Gubernatorial candidates campaign for county support

For the first time in eight years, North Carolina will see a new face in the Governor’s Mansion in 2009. In the first step to helping the next governor better understand county issues, the Association has reached out to the seven gubernatorial candidates and posed three questions for their consideration.

The initiative is one piece of a plan to further counties’ relationship with state government as the next governor, cabinet members and freshman legislators take office in January 2009. The plan is being spearheaded by the NCACC strategic goals team charged with redefining the state-county relationship by creating a partnership with the state.

The Democratic and Republican nominee for governor will be invited to address county officials at the NCACC’s Annual Conference. In early 2009, the NCACC’s Executive Committee will meet with the new governor and his or her principal staff to discuss administrative priorities and county contributions as part of an eight-point post-election plan.

1. Strengthening the partnership between state and county government
By statute, the counties of North Carolina are agents of the state and arms of the state. However, county governments are more than local branches of state government. Counties are responsible for the primary delivery and coordination of services, while the state is responsible for implementing and administering policy. The relationship between counties and the state is not always collaborative or equitable and therefore cannot be considered a true partnership. As a result, issues often arise that impede both the effective governance of programs and the efficient delivery of services to the state’s citizens.

What concrete steps would your administration take to strengthen and improve the existing relationship between state and county governments in North Carolina, thereby creating a true partnership?

2. Planning for population growth and changes: the changing face of N.C.
North Carolina’s population is expected to increase by 50 percent between 2000-30, an increase equivalent to adding the entirety of South Carolina. The U.S. Census Bureau shows that North Carolina has the sixth-fastest growing Hispanic population. This influx of new citizens will require the state to have jobs, housing, healthcare and schools available to meet the growing population’s needs. The elderly population, those 65 and above, are also growing at a rate that outpaces the 18-34 age cohort. The Baby Boomer generation has public needs such as transportation and healthcare (Medicaid, Medicare and long-term care needs) that will tax the current systems and deplete the resources that are not being replenished at the same rate by our younger citizens. Since counties share human services and education responsibilities with the state, careful planning and program modification must be done in advance of this population shift.

What could the state and counties do jointly to plan for, and manage, the state’s changing demographics – including an influx of newcomers, an aging population and a growing bilingual population?

3. Recognizing and promoting county uniqueness
North Carolina is a rapidly changing state with a wide diversity in both issues and challenges confronting each county, from the largest urban county government to the smallest rural county. Developing solutions that address each county’s individual and unique needs will draw upon each county’s strengths and contributions to maximize North Carolina’s limited public resources.

What steps would you take to ensure all groups of county governments – urban and rural – are dealt with individually or regionally, as opposed to a “one size fits all” approach?

Meet the candidates

Bill Graham
Web site: www.graham2008.com
Occupation: Partner, Wallace and Graham law firm
Party: Republican
Personal: A native of Harnett County, Graham graduated from Dunn High School, received a Bachelor of Arts from Catawba College, and earned a law degree from Antioch University, finishing at Wake Forest University. He currently serves on the Catawba College Board of Trustees and is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association. A former prosecutor, Graham served on the North Carolina Rules Review Commission and as secretary of the Cabarrus County Board of Elections. Graham resides in Salisbury with his wife, Shari, and their two children.

Pat McCrory
Web site: www.patmccrory.com
Occupation: Economic development consultant, Duke Energy Corporation; mayor of Charlotte
Party: Republican
Personal: Pat McCrory grew up in Jamestown (Guilford County) and attended Ragsdale High School. He graduated from Catawba College in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in political science/education and has since worked with Duke Energy Corporation in various management positions, including his current role as economic development consultant. McCrory began his political career in Charlotte in 1989 when he was elected as an at-large City Council representative. He was recently elected to his seventh term as mayor. He is married to Ann Gordon McCrory.

Richard Moore
Web site: www.richardmoore.org
Occupation: State treasurer
Party: Democrat
Personal: A native of Granville County, Richard Moore began his public career in 1989 as a federal prosecutor in the state’s Eastern District. He was elected to the N. C. House of Representatives in 1992 and appointed by Gov. Jim Hunt as secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety in 1995. He is in his second term as state treasurer. Moore is an honors graduate of Wake Forest University and the School of Law with a graduate degree in accounting and finance from the London School of Economics. He and his wife Noel have three children.

Dennis Nielsen
Web site: www.votenielsen.com
Occupation: U.S. Air Force (retired)
Party: Democrat
Personal: Col. Dennis Nielsen is a retired military officer with 35 years of dedicated service in the United States Air Force. He flew a variety of military aircraft and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after diverting his A-7 fighter jet during a test flight away from a populated area after engine failure, potentially saving hundreds of lives while risking his own. Col. Nielsen graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in law enforcement. He and his wife of 37 years, Linda, currently reside in the Nash County seat of Nashville. They have two daughters.

Bob Orr
Web site: www.orr2008.com
Occupation: Retired former chief justice, N.C. Supreme Court
Party: Republican
Personal: Bob Orr grew up in Henderson County and graduated from Hendersonville High School in 1964. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he spent three years in the U.S. Army prior to attending law school at UNC-CH. He was licensed to practice law in 1975 and after graduation moved to Asheville, where he began his legal career. Justice Orr is married and has three grown children and one teenager. He also has two grandchildren.

Bev Perdue
Web site: www.bevperdue.com
Occupation: Lieutenant governor
Party: Democrat
Personal: Bev Perdue grew up in the coal-mining mountains of Southwest Virginia and has lived most of her adult life in the Craven County seat of New Bern. Prior to running for office, Perdue worked as a public school teacher, as director of geriatric services at a community hospital, and earned a Ph.D. in education administration. Perdue is married to Bob Eaves. She has two sons, Garrett and Emmett, and one granddaughter, Amelia. She is in her second term as lieutenant governor after serving in the N.C. House of Representatives.

Fred Smith
Web site: www.fredsmithgovernor2008.com
Occupation: State senator, businessman
Party: Republican
Personal: Fred Smith grew up at the Methodist Orphanage in Raleigh, where his father served as a teacher and coach and his mom served as a cottage “housemother.” He graduated from Raleigh’s Broughton High School and won a football scholarship to Wake Forest University, where he received his undergraduate and law degrees. Sen. Smith served his country as a captain in the United States Army JAG Corps for four years after law school. A former Johnston County commissioner, Smith is in his third term in the N.C. Senate.