Will state leaders seek reform?

Veterans of Raleigh politics will lead the state. Some want new initiatives, new style; some don't.

North Carolina voters clearly wanted change in Washington.

In Raleigh? Apparently not so much.

North Carolina voters helped put Democrat Barack Obama in the White House and bounced Republican Elizabeth Dole from the U.S. Senate. In the state capital, though, voters kept Democrats in charge of the governor's office and the legislature.

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, who has held office in Raleigh for 22 years, moves up to the governor's office. Democrats -- the same ones, in fact -- return to the leadership posts in the legislature.

Voters made these choices despite embarrassing news stories over the last year about secret budget decisions, a disastrous mental health system reform and a governor, Mike Easley, who at times appeared disengaged from the government he ran. Three years of scandal sent a trio of Democratic lawmakers, including a former speaker of the House, to prison.

But the only significant change voters made in Raleigh was to oust State Auditor Les Merritt, a Republican who billed himself as the taxpayers' watchdog.

Merritt was defeated and will be replaced by a Democrat.

Political observers say that's due, at least in part, to a shadow that Washington casts over state capitals like Raleigh.

"The big issues of the day -- the economy, the war on terror, health care -- they're all driven by Washington," said Brad Crone, a Democratic consultant. "So people's perceptions are built much more by what they see coming out of Washington."

There was no lack of effort by North Carolina Republicans.

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, the Republican candidate for governor, pounded away at what he called the "culture of corruption" in Raleigh, making the Democratic scandals a centerpiece of his campaign. Former state Sen. Robert Pittenger, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, ran television ads portraying the Democrats who control the legislature as pigs looking out for special interests.

Both men lost to Democrats who had been part of the leadership in the legislature.

Perdue dismisses any suggestion that her election as North Carolina's first female governor does not signify a call for change.

"Just look at me and you see change," she said in an interview last week. "Service and change isn't about tenure. It's about capacity to push the envelope."

During her campaign, Perdue embraced the role of reformer, promising to clean up state government. In her victory speech Tuesday night, she kicked things off by announcing that there "is a new sheriff in town" and ticked off a list of ways she plans to change the climate in Raleigh.

"I'm going to open the windows wide in the state capital and we're going to let the sunshine in," she said.

But look at where Perdue came from -- the state Senate -- and it's hard to get a sense of change.

Perdue, newly elected Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and newly elected U.S. Senator Kay Hagan were all helped in their political ascents by state Senate leader Marc Basnight, who gave each of them power and influence as key budget writers. Basnight has run the Senate for 15 years, a tenure that has led many observers to say that Basnight, not the governor, is the most powerful figure in state government.

Entrenched leaders

Democratic leaders in the legislature, particularly in the Senate, hold a grip on power that has tightened with time. Their re-election is so likely that the individual leaders usually run unopposed. They rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from people who do business with the legislature. They spread that money around to the few Democrats facing difficult races, shoring up their majority and buying loyalty.