News 14 Carolina sent a questionnaire to everyone running for office in the Charlotte viewing area and in statewide races. Read what the Democratic candidates for governor had to say.
Dennis Nielsen
Position seeking: Governor
Party: Democrat
Age:
Occupation: Retired US military
Family: Wife, Linda and two daughters Holly and Raquel
Length of time living in current location: 5 years
Why are you running for this office?
To improve the life of all citizens and give conservative and moderates somone to vote "for".
What are your top 3 priorities?
1. Bringing integrity into the office of Governor and a more open government
2. Improving education for all with school choice
3. Control immigration
If elected, what is the biggest issue facing your constituents over the next term?
Overall the economy, this translates into; lower taxes, jobs, education reform, illegal immigration and others
How do you consider yourself different than your opponent(s) in this race?
I am a true Raleigh outsider and bring new and different ideas to the same old problems that never seem to get fixed in the state
Richard Moore
Position Seeking: Governor
Party: Democrat
Age: 47
Occupation: State Treasurer
Family: Wife Noel, three children
Length of time living in current location: Born and raised in North Carolina
Why are you running for this office?
I am running for governor to bring better management to state government, stand up for our families and enact meaningful changes that expand the opportunities available to all North Carolinians.
This philosophy guides my public service today and is reflected in such past achievements as raising the state minimum wage, securing the retirement savings of our dedicated public servants, and standing up to large corporations to fight outrageous executive pay, protect consumers from abusive lending practices, and address global warming.
My economic stimulus plan demonstrates this philosophy in my platform. We will expand opportunity by making community college tuition free for all high school graduates who want to expand their skills for the 21st century workforce. We will eliminate the child care subsidy waiting list, which will help thousands of working families across the state. We will address the infrastructure needs that our state’s explosive growth has created. And we will cut property taxes for thousands of seniors living on a fixed income so they can stay in their homes.
What are your top 3 priorities?
1. Creating good jobs: I have a bold economic plan that will raise the minimum wage, cut property taxes in half for thousands of seniors and freeze property taxes for many more, make community college tuition free for high school graduates, and invest in upgrading North Carolina’s transportation infrastructure.
2. Education: My top education priority will be to cut the high school dropout rate in half by teaching real job skills and holding our schools accountable. We will build schools faster and smarter with my school construction plan.
3. Health Care: My top priority will be to make sure every single child in North Carolina has health insurance – currently, more than 250,000 children do not. We will improve the quality of health care by reducing waste and medical errors. And we will focus on reducing costs for families and small businesses through tax credits and a stronger focus on prevention and disease management.
If elected, what is the biggest issue facing your constituents over the next term?
The biggest issue facing North Carolina is our economy.
How do you consider yourself different than your opponent(s) in this race?
I have more executive branch experience than any other candidate for governor. As Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety in the Hunt Administration, I was responsible for one of the largest divisions of state government. I led the response to numerous federally-declared natural disasters, including hurricanes Fran and Floyd. As State Treasurer I oversee the state’s $80 billion retirement system, which was ranked as the second strongest state pension fund in the nation by Standard & Poor’s for the last three years. This money belongs to more than 800,000 teachers, police officers, National Guard members and other hardworking state and local employees. I also oversee the state’s debt and have worked hard to maintain our state’s triple A credit rating, despite the financial downturn that occurred in 2001-2002.
Bev Perdue
Position Seeking: Governor
Party: Democrat
Age: 61
Occupation: Lieutenant Governor
Family: Married to Bob Eaves. Two sons: Garrett Perdue and Emmett Perdue.
Length of time living in current location: Over 20 years
Why are you running for this office?
I’m seeking this office because NC’s next governor will play a vital role in the direction our state moves and the goals we will achieve. The decisions made by our next governor will not only have an effect on our next 4 years, but will set the course and lay the foundation for the NC’s next 50 years.
NC needs a governor who will provide solid leadership, who has the courage and conviction to persevere through times of trial and uncertainty, and who has a bold vision for progress and improvement.
