RALEIGH -- Having survived a year dominated by the fiscal crisis, North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue said Tuesday that she hopes to focus more intently in 2010 on her signature issues of jobs and education.
Perdue, a Democrat finishing her first year, said she was unruffled by her low poll numbers, noting that she helped make some difficult choices to raise taxes, cut programs and initiate state employee furloughs to cope with a $4.6 billion shortfall.
"I made some really unpopular decisions," Perdue told reporters in a year-end interview at the Executive Mansion. "I was going to do whatever I had to do to make sure that the people of North Carolina had a shot of coming out of this recession and being, very, very viable globally. That is what the people elected me to do."
She noted that NorthCarolina has maintained its AAA credit rating from the major bond houses and was awarded a B- grade by the Pew Center on the States for its handling of the budget. The state was also picked as having the best business climate by Site Selection Magazine.
"I have been very gratified that the work we have done has been validated," Perdue said.
Opponents took a different view.
State GOP Chairman Tom Fetzer said Perdue had promised during last year's campaign not to raise taxes and then signed a bill to raise $1billion in new taxes.
During the legislative session, she opposed balancing the budget on the middle class, he said, but backed a tax increase that relied heavily on a sales tax that falls on everyone.
"I think the fairest way to look at Gov. Perdue's first term in office is to measure her deeds against her words," he said.
Here's what the governor had to say on several topics:
On the outlook for 2010: Perdue said state government faces a $400 million shortfall for the fiscal year that ends June 30. But she said that she had already asked department heads to withhold 5 percent of their budgets as a precaution.
She said she thinks the worst of the crisis has passed.
Because she spent so much time last year dealing with the fiscal problems, she didn't have much opportunity to push her own agenda.
"It was hard for me to do many new programs when I was trying to figure out how to keep teachers in the classroom," Perdue said. "It was hard for me to focus on something that would help me to build a brand when I was cutting DHHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] by hundreds of millions of dollars."
In January, Perdue plans to announce an education initiative she dubbed "Ready, Set, Go," aimed at keeping children in school and learning at grade level. She also plans to focus much of her attention on helping small businesses.
On proposed changes in Wake County public schools to end busing to achieve economic diversity.
"It's the most troublesome thing that has happened," Perdue said. "I don't believe in busing kids an hour and a half in the morning. I hate that. But I don't believe separate is equal. I do believe the work we have done on magnets and charters and innovation has helped a lot."
But she added that as governor, she can have little effect on local education policy except by use of the bully pulpit.
On what she called "the biggest blunder" of her political career.
At a Christmas reception for military families at the Executive Mansion, she greeted a woman with her three young daughters, probably about 5, 7 and 10.
"I said, 'Oh are you going to be OK at Christmas with your daddy gone in Afghanistan or Iraq? And the littlest of the girls looked up at me and said, 'Daddy is up in heaven with Jesus. He won't be here this year.'"
Her reaction? "I cried," the governor recalled, "and I hardly every cry."
But she said it was a sharp reminder of the sacrifices of military men and women.
