On the first day official day of the 2012 election season, dozens of candidates filed campaign paperwork with the State Board of Elections in Raleigh.
Lee Sartain, a state House candidate from Raleigh, said he was first in line. At age 30, if elected, he would be one of the younger lawmakers.
The first Democrat to enter the closely watched governor's race was state Rep. Bill Faison of Orange County. With two of his children at his side, he answered tough questions about his messy divorce and a potential negative campaign.
Faison staked out middle ground in his campaign, calling himself "socially progressive but fiscally conservative."
A number of incumbents also made the electoral pilgrimage, and they were greeted by reporters and television cameras, including many judicial and legislative candidates.
Among the big names who filed: State Auditor Beth Wood, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, State Treasurer Janet Cowell, U.S. Rep. David Price and State Superintendent June Atkinson.
The day didn't include any major surprises, but a question remains: Who else will file in the Democratic governor's race?
Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge are expected to make a bid, but other politicians are still considering a campaign. Filing runs through Feb. 29.
Illness acknowledged
Former Senate leader Marc Basnight acknowledged in an interview with the N.C. Coastal Federation that he has Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal neuromuscular disease.
Basnight was the state's most powerful senator for nearly two decades. He won re-election in 2010, but resigned his seat before the session started and Democrats began their new existence as the minority party.
Basnight, a Manteo Democrat, had been diagnosed a few years earlier with a degenerative nerve disease that left him unsteady on his feet and his speech slowed.
He said in January 2011 that he was resigning for health reasons, but said his doctors had not identified his disease.
State gets 'Truth Team'
President Barack Obama's campaign named a North Carolina "Truth Team" on Monday as part of a national effort to counter Republican attacks on the president's record.
The state team members will help spread the campaign's messages, acting at a local level to stop the spread of misinformation and sow questions about the eventual Republican nominee.
"As a local elected official, we are pretty close to the people on the ground," said Durham Mayor Bill Bell, a team member. "And this campaign is all about the grass roots."
Other state team members include U.S. Reps. G.K. Butterfield andDavid Price, state Rep. TriciaCotham and Fayetteville Councilwoman Val Applewhite.
Community college fund
Looks like there will be more attention from the White House on community colleges in North Carolina.
As part of his overall budget plan, Obama on Monday proposed an $8 billion Community College to Career Fund, meant to train 2 million workers with upgraded skills.
Obama wants Congress to create the fund, which would be used to formpartnerships between community colleges and business to train workers in fields that are growing jobs.
A bus tour to sell the strategy will start next week and wrap up in Greensboro on Feb. 24.
Jill Biden and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will travel on a bus to highlight innovative industry partnerships in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.
North Carolina community college students have been mentioned byObama in the past two State of the Union addresses.
What hearings?
The debate on education spending continues to rage months after the state budget passed. Conspicuously absent are the hearings that House Speaker Thom Tillis said he would hold to have local districtsuperintendents explain their spending decisions.
Last year during the budgetdebates, Tillis said the budget paid for all teachers and teacher assistants, so superintendents who laid off classroom personnel would be brought in to Raleigh to explain.
Those hearings were expectedbefore the end of last year. Then, early this year, possibly February.
Or not.
Tillis spokesman Jordan Shaw said Monday they will still happen, but no date is set.
"It will be before the shortsession," he said.
