Chris Fitzsimon
The economy was center stage in Raleigh Monday, as Governor-elect Beverly Perdue announced the appointment of what she called her economic team and addressed state business leaders at the annual Economic Forecast Forum held by the North Carolina Chamber and the North Carolina Bankers Association.
Perdue’s remarks come as statistics from the court system show that there were 53,995 foreclosure filings in the state in 2008, up from 2007’s all-time high of 49,695. Perdue told the crowd that she was lobbying hard for the state’s share of a federal stimulus package and said the $700 million worth of building projects the Council of State will approve Tuesday morning will create 23,000 jobs.
She promised to “root out redundancy†as she tries to balance the state budget, which faces a shortfall of $3 billion next year. Conspicuously absent from her remarks were any specifics about how she plans to do that, though she did pledge to consider targeted tax breaks for business.
That won’t help the shortfall and goes further in the wrong direction than her earlier statements that seemed to rule out any tax increase, meaning she apparently supports cutting state spending as much as 15 percent at a time when more people need state services to survive.
Perdue wants to transform state government into a “well-tuned machine.†It is the year of change, after all, though you wouldn’t know it by her cabinet appointments, many of whom are longtime Raleigh insiders.
One bright spot was Perdue’s announcement that she would sign an executive order Monday to begin to transform the State Board of Transportation into an advisory board instead of one that makes decisions about highway projects. Board seats have traditionally been awarded to political donors and fundraisers, leading to inevitable scandals and ethical lapses.
Perdue appointed Gene Conti as the new DOT secretary. Conti has worked at the department and the U.S. Department of Transportation, and his appointment marks a welcome change from the backgrounds of previous DOT chiefs. Most have been major political donors and fundraisers, and Perdue picked Conti over prominent Democratic moneyman Lanny Wilson, who was the choice of Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight.
The rest of Perdue’s economic-development team announced Monday is Randolph County textile executive Keith Crisco as secretary of Commerce, Greensboro businesswoman Linda Carlisle as secretary of Cultural Resources and Orange County health care administrator Moses Carey as head of the Employment Security Commission.
Last week, Perdue appointed Reuben Young, currently counsel to Gov. Mike Easley, as secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety and Linda Hayes, chair of the Governor’s Crime Commission, as secretary of Juvenile Justice. She also appointed former assistant attorney general Alvin Keller to run the Department of Correction.
All of the appointees seem qualified, but they almost all share something else too: a history in Raleigh, a closeness to the Democratic machine, donating or raising money for campaigns. Until recently, Carlisle served on the lottery commission, for example, and Hayes was a prominent fundraiser for Easley.
None of that means the appointees won’t do a good job, but collectively they don’t seem to represent the dramatic departure from business as usual that Perdue has promised, and promised again Monday.
With the exception of her commitment to reduce the power of the DOT board, her transition has yet to match the boldness of her rhetoric about a new day in Raleigh. She has plenty of more chances, and not just in her appointments.
Saturday, she will deliver her inaugural address, and let’s hope for a renewed commitment to a new direction for the state that includes some specifics. She could start by rethinking her apparent aversion to considering new revenue to balance the budget.
Perdue herself identified a vital part of the budget problem during the campaign in an answer to a questionnaire from the same North Carolina Chamber she addressed Monday. Perdue said much of the state tax structure was “archaic, overly complex, or unfair,†and that she was committed to a “massive review and overhaul of the tax system.â€
Let the overhauling and the real change, begin.
Chris Fitzsimon is executive director of N.C. Policy Watch.