for McCrory. Putting aside the fact that I'd love to have a Charlottean in the Governor's office, he clearly understands urban issues better than anyone else running. However, his cheerleading for Bush and his disdain for the GLBT community is a huge hurdle for me to consider voting for him.

Agree with others' comments re: Fred Smith. What a schmoe. "Just don't spend no more money."

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ncwebguy Burg

ncwebguy

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The biggest issue for me is reform of the DOT and the so-called equity funding formula, which of course isn't equitable AT ALL. Reading some of the lame excuses for lack of freeway lighting recently given by "our guy" in the Albemarle office made me weep. (Needless to say, no freeway in Raleigh ever suffers these indignities.) Whether for good or ill, roads are a critical economic development issue and Charlotte is getting the very short end of the stick. By the way, the fact that there is an office in Albemarle for a Charlotte need is highly illustrative of our problem.
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RaleighRob Burg

RaleighRob

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Well, I'm obviously voting for one of the Dems. I'm sorry, but you can SAY you're a "Moderate Republican", but I've yet to ever see one elected in this state...whether its social or economic issues, they're gonna pander to the hard-right regardless.

So I'm left with Moore or Perdue....I haven't seen enough of a difference between them yet to know for sure. I'm kinda inclined to Perdue so far....the idea of a female governor is beginning to appeal to me.

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Raintree21 Town

Raintree21

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Even though I'm not a libertarian and I tend to strongly disagree with some of their tax and social program policies, I admit Munger looks alright.

Ending capital punishment and lowering the drinking age to 18 would be a step in the right direction.

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