The re-election fight was shaping up as a tough one for Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue, who won her office in 2008 against Charlotte Republican Pat McCrory, the former mayor whom she figured to face in a rematch this year. But no one ever could accuse Perdue of fearing such a fight.
She had moved up the ranks in the General Assembly, then to lieutenant governor. Along the way, she endured sexism on the part of her fellow legislators, and attitudes that would be unheard of today. We hope.
Perdue labored quietly, and carried on, and four years ago, her turn came and North Carolina had its first female governor. Some labeled her victory as a ride on the coattails of President Obama, but it was more. While her campaign stalled on occasion, and Perdue was not the greatest stump speaker, she didn't back down. She vowed to be an advocate for public education, clean government and average folks.
How quickly things seemed to change between that sunny January day when Perdue took the oath in downtown Raleigh and yesterday, when the governor announced she would leave office next January after one term.
The decision, she said, was made to benefit public education and school children in North Carolina. If she bowed out, Perdue reckoned, perhaps the ongoing debate over education funding and her push for a three-quarter cent sales tax boost (actually, restoration of one that shortsighted Republican budget-cutters allowed to expire) could engage without harsh partisanship as its shadow.
The truth is, that's probably wishful thinking. Republicans reacted to Perdue's announcement by talking about her "failed" policies, and one spokesperson with the Republican Governors Association went 'round the bend in referring to Perdue's "massive, job-crushing sales tax hike." Over-the-top statements like that one certainly don't help GOP leaders claim the high ground.
The sales tax proposal would raise about $850 million a year. Perdue says the revenue could be put into public education, which has been squeezed by the Republican majorities in the state House and Senate. This represents to Perdue a dramatic reversal in the state's attempts to invest more in education in the belief that a better-educated, better-trained citizenry is more able to find good work, to be an asset to the state and to lift the horizons of generations to come.
Certainly the state's public university system, which took a hit of several hundred million dollars thanks to Republican-fashioned budgets, has provided affordable education to many North Carolinians. And the state's pre-K programs for poor kids have given them a better chance at better performance in elementary and secondary schools.
Beverly Perdue, a native of Grundy, Va., and a well-educated, capable leader, participated as a legislator in the improvement of the state's entire public education system starting in the 1980s. Her decision to bow out of state politics, she says, reflects her continued belief in the importance of that effort.
She now has several months - including another legislative session - in which to press an agenda geared solely to doing what needs to be done in the state's best interests. And her Democratic Party has the challenge of choosing a nominee for governor who can effectively make the case for adequate revenues, coupled with honest, efficient management and a commitment to state government's mission of service.
