News-Record.com

Sunday's editorial.

Of all the words you could use to describe Mike Easley, outgoing isn’t one of them.
The popular two-term Democratic governor chooses to be seen very little and to be heard from even less.

Aside from his commendable prodding of local governments to react more urgently to a severe drought, Easley typically prefers closed doors to open ones, and tight lips to transparency.
Up close and personal, Easley is a likable enough guy. And there is something refreshing about a politician who actually shuns bright lights and cameras. But he is notoriously reclusive and rarely has seized the initiative to lead instead of merely govern.

What the state needs desperately right now is a governor who can bring people and ideas together — who is willing to set the tone, the pace and the priorities in Raleigh.

Each member of a generally strong field of Republican and Democratic candidates contends he or she can provide the sense of focus and direction state government needs right now in the wake of a mental health reform disaster and a string of ethics embarrassments.

But two clearly stand above the others.

The case for McCrory

Among five candidates in the Republican primary, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory offers the most impressive record and the most creative ideas.

McCrory, 51, grew up in Jamestown, where he graduated from Ragsdale High School. He is the longest-serving mayor in Charlotte history, having won seven terms. In a setting where city elections are partisan, McCrory also has worked effectively over those years with a majority-Democratic council. He pushed a sales tax for mass transit that voters overwhelmingly approved and championed the city’s fledgling light-rail line.

Beyond Charlotte’s city limits, McCrory was the founding member and is a driving force behind the N.C. Metropolitan Coalition, which brings mayors together to discuss common issues, including the growing threat of youth gangs.

McCrory calls for a 50-year state transportation plan and rightly contends that state transportation projects should be based on need, not politics. He favors lower corporate and income taxes over incentives as better ways to recruit industry.

One reservation: His strategy on immigration is much more reasoned in person than on his TV ads, which appeal to voters’ baser instincts and emotions.

Among the other Republican hopefuls, Bob Orr is a thoughtful and principled former state Supreme Court justice.

Fred Smith is an affable state senator who has run a spirited and competitive campaign.
Salisbury lawyer Bill Graham waged an effective grass-roots protest against rising state gasoline taxes.

And Sampson County farmer Elbie Powers mounted an unsuccessful bid for agriculture commissioner in 2000.

But McCrory stands alone as the best choice in the Republican primary.

Moore over Perdue

Were it not for the ruthless tenor of his negative campaign ads, State Treasurer Richard Moore would receive an unqualified nod over Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue in the Democratic primary.
Moore oversees $90 billion in state investments and has been an excellent steward of the state pension fund.

He has maintained the state’s stellar triple-A credit rating. He also has won national acclaim for his crusade against Wall Street investment firm abuses. Moore, 47, also lobbied forcefully and successfully for an increase in the state’s minimum wage.

He supports a further increase to the minimum wage, pre-paid college tuition plans that would lock in tuition rates, and tax cuts for small businesses.

Perdue, 61, is a former state representative and senator who became North Carolina’s first female lieutenant governor. She would be its first female governor as well.
She played a lead role in keeping the state’s military bases open and she headed the state’s Health and Wellness Trust Fund.

Despite their ferocious campaigns against one another, Moore and Perdue agree on most issues, but his blend of moxie and inventiveness make Moore the better leader.

What would not serve him or the state well is the caustic tone of his campaign ads. While Perdue has pledged to suspend negative ads for the rest of the primary, Moore keeps slinging away.

He should base his campaign on the strength of his own record, not his brazen attacks on hers.