Monday, October 13, 2008

Three down, one to go

Unlike my favorite driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and my football team, the Carolina Panthers, at least my choice for the next governor of North Carolina enjoyed a successful weekend marked by three major newspaper endorsements:

The Winston Salem Journal (10/12/08) -- "North Carolina enjoys a gubernatorial election this year with three candidates who would make good governors. The Journal thinks that Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory is the best qualified of the three to be a very good governor...

"The Journal was especially impressed with McCrory's promises to rethink our transportation needs and make long-range plans to meet them. He also impresses us with promised policies of an open office, thus allowing the public to see how its government operates."


The Greensboro News & Record (10/12/08) -- "Pat McCrory's stump speeches and debate performances make a good case for his candidacy. But his record as the longest-serving mayor of North Carolina's largest city makes an even better one. McCrory, 51, a Republican who grew up in Jamestown, has won seven consecutive terms as Charlotte's mayor.

"You don't receive that many votes of confidence without doing something right.

"In a city, which unlike Greensboro, holds partisan elections for its leaders, McCrory has worked effectively across party lines to get things done on a majority-Democratic city council. Also unlike Greensboro, where the mayor is merely one of nine equals, Charlotte's mayor wields veto power to go with the title...

"McCrory's skills and experience are best suited to provide what Raleigh needs most right now: a broad view, a clear plan and an ambitious vision."


Charlotte Observor, 10/05/08 -- "N.C. voters face a difficult choice for governor on Nov. 4. We recommend a vote for Republican Pat McCrory. We believe McCrory's experience, approach to government, outsider perspective and willingness to take a stand make him a better choice than Democrat Bev Perdue.

"McCrory would bring an urgently needed energy to the office. While we don't agree with him on every issue, he knows where he stands on most aspects of state government and why he stands there. He's too sure, sometimes, that his position is right, but that certitude is preferable to Perdue's tendency to base her stands on what she believes is politically expedient.

"As Charlotte mayor for 13 years, McCrory, 51, has shown steady leadership. He has presided over a prosperous age for the city driven in large part by people and factors that had little to do with him. But he has generally kept city government clean and helped make Charlotte a place where people want to live, and one which has attracted thousands of newcomers."

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