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 lieutenant governor had to say.

Pat Smathers
Position Seeking: Lieutenant Governor
Party: Democrat
Age: 54
Occupation: Mayor of Canton; Attorney
Family: My wife Sherry and I have two children: Zeb, a third-year law student at UNC, and Anna, a recent graduate of Appalachian State University.
Length of time living in current location: My entire life: 54 years.

Why are you running for this office?
In 2004, when Canton was hit by two 500-year floods in the span of ten days, it was up to local leaders to rebuild our mountain town and restore our citizens' morale. I made countless trips to Raleigh to fight for the funding and support we needed to recover. That experience taught me that our mayors, council members and other community leaders are often best situated to solve the problems facing our state. I am running for lieutenant governor because I believe it is time we enable and empower our local leaders to build a better, stronger North Carolina.

What are your top 3 priorities?
1. Good jobs
2. Clean environment
3. Strong schools

If elected, what is the biggest issue facing your constituents over the next term?
I have made "local leadership, statewide" my campaign slogan beacuse I believe empowering our local leaders is critical to resolving the many challenges confronting North Carolina. As our working families struggle to pay their bills, our talented teachers grapple with overcrowded classrooms and our veterans cope with a failed mental health care system, we need to find ways of efficiently and effectively addressing issues statewide. We must give communities the tools they need to build their economic bases, improve their school systems and offer meaningful services for their most vulnerable citizens. The biggest issue in Hyde County may not be the biggest issue in Wilkes County, but the solution is the same: We must support and enable the leaders who understand their communities' unique strengths and challenges.

How do you consider yourself different than your opponent(s) in this race?
I believe I am the only candidate with the vision, experience and leadership skills needed for the state's second-highest leadership position. I am the only candidate with executive experience, and the only candidate to have served in the military. As a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the North Carolina Army National Guard, I hope to represent the interests of our state's one million veterans by becoming the only veteran on the Council of State.

Hampton Dellinger
Position Seeking: Lieutenant Governor
Party: Democrat
Age: 40
Occupation: Candidate for Lt. Governor (departed law firm in December 2007)
Family: I was born and raised in a family that believes strongly in core Democratic values, and we have always fought for them at the state and national level. I’m proud to carry on that tradition in the race for Lt. Governor. My mom, Anne, has been president of the North Carolina Society of Health Care Attorneys, and she created and co-directed an Adolescent Pregnancy Project at UNC’s School of Government. My dad, Walter, was born and raised near Charlotte. He went from there to UNC-Chapel Hill, then taught constitutional law at Duke and served as a top official in the Clinton Administration. My wife Jolynn, a graduate of Duke Law School, has served as a judicial staff attorney and is now working in the area of privacy law. She grew up in Western North Carolina and was crowned Miss Asheville in 1987. We have two wonderful children, Jackson and Austen Grace.
Length of time living in current location: 17 years

Why are you running for this office?
I’m running for Lt. Governor because North Carolina needs statewide leaders who have the experience and ability to put core Democratic Party principles into practice. Building on the experience described above, I am now running the most substantive, issues-oriented campaign in this race. I set forth proposals to help N.C. seniors that the Wilmington Star News called “attractive,” “sensible,” and “admirably specific.” My detailed education plan is designed to make sure that North Carolina is a top state not just for business, but for students and teachers as well. And I’ve clashed with my leading opponent on affirmative action and women’s constitutional right to choose, both of which I support and he does not. I also spoke out against the coal-fired power plant proposal at Cliffside, which he supports, because I believe there is no good reason to build such a plant now, and plenty of good reasons not to. I also believe that—now more than ever—North Carolina needs state-level officials who make transparent, effective government a top priority, and who can make open government complementary with economic development. My government reform plan will ensure that our state government makes North Carolina businesses successful, and more importantly that it makes North Carolina citizens proud, by returning government to its core competencies and by limiting improper influence over the legislative process. As Lt. Governor, I will work to ensure that state government commits itself—fairly and effectively—to the things that matter most. I am proud that my commitment to these and other progressive issues has earned my campaign endorsements from the AFL-CIO, NARAL, Dr. John Hope Franklin, and support from Al Gore.

What are your top 3 priorities?
1. Bring high paying jobs to every part of the state.
2. Find real solutions for families in poverty.
3. Making government accountable to and work for all citizens, not special interests.

If elected, what is the biggest issue facing your constituents over the next term?
North Carolina is ranked in survey after survey as one of the top states—and often the #1 state—in which to do business. Site Selection magazine recently awarded us their top ranking for the sixth time in seven years. This is an incredible achievement, one that reflects decades of hard work by North Carolinians and sustained commitment from state leaders. Our economic success was not a given—to go from a state uniquely dependent on a single crop (tobacco) for both our agricultural and manufacturing sectors to a much more diversified economy is an incredible achievement—and should not be lightly acknowledged nor taken for granted. The biggest challenge facing us today is to make sure that North Carolina is number one not just in one thing that matters a lot—being a great state in which to do business—but in all the things that matter most—like well-funded and effective schools, safe and sustainable communities, providing high paying jobs in EVERY county in the state, and honest and responsive government. Back when Site Selection issued its most recent ranking, I released a short video (available at http://www.hd08.com/hamptv/no1.php) in which I commented on our top business ranking and emphasized the need for North Carolina to lead on other issues—including addressing continuing racial inequalities and freeing public health from right wing politics—in order to justify our reputation not just as a great place to do business, but as a great place to live, work, and raise a family.

How do you consider yourself different than your opponent(s) in this race?
am the only candidate for Lieutenant Governor from either party with experience in the Governor’s office. As Chief Legal Counsel to the Governor, and as a Deputy Attorney General and Special Counsel in the Department of Justice, I worked hard to promote public safety, public health and public integrity. I learned firsthand the crises that can confront state leaders, and I am prepared to lead this state through any challenge. I also know the daily demands on a Governor’s time and the unique opportunity the Lieutenant Governor has to think not just about the next meeting but about the next year, the next decade, the next generation. I have great respect for all of my opponents personally. But on certain major policy matters, we stand on opposite sides. Walter Dalton has a more conservative record than any major Democratic statewide candidate going back at least twenty years, and we disagree on a variety of fundamental issues, including the right to choose, affirmative action, new coal power plants, and tax breaks for homebuilders, billboard sign owners and millionaires. I also have concerns that Pat Smathers’ political philosophy – summed up by his campaign motto “local leadership, statewide” – may not produce the progressive outcomes I believe this state needs. Many of the biggest challenges we face do not respect our local political subdivisions, and in order to address them we need more statewide and regional coordination, not less. Environmental issues, for example, are almost impossible to solve at the local level because local government officials have no reason to factor in the pollution they’re exporting to neighboring towns or counties when making decisions. While empowering local governments is important, we need statewide solutions to ensure affordable and accessible health care, including mental health, to eliminate racial and wealth disparities in our schools and criminal justice system, to find sustainable energy sources and build effective mass transit systems, and to tackle other problems that cannot be handled in piecemeal fashion by local officials, many of whom do not share my progressive vision for the state. I am pleased that Dan Besse has recently worked for and with several admirable organizations. But I disagree with his decision to spend 21 years as a member of the North Carolina Republican Party led by Jesse Helms, and to contribute to the campaign of a Republican opponent of Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue when Perdue served in the state Senate.

Dan Besse and Walter H. Dalton have yet to respond to the News 14 Carolina survey.