NC needs a governor who will improve our schools, who will make health care accessible and affordable, who will create new jobs and revitalize old industries, and who will build an economy that rewards hard work, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
I will be that governor.
I have laid out plans to confront the issues of the present and the future. I have a track record of moving North Carolina forward by improving education, fighting for affordable health care and creating new economic opportunities. As governor I will build on those successes. I am ready to meet the challenges and capture the possibility that lies ahead.
What are your top 3 priorities?
1. My top priority is building a new North Carolina for all of our families, especially our financially-squeezed middle class families. My plan to achieve that has three pillars: education, healthcare, and economic development.
I am the only candidate for Governor who is committed to both universal children’s health care coverage and expanded coverage for more working parents. My plan has been praised as containing "the most significant changes in health care access in North Carolina in, quite literally, decades" by Adam Searing, Director of the North Carolina Health Access Coalition.
My comprehensive education initiatives will directly tackle our drop-out problem, make teacher salaries competitive with other professions, address the teacher shortage, expand early-childhood programs, redesign our high schools and open up the doors of our universities to students from all family backgrounds. I am proud the North Carolina Association of Educators has endorsed my candidacy.
Lowering health care costs and providing a well-trained workforce are the best incentives for attracting new businesses, increasing job opportunities and boosting our state’s economy. We must also raise the minimum wage and provide property tax relief for seniors.
I also believe that going green can be gold. That is why I led the effort last year to create the state’s Green Business Fund. I know that we can create jobs while developing creative ways to protect our natural resources.
If elected, what is the biggest issue facing your constituents over the next term?
The greatest challenges facing North Carolina are ensuring a quality education for our kids and opportunities for them to go to college, providing accessible and affordable health care for working families, and establishing financial security in times of economic uncertainty.
Education is the real difference maker. It starts in the classroom with quality teachers who are paid a professional salary, but also held accountable like other professionals. Next we must give our students a reason to stay in school. We can do that with my College Promise, which will make community college tuition free and puts higher education within the reach of every high school graduate.
In the 21st century accessible and affordable health care must and will be absolute. As one of the leaders in developing state coverage for uninsured children, I’m pleased that a consensus is finally emerging in favor of universal children’s coverage. But we’ll never reach that goal until we reach out to uninsured parents and help whole families obtain coverage. As the next Governor, I’ll take unprecedented steps to cover more uninsured low-wage working parents. That is why Adam Searing, Director of the NC Health Access Coalition has called my plan, “the most significant changes to health care access in North Carolina in, quite literally, decades.”
In times of economic uncertainty, when gas and food prices are rising, the housing market is falling, and wages are stagnating – North Carolina’s working families need a leader who will fight for them. That’s why I support increasing the minimum wage, making housing and daycare affordable, and providing property tax relief for seniors.
Education, health insurance, a strong economy, and economic security are the keys to building a new and better North Carolina.
How do you consider yourself different than your opponent(s) in this race?
I believe that both the depth of my experience and my vision for building a new North Carolina have prepared me to serve as Governor.
I started my career as a teacher, so I have first hand experience with the challenges facing our public schools. That experience led me to fight the status quo and raise teachers’ salaries from 43rd to 21st in the nation as a State Senator. And having served as a hospital administrator, I witnessed how the challenges facing our health care system impact North Carolina’s working families. That’s why I sponsored the bill that expanded heath care coverage to 115,000 uninsured children and why as Lt. Governor I led the creation of Senior Care – a prescription drug program that North Carolina AARP called the best in America.
I have laid out extensive plans and policies that demonstrate a bold vision for the future of North Carolina. I am the only candidate who is seeking not only to provide universal health coverage for children, but their hard working, low wage parents as well. Adam Searing, Director of the North Carolina Health Access Coalition has called my health care plan, “The most significant changes in health care access in North Carolina in, quite literally, decades.”
North Carolina voters are more concerned about what candidates will do to build our state up, not tear each other down. I’ve been running a positive campaign focused on the issues that matter most like jobs, health care and education, and I believe that I am the candidate most prepared to move our state forward.